3 Reasons Why You Should Not Buy Any RCA CD Player
Once a Reputable Company, RCA Has Been in Decline Since 1986, and Their Products Show It
The first Cd player I've ever owned was an RCA boombox that I received as a christmas present way back in 1993. This was by far the pickiest CD player I've ever seen. It only played CDs when it wanted to, and even then it required some coaxing to make it play. Even when did play a disc, you could forget about skipping tracks quickly, otherwise the blasted contraption would require you to start playing the CD all over again! Getting this thing to play a disc was like doing a raindance! While I hated this machine, I must admit that it was durable. The tape deck in the boombox broke after about a year of use, but the CD player kept on kicking right up to the year 2000, and I felt like kicking it every time I tried to make it play a disc.
The second RCA CD player I owned was also a gift, this time a birthday present given to me in 2001. I don't mean to sound ungrateful here, but I had specifically mentioned that I did not want an RCA brand CD player. This time the culprit was a 5 disc carousel style CD player. Surprisingly, the CD player worked just fine at first. It wasn't until the unit had six months of gentle use that it showed it's true colors. One day, the machine had suddenly decided that it simply would not play any CD. The carousel would spin around and around, stopping on occasion to try to read a disc. This cycle would continue indefinitely until either the tray was ejected or the unit was powered off.
At this point, I decided that I would pack the CD player up and ship it to be repaired, as it was still under warranty. Considering the luck I've had with these products, it's a wonder that they offer any sort of warranty at all. Some time had passed since I shipped the unit, and I hadn't heard anything from RCA. When I contacted their customer service department, their reply was that the package must have been lost in shipping. Other complaints I've sent them about their products have gone unanswered.
So , in summary, here are the 3 reasons that you should avoid RCA CD players like the plague:
1) Product quality: products either do not work well , or fail to last a reasonable amount of time.
2) Quality control department seems to be asleep behind the wheel
3) Customer service: Only responds when they want to.
Published by Sylvester Hokes
Blogger, musician, gamer. View profile
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- RCA makes an inferior CD player
- Even off-brand CD players are built better
- RCA's customer service seems to stink
16 Comments
Post a CommentRecently purchased RCA Model RP3538-B Micro casette recorder. Package said no AC/DC adapter was included. I have been trying for 2 days by phone and e-mail to discover which adapter is the correct one to use. I believe RCA Audiovox AH5WHN may be one I could use but can't verify this with any source from RCA. Their customer service system SUCKS ! Can't get answer from several RCA sources contacted. RCA.com is no help northe customer service numbers given lead you to someone to talk to.
Bob Light
I too purchased an RCA Boombox, from my local walmart for $45.00 five months ago.
I pressed the button one day, to open the CD tray, and the tray came completely out, on the counter! I am no mechanic, therefore, I boxed it back up, took it back to WalMart and was told that they don't accept anything after 90 days, and to contact RCA.
I believe that, since Customer Service is so damnned hard to get ahold of, those on this site should strongly consider filing a class action lawsuit.
There is strength in numbers and RCA has taken advantage of each one of us, selling a product they KNOW to be inferior. I don't believe they would appreciate the bad press, a lawsuit would earn them, and perhaps it would shake them up enough, to get them to make good on the JUNK they sold us?
Good luck everyone. I am leaving mine in it's box, until I contact my attorney and get his input.
The link quit working so I decided to post the info that was there:
Thomson/RCA Unbelievable customer support!
I got a RCA DVD Recorder/VCR combo for Christmas 2005. By April 2006 it was not playing or recording half as good as it should. Around May I decided that I would try and get it fixed. Guess what. Thompson/RCA now requires the customer to deliver the unit to a qualified service center.
I called RCA and they gave me 2 service centers. Both were 50 miles from my home, the closest. I decided since gas was so high I would mail it to the center. I cost around $10 to ship it. I waited around a week and called the 'service' center. They asked why I sent it to them. I told them Thomson had directed me to send it to them. They agreed to work on it because I said Thomson told me to send it. I waited another week and had no response from the 'service' center. I called again and was told that the service center got an email that day from their head office to not work on any more
This is rediculous. I have had my RTD 217 DVD player and reciever for four....yes, thats right, four months. And now all if will do is turn on, try to read the fifth disk in the changer and then turn off. The best part is that on the support website, it is not even listed as a product. I just had it break on me tonight, so I will call them on Wednesday and not stop until I get my money back. I don't care if I have to call a thousand times, I will get my money back from such a shoddy product.
I have been going crazy trying to get a human being because my 5 month old CD player just plain doesn't work. I lost the receipt so I can't get it fixed under warrantee and the cost to repair is probably more than it is worth. Thank you for your stories. I too will never buy another RCA product. Their customer service also is very poor besides their product.
I have a fairly new, very lightly used RCA RS2052 5 Disc CD player - a shelf type model. It has 5 of my CDs trapped in it. Nothing is working with the CD player. I will have to take it apart to get at the CDs and then just toss it out. NOw I am recalling that my daughter's RCA CD player only worked for a short time and that our RCA boombox seems to be finicky when it comes to CDs. From what I see on the internet, I am not alone - these problems with RCA seem to be predictable. I am done with RCA forever and also hope to spread the word about how unreliable the products are.
Oh my God. I am having the same problems with the Lyra, their service center wants me to pay and extra $50 to get my MP3 player back, eventhough they have amitted that the Lyra is defective, I need to know how to go about taking them to court, they will not give any cotact imformation, could any one help me destroy this co.
Yes, Kim, I have had the very same problem with our portable DVD player. I pulled the electrical plug out of the screen and a piece broke off and now it will not work anymore. I cannot get RCA to answer any of my emails and there is not an 800 number to be found. I am very disappointed in RCA.
i bought a RCA LYRA mp3 player and it stopped working the first time after a month.. so i had it changed... they gave me another one and it only lasted a week.. so they gave me another one..its still not working after 3 weeks..
MY FIANCE' and I are having TERRIBLE arguments to the point of breaking up all because of a DEFECTIVE RCA PORTABLE DVD PLAYER MODEL NO. DRC616N. One day I was INNOCENTLY watching the dvd player in my car with the car charger plugged into the cigarette lighter. When the movie was over, I unplugged the dvd player from the car and when I GENTLY pulled the plug out of the unit, a piece that was attached inside the unit broke when I pulled the plug out of the unit. So there is the tip of the piece still broken inside the unit keeping me from plugging the battery up again into the car charger. I know this was some kind of defective dvd player and the fact that I can't prove it to him is really upsetting because after TWO YEARS he still is convinced that I broke his portable dvd player. The thing that hurts him the most is that he got it for a gift from his job for 15 of YEARS OF SERVICE, and I BROKE IT. Can anybody testify to this kind of problem with this model? I have tried to find