Raleigh woman fights for refund for defective hearing aid

Companies make many types of hearing aids to help with different types of hearing problems. Often, patients do not know if a device will work until they try it out, so many sellers offer money-back guarantees.

Ernestine Smith found out that, sometimes, those guarantees aren't worth the paper on which they are printed.

Smith's hearing aide was about eight years old and needed to be replaced. So in December 2007, she went to Hatfield-Berrang Hearing Aid Centers in Raleigh. It took her two months to save up to meet the $2,500 price, but she bought the device they recommended.

The hearing aid arrived in February and came with a 30-day trial period and a100 percent money-back guarantee. But Smith immediately found problems with the hearing aid.

"When I got home, turn on the TV, it would go in and out," she said.

"I said, 'It's just not working. I'm having to wear my old hearing aid. I'm not being able to understand with it,'" Smith said.

"She took the hearing aid. She said, 'I have you a document for a full refund,'" Smith said. "And that's what she gave me, with her signature. And when she gave me that, she said it will take two to four weeks."

Another employee called Smith. "He said, 'I've got it, but you have to come in,'" she said.

Hatfield-Berrang owner Mike Wheeler told 5 on Your Side that Smith missed the 30-day window for a refund and that the employee who authorized the refund should not have. Instead, Wheeler offered Smith two new hearing aids.

Then, Smith said, company President Jerry Hatfield-Berrang showed up at her house, scaring her.

After 5 on Your Side called the company again, Hatfield-Berrang eventually gave Smith the two free hearing aids – and a check for $2,500.

Customers who have had problems with a dealer can also file a complaint with the board or the North Carolina Attorney General's Office.