Gary of Chester, VA on Nov. 3, 2004
My wife's Sony Cybershot Camera Model DSC-F707 was purchased from Circuit City in March 2002 for less than $1000. It was mailed to Sony Repair Center via UPS to arrive on Monday, October 11, 2004 due to the built-in flash not working. I approved a flat-rate repair on my Providian VISA for $171 ($159 + $12 Shipping & Handling). I understood that the repair center would notify me in the event the repair cost exceeded the flat rate fee of $171.00. I made phone calls to Sony representatives, sent e-mails and faxes referencing the event number.
The flash stopped working a couple of months prior to me sending it to the repair center. During my discussion with both customer service repair representatives in preparation to have the camera returned for repair I explained that I had received an electric shock from the camera twice while trying to replace the flash unit with a new one. I have worked in the electronics field for more than 30 years and I know to remove all electrical connections and batteries prior to repair. The camera for some reason held a charge after removal of the battery for almost an hour and after the second shock I gave up trying to change the flash which I purchased from the Sony parts department. The new flash I received contained no warning and the parts department never challenged me about changing this flash or if I was an authorized Sony dealer. The shock was strong enough to make my muscles twitch.
I found myself in a dilemma and did not contact Sony until a week after I was shocked because I had purchased a four-year extended warranty through Circuit City. I spent the week prior arguing with Circuit City because I had purchased their Advantage Protection Plan. The camera was a gift for my wife for recovery after surgery. She loves the camera and seldom leaves home without it. She has been dealing without a flash since June-July 2004 until I tried repairing it. After unsuccessful attempts to get Circuit City Advantage Protection Plan to repair the camera I was forced to contact Sony and pay the $159 flat repair fee plus $12 shipping & handling and $34.59 to package, insure, and ship the camera to the repair center. Nowhere in the camera booklets or even in the e-mails from the Sony parts center was I given a warning regarding electrical shock. The parts department should have known about the dangers and should not have advised me that the unit was available to order without verifying I was an authorized repair dealer.
Now my Circuit City Advantage warranty is void and I am out the cost of the extended warranty with them and the cost to have the camera repaired. I feel this was due to poor marketing and lack of warnings on Sony's behalf. When I shipped the camera to Sony repair it was wrapped in a cloth bag and included was the old flash, as well as the brand new flash unit I had purchased from their parts department. I also included a letter explaining that the camera first started flashing all the time before the flash quit all together. On October 16, 2004 (Saturday) I received a phone call from the repair center. This gentleman I talked with evaded the issue when I asked for his name. He said to repair the camera it was going to cost $326.69, which would cover all parts and labor (total costs). I repeated this price and he repeated it to me since I was subtracting the amount from my checking account.
My wife and I had been shopping for a new camera in the event her camera was going to be too costly to repair. Her camera is a 5.0 megapixal with digital zoom and mpeg movie capabilities. We found cameras of equal or better mega pixal quality for between $279 and $500. In comparison, remember that her camera is two years old. I was faced with a decision and knowing how much my wife loves this camera I agreed to the repair cost of $326.69; however, I asked the gentlemen to charge this to my bank debit card in lieu of the Providian VISA and I asked that all defective parts be returned with the camera. I was assigned a workorder number to check the progress of the repair. In addition, he said this call may be recorded for quality and training purposes.
On October 29, 2004 (Friday) I received my direct deposit from work and when going to my Bank's website (Bank of America) I noticed my balance was too low. I checked the current transactions and found that on October 28, 2004 Sony charged my account $741.26 which was more than double the agreed upon amount. I called on Friday October 29, 2004 and explained this to a representative named Mike. I explained to him that I would never have agreed to a repair cost of $741.26. I explained that I could get a better new camera with higher mega pixels for even less than that cost to repair it. I would have never authorized that much. I asked who authorized this amount and he could not answer me. He promised to elevate this matter and promised that I would be contacted on Monday, November 1, 2004.
Today is Wednesday, November 3, 2004, and I have received no phone call, e-mail, or message from Sony. The unauthorized overcharge on my debit caused my account to be overdrawn and a $17 overdraft charge was subtracted from my account to transfer money from my linked savings account to my checking account. Fortunately my wife received a direct deposit to our account the next day which avoided additional overdrafts; however, I had to delay paying other bills targeted to be paid. My wife received her camera on Monday, November 1, 2004 and it works fine; however, it was packed only in bubble wrap and now has a scratch on the digital view lens which was not there when I shipped it. I received none of the defective parts I requested and based on the itemized billing it appears more parts were replaced than necesary as the itemized billing states the picture was intermittent and not just the inoperable flash. Before we sent the camera in it took a perfect picture outdoors without a flash. In addition they charged me again for a new flash unit.
I need some guidance on what to do and how a supposedly trusted company like Sony can charge my debit card more than twice the amount agreed upon. I feel I have been deceived, lied to, and misled.
