Remote Control Highway Robbery

[easysurfer]

That is so weird they would send you something different.
If it was amazon or ebay you could complain and get a refund, and amazon would pick it up for free or tell you to garbage it.
Each has happened to us.

Did you try it, though ?

Maybe they are really just trying to be helpful and it will work.

I think their strategy is borderline bait and switch. Their website shows OEM remotes and they advertise and saying they carry hundreds of thousands of remotes. But their strategy of giving a generic different remote isn't a one time thing but a norm.

I did try out a couple of functions on the generic remote as they did work. But the remote is a non keeper as some of the buttons are cramped together I'd know I'd be frustrated using. If they were upfront and said they carry functional, not OEM remotes and for a better price (like $15) then might be a decent option. But the switch-a-roo is bad business.

They do, from what I read, offer a 30 day no questioned asked refund (buyer pays shipping both ways). I suspect for each person that gets a refund, 5 or 10 folks don't go through the hassle of returning and just end up getting something they really didn't want.

A link to a complaint by an unhappy customer of this place:

https://www.ripoffreport.com/report...ie-waters-customer-service-director-e-1045642

My wife accidentally dropped my Samsung BN59-00599A tv remote control. I sat with her, searched the internet, and eventually came across the Electronic Adventure (electronicadventure.us) remote television control website.

We matched our tv remote control by model number (Samsung BN59-00599A) and by picture (they included one on the website). The Samsung BN59-00599A was $29.95 and Electronic Adventure charged an additional $7.95 for shipping.

A few days passed and we received a cheap knockoff with what looked like a generic cover letter explaining that OUR tv remote was not available - I was upset!

 

[brucethebroker]

Haha!

I imagined this thread was about the "toll booth-less" toll roads using cameras to bill you. (Our state has very, very few toll roads, but when we visit Chicago, we always seem to get nailed for a couple of extra tolls.)

 

[brucethebroker]

I think their strategy is borderline bait and switch. Their website shows OEM remotes and they advertise and saying they carry hundreds of thousands of remotes. But their strategy of giving a generic different remote isn't a one time thing but a norm.

They do, from what I read, offer a 30 day no questioned asked refund (buyer pays shipping both ways). I suspect for each person that gets a refund, 5 or 10 folks don't go through the hassle of returning and just end up getting something they really didn't want.

https://www.ripoffreport.com/report...ie-waters-customer-service-director-e-1045642

ebay will refund the shipping both ways if your item is not as described. Don't know about Amazon.

 

[easysurfer]

ebay will refund the shipping both ways if your item is not as described. Don't know about Amazon.

Yeah. I should have done my homework and not ordered directly but from place like ebay, especially with Paypal protection.

I fell for the $19.95 price bait .

 

[easysurfer]

ebay will refund the shipping both ways if your item is not as described. Don't know about Amazon.

Yeah. I should have done my homework and not ordered directly but from place like ebay, especially with Paypal protection.

I fell for the $19.95 price bait and their website claiming they carried manufacturers' remotes.

 

[easysurfer]

Just for kicks, did some digging around the internet and see a replacement remote that would work as a substitute for the model I have. The remote is a bit funky and the buttons don't look too friendly as they are nothing but tiny buttons in the same shape . But looking closer, the lay out actually is pretty friendly.

I suppose if the dog ate up the old remote and a manufacturers model are no longer around, then a working funky remote is better than no remote at all. The custom-built part is actually kind of cool.

The RTNC003UH is a custom-built replacement remote to the original MAGNAVOX NC003UH. It will perform all the functions that the original MAGNAVOX remote did and only uses a different shell. If your original MAGNAVOX remote has died, been destroyed or lost, or has simply stopped working, this replacement MAGNAVOX remote can be the solution to your problems.

https://www.remotes.net/collections...ducts/replacement-remote-for-magnavox-nc003uh

 

[jollystomper]

ebay will refund the shipping both ways if your item is not as described. Don't know about Amazon.

Depending on the size/cost of the item, Amazon will either refund the shipping or just tell you to keep it and give you the refund as well. On two occasions we received items that were <$30 and were not as described. Amazon refunded our money and said don't bother sending it back.

 

[easysurfer]

Depending on the size/cost of the item, Amazon will either refund the shipping or just tell you to keep it and give you the refund as well. On two occasions we received items that were <$30 and were not as described. Amazon refunded our money and said don't bother sending it back.

Not long ago, when I was going to return a couple of high speed HDMI cables, Amazon said just keep them.

I had bought a device that needed new cables so bought them. But then had to return the device and bought a different one that already included cables.

 

[JoeWras]

Remotes wear out. Early on, with Uverse, my remote stopped working well. I called and they sent another.

A few years later, the other one stopped working. I called and they wanted to make me pay. I told them, "Fine, just cancel my service." Amazingly, they sent me a new one immediately, no cost.

It seems that remotes are turning into a new method for companies to acquire recurring revenue.

 

[easysurfer]

Remotes wear out. Early on, with Uverse, my remote stopped working well. I called and they sent another.

A few years later, the other one stopped working. I called and they wanted to make me pay. I told them, "Fine, just cancel my service." Amazingly, they sent me a new one immediately, no cost.

It seems that remotes are turning into a new method for companies to acquire recurring revenue.

Looks like you called their bluff .

 

[ERD50]

The remote for our Vizio TV is a crazy monster. Has all the buttons you'd expect, plus a full slide out QWERTY keyboard, with arrow keys and more special function buttons.

Yet, despite all these buttons, many simple tasks require you to go through a menu. Just turning Closed Captions ON/OFF (many simple remotes have a dedicated button for this), has you digging about 4 menu levels deep, and no feedback on what the current setting is, so when you turn it off you have to go select among the 20 different CC options just to get it back on again. Stoooooopid!

I suppose I should experiment with a cheap learning remote, or a phone app.

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

Yeah. I should have done my homework and not ordered directly but from place like ebay, especially with Paypal protection.

I fell for the $19.95 price bait .

So returning it with shipping at nearly $8.00 each way is almost useless.

Since they did a bait and switch, how about contesting the charge with your credit card company, since they didn't ship what you ordered.
Didn't deliver the goods purchased would be my thought.

If it works, you get your money back. Then you can offer to return the fake one at their expense.

 

[MichaelB]

If this is Amazon, I would file a complaint that the item shipped was not the item described, request a full refund including shipping, and offer to return the shipped item once the seller provides a pre-paid return label.

If it was a different seller, I'd file a complaint with the credit card company, asking for the same as above.

Both should agree with and support your request.

 

[easysurfer]

So returning it with shipping at nearly $8.00 each way is almost useless.

Since they did a bait and switch, how about contesting the charge with your credit card company, since they didn't ship what you ordered.
Didn't deliver the goods purchased would be my thought.

If it works, you get your money back. Then you can offer to return the fake one at their expense.

Returning was only about $3 postage.

Didn't order through Amazon or ebay/paypal. A lesson learned. Should have bought from them, but I got suckered and chased the $19.95 list price as other places were selling that remote for about $38 and one on Amazon as high as about $79.

Ended up with the help of Youtube, just fixed the remote myself (just need to dry the water I spilled in there). I did go ahead (before looking at Youtube...as the prospect of losing my remote put me in crisis mode) and buy a new remote from Ebay which should arrive tonight. I may just keep as backup.

In the future, plan A is try to repair. Though that funky custom one still looks pretty cool, IMO.