Problems with HiFiSoundConnection - What to do?

[Pacman88]

Im an internet and board lover and Im surprised to have found this site. I'am hoping to get some advice about this problem.

I made a purchase from HiFisoundconnection.com (almost $1,000 in Audio amps) Both amps were defective. I was told to return for credit or exchange. Rep #1 wanted me to pay out of pocket for return shipping, the rep #2 sent me a UPS label for refund. Now Rep #1 says that her word goes over Rep #2, he should'nt have sent me that UPS return label and no refund for me!

They got all the items and now they refuse to give refund. They are making an exchange and returning the other items back, threatening to charge me for all kinds of shipping and 20%.

You would not believe the rude customer service and nasty emails! All I did was make a purchase, I gave them my money and the items they sent were DEFECTIVE! How is that my fault?! Why should I even pay for shipping and now have to fight for my refund?

I Should've done plenty of internet search before purchasing!

What would you do?

[Cee9]

Looks like they're a horrible company: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller7186.html

Did they already ship the replacements? Don't agree to any extra shipping charges/restocking fees/etc. Was it purchased with a credit card? If you paid by credit card, they can't make any charges without your authorization. You're right, it's not your fault the products were defective and they should bare the cost of making it right for you--give them an opportunity to make it right, just at their own expense.

[Pacman88]

Thank you, Cee. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

I did purchase with a credit card.

Would love to hear more from other members.
Thank you so much in advance!

[pjhold78]

I've had to deal with this joke of a company too. You can see my complaint on resellerratings website. If its not too late for you, send back the items via UPS and keep a record showing when they receive it. Then call your credit card company and stop payment. Be sure to refuse shipment for future packages from them because they will continue to try and send more crap rather then sending you your money back. Be detailed in your record keeping (keep emails as well) for your credit card company. Finally, spread the word so others don't get screwed like us. Hope this helps

[hifisound]

Hello,
I am sorry you have had problems with my company but all of these issues have been resolved and could have been solved with a simple phone call or email. We have over 100,000 past customers and over 99% of them have been very happy with our service. While we wish every sale would go perfectly sometimes things do go wrong. Please contact me directly on this forum or via email if you are still not 100% happy with your purchase and I will make sure you are taken care of and hopefully you will come back and give us another chance to earn your business.

Chris Rush
CEO HiFiSoundconnection.com

[frostbitetwice]

Originally Posted by Pacman88

Im an internet and board lover and Im surprised to have found this site. I'am hoping to get some advice about this problem.

I made a purchase from HiFisoundconnection.com (almost $1,000 in Audio amps) Both amps were defective. I was told to return for credit or exchange. Rep #1 wanted me to pay out of pocket for return shipping, the rep #2 sent me a UPS label for refund. Now Rep #1 says that her word goes over Rep #2, he should'nt have sent me that UPS return label and no refund for me!

They got all the items and now they refuse to give refund. They are making an exchange and returning the other items back, threatening to charge me for all kinds of shipping and 20%.

You would not believe the rude customer service and nasty emails! All I did was make a purchase, I gave them my money and the items they sent were DEFECTIVE! How is that my fault?! Why should I even pay for shipping and now have to fight for my refund?

I Should've done plenty of internet search before purchasing!

What would you do?

Why would anyone support this company with a return policy which is only self serving??


Return Policy

Within 14 days of receiving your product you may return any merchandise in its original condition and packaging. The item(s) can be sent in for refund, exchange or warranty support. We are not responsible for any shipping and/or handling charges to return an item to Hifisoundconnection The customer will also be responsible for any return shipping charges on any item that is exchanged for another model. Hifisoundconnection will pay the shipping to return ONLY on warranty items that are within the 90 day in-house warranty policy. Any item that is returned MUST first have preauthorization (RA) number before sending the package, we reserve the right to refuse delivery. If your package is missing, includes a wrong item or, if the package/ item is damaged in shipping you need to contact us within 24 hours after the package is received. You can email sales@hifisoundconnection.com to obtain authorization and/ or any questions regarding our policy."

Originally Posted by hifisound

Hello,
I am sorry you have had problems with my company but all of these issues have been resolved and could have been solved with a simple phone call or email. We have over 100,000 past customers and over 99% of them have been very happy with our service. While we wish every sale would go perfectly sometimes things do go wrong. Please contact me directly on this forum or via email if you are still not 100% happy with your purchase and I will make sure you are taken care of and hopefully you will come back and give us another chance to earn your business.

Chris Rush
CEO HiFiSoundconnection.com

Mr Rush, do you find it acceptable to have over 1,000 dissatisfied customers???

