Complaint Review: Toshiba America Consumer Products - Lebabon Tennessee

The story is so long it's painful!

The long and short of it is:

Back in January 2000, I purchased a Toshiba 32-inch Cinema Series TV. Everything was great, until about Jul/August when the picture on my TV was not working correctly. I first assumed it was my cable as my TV was brand new. The local Cable Company came out and replaced all my cable wires, but the picture was still the same. It was like watching an old movie...there was no color red I realized.

I contacted Toshiba and they told me I had to work with a local service center. So I contacted Alpha TV in Oakland. They finally came out and looked at my unit. Although the technician who came out could NOT speak English and left without explaining to me what was wrong. I called Tony at Alpha TV and he told me he would have to call me back. Finally they called and told me they ordered a part for me TV and would contact me when it came in. Months passed!!!!! Now realize I could still watch the TV...but it was very strange without the correct colors!

Finally Tony called me in early November and told me the part was in. We finally set up to have the tech come back out...he did in mid-Nov and then took the whole mother board out of the TV and left. Again I did not understand what had happened. I called Tony and he called me back to explain. The part they ordered was wrong and I would have to wait. Now the TV does not work at all. I have the shell and tube with no other components...not even the remote control!

I decided the level of service I was getting was unacceptable so I decided to contact Toshiba directly. I called their 1-800 customer service number and waited and waited for over an hour to actually speak to a human being. I explained my issue and they told me they would look into it and call me back. After multiple calls they told me it was not Toshiba's policy to give refunds, but they would replace the unit for me. I received a letter dated on January 4th 2001 explaining the terms of my replacement. I reluctantly signed (as now I really don't want a Toshiba TV at all) and faxed it back to them. A few days later I received a call stating the TV they were going to use, as a replacement was not in stock so I had a choice:

Take a new one (not exactly comperable to the one I bought) :

or wait an additional 2-4 weeks for the one promised.

Reluctantly, I agreed to wait.

Come April 2nd when I realized I still had a broken 32-inch television sitting in my house and I had not heard anything from Toshiba! I called back to their 1-800 customer service number...spoke with a woman and she proceeded to tell me that they were not manufacturing the TV they were going to use as my replacement. Don't you think they could have called me to tell me this?

At this point, I'll me totally honest, I LOST IT!!!!!! I told her that I was fed up and I was not demanding a refund! She told me she would check on this and called me back. Amazingly she called the next day and left me a message stating:

"We have agreed to your request for a refund. In order for this to incur, we will be sending you a shipping label so you can have the TV shipped back to us at no cost to you. If you do not have a box big enough for the TV, please let us know and we will ship you one"! Ok, I weigh about 125 lbs.; I cannot pick up a 32-inch TV. If I could have, I would have thrown it out the window!

What the heck????????

I once again called back the 1-800 customer service number. Again having to speak with yet another rep to explain the whole situation again. UGHH! The rep assured me that this was not the case and a rep would be calling me to arrange a pick up of the TV.

This call did happen from the delivery unit within Toshiba. Then a moving company to set up the date contacted me. Funny, they can only pick-up Monday through Friday...don't they realize people have to work for a living. I now am expected to take a day off work to sit home and wait for them.

I called back to Toshiba (4/6/01) and asked to speak with the supervisor in the customer service area. I was basically told I was not allowed to speak to this person and that the rep on the line (another new one) would assist me. I explained to him that this was not satisfactory to me. I asked him to provide a message to the supervisor to call me by close of business Monday April 9th. An hour later I received a call back from the rep stating that the supervisor would NOT be calling me back and any complaints I had would have to be in written format. Again UGHHHH

So I went a step further. After hours of research I managed to get the number for Toshiba's holding companies phone number..NOT easy. I called and asked to speak with someone regarding a serious complaint and finally got in contact with the executive assistant to the president. She apologized (first one I've gotten) and told me she was not going to be able to help me. But she did provide me with the executive assistant's number to the President of Toshiba's Consumer Products Division. I left Nancy a message on Friday 4/6 and asked her to call me first thing Monday morning! Guess what...no call!

So I called Nancy this morning and she basically told me she could NOT talk to me. She had a personal call on the other line..her mother and someone would get back to me. UGHHHHHHHH

So here's where I am now....

The moving company wants to pick up the television this week...and Toshiba has to receive it before I receive a refund...I don't trust them to do this.

I still cannot speak to a supervisor to explain my concerns

I have invested so much time and energy in this process, I fell I deserve more than just the straight refund. I even had to pay to have the TV moved while it was broken!

I have been without a working television since Jul/August of last year (2000). Since November I have't even had it in any form of working condition....and no loner TV to tied me over while I wait.

I could not go out and buy a new TV as I have been waiting to receive a new one!!!

Can someone please help me? I do not know where to go from here and I am SO exhausted.