Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Ecost
500 N. Central Expwy #500
Plano, Texas
United States
Phone: (877) 888-2678
www.ecost.com

In May, I purchased the Roadmate 300 GPS system (it was not advertised as a refurbished item etc.) for a road trip we were taking to California. When it arrived in June, It was labeled "not for resale", had no UPS or product info on the box (but an area of the packaging had been conveniently ripped away) and arrived with a "demo" card instead of the appropriate data card. It took us 3 hours on the phone with the great people at Magellan to get the system to work. Unfortunately, when we arrived in California, the system did not work. It took 30 minutes to process anything, and when it did finally come up with directions, it sent us the wrong way.

As soon as I arrived home, I emailed ecost. They responded that I needed to call for a return number. I called, and was told that a return specialist would review my case and email me if the return had been approved. I was eventually informed that the return would be authorized, but only for an exchange. When I called to inquire about the exchange, I was told that I'd have to purchase a replacement and after the replacement had been shipped, they would refund the original payment (What?!?). I argued that this wasn't an appropriate resolution and was told that I would be emailed a return number. Five days later, I called to inquire as to how long it would take to receive the email and was told that they were waiting for me to purchase a new item so they could refund the original. I stated that, as per our previous discussion, I was expecting a refund number because an exchange was unacceptable. Then Jason, the CSR, said that I had been told that it would take 72-?? hours for the return department to (again) review the situation and email me back. And so I wait.

I'd advise not to purchase from ecost, as you never know what you're going to get. I've ordered from them in the past, and sometimes the product is good, sometimes it's not and, in my opinion, their customer service is horrible.