[hifisound]

Hello,

Thank you for your response. I find it totally unacceptable that we have any amount of unhappy customers. While I dispute your 1000 number, any number is too high for me. Again while we strive for 100% customer satisfaction and we come very close at 99% we are not perfect. Most fortune 500 companies are very happy if that can get close to 95% customer satisfaction. We offer consumer electronics at very strong wholesale prices. At the small profit margin we operate on we are limited in what we can offer as far as return policy and customer service. I hope you can understand that it is impossible to offer Tiffany service at Wal-Mart prices. It just does not work in the business world. However what we strive to do and is our company motto is to provide our customers with the best possible prices while still providing the best customer service possible.

We have never ripped any customer off or committed any kind of fraud. We have been in business for 6 years online and 10 years offline. If it was a common practice of ours to commit fraud or misrepresent ourselves we would be long gone, word of mouth would take care of that. Again I am very sorry you had a bad purchase with us and I would like to make this right for you. Please let me know what I can do.

Regards,
Chris Rush

[frostbitetwice]

Mr Rush, IMO, you are quite disingenuous. Firstly, if you are so concerned about your customers, you would directly resolve the problem with Pacman.

Rather we get a self serving testament (once again) of your WONDERFUL service to your customers. The ratings (..2.42..) speaks volume of what you are really about.

Frankly, I would order nothing from your firm even if you took the order yourself!!!!

[hifisound]

Frostbittwice,

Thank you again for your reply. Pacman's issue has been resolved long ago as his order date was almost a year and half ago now. If you have any outstanding issues with our company I would like to resolve those for you as well. I admit in the past our company was not perfect but I believe we have made great strides in correcting the issues we had with Pacman and any other unhappy customers.

Also as far as our rating on resellerratings we have never solicited for reviews in the past so the only reviews that were posted were negative reviews. If you notice at this link.....

http://www.resellerratings.com/topstores.pl

Under lowest rated stores you will see both Circuit City and Best Buy at 2.61 and 2.78. Obviously they both have much better customer service than this reflects. The only reason their scores are as low as they are is because they dont ask their satisfied customers to review them here or they just dont pay attention to this site.

We just added a post sale review from reseller ratings to our site and very soon our score will reflect our true customer service rating. In the past only unhappy customers have rated us and now all customers will rate us. Since we implemented this in the last 24 hours our rating has increased 400% and it will continue to climb and reflect our true customer service scores. Reseller ratings is a business just like any other and in the past we just did not pay for their services....

http://www.resellerratings.com/merchant-solutions

Again please let me know if there is anything I can do to fix any past issues you have with my company.

Regards,
Chris Rush
CEO HiFiSoundconnection.com

[nomaxim]

The BBB report isn't doing any good either.

Hi Fi Sound Connection
PO Box 495
Brookline Station, MO 65619-0495
Telephone: (877) 275-4434
Fax: (877) 275-4434
www.hifisoundconnection.com

Original Business Start Date: February 2001
Principal: Chris Rush, CEO
Employees: 7
TOB Classification: Sound Systems & Equipment
BBB Membership: This company is not a member.
......
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB due to a pattern of complaints and has failed to correct the underlying reason for the complaints.
.....
The BBB processed a total of 117 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period.Of the total of 117 complaints closed in 36 months, 76 were closed in the last year.

Of note from the above,

Sales Practice Issues
Unresolved
4 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through the BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.

Delivery Issues
Unresolved
9 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through the BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.
No Response
3 - Company failed to respond to the BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

Service Issues
No Response
1 - Company failed to respond to the BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

Customer Service Issues
Unresolved
3 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through the BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.

Product Issues
Unresolved
1 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through the BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.

Refund or Exchange Issues
Unresolved
11 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through the BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.

No Response
3 - Company failed to respond to the BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

Umm, lets see. Out of 117 complaints your company left 28 unresolved and has 7 that you didn't even bother to address. That's a total of 35 complaints.

Also this rating page from Shopping.com shows 234 reviews with a 4 out of 5 avg. score. However, 'On-Time Delivery' and 'Customer Service' are only getting a rating of 2 out of 5. So out of a possible score of 15 your company is only getting 8. Combined with the BBB stats and the reviews here at RR, I'd put your customer satisfaction at closer to 60-65%.

There are also a few reports from people not receiving their goods or when they did receive them it was beyond the 30 days allowed under the FTC Mail Order Rule. If these reports are true then you are looking at possible action by the FTC.

NOTE: Since I have no idea what the volume of business HiFisoundconnection.com actually has. These conclusions are based on the number of reviews.

Also see; BBB report;

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

EDIT:
I also cannot find a listing for this company with the Missouri Secretary of State: Buisness Entity Search.