RANT : Hometechnologystore.com's return policy sucks

[Corbett]

So I buy an ABN router for my alarm system through hometechnologystore.com and it arrives dead. I call the store and the guy says fill out an online form to return it. I do and then they email me saying that I have to pay for shipping. At this point, Im just annoyed they would even ask for me to pay shipping for something they shipped me that was broken! So I email them and ask them to pay for return shipping. Here is the response I get.

This is company policy. You must pay to have it returned and we will pay for the replacement!

So I email back

I'm sorry but that is an absolutely terrible return policy. The seller should be responsible for incurring any additional shipping costs if they ship a dead part.

He emails :

It is not your fault and it is also not our fault that you were shipped a dead part. We do not make the merchandise nor can we take the time to ensure manufactures quality. Try and get the manufacture to pay for shipping on a warranty item, THEY WONT DO IT.

So, to make it fair, you must pay the freight here, and we will pay to have a new one sent to you. In now way will we pay both ways. That is like if you went and pick up a part from HOME DEPOT and it was defective when you got home and then had to drive all the way back to HOME DEPOT to exchange it. Would you then ask them to reimburse you for your gas?? If you did I am sure they would laugh in your face.

This is basically the same thing but we pay for the gas to get you a new part.


Your request for warranty replacement has been accepted. Once these items are returned we will send you a new ABN Broadband Adapter. Please return to the address below with the Return Authorization Number issued.

So I email back

Jeremy,

Why don?t you compare to other online retailers rather than make these hypothetical situations. Lets take a look at the 2 largest online retailers and their return policies.

Amazon.com Return Policy
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/...?ie=UTF8&nodeId=901888
You may return most new, unopened items sold and fulfilled by Amazon.com within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

Buy.com Return Policy
http://www.buy.com/corp/suppor....asp?what=returnpolicy
For products that we verify to be defective, we will reimburse you for your original shipping expenses, provided that your defective return must be shipped via ground shipment only. If you return your product via a faster, more expensive shipper, you incur the expenses yourself and any request for reimbursement will be denied.

So go ahead and make all the excuses you want, your "company policy" stinks. Its called customer service.

I shipped the product back to you yesterday. I couldn?t ship via UPS or FedEx because they wont deliver to a po box. Another inconvenience for the customer.

His final email is :

Our policy is OUR policy... END OF STORY

My final email is :

Customer Service is #1 at hometechnologystore.com

I'll be sure to let everyone know that.

Thanks

So there it is. My rant. I hate when companies nickel and dime you over things like this. Why should I be responsible for paying for shipping back an item that was clearly broken when it arrived?

Anyways, I'll never shop there again, I only did because its the only place that sells that part online.

CLIFFS

1 - Order part.
2 - Receive broken part
3 - Online store says i need to pay for shipping
4 - I complain
5 - He says too bad and makes up crappy stories
6 - I own with return policy of other online stores
7 - I never shop there again

/rant

 

[Captante]

How about putting some of the above motivation towards making them a review-page on Reseller Ratings?

Reseller Ratings

Then be sure to send Jeremy a link.

 

[Jumpem]

Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

 

[Corbett]

Originally posted by: Captante
How about putting some of the above motivation towards making them a review-page on Reseller Ratings?

Reseller Ratings

Then be sure to send Jeremy a link.

Very good idea! Will do.

 

[Corbett]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

You are probably right, but his responses to the situation definitely warrant the thread.

 

[Heller]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

not me, i do alot of business with newegg, have received ~15 doa parts over the years, i always lay the money out to return it, then they send me the exact price it cost me + the original purchases value.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Heller
not me, i do alot of business with newegg, have received ~15 doa parts over the years, i always lay the money out to return it, then they send me the exact price it cost me + the original purchases value.

Hmm. I've returned a few things over the years and never been reimbursed for shipping the items back.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: Heller

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

not me, i do alot of business with newegg, have received ~15 doa parts over the years, i always lay the money out to return it, then they send me the exact price it cost me + the original purchases value.

Same here ... for DOA/defective products out-of-box they've always credited me at least the amount it cost me to return the product & several times they've given me more.

 

[everman]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

Plus restocking fee, at least they charged me when I returned a dead external drive enclosure. stupid thing's power switch won't work and you charge me a restocking fee??!

 

[Scouzer]

Well regardless of the situation, that guy your corresponding with has a total lack of professionalism. lol. I can hardly believe that a company's support email could be so immature and unprofessional!

 

[aplefka]

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

This has never been the case for me with any online store except MusiciansFriend one time, and I'll be damned if I didn't throw an effing fit over it since it cost me $100 to ship back a $250 bass.

I'm still furious about that and their absolutely terrible customer service. It's always worse when you've spent thousands with a place and the one time you need to use their customer service they act like you're working the system somehow. To top it off they didn't ship me my bass for over 2 months and after 3 phone calls one guy finally told me they wouldn't have it in stock until November of 2007 (this was in July) and that maybe I could switch products and tell the next customer service guy what happened once the other ones were in stock so I could get my original product. Ugh.

I feel your pain man, hopefully shipping wasn't more than 10% of the product's worth.

 

[biggestmuff]

Oh, my!

 

[Parasitic]

Why didn't you just get the part from Amazon or Newegg like everybody else?

 

[Schfifty Five]

From reading the Buy.com policy, it doesn't sound like they reimburse you for shipping it back. They say if it's defective that they will reimburse you for your original shipping expenses which in my interpretation means that they will refund you the price of what you paid for the item along w/ whatever shipping rate you used to receive the product, not the shipping for sending it back.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: aplefka

Originally posted by: Jumpem
Your making a big deal out of a completely normal situation.

If you get a dead part from Newegg, guess who pays for returning it?

This has never been the case for me with any online store except MusiciansFriend one time, and I'll be damned if I didn't throw an effing fit over it since it cost me $100 to ship back a $250 bass.

I'm still furious about that and their absolutely terrible customer service. It's always worse when you've spent thousands with a place and the one time you need to use their customer service they act like you're working the system somehow. To top it off they didn't ship me my bass for over 2 months and after 3 phone calls one guy finally told me they wouldn't have it in stock until November of 2007 (this was in July) and that maybe I could switch products and tell the next customer service guy what happened once the other ones were in stock so I could get my original product. Ugh.

I feel your pain man, hopefully shipping wasn't more than 10% of the product's worth.

LOL you got ripped off by paying $100 to ship a bass. I've shipped a bass before in a hard shell case and it only cost me $17 from FedEx.

I'm guessing you went through something like mailboxes, etc. where they gouge you on prices.

 

[Corbett]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
Why didn't you just get the part from Amazon or Newegg like everybody else?

If you would rad the entire post it ays at the bottom of the OP that it was the only place online that sells it.

 

[Corbett]

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five
From reading the Buy.com policy, it doesn't sound like they reimburse you for shipping it back. They say if it's defective that they will reimburse you for your original shipping expenses which in my interpretation means that they will refund you the price of what you paid for the item along w/ whatever shipping rate you used to receive the product, not the shipping for sending it back.

Even if that is the case, its more than this joker was willing to do for me. He wouldnt reimburse for original shipping or return shipping.

 

[Corbett]

Originally posted by: Scouzer
Well regardless of the situation, that guy your corresponding with has a total lack of professionalism. lol. I can hardly believe that a company's support email could be so immature and unprofessional!

Yes, and you know what? I actually think its a 1 man show over there. When I called on the phone when this all happened the guy on the phone was very rude saying condescendingly "I've never seen one of those arrive dead". As if I am somehow plugging it in wrong or dont know what I am doing.