Woman says Best Buy, installers didn't complete job

CHARLESTON - A Virginia woman has filed a suit against a national electronics retailer, claiming her contract was breached and work she paid for never was completed.

Debra Wroczynski, of Cleveland, Va., and her parents George and Hope Morris, who live in Kanawha County, filed a lawsuit March 20 against Best Buy Co. Inc.

The suit says that on Dec. 4, 2004, Wroczynski was buying a television from the Best Buy store at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville. The television was a gift to her parents. Wroczynski purchased a 42-inch flat-panel television, wall-mounting kit, high-performance DVI-D cable, HDMI-to-DVI connector, Monster Component Power Center, high-performance audio cable A/V kits and a universal remote control.

She also talked about installing the television with a Best Buy sales associate and explained she wanted to have it hooked up to Charter Cable and mounted on a brick wall over her parents' fireplace, the complaint states.

The total amount for the television, installation and home theater components was $7,212.86, and Wroczynski used a Best Buy credit card for her purchases, the suit says.

On Dec. 9, 2004, the television was delivered to the Morris' home.

"In the ensuing months, through May 2005 and up until the present, three separate installation companies hired and retained by Best Buy to deliver and install the purchased goods made some effort to install the Morris' home theater, including: National Installation Company, K.A.T. Communications, and Digital Technology, Inc.," the suit says.

The work, which the suit claims was disorganized, incomplete and of generally poor quality, was incomplete, as of March 20.

Some problems the installation crews noted were the wrong cables were purchased; the wrong molding was supplied; the new cables were incompatible with the television, DVD player or VCR; and members of the installation team failed to show up, the complaint states.

"Currently, the wire molding is not properly installed; the television's wiring is dangling and exposed; the television is not functioning as promised; and the universal television remote control was taken by Digital Technology for programming and has not been returned to the Morris'," the suit says.

Since the purchase, the Morris' have spent more than $550 on additional equipment and about $300 on an unusable high-definition cable subscription, incurred finance charges on the Best Buy credit card and have spent countless house pursuing the satisfactory completion of the installation job, all to no avail, the suit says.

Wroczynski claims Best Buy breached their contract with her, by failing to provide a competent installation team.

Wroczynski and the Morris' seek compensation, including damages for each violation of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, in an amount to be determined by a jury.

The plaintiffs' attorney is Bruce Jacobs, and the case has been assigned to Judge Paul Zakaib.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number 07-C-497