Cary man stiffed $3,500 refund for defective TV until Troubleshooter Diane Wilson gets involved

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Cary man was out thousands of dollars after buying a defective TV. He was promised a full refund for months, but then out of the blue, part of that refund was denied.

"They finally denied the coupon and I said this isn't right, that's when I felt like I'd gone as far as I could and that's when I contacted you," Rick Raymer said to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

His frustrations started when he bought a new Samsung TV at the end of 2021. Soon after there were problems with the TV.

"There was a defect in it and then it fell off the wall," Raymer said.

The manufacturer, Samsung, agreed to replace it but Raymer said there was a defect with the replacement they sent too. He said Samsung picked up the second defective TV and issued a combination refund: a cash portion of $2,182 and an e-coupon for $3,540. Raymer got the cash no problem, but the e-coupon code never worked.

He tried reaching out to Samsung to get answers. "I was going from claims department to warranty, there was an issue with it so I was going to technical, and then e-commerce."

The back and forth went on for weeks.

"I was on the phone or an email every day from November 9th until December 5th."

When he finally got an email from Samsung saying he wouldn't be getting the e-coupon for $3,540, he reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson and she reached out to Samsung, who didn't get back to her, but Raymer heard from a company representative right away.

"I actually got a call from the Office of the President, I was like 'What?'" Raymer recalled.

A pleasant surprise as right after that call Raymer had the $3,540 e-coupon emailed to him, which he put to good use, and bought an 85-inch big-screen Samsung TV that he says is working great.

"Your help was excellent," he told Wilson. "That last piece that I spent six weeks on, happened in two days once you contacted them."

The best advice if you're in a similar situation, document everything, including taking pictures of the problem. It helped in this case that Raymer had such good notes, and he kept track of each issue and offers of resolution.