Chicago, IL—(ENEWSPF)— iKaput.com’s website said they were the “best choice for iPod repair.” The Better Business Bureau of Utah disagrees and believes that the 85 consumers who have filed complaints in the past year would also disagree.
In the last nine months, more than 80 complaints have been received from consumers from 32 states and Puerto Rico, five were from Illinois, alleging that the consumer’s iPod was sent to iKaput.com’s address in Pleasant Grove, Utah for repair and not returned. An iPod that was not the customer’s was returned or the company did not respond to their concerns. When contacting the company about their iPod consumers have been given numerous reasons why their iPod is not ready including: the company is restructuring, there was a death in the family, the offices had recently moved, or that a staff member stole a number of iPods. Some customers have received refunds or replacements; however, a large percentage have not heard from the company and are therefore left without their iPod.
According to Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois “extra precautions are called for when consumers doing business with an unknown entity on the internet. He adds “the experiences these, 80 plus, consumers had with iKaput are true examples of why consumers need to take the time to check out a business so they know they are dealing with a company they can trust”.
In July the company’s website started displaying “The website is currently down for maintenance. Please come again soon…” The company’s phone number is disconnected and the location is a private mail collection company, not a physical location.
The company has not responded to the BBB’s request for information about consumer’s iPods. The BBB urges caution to consumers considering doing business with this company. If you have done business and have not received your iPod back from the company, please file a complaint at www.bbb.org
For information on a business consumers are urged to checkBBB reports which show the number of complaints, and how the complaints are resolved. The reports also categorize the complaints by their type (such as billing, customer service or selling practices).
BBB Tips:
- Check out a company’s reliability report at www.bbb.org
- Use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo to search for consumer comments on companies. Remember that there is no way to guarantee that comments are truthful, but the comments may be helpful to your decision making.
- Obtain bids from several companies and comparison shop for products and services.
- Send products requesting a return receipt, so you have proof that it arrived at the company.
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As a private, non-profit organization, the purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to promote an ethical marketplace. BBBs help resolve buyer/seller complaints by means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration. BBBs also review advertising claims, online business practices and charitable organizations. BBBs develop and issuereports on businesses and nonprofit organizations and encourage people to check out a company or charity before making a purchase or donation.
