B and H selling knockoffs? (Page 3): My credit is good. I have always paid on time and never paid a dime of interest. Maybe that is the problem. Others here have been rejected who...

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Rick from NY wrote:

It’s not B&H’s bank, it’s Synchrony Bank which is a bank that provides branded credit card services for many different businesses who don’t want to administer their own cards. I have several branded Synchrony cards and while Synchrony’s customer service is less than stellar, if you were rejected for the Payboo card, perhaps you might want to clean up your credit. Blaming BH for your rejection is ridiculous.

My credit is good. I have always paid on time and never paid a dime of interest. Maybe that is the problem. Others here have been rejected who don't have a credit problem. if B&H wants to use a bank which costs them business, I can buy my stuff somewhere else.

Domtom999

cjc2 wrote:

B&H, IMHO, is a great company. Perhaps not 10... (show quote)

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I’ll try to answer your questions as best i can. I agree b and h is a great company and I’ve bought from them for over 40 years and still plan on buying from them. I’m not bashing them I’m just stating the facts. The first people i contacted was them. I provided them with a copy of my invoice and detailed pictures of the AirPods which showed the serial numbers laser engraved on them which agreed with their invoice serial number. They agreed the airpods were sold by them and they agreed that the discrepancy in design confirmed they were knockoffs. What they said was that the misrepresentation took place 2 years ago so they were not obligated to take responsibility for it. If it had taken place only 1 year ago they would have corrected it. My problem is I don’t understand why if they acknowledge the discrepancy what’s the difference if it took place 1 year or 2 years ago. Lastly, i took the advice of the first poster and are in the process of trying to talk with someone higher up, as I’m sure you already know from reading my subsequent posts here.

Domtom999

cjc2 wrote:

We're talking about an item over two years old and out-of-warranty. I'd like to see you do what you're asking! Best of luck.

You’re missing one point. If they had sold me real apple airpods i could get them repaired now. Because they are knock-offs i can not. No one will fix them at any price.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

JohnSwanda wrote:

My credit is good. I have always paid on time and never paid a dime of interest. Maybe that is the problem. Others here have been rejected who don't have a credit problem. if B&H wants to use a bank which costs them business, I can buy my stuff somewhere else.

No one is forced to use a "store" credit card for business transactions, B&H like others accepts many forms of payment. I have had cards "cancelled" on me because I never used them, it's odd, but many do business that way, it free's up their credit $$ base (this is a real scenario, not made up). The same company will issue you a new card if you ask, but will also cancel if you don't use that one (the amount of time a card/account stays open, unused, depends on the issuer). One way to keep any card/account active is to use it even if only once in a while, and don't pay entire tab off in one shot....an inactive card can lead to an inactive/cancelled account, nothing to do with credit rating, just the way some do business. Interest rates rising/falling also play a part in this.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Domtom999 wrote:

You’re missing one point. If they had sold me real apple airpods i could get them repaired now. Because they are knock-offs i can not. No one will fix them at any price.

Point taken. At the moment, your best avenue is Persistent, Polite, Persuasive as a former boss used to advise me. I get B&H's point, but I get your as well. If anyone can solve this, it's B&H. Best of luck. (let us know.)

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

olemikey wrote:

No one is forced to use a "store" credit... (show quote)

Of course I could use another form of payment, but the Payboo card is the only one that pays the sales tax. Being rejected for the card means I can't take advantage of that, which takes away one of the reasons for shopping B&H.

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

cjc2 wrote:

We're talking about an item over two years old and out-of-warranty. I'd like to see you do what you're asking! Best of luck.

I don’t think warranty is the issue here. If I buy what is sold as an apple product and it turns out later the company sold me a knock off that should have cost a fraction of what the real product costs I feel the seller is responsible to make it good. If I had received the real product it probably would still be working properly.

In my opinion B&H owes the OP what they originally paid for.

Chuck

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

charlienow wrote:

I don’t think warranty is the issue here. If I buy what is sold as an apple product and it turns out later the company sold me a knock off that should have cost a fraction of what the real product costs I feel the seller is responsible to make it good. If I had received the real product it probably would still be working properly.

In my opinion B&H owes the OP what they originally paid for.

