More Customers Complain They Didn't Get Electronics Fixed Or Money Back At Edwards TV Service In Gary
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- A Gary man said a TV repair service has held onto his DVD player and his money for months, so he is taking his complaint to the State of Indiana.
Frank Rogers is one of several customers who have shared their stories with us since our first CBS 2 Morning Insiders report on Edwards TV Service.
Now, CBS 2's Tim McNicholas has learned the business could be changing hands.
Rogers keeps a box of his favorite movies at his Gary apartment. But he's not watching James Bond classics in his living room these days.
He gave his broken DVD player to Edwards TV Service, along with a $40 deposit.
"I asked him how will it be," Rogers said. "He said it shouldn't be too long."
That was back in early April, and Rogers still does not have his DVD player or his money.
Edwards TV Service was the same business where the Morning Insiders found a shop in disarray last month after learning about other complaints, similar to Rogers' story.
"I put faith in thinking that he was a reputable person," said another customer, Melvin Evans.
"I realized that you can get mad, but anger is not going to do it," Rogers added. "You have to take some type of action with a higher authority."
So Rogers filed a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General's office. The state sent him a letter in May saying they want to find a resolution, and they are waiting for a response from the business.
The AG's office said they first try to mediate.
"I can tell you that any consumer complaints that we're following our process, and then we'll make a determination if we feel it's appropriate to elevate it to consumer litigation," said Betsy DeNardi, Director and Chief Counsel of the Consumer Protection Division of the Indiana Attorney General's Office.
"It's plainly ridiculous that a person would have this kind of mind to have a business and do this kind of thing to customers," Rogers said.
We called the owner of Edwards TV Service. He said he plans on handing the business off to someone else.
He gave us a phone number of a man who said he will become the new owner. That man told us he hopes to take over by July 10, and he's going to try to rectify the problems.
The apparent incoming owner also said he will be dropping off Rogers' DVD player, but because it's an older model, the parts are not available to fix it.
Another man named Corey Jones told us that Edwards TV Service held onto his broken TV for more than a month, and he had to argue with the current owner to get it back.
"The final straw was when I said, 'OK, when can I come get it?' and he just went off screaming into the phone," Jones said. "I'm like, wow, this is pretty professional."
Jones said someone he had not seen before dropped off his TV, still broken, last week. He said he was not able to get his $60 deposit back.
"If there are consumers out there who have not filed complaints with our office, they should definitely consider doing so," DeNardi said.
The incoming owner and the current owner both said they could not meet for an interview for this story.
