D ear Fixer: I purchased a 50-inch Samsung plasma television from Best Buy in February. Just shy of three months later, the television went out while we were watching it. It was as if a light bulb had burned out.
We only had sound and no picture. Looking closely at the television, we noticed at the top of the screen there was an area that was cracked. It had a starlike appearance and in the center of that was a very small bubble going outward, like plastic that has melted. There is no dent going inward.
We immediately called Best Buy. The technical representative told us this problem has happened often. He assured us that Samsung would replace the television. He said a technician would just have to come out and verify that an object hadn’t been thrown at the television.
The gentleman who came to our house took pictures and wrote down the description of the crack and told us we would hear from Samsung in three days.
A week later, we had heard nothing.
I called to inquire, and they said they had lost the paperwork, so it was then resubmitted.
Weeks were passing by with no answers; we did call them several times and were transferred from one person to the next. Finally, after a month, they called and said we threw something at the television and they were not going to replace it.
How could they determine that from a picture?
There was nothing thrown at this television; we do not have small children and there is no chipping or crack on the outside of the screen.
I am not going to sit here and do nothing about this. This is horrible what these companies do to consumers, and we have nowhere to turn!
Please help!
Gene Kleist, Valparaiso, Ind.
Dear Gene: Obviously, there are just two explanations for what happened here. Either you and your wife, Lori, were re-enacting a scene from the 1981 Sci-Fi flick “Scanners,” when one of you used psychic powers to blow up the television — or Samsung made a defective set.
We agreed that it sounded fishy for Samsung to notify you out of the blue that they had decided that someone threw something at your television.
The Fixer took this to Best Buy to see if they could lean on the manufacturer to do the right thing. Elizabeth Lamae, a senior executive resolution specialist, immediately swung into action. She found the technician’s notes from that initial visit to your home, which confirmed that the damage was caused by a problem inside the TV.
She told us that Best Buy had been intervening with Samsung and would continue to press them on this.
However, she didn’t want you to have to wait for the outcome, so she authorized a replacement television right away and arranged for the folks at the Valparaiso store to assist you.
And now . . . we’ll consider this fixed!
A taxing scam
Dear Fixer: I received an e-mail today that has to be an identity- theft scam. It was from someone purporting to be from the IRS.
In the e-mail, they claimed to be unable to file my taxes due to missing info and asked for my name, address, Social Security number and bank account information. I immediately deleted it.
I tried to contact the IRS and report this scam, but all I got was recordings.
Barbara Brown, Chicago
You were smart to delete it.
The real IRS doesn’t send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for detailed personal information, and they don’t ask people for their PIN numbers, passwords or other information for their credit cards, bank accounts or other financial accounts.
If you get any more of these e-mails and would like to report them, you can forward them to phishing@irs.gov, then hit “delete.”
Getting the runaround on a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at suntimes.com/fixer , where you’ll fin d a simple form to fill out. You’ll also find a list of consumer contacts and tips. Because of the large volume of submissions, The Fixer can’t personally reply to every problem. Letters are edited for length and clarity.