[PCWorld]

Post your comments for 12 Ways the Tech Industry Is Screwing You (and How to Fight Back) here

[VictorCannon]

But if a business won't cater to your needs, don't give it your money. This article clearly shows that we the consumer are being frigged. (you know what I mean.) Why is it that you get a phone and you have to pay for each and every little feature of the phone. we get nickled and dimed for every thing. you want text pay for it, want pictures with that pay me more. want gps pay me. turn by turn pay me even more. even though it has been proven that texting and gps cost no more that the average phone call its is still a pay thing. You should call your local cable company like COX and tell them you want to drop basic cable and get expanded basic cable. you can get that but now you will pay for them both. which means i now have to pay for something that I dont want to get something i do want. why in these marvelous technological times do I have to do that? Im tired of it all.

[glassmaster]

i just love it when the phone company (in this case, Qwest) over-charges you for something (their billing mistake, no less), then tells you it'll take 2 months to see the return on your bill even though it took them all of a week to bill you, THEN have the gall to charge you a late fee over the next 2 months on the balance you don't owe. Utterly amazing.

[Kahuna]

Stores need to charge HIGHER restocking fees to eliminate returns. When someone returns an item because they tried it and then decides they didn't like it, the store gets screwed because now that item is used and, under law cannot, be sold as new. So the store is now obliged to sell this used item for less, and possibly at a loss.

Except the store will pass its costs onto the customers who DON'T return merchandise.

I would like for someone to explain to me why I should subsidize someone who chooses to change his mind.

[glassmaster]

Kahuna-- That's part of being in business.

[JayDr]

"But if a business won't cater to your needs, don't give it your money."

Amen. HP's stooge, Young America, did not honor a $200 rebate in 2002. Guess how many HP products I've bought since then. Guess how many I expect to buy for the rest of my life.

[VHMP01]

If people listen to "But if a business won't cater to your needs, don't give it your money" and applied it, rotten fruit would be out of business, all crApple does is take advantage of people.

[mikenytola]

Kahuna, on 07 September 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

Stores need to charge HIGHER restocking fees to eliminate returns. When someone returns an item because they tried it and then decides they didn't like it, the store gets screwed because now that item is used and, under law cannot, be sold as new. So the store is now obliged to sell this used item for less, and possibly at a loss.

Except the store will pass its costs onto the customers who DON'T return merchandise.

I would like for someone to explain to me why I should subsidize someone who chooses to change his mind.

Numerous times I had to return something for no fault of mine such as a defective part. I have never returned something because I didn't like it, but have been hit with this charge. I'm supposed to pay for a bad piece of equipment? I'm slapped with a restocking fee, which let's be honest, is a total BS charge. Sometimes it's up to us for the shipping charges as well to return an item.

There needs to be better defined rules and regulations when it comes to restocking fees. Unopened boxed items should NEVER have a restocking fee. In that instance, having to pay your own shipping fee back makes sense. Sometimes that would be over $100 just to put a box back up on a shelf in a warehouse. Then a company can turn around and sell that same item with extra profit now.

Anybody that deals with building computers knows that sometimes you get a part and it doesn't work with other components in the system. Sometimes there is no way to research that, so you want to return that part in exchange for another one. Why should I have to pay a restocking fee when neither the manufacturer or store knows if a part is compatible and don't make that information available? Because they don't want to spend the money doing research to find these things out, they pass the buck to the consumer for doing their work for them.

Restocking fee's are mostly BS, and companies are allowed to get away with it.

[mike6875]

DRM,s
DVD Decripter
DVD Shrink
Nero Free
All free downloads.
Google'em

[dgust]

glassmaster, on 07 September 2010 - 01:35 PM, said:

i just love it when the phone company (in this case, Qwest) over-charges you for something (their billing mistake, no less), then tells you it'll take 2 months to see the return on your bill even though it took them all of a week to bill you, THEN have the gall to charge you a late fee over the next 2 months on the balance you don't owe. Utterly amazing.

You should send copies of the bills to the state attorney's general office as this is an illegal charge.

[JohnEB]

Some REAL annoyances:
1. No recovery disk
2. No OS distribution disk (can't even buy it)
2. No driver disks

[asiafish]

VHMP01, on 10 September 2010 - 05:42 AM, said:

If people listen to "But if a business won't cater to your needs, don't give it your money" and applied it, rotten fruit would be out of business, all crApple does is take advantage of people.

The same Apple Inc. that has the highest customer satisfaction in the industry? Is that the Apple Inc. that doesn't cater to its customers' needs?

