Beware of Hoomegoodz.com scam alert

[jrp1977]

Homegoodz .com lures consumers with low prices
Then they sell refurbished or damged goods from the distributers at full price.
Then when you try to get your money back or a replacement
They offer pennies on the dollar.

I bought a LED TV that was riduculasly low in price

I should have known something was up when they immedialty billed my CC card.

After I waited 2 weeks , the frieght company (dropped without permission) the large LED TV at my house.
I did not sign for the shipment.( if you check the internet, same shipping company seems to be involved)

I thought eveything was Ok ,they box had no visble trauma.

But then I opened the box!!! and the whole screen was cracked.
When I called Homegoodz and sent pictures immediatly the became hostile and said I should have inspected and refused the shipment( I was at work BTW)
I said all I wanted is a replacement. After the 3rd customer service guy the said since I accepted the shipment they could not refund or replace the $1700 TV.

CAN YOU BELIVE THAT?

2 monthes later

I am still trying resolve this

They offered me $500 case to forget it

If you look on the internet this seems to be a common thing for them

I have contacted the New Jersey Consumer affairs

Are there any other consumer groups or a way to get at these guys please dont hesitate to post.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE GUYS!!!!! Look how the Attorney General of New York dealt with them!!

[noprofit]

Sorry to hear of your sad story regarding doing business with that crooked company. Don't know if you pay for the item using anything but PayPal as I had the same problem you had before I started using PayPay and since then when a seller pulls a prank by not boning up to what they said they was selling you then I head to PayPal and lodge a complaint and so far I either received a full refund from the seller or PayPal has refunded the amount I got screwed out of! Sure has saved me several times so you might think about using PayPal.

Good Luck
noprofit

[jrp1977]

Seven online merchants operating more than 40 Web sites have agreed to pay a $765,000 settlement following an investigation by the New York State Attorney General's office, the AG's office said.

"These companies engaged in the worst kinds of consumer fraud, from classic bait-and-switch schemes to blatant lies and bullying sales tactics," New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a news release that went out Thursday. "Let this be a message to online merchants everywhere: such abuse of consumers and violation of the law will not be tolerated."

All of the companies were based in Brooklyn, and while their names invoke digital photography, many also sell gear ranging from projectors to HDTVs and computers.

Five of the companies--Best Price Camera, Foto Connection, 1 Way Photo, 86th Street Photo, and Broadway Photo--agreed to change their business practices, according to the release, while the other two--Camera Wiz and Sonic Photo--will close.

A full list (PDF) of the companies and Web sites involved in the settlement is available at HDGuru.com.

(See Below)

In the bait-and-switch routine employed by these merchants, the bait is prices that are significantly lower than those of other merchants. The switch occurs after the customer places the order, according to the AG's news release:

Once an order was placed, the companies would call consumers and try to sell them additional or "upgraded" merchandise at inflated prices. If the consumer refused to purchase the additional merchandise, the companies would cancel the sale or claim the item was backordered for months. If the consumer did agree to purchase the additional merchandise, the companies would send them lower-quality merchandise than what was promised, or merchandise that the consumer never ordered in the first place. When customers tried to return the items, they would either be denied or be slammed with undisclosed fees. All of the companies further limited customers' ability to return merchandise by requiring them to speak to a live customer representative during limited business hours, and then refusing to answer those telephone calls.

[HomecenterFool]

I too had a bad experience with Homegoodz.com. I only attempted to order from them once, and I would never order from them again. In my case, they never shipped my order, but they did at least credit my card when I complained. I can't say the same for Homecenter.com. That was the worst experience I've had in 10 years of online shopping.

I was so disgusted by HomeCenter.com - Home that I created my own web page (From: HomeCenterFool) to document my experience and warn others about this fraudulent drop ship business.

Both Homegoodz.com and Homecenter.com are rated F (lowest rating) by the New York Better Business Bureau.

If you've been victimized by Homegoodz.com or Homecenter.com, do something about it. You can help prevent others from falling victim to these scams, and hopefully get the New York Attorney General to take notice if you file your complaint.

FILE YOUR COMPLAINT

You can file a complaint at each of the following offices. All of these are easy to fill out online forms, with the exception of the New York Office of the Attorney General. The NYOAG form must be printed and mailed.

New York Better Business Bureau:
Check Out a Business or Charity - New York BBB
type Homecenter.com for the business name, then click File Complaint to file your complaint.

New York Department of Consumer Affairs:
DCA - On-Line Complaint Form.

FBI Internet Crimes Form:
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | File a Complaint

New York Office of the Attorney General:
http://www.ag.ny.gov/resource_center..._complaint.pdf

Last year (2009), the New York Attorney General’s office clamped down on seven New York internet businesses that utilized fraudulent business practices to steal money from consumers. Two were shut down and five were forced to pay fines and modify their business practices. Both the New York BBB and NYOAG have formed relationships with resellerratings.com with the purpose of identifying fraudulent businesses:
ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO SECURES AGREEMENTS WITH SEVEN ELECTRONICS COMPANIES IN NEW YORK FOR USING ILLEGAL ONLINE BUSINESS PRACTICES TO SCAM CONSUMERS NATIONWIDE.

While the Homecenter.com scam differs from the ones previously prosecuted, it is equally fraudulent. Although the individual losses may be small ($120 in my case), the collective loss to customers over the past 10 years must be in the millions. The only way to stop this fraud is to make the authorities aware, and the only way to do that is to file your complaint.

[edowdell]

do you have the serial number and model number of the borken tv.? If we all identify the defective products, They would be commiting fraud and can a complaint lodged with the DA's office. If convicted there are penalties imposed based on the $ amount.

[microwave]

An additional warning:
I just attempted to make a purchase of a Pioneer Blu-Ray player, a HDMI cable and additional two year warranty; I have tried to contact this company(?) and they have no apparant records showing that an order was actually placed with them.......But my credit card was charged an erronious amount. I was told while placing the order (telephone order) that I would be receiving an E-mail confirming my order and also tracking information.....None of which I received. And this was what aroused my suspicion. EVERY company I have made purchases from has sent me E-mails confirming my purchase. My concerns have been placed with my credit card company for disposition. Will keep everyone aware of my results BUT I would not advise anyone to purchase from this company.

P.S. If anyone insists on purchasing from this organization, or other of similar characteristics, at least insist on an E-mail confirmation outlining in detail the description, and cost(s) of the items that will be purchased as this will become documentation that can be provided to the credit card issuer if there is any problem.
Lastly, I would have not purchased from this company if I had done an internet search of complaints made against this company. I will do this in the future....you can be sure.