As California reopens, the pandemic is still having a very real impact on some people. The NBC 7 Responds team has been working to return money to San Diegans. Here are three examples of how:
Unemployment Benefits
San Diegans have been contacting us from the start of the pandemic about issues they've had with the California Employment Development Department.
The EDD consistently posts updates on what it's doing to try to help Californians who were affected by the pandemic and related layoffs, but some people still feel like they fall through the cracks.
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Chuck was one of these people. He told us he didn't understand why his payments from EDD had suddenly stopped in December.
Thankfully, he just needed some help and answers, which was something he said he couldn't get by calling EDD. After a month, he reached out to NBC 7 Responds.
NBC 7 Responds put him in touch with his local representative's office and helped with some technical issues. Soon after, he had a deposit of more than $9,500 in his account.
Refrigerator Issues
Throwing away spoiled food because of a broken refrigerator can be expensive and stressful. Kiyoshi told NBC 7 Responds he bought the fridge in 2017 from Sears, along with a five-year warranty.
He said over the years it needed repairs, but in 2020 it died for good. In September, Kiyoshi was told the fridge would be replaced. However, when it arrived, he said it was clearly used and scratched.
Kiyoshi was promised a refund but then never heard back. That's when he reached out to NBC 7. We were able to help reconnect Kiyoshi and the team at TransformCo, which owns Sears.
Within two months, Kiyoshi told us he got a check for more than $2,100. In a statement to NBC 7, Sears said:
“At Sears, the satisfaction of our members and customers is our top priority. A systems issue caused a delay in sending [Kiyoshi's] check for a replacement refrigerator. His experience did not meet our high standards for customer service and we regret the delay. Once we discovered what the problem was, we were able to correct the issue to [Kiyoshi's] satisfaction."
Car Repairs
Replacing a car's transmission is an expensive process, but it costs even more when you find extra repairs are also being made. That's what Eric told NBC 7 was happening to his 2005 Ford Expedition.
A loyal customer of Kearny Mesa Ford, Eric took it in for repairs but said the shop was fixing everything except the transmission.
After months of going back and forth, he told NBC 7 his car was threatened with impoundment even though the transmission was never fixed.
After that, he reached out to NBC 7. Shortly after we contacted Kearny Mesa Ford, Eric heard back from the shop and was refunded more than $3,000 he had paid for the repairs he hadn't asked for.
We reached out to Kearny Mesa Ford for a statement, but they did not send one.