[aspicer]

@mike6857 I don't think DVD Decrypter is maintained any more. They do, however, still make ImageBurn which is nice.

You forgot: AnyDVD from those guys at Slyfox in Antigua. It's not free - but it's soooo good that I've bought 3 of them. No longer free upgrades forever but I got in before that :-)

[aspicer]

Overage (Roaming Fees) outside of the US for travelers (boaters) on Cellular. There are articles for them on how they can ROB people for roaming outside of the U.S. Non-unlimited 3G capped at 5GB and a nice fat $1000 to $1500 bill if you use it like a *real* Internet connection. (Like it's a fake one right?)

Texting charges mostly because I get spammed text messages. And I have the tons of roll-over minutes like someone else said. Fees for fees. There's fee for that fee sir... $60.00 a month somehow is always $100 a month.

Pretty soon you'll be able to overdraft your bank account from your cell phone. Yah just swipe it. There's a $35 fee for the $2 purchase over your available funds. Of course you were opted in to overdraft protection (with rediculous fees) without your know it. And it takes a few hoops to opt out of it. You'll be a $100 down by they time you get it done.

But the economy is doing great with the cell companies and the banks, who were the ones that fudged it up in the first place.

[mickey123]

Kahuna, on 07 September 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

Stores need to charge HIGHER restocking fees to eliminate returns. When someone returns an item because they tried it and then decides they didn't like it, the store gets screwed because now that item is used and, under law cannot, be sold as new. So the store is now obliged to sell this used item for less, and possibly at a loss.

Except the store will pass its costs onto the customers who DON'T return merchandise.

I would like for someone to explain to me why I should subsidize someone who chooses to change his mind.

Maybe the customer did not understood what the product is intended for and got lost in the process.

[mjd420nova]

Being a wise shopper means you have done your home work, looked at the same item in multiple stores before you form over your hard earned cash. I know lots of people who only shop with a vredit card and if they don't like the product, return it to the store, call the credit card company and stop the charge. When it comes to computer parts, I only buy from vendors that know me, know I run a business and are happy to have my business. Their return policy is very liberal, I don't even have to give an excuse for returning the item. All they want to know is if it was broken or defective. If you don't like a stores policy regarding returns, don't shop there. A good example is Target. They will take returns if you have a reciept and have no re-stocking fee. If you have no reciept, you will be allowed to return it as they can track the purchase through how you bought it, credit, ATM, check, ETC. If they have no record and you say you paid cash, they limit you to a certain number of items of a certain time period. This stops crooks from walking in the store, picking something off the rack and taking it to the returns counter. Besides, you have to contend with all the video cameras that are watchign you every step of the way, as soon as you park your car. Returned items are often retagged and then sent back to the manufacturer or their distribution center and then back to the country of origin mfgr. Clothing items are never, ever put back on the shelf. Now that's just one retailer, others may do things differently and there are plenty of horror stories that abound.

[Kazmatron]

mikenytola, on 10 September 2010 - 07:44 AM, said:

Kahuna, on 07 September 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

Stores need to charge HIGHER restocking fees to eliminate returns. When someone returns an item because they tried it and then decides they didn't like it, the store gets screwed because now that item is used and, under law cannot, be sold as new. So the store is now obliged to sell this used item for less, and possibly at a loss.

Except the store will pass its costs onto the customers who DON'T return merchandise.

I would like for someone to explain to me why I should subsidize someone who chooses to change his mind.

Numerous times I had to return something for no fault of mine such as a defective part. I have never returned something because I didn't like it, but have been hit with this charge. I'm supposed to pay for a bad piece of equipment? I'm slapped with a restocking fee, which let's be honest, is a total BS charge. Sometimes it's up to us for the shipping charges as well to return an item.

There needs to be better defined rules and regulations when it comes to restocking fees. Unopened boxed items should NEVER have a restocking fee. In that instance, having to pay your own shipping fee back makes sense. Sometimes that would be over $100 just to put a box back up on a shelf in a warehouse. Then a company can turn around and sell that same item with extra profit now.

Anybody that deals with building computers knows that sometimes you get a part and it doesn't work with other components in the system. Sometimes there is no way to research that, so you want to return that part in exchange for another one. Why should I have to pay a restocking fee when neither the manufacturer or store knows if a part is compatible and don't make that information available? Because they don't want to spend the money doing research to find these things out, they pass the buck to the consumer for doing their work for them.

