Beware of Comp USA

[Beth Sweet]

I just wanted to put out a warning (mods, feel free to delete this if you think it doesn't belong here).

After purchasing a rather expensive laptop at Comp USA, I was encouraged to join their "Network" program. The participation fee for this program was $30. This was supposed to be the "one and only fee." Within 2-3 months, I have received a letter stating that the program is cancelled and that my original fee will be refunded, in the terms of a Comp USA gift certificate. When I called customer service to ask for it in terms of cash (there is nothing in that store for less than $30), the operator basically told me "that's how it is" and hung up.

So the moral of the story, be careful of transactions with this store, their policies may not be beneficial to your intentions.

[Michelle Celio]

I've never really heard of a store giving cash for a return of any kind, nor have I ever gotten anything other than a gift card. When it comes to compUSA I could name a few things that are under thirty dollars:

• Category 5 UTP Crossover Cable - Great for sharing documents with another PC with out major networking gear. A quick search on CompUSA = 2.99 - 14.99 depending on the length of the cable.
• CD-R- 100 pack = 27.99
• SanDisk Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive 512mb = 14.98

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you've got to look past the big "expensive" items that they're trying to promote and look for the little things that you may need one day. I personally, out of that list have 2 Flash drives and countless CD-R's as for the crossover cable, I can make my own.

[Morgan Gillespie]

And here is something that should not be $30, yet I needed. Huzzah ebay ($.99!)

Belkin Pro Series DVI to VGA Adapter, DVI-I Male to HD15 pin Female
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=SEARCH&Ntt=Dvi+to+vga&N=0&Dx= mode+matchall&Nty=1&D=Dvi+to+vga&Ntk=All&product_c ode=294667&Pn=Pro_Series_DVI_to_VGA_Adapter
Very useful if you have a graphics card that has a VGA port and a DVI port and want to use two monitors. My recommendations, after going to several stores the cheapest I found it was $20 in store. Thus I recommend going with ebay, yet I mean if I had to pick a $30 item... a while ago for me that would have been it.

Most graphic cards that have a DVI and VGA port include that adapter... yet all do not... How do I know if my card is like this.

[Beth Sweet]

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. They made me pay $30 to join their "rewards" program then canceled it 2 months later and offered me nothing but a gift card in return. I thought that I would warn people who would be making technical purchases of this store's policy and lack of response to unsatisfied customers.

[Morgan Gillespie]

We understood that yet we were all remarking on the fact you complained nothing in CompUSA is under $30 when in fact there is a large amount of useful products under $30. Also Michelle stated that giving only *store credit* or a gift card, very very few give cash returns in situations like that. I have had this happen to me many of times, very standard. Think about it from their prospective, why would they want to give you money back when you would obviously spend it at another store being dissatisfied with their products. By giving you store credit they force you to either accept your loss or buy something else.
Not a major loss, yet what was this whole Network Program thing?

[Adam Richards]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. They made me pay $30 to join their "rewards" program then canceled it 2 months later and offered me nothing but a gift card in return. I thought that I would warn people who would be making technical purchases of this store's policy and lack of response to unsatisfied customers.

Actually, they didn't MAKE you pay for anything. If they did, you should've walked out of the store instantly. Encouraged purchasing is a lot different than forced purchasing.

This is actually a pretty standard purchase for refunds/cancellations/etc. You decided to purchase it, and since it wasn't a physical item within 2 weeks or a month, you get the next best thing for cash.

These gift cards don't have to only be used as a form of purchase, as they can use multiple forms of payment for one purchase ($100 in cash, $1500 on a credit card, then redeeming a $300 gift card, etc.).

I work for Circuit City, and while we don't charge for a rewards program (we prefer our Rewards credit card instead ), we can sometimes give gift cards in return for certain items we can't return or certain unrepairable warrantied items (non-iPod mp3 players). This is pretty standard procedure for any electronics store.

[Michelle Celio]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. They made me pay $30 to join their "rewards" program then canceled it 2 months later and offered me nothing but a gift card in return.

I'm pretty sure that they didn't make you. They just probably talked you into getting the service. But since they canceled it 2 months later, I guess they couldn't talk many people into it.

