I was just wondering if any of you (or know anyone) who purchased the 12 volt white convertible ride on car from Walmart during the Black Friday event? We did. It was our five year olds big ticket item from Santa! She rode it on Christmas day and then never again. The battery will not hold any charge. It was a bargain at $99.00, but no one told us that with a reduction in cost there would be a reduction in product backing and support! A few interesting points: 1) I can no longer find the car on the Walmart website. This is why I decided to go into my order history and find the link there (thinking I was searching it the wrong way) and guess what? According to walmart, I have NO ORDER HISTORY!!!! I purchased the car online from them on Black Friday. That order should be there. So, I took the old fashioned route and used google. There was an old copy of the page logged and lo and behold Walmart say the car is "not available at this time" and if you care to read the reviews accompanying the ad you can click here http://answers.walmart.com/answers/1336/product/17126367/questions.htm. In case you don't read, a fair few consumers are experiencing the same problems as us. 2) When you read the paperwork with the car, it explicitly says not to contact the store where it was purchased, but instead to contact the manufacturer. They are "Winston International" and as for contacting them, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! We have tried numerous times and everytime, their call centre (not their own) tell us their client is "away" and will be back the next day. The next day and the next after that. They have never called us back. 3) Walmart don't seem to grasp the finite detail of explaining to a five year old that Santa gave her a dud car and that the next one up is over $200 so maybe she can get another one another time. Maybe. They are happy to give us our $99.00 back with the accompanying receipt/paperwork. Thank you Walmart. Thanks a ton. Bait and switch maybe? Sell a childs toy that doesn't work in the hopes that Mom and Dad come back and spend over $200 instead? Because they know it is likely to be a Christmas gift when bought a month before the big day? That's ruthless. 4) Walmart are happy to remind me that they don't stock that car. That they had a one time supply of it and seem to be completely ignorant to its existence other than one time they had something like it, sometime ago. I find this an interesting stance. Interesting because when I tracked down the Manufacturer website "Winston International", this is what they say regarding missing/broken pieces of this car: "Unfortunately, we do not make replacement parts. These items were a "limited manufacture" and an "exclusive item" to Walmart only. We recommend returning the item to Walmart and exchanging for another item or getting a refund. These items were so popular and inexpensive that they were generally sold out within hours of the Black Friday promotion." WOW! This is all I have to say. I just wondered if anyone else has the car and a similar experience and if any resolution was ever brought about. I guess I'm just an upset Mom right now.
Yes, in my fury I forgot to post that my other half who works with electronics has tested the car and our belief is that it is the actual charger that is faulty (will test this theory once we find the right one which is a gig in itself because of it's connection and volt/ampage). We went to walmart yesterday and they sell chargers but the only 12 volt charger they have is a Power Wheels connection and is $60.00!!!!! So we got an Assistant Manager (best they could muster) and suggested if we should find said charger they could give us store credit for that amount and she wouldn't budge, she still said no you can have a refund. I would rather offset my costs by giving credit over a full return from a financial (and indeed customer satisfaction) point of view. At present our hunt for a charger (locally) continues. But until that is in hand, were not 100% sure it is fixable. All that aside, do you really still not feel the manufacturer or retailer have any further obligation?
Everything you buy states not to take it back to the retailer. The manufacturer should honor the warranty. Nothing less is acceptable. That being said, Walmart sells junk. Force them to be responsible for what they sell. Hopefully you still have an email or some form of proof of purchase? I would box it up and carry it back to the store for a refund, then start over. You might pay more for a replacement, but to me it's worth the satisfaction of not letting Walmart get away with peddling crap. If they won't help you at the Service Desk, ask for a manager. Tell him everything you have tried, contacting the manufacturer, etc. If he is no help say this... "I'm not leaving until I have a resolution". They will figure it out.
PS...never, EVER order from Walmart on line. I had a credit card hacked from their site and they could have cared less that I was billed over $800.00 bucks for items picked up in Arizona. Luckily my credit card company was decent and took care of it. The lady I spoke to at Walmart seemed entirely disinterested. I buy a lot of stuff on line, but never again from there. They are unsecure and unconcerned. good luck. PS... take the car back and get something else. Kids just HAVE to learn to understand.
Hijack... I once bought a camera that had a warranty that read, "Guaranteed for the life of the product." Sorry, the thread just brought this to mind. ...end of Hijack
Yep, never had an issue taking anything back as long as its not destroyed or overly used, half the time they just ask reason for return and don't even look at product.
Can you post a picture with the connection of the charger. I used to find them and fix them a long time ago. 50/50 shot i have a charger?
I read the op's post, but I didn't see any mention of a manufacturer's warranty on the product. If you bought the item without a warranty, then they are not obligated to fix it. Crappy customer service? Yes, but that is the way it is. I understand it is frustrating, but you said Wal-Mart offered you a refund on an item you bought from them. Take the refund, move on to a quality manufacturer who provides a warranty on the item you purchase next time.
I also understand the frustration, but as much as I dislike Walmart at times, I'm not sure what you want them to do other than give you a refund? If you can't get up with the manurfacturere (have you tried FB?), I really don't know what else you want them to do. You might be able to get a store manager to intercede on your behalf with the vendor, but I doubt it.
This will be a pain in the fanny for you but---Go all the way up the chain and document who you talk with and the response, manner with which they treated you, etc. I read something just lately about the responses to returns and whatever and the Walmart emps are supposedly not handling things as they should be. My next move would be to take the whole thing back if I had the packaging and just get a refund.
I'd chalk it up to a bad experience and get my money back and buy another model from somewhere other than Walmart.
Walmart Search Craigslist or E-bay for the correct charger. If the battery is 12v why not pick up a cheap car trickle charger & put the connector on that.
