What are the odds that they will pay?

We got groceries last night, and picked up a couple frozen dinners. Earl was eating his, chicken tenders (marketed as boneless!), and not only bit into something hard (a piece of bone) but managed to break a tooth on it! He called the company today, and they are sending a claim form with a packet to send the piece of bone back to them but they "can't guarantee" that they will cover anything. Of course, the claim form has to have a statement from a doctor/dentist about the damage caused.

Have any of you had to do something like this? What are the odds of them paying for his dental work to fix the tooth? (Personally, I don't think we'll get squat, but his father who used to be a health inspector said that if they balk at it to contact the USDA and go that route and it will be paid right away.)

Depends on the reputation they want to keep. My mom fell at a hotel and broke her leg years ago. The hotel not only paid for her doctor's bill, but also in home nursing because she could not get up and get around for about 6 weeks. It was a big chain hotel - I think at a smaller chain she would not have gotten this support.

Don't take no for an answer. Always ask for the name of the person you are talking to and ask them to spell it (write it down). If the person you are talking to doesn't give you what you are asking for, ask for their manager and keep going up the chain as necessary until you ask for the CEO of the company. I resorted to that tactic once (bad carpet installation that they wouldn't repair) and I got to the CEO's personal assistant. I got everything I asked for and a whole lot more. This works much better the larger the firm.

I bought a frozen dinner a few months ago that claimed to be chicken, veggies and rice in a cheese sauce. Imagine my dismay to find ~1~ piece of chicken about 1/2" square.

I sent a complaint to the company, along with the proof of purchase. The reply I got was that the machines control the amount of food put into the trays and sometimes mistakes are made. I got a coupon for 1 free dinner.

About 10 yrs ago, my mom wrote to the makers of a freeze dried coffee to complain she had coffee grounds in the bottom of her jar. She included some of the grounds with the letter. They did a chemical analysis of the granules, and it included water and sugar. They concluded she put a wet spoon into the jar. BUT! Not only did she get a case of the coffee, but she also got $25 in coupons for their products.

Luckily, neither of us were hurt, but there was a big difference in the response.

Something like this has happened to me twice..

First when I was 18, I was at a hotel and I was swimming, I slipped on a lose rock (rock siding how crazy) and cut my leg open. I had to get 12 stitches in my thigh. They not only paid for my doctor bill, but there was a $7,000 settlement, and a week paid stay there yearly for 5 years.

Second, when I first moved into this house, I had carpet placed on the stairs, I wasn't able to be there due to work, so I locked my dogs in an upstairs room and had a neighbor sit with the men until they were done...my neighbor was downstairs when she heard my dog let out a yelp, and went up to see what happened, the man claimed my 5 lb miniature pinscher attacked him and made him feel threatened so he kicked him. The company paid for vet bills, and it was still in court when a few months later my dog died from a head injury caused by this man...the company has just recently decided to settle out of court, and are still coming to terms with my lawyer.

When I recently became ill, and food poisoning was suspected (and later ruled out) I contacted a company that I had sampled their newest product on a food tray at the grocery store. I told the woman that I wasn't looking to blame or sue, but to find answers to the symptoms I had. They were very nice and professional and after talking with me at length reassured me that their product was not at fault. They said they wanted my address for "the record." I gave it to them.

The other day I received a letter from them fairly detailed explaining their quality control process. Attached to the letter was a check for $35.00. Granted, it won't pay my ER bill, but it was a nice gesture all the same. You might get something from the company depending on how you handle the correspondence between you, but I would be quite surprised if they footed the whole bill.

One year I sent in a complaint to a beverage company. We had been on vacation in AZ and had stopped to buy a few six packs. When we opened up the cans it was nothing but carbonated water! Every can was like that. After I wrote them, they sent me a voucher, and we drove to their local distributer where they loaded 6 cases of the beverage in our truck!

Wow some stories. The only thing even remotely close to this (and it's quite a stretch) is I once bought some eye makeup remover that was supposedly hypoallegenic, I believe was the phrase. Within minutes of using it, my undereye broke out in an unattractive rash... let's say it was hard to cover that up.

I emailed the company and asked them what I could be allergic to (I didn't care about the money but I just wanted to know what could have caused that reaction). I got a full refund. Granted it was, what, $3? Lol. But I think it really depends on how you treat the people you talk to, ya know?

Good luck!

I'd say it depends on the company, what kind of reputation they have, and how interested they are in keeping customers happy.

I once bought a bag of M&Ms out of a vending machine and found they tasted...odd. They were edible, just not like they usually are. It says on the package "freshness guaranteed", so I sent the remainder of the bag to the address listed. A few weeks later I got a letter from the Mars Company stating that they believed the package had been subjected to temperature extremes, thereby effecting the quality of their product. They included 2 or 3 coupouns for free 1-lb bags and several additional coupons for discounts on their candy. That was okay by me

well.. i havent had any of this.. Luckly.
But i wish you all the best Heidi!
and that hubby has a new tooth in no time

I bought a bag of chips - Michael Seasons - they make the best green onion and yoghurt chips and this bag tasted stale so I contacted the company - they sent me two free bags - both fresh - and I was in heaven eating those chips!

