Five On Your Side Gets Involved In Woman's Big-Screen TV Woes

Sonia White bought a 51-inch Philips Magnavox HDTV in June.

"This was gonna be our entertainment for inside the house," she said.

But only weeks later, a speaker had static. Now, 3½ months after White took it in for service, the speaker works again, but White is not happy with the repair job.

In July, she hired Consolidated Electronics International of Raleigh -- an authorized Philips Magnavox repair center. Over the next six weeks, White said she got nothing but excuses from CEI.

"We're constantly told that parts haven't come in. We'll call back the following week," she said. "We're told that the parts are there. No one knew the parts were there, so it's just been a lot of confusion and nothing has been able to have been resolved."

After almost two months, CEI delivered the TV with bad news.

"The story I was given was the TV, when they made a left hand turn, the TV rolled over in the truck," White said. "The front of the TV, the screen was smashed in. Both the wooden panels on the side were broken."

The crew took the TV back to CEI. White said she called repeatedly to check on the progress.

"People would tell you, 'I'm not in the mood to talk to you.' I was told that twice by the operations manager, that 'I'm not in the mood to talk about this today,'" she said.

A month later, White called Five On Your Side. CEI's Rob Steinruck denies the TV fell. He said it was just strapped too tightly to the truck, which caused two small cracks in the TV cabinet. He said the TV still works fine.

Steinruck blamed delays on receiving damaged parts from Philips. When Five On Your Side called Philips, a representative shipped a properly packed part right away. Steinruck replaced the part and and cabinet, and said the TV is ready to go.

Steinruck also offered White an additional $350 for her trouble. But White decided she does not want that or the television. She just wants a new television and now, plans to take CEI to court to try to get one.

Over the past 37 months, 20 people have filed complaints against Consolidated Electronics International with the Better Business Bureau.