Action: Refund for partial, damaged order

I sent for three posters and frames from Clark Color Labs, enclosing my check for $29.96. I received the three posters, which were damaged. I never received the frames, only three strips of plastic. I have written five letters to the company but never received a reply. I have not been able to find a phone number, so I hope you can help me. I have been a customer of Clark Color Labs for 20 years, from New York to Florida. Dennis Del Monte

Response: After sending two letters, the second certified, return receipt requested, we finally called our old contact at Clark Color Labs in Beltsville, Md., who agreed to refund your $29.96.

No refund coming

On Nov. 13, I called A-1 Appliance Repair to my home to repair my freezer. After I explained the problem, I was told that the temperature control was defective and that the part had to be ordered. I was told that the part was available in Tampa and that the repair could be made in one to two days. I paid a $50 deposit.

On Nov. 16, I called A-1 in the late afternoon and was told that the part had not arrived yet but should be available within a day or two. I called again on Saturday, Nov. 18, and was told the part was still not in. On Monday, I called again, and Jim told me A-1 had been unable to find the part. I said I had hired A-1 because it had said it would be able to make the repairs in one or two days. Jim asked me to give the company another week. I refused to wait another week and asked for my deposit. Jim refused and hung up. On Nov. 21, I was able to locate my part at an appliance store in Spring Hill, and in 14 minutes my freezer was repaired. Is there anything you can do to help me get my deposit back? Joseph Grella

Response: Jim Fairbanks, the technician with A-1 Appliance Repair in Hudson who worked on your freezer, said the part was ordered and when the supplier could not get it, he ordered it from Sears, where it was on back order. It did come in after you had contacted another repairman, and A-1 cannot return it. He said that although you paid for the part, you were not charged for the service call. Since he is stuck with the part, he cannot give you a refund.

Human error

On Sept. 4, I purchased a king-size bed from Sears. At the time I purchased the bed, I gave Sears a check for $100 and put the rest on my Sears account. There was a promotion at the time with 0 percent interest for a certain number of months. As you can see from the enclosed statements, I have been making regular payments. Most months the statement reads, "minimum amount due $0," yet I would still send in a payment.

On Nov. 30, I received a letter from Allied Interstate informing me that I had been sent to collections by Sears and my account was now due. When I called Sears to find out why I was sent to collections, a Miss Robertson informed me that the computer just randomly picked me. That made no sense!

If Sears will not allow me to continue making the payments that I faithfully have made, can I return the bed instead? I cannot afford to shell out the $451.22 at one time. By the way, the amount that was turned over to collections is incorrect; it did not include my October payment.

Any help that you can give truly will be appreciated. If nothing else, people need to know that this can happen. It certainly has stunned me. Jeanne Miller

Response: Thanks for letting us know that after Action contacted Sears, it finally responded to you and resolved the problem. You said you were told it was apparently a human error, and you are being put back on the payment plan as before. Any interest that has accrued since this problem came up will be removed, you said.

We suggest that you find out whether this collections effort was ever reported to a credit bureau. If it was, ask that the bank correct the error, wait a couple of months to allow it to do so, and then verify that it has by getting a copy of your credit report. (Ask the bank which bureau it reports to.)

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Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check.

We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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