Recently my fiancee opened a can of Campbell's Chicken & Dumplings soup, with only 2 or 3 dumplings in it- I e-mailed the company weeks ago, & so far have recieved no response. Maybe I'll pester them again..
The squeaky wheel gets the grease!!!

That is some incredibly bad luck to have a tooth break just by biting into something. I hope they pay for the dental work. Once I bought some spray deodorant that was barely spraying out of the nozzle no matter what I did. The valve was faulty. I complained to the 800 number and they mailed me two vouchers for a free can of deoderant. Sorry. That's my best story of getting a response from a company. I'm glad I've never been injured by a defective product though.

I am a legal secretary. Alot of lawyers will take cases such as this one on a contingency basis. It's a good investment, as the lawyer can handle all of the correspondance and sometimes get a better reaction or settlement offer more quickly.

Originally Posted by valanhb

We got groceries last night, and picked up a couple frozen dinners. Earl was eating his, chicken tenders (marketed as boneless!), and not only bit into something hard (a piece of bone) but managed to break a tooth on it! He called the company today, and they are sending a claim form with a packet to send the piece of bone back to them but they "can't guarantee" that they will cover anything. Of course, the claim form has to have a statement from a doctor/dentist about the damage caused.

Have any of you had to do something like this? What are the odds of them paying for his dental work to fix the tooth? (Personally, I don't think we'll get squat, but his father who used to be a health inspector said that if they balk at it to contact the USDA and go that route and it will be paid right away.)

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I broke my tooth on a life saver just recently. I just went to the dentist to get it fixed, luckily I have dental insurance. But then I suppose life savers are supposed to be hard, so, I guess I would have been out of luck even if I asked them to pay for it, LOL. You husband doesn't have dental? I don't think you have anything to lose by trying to make them pay.

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

You husband doesn't have dental?

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He has no insurance at all. That's probably the biggest reason why we're pursuing it with the company.

Originally Posted by valanhb

He has no insurance at all. That's probably the biggest reason why we're pursuing it with the company.

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Like I said, you got nothing to lose if you try. Broken teeth are no fun, I ought to know. But strangely it didn't hurt at all, so I was lucky, I guess. But now it looks really ugly...

O.K., here's my dishwasher story. Yes, a dishwasher.

My ex and I were moving into our new place, and the dishwasher needed to be replaced. I went to a brand-name store (chain, all over the country), and saw a name brand, very expensive model for sale at a ridiculously low price. Turns out it was the floor model with a few scratches and dings. I bought it right then and there.

It got delivered and then installed. I loaded up some dishes because I wanted to play with it. And water came out all over my floor. And I mean all over. I called the store, and they sent out another guy to re-install it. This time, he stayed to see the trouble. And was there trouble? Yeppers.

He leaned down, and said "oh, this is a demo model. It has holes here (pointing) and here and here. Sorry, that's what you bought. I can't exchange it."

And did I rant? Yes. Did I rave? Oh sure. Look, don't make me spend money on something that doesn't even work, for heaven's sake. I'm scots/irish raised by a New York Jew...trust me, when I go, I goooooooooooooooo. I'll guilt you seven ways to Sunday. The guy gave me the name of his manager.

I called the manager. No satisfaction. I researched and got the name of the regional person. Again, no satisfaction. I called the manufacturer of the washer to see if I could get replacement parts...and told them why I needed them.

And I then called the Customer Service VP. I got his name from the manufacturer's customer service person...and got satisfaction.

Not only did I get fully reimbursed for the washer, I was also sent a check for $500 from the store as "cleaning fees."

And then about a week later, I got a call from my ex. "Um, there's some guy here from XX company. He wants to see you. Can you come home right now?" so I did...and burst into tears when I saw the brand new, fully installed and operational dishwasher sent from the manufacturer, with the note "Please accept our apologies for selecting a poorly run company to represent us. And here's a whole week of dinner dishes on us." And in the note were 7 vouchers for dinners in the local area at top rated restaurants.

I figure I came out ahead by about $1,200 all told. My ex has the dishwasher now. I wish he had the old crummy one. Oh well...

Best-
Michele

Originally Posted by valanhb

We got groceries last night, and picked up a couple frozen dinners. Earl was eating his, chicken tenders (marketed as boneless!), and not only bit into something hard (a piece of bone) but managed to break a tooth on it! He called the company today, and they are sending a claim form with a packet to send the piece of bone back to them but they "can't guarantee" that they will cover anything. Of course, the claim form has to have a statement from a doctor/dentist about the damage caused.

Have any of you had to do something like this? What are the odds of them paying for his dental work to fix the tooth? (Personally, I don't think we'll get squat, but his father who used to be a health inspector said that if they balk at it to contact the USDA and go that route and it will be paid right away.)

Click to expand...

Hi Heidi, Heidi here (HAD to do that!!!!!) I once got food poisoning from lean Cuisine (I, myself think it was from the wine i was drinking but---) and I called them to talk to them about it. I had bought it at a bargin store and thought maybe the store had kept it too long.

They offered to pay my ER bill and then sent me coupons for free lean cusine! I guess it just depends on the company!

Hope you get something back from them Heidi!

Wow Michele, that's impressive! But you certainly deserved that after all the work you did!