Abe's of Maine Reviews

On 26 Dec 11, I went on the website of Abe’s of Maine and ordered a Samsung UN55D7000 for $1,749. Completely surprised at the much lower cost before ordering, my brother (a district manager for Aaron’s Electronics) suggested I call and ask them if the TV was refurbished or used. I did and the customer service representative said it was brand new. He then told me to ask about the return policy. The representative said 30 days. So I’m thinking even if they lied and it is refurbished, I can return it.

The TV was to take 7 days to arrive. When it didn’t, I became concerned about the 30 day return policy. I called and asked if the 30 days began on the date of order or the date the TV is delivered. The representative from Abe’s of Maine said upon receipt. I received the TV on 13 January 12. I opened the box, inspected the TV. It looked perfect just like a brand new TV. Knowing the Superbowl was approaching on 21st of January 2012. I plugged the TV into the wall and into the cable box. There were lines on the screen but only when it was turned on. I didn’t understand. In addition, there was a document in the box with paper work that states, “Stop. Do not return to store, call Samsung.”

Between the 21st and the 28th of Jan, I called Samsung for assistance. They said they would send out a rep. A rep arrived said the damage occurred during packaging. He then asked for the number to the merchant. After he spoke with Abe’s of Maine, he said they said I was told I had 7 days to contact the shipper if there were issues. In addition, the representative from Abe’s of Maine stated that this was a problem Samsung should fix. A rep was sent. He sent in his report to Samsung and Samsung said it was a shipper issue. I am thoroughly confused so I go online to review Abe’s of Main purchase policy.

It was supposed to be a demo model, not a return. There is no reason that a demo model should not work. Quite obviously it should have been sent to me working. I called Abe's and they basically said there was nothing he could do except I could return it to Abe's after waiting all this time. He gave me Bosch's contact if I wanted to get it fixed and told me that he would send a $100 restaurant gift certificate, which I never received.

Bosch put me to a few choices on servicers, and my husband took off a day of work to meet with one. They stated the problem is with the circuit board, which they would have to order. After waiting over 30 days (part was on backorder with Bosch) my husband took another day off of work to meet with the servicer again on 12/9. They brought with them the replacement circuit board and now it is yet another part that is broken, which will have to be ordered and lose yet another day from work.

So, after waiting almost 2 months (and 3 lost days of work) since order, I have yet to have a working microwave. I do believe Abe's sold an item that they knew was not working, and/or should have checked it before sending it out to the customer. I believe it was a returned product that Abe's tried to pass off. What demo doesn't work? What demo would not have included the installation hardware or manual? Of course Abe's has taken my money at the onset. I am disgusted at how Abe’s operated in this manner--uncaring and unethical.

I tried over a dozen times to call 1-800-992-2237 within their stated business hours to get the shipping charges removed, as the playoffs were almost over and we hadn't received the TV. Each time, I heard a recorded message, fifteen minutes of music, and then was disconnected. Finally on May 24th, the shipping company called and said they would deliver the TV on May 25th. To me, this is standard 7-10 day shipping, which is free at Abe's of Maine.

On the morning of May 25th, I called Abe's of Maine again, only this time using a borrowed cell phone. All my previous calls had been from my home phone, the same phone used for the original order. On the borrowed cell phone, I immediately got a real person. When I explained what I wanted, he said you need to talk to customer support, then a recorded message, fifteen minutes of music, call disconnected.

By now I realize Abe's of Maine automatically blocked my home phone so that I would always hear messages & music but never be able to talk to a real person. At one point, the day after my order, the messages said Abe's of Maine would be closed for three days - enough time to prevent me from changing or cancelling my order before shipping. On the morning of May 25th, I googled "Abe's of Maine Scams". There were many, many hits. Likewise, for "Abe's of Maine complaints".

Furious, I called my credit card company, Discover Card. When I was routed to the billing services department, a nice lady listened to my tale of woe. She mentioned Discover was aware of many complaints listed for Abe's of Maine. She offered to call Abe's of Maine and conference me in. "Great," I said. After quite a few minutes, "Dave" said he could rebate the shipping and, per my request, cancel maintenance contract fees. He then quoted a price for the TV that was $30 more than the $1618.18 I had paid. I objected because I had the TV in my shopping cart on the Abe's of Maine website as of May 13th for $1618.18. "Dave" relented. At this point, the nice lady from Discover Card had to go.

As soon as she did, "Dave" passed me on to "Jason". Jason tried to explain why 4-6 day shipping would really occur May 13th-25th. I lost it and started yelling. Dave told Jason to rebate shipping and maintenance contract fees. Jason took awhile, no doubt calling the shipper to verify where the TV was, while I listened to more recordings and music. Finally, Jason came back and promised to make a rebate of $281.82 to my credit card within three days. I'm not sure where that amount came from but, I thought it best to accept what was on the table. I told Jason I would be calling Discover Card to give them the amount of the promised rebate. I did call Discover Card.

Another nice lady in the billing services department told me Discover Card would institute fraud processing if the promised $281.82 credit did not occur within fifteen days. I mailed the $100 restaurant website card back to Abe's of Maine. The TV was delivered an hour later by a little man from India, driving a very dirty, fifteen year old station wagon with no back window. Abe's of Maine used to be a good company. There should be some way to prevent what they're doing now.