# Help me with this problem

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-this-problem/429324>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 8, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-this-problem/429324 "2007-12-08T21:09:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-this-problem/429324/1 "2007-12-08T21:09:47Z")

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A few months ago my mom’s GE electronic stove went on the fritz. I called GE customer service…a machine recording telling me to press 1 for this, press 2 for that, and no live person to help me at all ☹ …to get a service representative to come over to look at it. He comes over and tells me the part that fixes it costs $500. I said ok.

Mom comes home and promptly tells me she could buy a NEW STOVE for that money, and cancel the fix. Back to the telephone machine for another half-an-hour going through options before I cancel the repair appointment.

A while later the part comes via UPS.

A $500 part that I haven’t paid for. :eek:

I am tempted to just install the part GE apparently forgot it sent me, but I could get into legal headaches. so I am trying to return it.

Options?

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**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-this-problem/429324/2 "2007-12-08T21:47:01Z")

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Have you got any email contact information? You could try sending an email request basically saying “Send me a prepaid UPS label to return this part that you sent to me through your error.”

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**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-this-problem/429324/3 "2007-12-08T21:49:10Z")

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Welcome to hell. You will try to return it, be billed for it 3 times, get 5 more additional parts (including 2 for a gas stove), and in a few months, you will be out $500, have a stove that doesn’t work and feel bitter about it.

My advice, leave that part in the box, in a place where it won’t bother you and forget about it until a man comes to collect $500. Buy a new stove, that your mom seems to be willing to do. Probably the part never really broke, she hammered it because she wanted a new stove.