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Refund for defective printer is extended to entire order

 
Published Jan. 19, 2003|Updated Aug. 31, 2005

I ordered a printer and related supplies from Hewlett-Packard in June. The printer was defective, so I returned all items to the company according to its instructions.

I received a $299 refund check for the printer but not the refund, which totaled $97.96, for the ink cartridges, paper and cable. After numerous faxes and phone calls to the company's executive advocacy group in Palo Alto, Calif., I was contacted on Dec. 12. The representative who called me said he did not authorize the return of those items, there was no record of them being returned, and I would therefore get no refund.

When I called about the defective printer, I was never told I could not return the other items. I would appreciate very much your help to get my $97.96 returned. Joe Yeh

Response: It took two letters to Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, the second by certified mail, return receipt requested, before we heard from Roberta Mendenhall of the company's executive customer advocacy group. She said the company was offering you a replacement printer, but in light of your subsequent message, it seems you opted for the refund for the additional items in the order instead. We're glad we were able to help.

Lawn service severs wire

On Sept. 26, I returned home from work at 6 p.m. to find that the air conditioner was not operating. The temperature in the house was 90 degrees. As I was being treated for a severe sinus condition, I immediately arranged for a service call.

The technician spent more than an hour trying to find the cause of the problem and eventually went outside to check the condenser. On the ground next to the condenser he found mangled and severed wire that had been cut by the lawn service crew, which had been there that day. He repaired the wire, and I paid the $201 bill.

I wrote a letter to the management company for the community and asked that it contact Luke Brothers and request reimbursement. I received a reply from the lawn service dated Oct. 9 denying my request. I then wrote to Pete Lucadano, vice president of Luke Brothers, requesting that the company reconsider its decision. I received a reply denying any responsibility on Luke Brothers' part.

About one year ago, Luke Brothers severed the wire to my water conditioner. In that situation, it reimbursed me for the repair. In both situations, the wires were buried underground.

The lawn service also did not notify me of the damage. Had I known the air conditioning wire had been cut, the technician would have immediately gone to the source of the problem, resulting in less time spent and a much lower repair bill. I would appreciate anything you can do to assist me in obtaining reimbursement for the $201 I paid. Marilou Jaeger

Response: Pete Lucadano, vice president of Luke Brothers Inc. Landscape Services in Holiday, said that the St. Petersburg Times is not the only media outlet you have contacted about this problem. His company is under contract with your homeowners association to maintain the outside property of homeowners, and you are aware of this through your deed restrictions. Luke Brothers is not responsible to the homeowners but to the homeowners association.

Your homeowners association has enacted a rule that homeowners must bury or border appliance wires to avoid damage by landscaping maintenance. At the time your water conditioner wire was cut, Lucadano said, his company repaired it for free, informed you of the best way to bury wires in the future and notified your homeowners association of the problem.

In September, a wire was cut again. It had not been buried properly, he said, adding that there is no way for landscapers to know when they cut a wire because of the nature of the equipment. Instead of notifying your homeowners association, you called an air conditioning company and authorized the repair. Then you contacted Luke Brothers demanding payment.

Lucadano said that Luke Brothers notified your homeowners association. Its board of directors reviewed the issue and found that the landscaping company was not liable. It was your responsibility, through the bylaws, to have the wires properly buried. Contact your homeowners association or management company for information on how to do so properly.

If you have a question for Action, or your attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write: Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request. Names will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.