Restocking fee's are mostly BS, and companies are allowed to get away with it.

The underlined word there is VERY important. If you had exchanged the product instead, there would be no restocking fee. A lot of products incur extra fees to the seller when returned, that's the reason behind most restocking fees.

The rules are usually pretty clear. Check out Newegg's return policy.

Quote

Most products can be returned for either a Refund or for a Replacement of the same item. Refunds are subject to a 15% restocking fee, which is deducted from the refund amount.

Sounds pretty clear to me. If you don't want a restocking fee, exchange it for one that works.

All the information you need is available, you just have to know where to find it. If you can't find the information, don't buy it. If you need an LGA 1366, don't buy anything that doesn't say LGA 1366. Simple. Blaming the seller is just as lazy as them not having all the information. If you buy a product without having all the information you need, it's no one's fault but your own. Do your homework.

[mindnova]

Kahuna, on 07 September 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

Stores need to charge HIGHER restocking fees to eliminate returns. When someone returns an item because they tried it and then decides they didn't like it, the store gets screwed because now that item is used and, under law cannot, be sold as new. So the store is now obliged to sell this used item for less, and possibly at a loss.

Except the store will pass its costs onto the customers who DON'T return merchandise.

I would like for someone to explain to me why I should subsidize someone who chooses to change his mind.

You shouldn't have to I agree 100%. So when the store, company or other seller starts representing their product honestly, without bullshit or a snow job then there will be less returns. At the present point in the consumer vs seller battle, sellers are no longer trying to give value for a reasonable price. Now days the least information or misinformation is the norm.

Example, the other day I purchased an item in a box 18" by 18" by 12". It was for 9 bucks and the actual item was tucked in the corner behind a mass of plastic and glossy pictures. I knew what I what i was buying but to most it would have been a reason to return it because it gave the impression of size 3 times it's real size. In fine print and I mean very fine print that also was almost the same color as the background.

Your subsidizing the business BS is more to the point.

[rohnski]

Price match:
Over the last couple years Best Buy built stores literally next door to Future shops. But when I went in for a price match they told me that they were owned by the same parent company so they would not honor the a BB/FS match.

I got revenge. Got many packs of DVDs that they priced at $52 for $20, less the extra 10% because Zellers had a sale.

[Daedalu]

This issue with stores is just getting worse!
BestBuy is one of the worst as I have found.
I had there sales people tell me a Laptop had the parts and ram that I wanted , the model that I wanted as there where four types.
When I got home and opened it the next day the computer was the model ,but was the cut down version.
I thought no problem I will take it back.
They tried to make me pay a restock fee and told us that we where lier's that they would never say something about a computer that was not true.
While I was in the store I saw not one not two but six other people come in to return an item that had had the same issue that I had,not the same computer , same issue.

This and other things are going on all over this country,and it is getting worse every day as these company's try to use any tactic that they can to bring in cash flow.
The employees are used and are afraid of losing there jobs if they do not make the sales pitch that they are told . Even when they know it is wrong.
At this store the manager stood there and told us that anything an employee said was not backed up by BestBuy and that we would have to take it up with them!
So what are the Employee's there for?
We are told to ,Just not buy from these Stores. Well that works in some areas but in areas where we live we do not have the choice to go to other stores as they are not here or they do the same practice .

An other thing that has started that makes me really angry is you have to buy insurance for the item you are getting . This cost up to one quarter of the price of the item. I have found that if you do not buy this policy you will have a very hard time getting it fixed, as the store will say , we cannot help you as you did not buy the Insurance Policy . Well are we having to pay extra money now to get what we where supposed to be getting, as the products that are coming in have a large failure rate and the stores know this,so they have found another way to get more money from us. As they play on your fears to have you buy there policy.
What hey are telling us is that the product is most likely not going to be right so if you hope to get help then you have to buy this policy.
This has to stop , and where are the Government offices that are set up to protect consumers from this type of practice .

After going to the BBB in our area we where told that they had a list that is really long on these stores and that the stores know that if they just refuse to do what is right then you have to take them to small claims court, and this cost money, money that most people do not have, and when you do the stores will set the date back for the case over and over.
This computer that I bought failed in three days, it took me ten weeks before I got it fixed. This should never happen to anyone .

And I am very glad to see this Mag do this story about this and what is going on and what is happening to consumers .
You are the first to have what it takes to do this story that all mags should have done.
This hurts your business as well as hurting us as we read what you say about products and buy them on what you have said and how they work. Thank you!