I have made numerous posts in this X-10 forum as well as the Pronto forum. Each time I do, I gratuitously mention that I received my X-10 products through www.HomeControls.com. I did this for two reasons: 1- I got great deals on X-10 products because of price matching. 2- I received excellent customer care. Until today...

I am posting this to warn all X-10 Consumers that Home Controls is defrauding its customers by misrepresenting price, quantity and the actual product itself.

I ordered an IR543 on 3/8/01 for $19.84 and was told that the unit was on backorder and would be received within 2-3 weeks. Since I got a good deal on lamp modules ($3.95/ea) I didn't mind dealing with the company and waiting for the product, especially at under $20.00. I received a call a week and a half ago from Home Controls informing me that the unit was currently in stock. I then asked them to complete the order and ship it to me and asked to receive 3 more Magnavox Lamp Modules for the same price I previously purchased them for.

I received the IR 543 yesterday 5/16/01 9 weeks later! To make it worse I only received 2 IBM Appliance Modules, which do not dim. Adding insult to injury I was charged $29.95 for the IR543 and was charged $5.95 for the 3 Lamp modules I never received (wasn't charged for the 2 Appliance Modules).

When I called Customer Service (1-800-CONTROL) I spoke with Alex whom had to have been one of the worst reps EVER. He proceeded to tell me that the Magnavox Lamp Module and the IBM Appliance Module were the exact same item only the casing was different. Even after I spoke with a technician and I detailed the many differences between the two units (I was having problems supplying power to one of my lights). Alex said that sending the IBM Appliance Module is common as a replacement to the lamp modules. Then Alex refused to refund me the difference, which totals over $25. I wasn't even asking for a refund, I requested a Credit because I still expected to do business with them. Also, I can't believe they charged me for the UPS ground shipping on an item that exceeds the backorder time given threefold.

I am now waiting on hearing from the manager on duty who wasn't there when I asked Alex to speak to him. I can't believe I received such horrible service and vow not to do business with Home Controls again. I will keep you posted on how they handle the situation.

--Alexis
Home Controls Customer # 113182

I got from x10.com KR22 instead of remotes. Without some expanations. No angels too.

Of course Home Controls is sorry that Alexis is unhappy, and since our customer service policy is to make a customer happy in whatever manner is necessary, after I talked to him the issue was resolved in the exact manner that Alexis requested. Both Alexis and Home Controls are unhappy about the time it took for him to receive the XTIR543 Infrared Command Center, but they were on backorder from the manufacturer and as Alexis freely admitted, he could not find them anywhere in the country. In addition, Alexis was charged our published pricing on all items. The $5.95 he was charged for lamp modules is the published price for 1 to 4 units, and he ordered three. The $3.95 published price is for 12 or more units. We gave him the $3.95 price anyway in order to make him happy. The same with the IR Command Center... our published price is $29.95, but we adjusted the price to make him happy. There WAS a mistake made on the original shipment, and he received appliance modules in error...so we just gave them to Alexis at no charge, and refunded his charge card by the amount he requested. I might add that all this was done BEFORE he mentioned that this Internet complaint was posted. In all fairness, Alexis did mention that we might want to reply to his message.
We at Home Controls hope that Alexis is happy now,and truly appreciate that he took the time and effort to voice his concerns so we could respond to them. We wish him the best of luck with his automation endeavors.

Just a note to praise Home Controls. I have had No problems at all with them.

Update...I spoke with Ken the Manager at Home Controls and he did apologize profusely. He agreed to send me three Magnavox lamp modules for $3.95 each and refund me the difference from the IR543 and as well as for the overcharge of the lamp modules I never received...Hardly a favor if you ask me, they agreed to price match competitor prices and they should have honored them without dispute. Also, they originally wanted me to return the two IBM appliance modules that I never ordered, but upon calculating the cost to them to send the UPS call back and restock it would be cheaper to let me keep them.

I sent Alex, the misguided customer service rep, a private e-mail notifying him of this thread and offered him and Ken the opportunity to respond. Yet 10 minutes after speaking to Ken, I received a call from the Technician I originally spoke with asking me to please post a response. I found that kind of humorous, especially after Ken originally turned down my offer to respond to the thread.

Bottom line, HomeControls.com fixed their screw up after having me deal with the situation for well over 2 hours. They have satisfied my complaint yet I doubt, I'll never do business with them again.

