this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2024
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Then you turn around and return it. Don’t encourage that behavior by just letting it happen.
If your retailer has a generous enough policy to let you return an opened TV because simply because you don’t like it. I spent $1,200 on a Sony TV with backlight bleed issues that were so bad that half the screen was tinted blue. I tried to return it or get a replacement but was told by both the retailer and Sony support that half the screen being blue was “normal for LED TVs and within acceptable parameters” and to go fuck myself.
That’s what chargebacks are for. You don’t have to rely on shitty retailers return policy.
You’re not going to win a chargeback determination in this case either.
You will be, as I was, shit out of luck.
If your credit card doesn’t let you do a chargeback for defective equipment then you need to get a better card provider.
TVs not working after purchase would qualify as defective in my opinion.
Your opinion doesn’t matter. What matters is everyone else’s opinion. Our interpretation of that TV is “Obviously defective”, but in their eyes it turns on and plays media and sound, and if you crank the brightness all the way up then in very bright scenes you don’t notice the blue tint.
My only actual remedy in this case was go to small claims court, which costs money on top of time off from work, and winning would require explaining backlight bleed to a 70 year old judge and that while it’s normal, not to this degree. And even if I won, this would be against Sony so maybe after that they ban me from doing any kind of business with them ever again and I’d lose access to thousands of dollars worth of games I’d pay for and lose the ability to play my $500 game console. This shit is just stacked against you and there’s no real winning except to not buy their product in the first place. But what do you do when any manufacturer on the market can and would do this to you? Never buy a TV again I suppose.
I mean, maybe don't mention the PS5 during any of it, at the very least use a separate email than the one tied to your account. I totally get your concerns, I'd be pissed too. I think I'd try returning to the store multiple times (maybe getting lucky with a different person or even a different location)
It’s a corporate store with a unified return policy, which unfortunately lists acceptable reasons for return and a TV that works but has bad backlight bleed is not one of them. The lesson learned here is pay closer attention to the warranties and return policies when you buy things. Unfortunately I didn’t anticipate backlight bleed that bad even being a thing that could happen. There is often a small amount when buying LED TVs so I expected there to be some.
Unfortunately this strategy depends on you having access to a retailer with a better policy, many may not.