Posted on 03/22/2009 3:52:24 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Used set was purchased from Rent-A-Center.
When Joseph and Jyll Anderson purchased a used 62-inch flat-screen digital light projection television March 13, they knew it had been sold as-is.
They understood that whether it worked for a week or for 10 years, the seller, Rent-A-Center, 1411 Franklin St., had no responsibility for it once sold.
Never in their wildest imagination, however, did the Andersons expect the chassis of their new television to be filled with the carcasses of dead cockroaches.
That's what they found upon opening it to see why it smelled bad when turned on.
Rent-A-Center's sales manager Edwin Rivera said his company is not legally responsible for returning the $700 the Andersons paid for the TV, when The News-Dispatch called Friday. Nonetheless, he said, "They will get their $700 back."
But the couple also wanted Rent-A-Center to pay for having their house on Country Road 400 West inspected and treated by a reputable pest control company.
Rivera said he could not authorize that expense but he was talking with his regional manager. By 1 p.m. Friday, a Rent-A-Center representative called Anderson to say the company also will pay for the house to be treated.
"The woman who called was very nice," Jyll Anderson said. The refund on the TV and treating her house make her happy, she said. "That's all I really wanted."
Rivera got the TV from a store in Rensselaer, Ind., he said. Since most of the items he rents have been used by other families, he sanitizes them with a spray. "But we can't do that with laptops or televisions," he said.
Still, a TV full of bugs?
"I want this thing out of here," Jyll said Friday morning after calling the newspapers. The Andersons have three children, Emily, 3 years, Joseph, 1 1/2 years and Elizabeth, age 7 1/2 months. "Elizabeth naturally crawls," her mom said. "She's curious about everything she sees."
The living room carpeting in the Anderson home is spotless, but Jyll worries because roaches are notoriously efficient breeders. In addition to the dead bugs, the TV is infested with what appear to be egg sacs. "I'm afraid they're going to break and then we'll have roaches everywhere," Jyll said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, roaches not only carry disease (including food poisoning), but they and their droppings can trigger asthma attacks.
She said she appreciates Rivera's efforts to get the matter settled.
What did they expect from a USED set at rentacenter?
Sounds like Rent-A-Center is doing everything one could reasonably expect.
Still, YUCK!
No such thing as Caveat Emptor in the 0bama age. Free Mortgages and Fumigations for all!
Like they say, the only GOOD roach is dead or smoked!
The prior owners could afford a 62-inch flat-screen digital light projection television but could’nt afford a can of Raid?
must’ve been used to watch msnbc...
The bugs like electronics. I’ve even seen a computer full of moth cocoons, and another that failed due to rodent urine. A tv from a rental place that was full of roaches doesn’t surprise me. What would be surprising would be if they were all dead. Either the rental place hosed it down on the inside with spray, or those people have also inherited house guests. Either way, I imagine that was the whole reason for selling it. It stunk due to dead roaches and/or bug spray.
Every time my tv tunes in MSNBC it seems to be full of live roaches..And Rats.
Two weeks ago I was in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. The RAC there had an ad in a window that said they were selling used mattress and box spring sets. Gross.
Last I knew that was against the law in MA. Plus, why the hell would anyone buy a used mattress set? Folks offer them on Craigslist for free.
That's modern day Hollywood for ya'.
“The Andersons have three children, Emily, 3 years, Joseph, 1 1/2 years and Elizabeth, age 7 1/2 months.”
She must do all her T.V. watching on her back...
“The living room carpeting in the Anderson home is spotless, but Jyll worries because roaches are notoriously efficient breeders.”
She should talk...
That right there, that’s what they call symbolism: Television, full of roaches.
Uh, eeeew.
I used to repair electronics.
Seen many TVs with cockroach carcasses.
Also VCRs with mice nests, the flap acts as their front door.
Roach Motel ?!
A long time ago I worked two jobs - one of them was delivery for a local pizza company. My last stop of the night was at a house in a minority neighborhood. They asked if I could take the pizza to the room around the corner to the disabled man who ordered it. The hallway was dark, and I could swear something was moving on the floor. When I got to the room and the light was turned on, the entire floor and the walls were crawling with roaches, and the man was lying on the bed watching TV. The BED was crawling with roaches.
I got the hell out of there so fast all they saw was a blur. I steamed my shoes and washed my clothes immediately. It was the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.
This is the week for quarterly bulk trash pickup in Phoenix.
The neighbors put out two old mattresses, broken wooden chairs and various junk. After 3-days, someone took the used mattresses but left the wooden stuff. Yuck!
Yuck is right. On the other hand, if someone needed a set, they got one. Better than buying a used set I suppose.
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