The swindling that computer stores tend to do annoys me that's why I always buy my computers online. (I've ordered 5 online in the past 2 years). And normally, I can out talk the people at computer stores and they give up.

Could you tell us what the program entailed?

Cash with stores normally isn't a good thing when you look at it from their perspective. If they gave you cash, they would be giving you the opportunity to take the money someplace else and now they're out 30 dollars. When they give you a gift card, they're making sure that 30 dollars stays in their company.

[Bill_Hancoc]

Not trying to be a donkey here but i have found many great things at compusa for 10$ on there weekly sales...Bluetooth headset, 80gb Harddrive, and those are only things that i have gotten so im sure there are many good things there that you might have use for there....

I understand you reason for posting and thank you for the warning

[Beth Sweet]

Pretty much the point of this thread was not for people with nothing better to do than to dissect my posts word by word, but rather to warn people that Comp USA's customer service policies are sketchy. I hope that those of you who read this will take it as such.

[Cody Carey]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. They made me pay $30 to join their "rewards" program then canceled it 2 months later and offered me nothing but a gift card in return. I thought that I would warn people who would be making technical purchases of this store's policy and lack of response to unsatisfied customers.

Why is everybody jumping on Beth's back? She is saying that they had dis-satisfactory costumer service, and that they did not deliver the product that they said they would. Both are true.

How would you feel if an ISP said that you would get unlimited Internet for a simple $30 fee and then canceled it; then told you that you could only spend the refund money in their store? By doing this, they have simply made themselves $30.

As for "just remarking on the nothing under $30 dollar statement"... Why?
There are obviously things under $30 in the store... but if she doesn't need them, then why should she be forced buy them?
Her saying that was kind of like anybody else saying that there is nothing to watch on T.V.
This is her opinion, and she is entitled to it.

"Encouraged purchasing" is just a fancy way of saying that the store Made her think it was a necessary purchase. Take it from a guy with telemarketing background... You can MAKE anyone do anything you want them too, if you say the right things.

Also, many stores give cash refunds. look at walmart, or K-mart, or Target, or any number of other larger chains... The only thing they won't give a refund for is a CD or DVD... and that is only to prevent piracy.

Just saying that there is no reason to get uppety,

-Cody

[Steve W]

Beth, I am with you on this one. If you returned something then I can accept the store credit thing. In this case however the company withdrew services and I would be on their case to refund my money. I would try the failure to provide line, keep calling higher and higher in the company and there is always small claims court.

[Bharat Nain]

Personally, I'd go to Best Buy or Circuit City to purchase higher priced items because my personal friends and I have never had a good experience with their customer or tech support. Most of the stores don't have experienced reps either. But that is my conclusion from visiting two different stores at a regular basis and your experience might differ.

[Ted Boucher]

A tad off topic, but dealing with these stores.

Originally Posted by Mercury Rising

Belkin Pro Series DVI to VGA Adapter, DVI-I Male to HD15 pin Female

I ALMOST bought that one, it is funny how the manufacturer website shows it for only $18. Both staples and compusa have bumped up the price to extreme amounts. I ended up going to a local gaming center/computer store and got a perfectly fine one for $8. Lesson Learned: Look around at local places before resorting to a big name store.

[Jeff Rodriguez]

What service were you supposed to be getting with this "Network program"? What were the terms of service for this program?

I would try and argue that what ever the $30 was for is now defective and try to return it. Also, argue with people in the store, not over the phone. It's much harder to walk away from a person than to hang up on them. If you're polite enough and have a valid argument you might get your money back from the store.
Having your grandmother argue for you also helps. Managers are suckers for old ladies.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Ogre

Having your grandmother argue for you also helps. Managers are suckers for old ladies.

I went into an electronic store to purchase a flat screen tv. It was a nice size, a nice purchase - I was at the counter for well over an hour, no one could seem to work out all the paperwork for me. By the time the purchase was concluded -
I was much older than when I went in. Much much older. And I had to go back a second time with that long a wait again. I don't watch that tv (it is in our office) and I won't go back to the store. I don't like aging there.