Chuck

Bait and switch is wrong, no matter how it happens. B&H is probably innocent of that here... I'd guess their distributor or importer or other source is the guilty party. But I think they should just bite the cost and send him a new pair of equivalent genuine Apple product to replace what he thought he bought. It isn't worth the bad will/bad publicity to do otherwise.

Somehow, the customer got screwed out of an honest purchase, and since B&H sold the headphones, it's their duty to fix the situation, regardless how long ago it was. The customer's receipt tells the story.

I've dealt with B&H, Adorama, KEH, and MPB. They are all great dealers, but none is perfect. However, all are professionals and seek to resolve issues fairly.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I would point out to a store manager that what they did was fraud. Weather it was yesterday or years ago and all you want is a repair that you can't get from the manufacturer because of the B&H FRAUD!

Minitman Loc: Centreville, Virginia

I feel your pain. Many years ago I purchased a Gossen Luna Pro spot meter attachment from B&H. It had just been announced and B&H told me it should ship in 30 days and charged my credit card. When it finally became available, 2 years later, B&H said if I wanted it there was an additional fee. I wrote back (no emails at that time) and said I had purchased the attachment, not an option on one, and paid for it and told them to ship it to me. Instead they issued a refund for the amount paid (nice of them to use my money for 2 years interest free). After several useless attempts to get resolution through the FTC (they just kept sending copies of each parties correspondence to each other) and B&H customer disservice, I gave up. I have never done business with them since and never will - cheat me once, shame on you, cheat me twice, shame on me.

clickety

JohnSwanda wrote:

My credit is good. I have always paid on time and never paid a dime of interest. Maybe that is the problem. Others here have been rejected who don't have a credit problem. if B&H wants to use a bank which costs them business, I can buy my stuff somewhere else.

Enough!!!
I’ve just read through three pages of whiny complaints on a myriad of slights, errors, allegations of fraud, bitching about sales taxes, and being turned down for a credit card. Each situation is different with uncountable variables. So either grow up and deal with it or quietly do something else (I see no need to inform us of your choice)

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

The other option "clickety" is not to tell us what to do. You ha a wright to your opinion as do the others.
Fact is some one is trying to worn us of a situation with a supplier we use.
Thanks for telling us about the B&H situation.

Domtom999

Update on the original posting

B and H has finally agreed to look into what happened.
They acknowledge that the airpods do not look like valid Apple airpods.
They also acknowledged that from the serial number match between receipt and product that they sent them to me.

The only issue now is that I can’t get them serviced because they are knock-offs and for that matter they may not have even broken if they were genuine. Let’s see what happens.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

clickety wrote:

Enough!!!
I’ve just read through three pages of whiny complaints on a myriad of slights, errors, allegations of fraud, bitching about sales taxes, and being turned down for a credit card. Each situation is different with uncountable variables. So either grow up and deal with it or quietly do something else (I see no need to inform us of your choice)

👍. Someone with “good credit (who) always pays his bills on time” doesn’t get rejected for a credit card. Obviously something doesn’t add up. And to think that the largest electronic store on the planet with legendary service would intentionally sell a knock off pair of headphones is simply ridiculous. And…I find it difficult to believe that BH would not seek to make this right if, as OP states, it agrees that the product was a knockoff indeed sold by them. As mentioned, there are undoubtedly facts that have been glossed over. Perhaps the OP came across as charming as he did in this post when contacting the store?

BTW - I suggest that the OP contacts Henry Posner directly at BH. He is the go to guy there when issues arise.

Henryp@bhphoto.com

Domtom999

Hey everyone time for a reality check. I’ve shopped with BandH for over 40 years and for the most part they were all positive dealings. I have this one problem with these airpods that I am trying to get repaired. I’m not looking for a freebie or a replacement. However I am disappointed that what I got was not what I paid for. I hope I can get this resolved because I plan on buying from BandH in the future. I do not think BandH did anything fraudulent or intentional in this matter. If anything they too are victims. An organization with the stature and reputation BandH has earned over the years is not going to jeopardize it for a lousy $240. I hope BandH figures out a way to get my airpods fixed, and if not, I’ll chauk it up to one of life’s bad experiences and move on.