--Alexis

I believe that the message here is:

1.

Now my PC is doing strange things and it is not even connected to any X-10 device...

As I was saying:

1. Buyer beware. Remember these unfortunate events that people such as Alexis have been faced with, whether it is online or at your local store. Be ready to deal with them as they do occur.

2. Customer Service, respect your clients immediately and not only after they get angry and disgruntled.

I am personally sick of being Nickel and Dimed to death!!!

When Alexis contacted customer support they should have immediately credited him the difference for the IR543 and offered replacements for the appliance units sent in error.

Home Controls are apologetic now, but they should have been so in the beginning. They apologize now as they look bad.

I take what both sides have said in this story with a bit of flexibility as I did not witness it myself.

But customer service and tech support with many companies these days leaves a lot to be desired!

I am personally disgusted with x10.com's Terrible service.

And by the way, not too long ago the Lamp module deal was not for 12 or more. I bought 5 at 3.95 each. This is a more recent change. And the IR543 I have seen for as low as 18.95 so it is not some fantastic thing that Home Controls has done for Alexis.

Anyways, "All's well that ends well", but only after a fight. That is what bothers me!
-CL

Personally I have been dealing with home controls for a long time and have never had a problem with thier customer service or technical support. They even helpped me with problems I had purchased at another company, and for this reason I have been using them exclusivly for more than a year now. I think that this just may be an incidental case and by flaming an entire company over a single employee shows just how easy some people get pissed off.
tim

I like Judge Lefebvre Wopner's response.

Each representative is responsible for upholding the company's reputation in providing textbook service to customers. We consumers should begin to hold companies and their employees accountable for service or lack of service provided.

I was upset at the situation and service, I simply told my story in an open forum to inform other buyers of potential hazards. I even informed Home Controls of the post and invited a response for other Remote Central users to view.

Ken Kerr, the manager of Home Controls, did an excellent job in handling the situation, and I thanked him for doing so, but it should not have gone the extent that it did. He provided the service Alex was supposed to do. I am not warding off other buyers; I am simply stating that I will not buy from them again.

If my post is able to at the very least, draw attention from the Home Controls staff, I hope they realize that every customer with a complaint is capable of stating their experiences publicly and openly. Hopefully this will lead to improved customer service and efficiency.

--Alexis

I have been buying from Home Controls for years and recently had made a purchase of over $2000.00 on three seperate occasions. I had the opportunity to deal with Alex, he has helped with with all of my recent purchases. I have had no problem with him or the level of customer service he has provided. I recieved my items on time and the orders were filled without mistakes. People make mistakes, it's natural, and from what it looks like Home Controls has tried to make ammends with Alexis. It just goes to show that some people simply can't be satisfied.

-Eddie

I've purchased a couple of small things from Home Controls with basically no problems. However, a few weeks ago, I was visiting their website and noticed they still listed Drape Boss controllers (which have been discontinued. The site did say they were discontinued and might not be available. I went ahead and placed on online order hoping that they still might have some. I got a call that same day, telling me they were out of stock and no longer available, so I cancelled the order. So far, the story is just fine.

However, when I got my credit card statement, I was VERY surprised to see a charge for these items (about $500). Yes, there was a credit back to my card for the same amount a couple of days later, but there should have never been a charge in the first place. Charging before an item ships is very poor practice in the mail order business, and concerns me. Yes, Home Controls should have processed my card for authorization to see if I had the credit available for this purchase, but they should not have actually processed a charge. This is bad business, outside what is reasonable and normal in their type of industry, and will probably keep me from doing business with them in the future.

I invite Home Controls to comment and explain their policy.

My old roommate, Jim Cooper, turned me on to Home Controls about 5 years ago when he took a job with them. Since then, I have stocked my entire home with Home Controls products and have never had a problem. By the way, I used them the first time as a favor to my friend, after that, I used them because of their attention to customer service.

Just today I placed another order with them for the IR543 which I read about on this forum. My salesman turned out to be Alex. He was informative and very helpful.

Any company can make a mistake, and I can deal with that, as long as they rectify the situation. The matter of it taking them too long is very subjective. I would have been satisfied with the final resolution they offered Alexis. I will definitely continue to patronize Home Controls.

-Dirk

Stop moaning about the price in the UK you will pay double that.