Consumer Alert: San Diego Luggage (in Horton Plaza)

steve@waits.net (Stephen Waits) — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:11:00 -0500

Do not buy anything from these guys. They are scam artists and will rip you off.

We bought some luggage from them several years ago. One Samsonite suitcase had suffered some damage through the years of travel, and was due for some warranty repair.

We took it back to the store in Horton Plaza. The one we’d originally purchased it from, in UTC, has since closed.

When we got there, we explained the damage to the person at the counter. He said warranty service costs $40 shipping. Thinking about it for a second, I realized that it should come back as good as new, and that $40 is much cheaper than a new suitcase. We agreed.

A week later they called and let us know it was ready. When we saw the suitcase, we both realized that something wasn’t quite right. When we took it in, one thing needing repair was that the rubber stripping along the outside was coming off. After repair, it had been hastily stapled in.

The counter guy explained that this wasn’t covered by warranty, so they stapled it - but that they weren’t charging us.

Additionally, several screws were stripped and really hadn’t been fixed properly.

On top of that, the $40 shipping started to feel somewhat suspicious!

So today, we spoke with Samsonite. It turns out these guys are not a Samsonite Authorized Repair Center, though they don’t ever mention that. Second, Samsonite said that the rubber stripping is covered by warranty. And finally, that we should not have been charged any shipping fee!

Yah, we got fucked by these guys..

So, I called (619-544-0500) and spoke with the manager. I didn’t get his name, but he claimed he was the manager, and had a NY/East Coast sort of accent.

I was very polite at first, knowing that this is the best way to get help. I calmly explained the situation, and our dissatisfaction with the repair job and shipping charge. He kept saying “what do you want me to do?”, to which I replied, “I’d like a refund”. And his answer was, “we just charged you shipping”, and I’d say, “but we weren’t supposed to pay any shipping”. Repeat that about a dozen times and you have most of our conversation.

I asked how come we received no warranty paperwork from the place they sent it - he said there was none. Or why we got no receipt - he said we got a pickup ticket with the price on it. All super shady.

I went on to explain that we were customers of his, and asked if he had any interest in helping to resolve our dissatisfaction. The bottom line is no, he didn’t give a rats ass about us.

I asked if his business was a member of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, or the Better Business Bureau. He played ignorant.

In complete frustration, I ended the call with “ok, well then, just fuck off you fucking asshole”.

Bottom Line: Do not do business with these guys. They’re shady, at best, and criminals, at worst.

swaits.com: Consumer Alert: San Diego Luggage (in Horton Plaza)

Consumer Alert: San Diego Luggage (in Horton Plaza)