Have I been ‘scammed’ by TV repair company? (From Worcester News)

Have I been ‘scammed’ by TV repair company?

12:40pm Monday 8th February 2010

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By James Savage »

A WORCESTER man fears he has lost his £600 TV after handing it over to a repair company.

Don Symonds fears he has been “scammed” as he has not seen the TV since, but the repair firm is adamant it is fixed and will be returned to him.

Mr Symonds bought a 42in plasma TV 18 months ago.

In December last year he started having trouble with the picture but the set was out of the manufacturer’s guarantee.

He looked in Yellow Pages and saw an advert for a TV repair company called Touchwood of Kidderminster which claimed to be “LCD and plasma specialists”.

The advert also boasted “special rates for senior citizens”. Mr Symonds, aged 73, of Main Road, Hallow, said: “There were phone numbers for Worcester, Kidderminster and Evesham.

“I phoned the Worcester number and thought I was dealing with the Worcester office. They came and took my set away then gave me a quote of £245 for the repair which, after checking with other companies, turned out to be a reasonable price so I agreed to go ahead.

“A few weeks passed and I didn’t hear anything back. I tried to phone but the numbers from the Yellow Pages were no longer in existence.Trading standards told me the company now had a Birmingham phone number.

“I called the Birmingham number and just got fobbed off with excuses a few times and got nowhere.

“Trading standards told me to send a letter to the company, which I sent by recorded delivery and there is no record of it being signed for.

“I managed to speak to someone on the Birmingham number again and they said they had fixed the set and would deliver it back to me.

“This was three weeks ago and I still haven’t heard anything from them.

“I think I have been scammed and don’t want anybody else to get caught out by the same company.”

When the company was contacted by your Worcester News we were told the TV had been fixed and would be delivered back to the customer.

Mr Symonds has now decided to cut his losses and has purchased a new flat- screen TV with a five-year warranty.

A spokesman from Yellow Pages said: “We take these issues very seriously and we are sorry this consumer has been inconvenienced by this advert.

“We are not legally empowered to investigate these incidents and would urge people to contact trading standards with any concerns.”

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said trading standards were aware of the matter and had advised Mr Symonds to contact Consumer Direct.

If anyone has a similar concern, they can contact Consumer Direct on 0845 4040506.

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