🚀 go-pugleaf

I would like to detail a recent unpleasant experience with Davric Inc.
(10516 Connecticut Ave., Kensington, MD), a company that does repairs
on various brands of TVs. 

I got their name from the yellow pages, after my TV stopped working 
suddenly (it just would not switch on). I took the TV in and was told 
that there was a non-refundable minimum charge of $50 for all services.
If the repair was going to exceed this amount, authorization would have
to be obtained from the client before proceeding with the repair. This
policy is clearly stated on the back of their receipts and is also
mentioned in a poster in the store. I paid the $50 and left the set.

After a few days, I was told that the TV "checked out fine" when they
inspected it. I was told that it powered up by itself, and they looked
inside to find out what could have caused it to die, but found nothing.
I took the set back and noticed that the set now began to display an
intermittent buzzing (or whistling) noise in the audio system. THIS WAS
NOT PRESENT BEFORE. While the problem was annoying, it was something I
could live with. I called the store and informed them about it. They
asked me to bring the set in. I then asked them whether I would be
required to pay an additional $50 deposit for this problem that had not
existed before. No, they said, the original deposit would cover this.
The receipt I got from the store attests to this.

The person at the front told me that the whining noise was symptomatic of 
a failing "flyback transformer" and that this was quite an expensive
item to replace ($200). I told him that before I considered this, I wanted
to be sure that the audio circuitry was correct.

I did not hear from the store for over a week, and when I called them 
myself, I was told that the problem was indeed not in the flyback 
transformer. Apparently 3 capacitors were damaged, and they had been
replaced. The total cost: about $130. 

I protested because at no point was I informed that the repair exceeded
$50. I would certainly not have spent money on fixing a problem that I
could live with. They would not release the set until I paid the $80 or
so that I owed.

I have reported this transaction to the Better Business Bureau and am also
reporting it to the Montgomery County Consumer Affairs section.  I feel
that I have been unfairly treated because :

1. The problem  with the capacitors did not exist before. The only
   complaint with the set was that it would not power up (the receipt I
   was given initially says just that). I am convinced that the
   problem happened only after the set was opened while they were
   investigating.
2. I was never asked whether or not I wanted to proceed with the repair
   since it exceeded $50. Had I been asked, I would NOT have gone ahead.

If you intend to use the services provided by this company, I would urge
you to make very sure that they appraise you of the situation before
doing anything on their own.