VCI Entertainment and Disc Problems (both) (1 Viewer)

[Eric Huffstutler]

Be patient - read my plight and respond...

For the past couple of days I have been in a battle with VCI Entertainment over one particular DVD they released in 2006. Their double feature disc that contains "King Dinosaur" and "The Jungle". I know, both are stinkers but that isn't the issue at hand.

I purchased a copy from a third party seller on Amazon in "new" condition and it arrived with security stickers and cellophane intact. While playing "King Dinosaur" I noticed that exactly at the 1-hour and 3-minutes point just before the "The End" card and credits come up, the disc ends abruptly and doesn't go back to the menu but stops the player. It also stops the player at the end of the other feature.

I asked VCI about this and their first response was that "There Isn't A Problem" and they would not replace it because I purchased it through a 3rd party. Then I did some searches and saw that even back in 2006 when released, DVD Savant and others reviewed the same problem. This tells me it is a manufacturing issue.

I brought this up to VCI and had to prod them to give me a reply only for their PR person Christopher Rowe to say basically 1) it is the dealer's responsibility to replace defective discs, 2) VCI did fix the problem and sent out a notice (but apparently not to the general public) and 3) they will not replace my copy.

Since when did a known manufacturer's defect that was knowingly fixed (I was even lied to about at first) not the responsibility of the company selling and distributing them? They say if I didn't buy it from them then tough luck. Rowe did offer to do a price mach as a compromise to settle the argument and reduce the risk of having this happen again but when I presented them with the receipt and what I paid for my copy, he backed out of that even.

Has anyone else received such lousy customer service and blatant disrespect for their product/customer relationship through VCI?

Needless to say I am not a happy camper and stuck with a defective copy.

On a side note in comparison… I revisited my Airport Terminal Pack Franchise Collection through Universal purchased years ago and one of the discs was stuck on the hub so tight that I cracked it getting it off. Universal is replacing it without any problems or questions asked! Why can't VCI be as accommodating about a defect that isn't even damage?

Eric

 

[John Sparks]

They are a bunch of maroons over there. When they released "Gorgo" the first time and was listed on the back as "16x9," which it wasn't.

Emailed them with the info and they had the audacity to tell me that "16x9" meant letterbox...not anamorphic or enhanced for widescreen TVs!!!

They reissue "Gorgo" again and it's still "NOT ANAMORPHIC!!! I asked them about this, seeing they got another chance to put it out...and their reply was, "This is what we got, be happy that you have it!!!"

I'll never buy another thing from that bizarro company again...in this day and age, companies like that are still stuck in time when DVDs first came out!

Funny, I emailed them about the "KD/TJ" when it first came out and never heard nothing from them...even after "2" emails!

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

I see other people have had similar horror stories dealing with VCI.

It just blows my mind that they won't support or back their own products.

It appears they gave dealers a one time chance to exchange old versions for newer fixed ones but will not deal on the consumer level unlike other studio distributors.

If they "knew" of the problem and "fixed" it then made a statement but did not recall the items voluntarily, that raises a red flag by itself but to not honor an exchange on a known factory defect is insane. But what is worse is them lying about there was a problem then changed their story when I cited it in print as early as 2006 and then when I basically sought an exchange they said no... that is adding insult to injury.

I just don't get it.

Eric