Linda Krienke, of Minnetonka, thought she would have a replacement for her broken Sony Blu-ray DVD player by Thanksgiving -- then Christmas. She's been waiting since October. The DVD player, her husband's retirement present, broke last fall and Krienke sent it to the company for repair.

She didn't hear anything until December, when she called and was told that the device was beyond repair and she would get a replacement. Another month went by and Krienke still hadn't heard anything. The couple couldn't use their home theater system without the Blu-ray player. She continued to call and ask for an update on the situation.

Last week, she finally got a response, of sorts. Sony sent her a small envelope containing DVD titled "disc update" that, presumably, would have upgraded her broken and still-missing DVD player. Krienke was fed up and called Whistleblower.

"I was totally let down," she said. "This has got to be the last straw of misunderstanding."

The next day, she got calls from two customer service representatives. A spokesman for Sony told Whistleblower that the company was sending the replacement Blu-ray player, but if somehow there was another screw-up, she would be reimbursed.

New twist on the grandparent scam

Business owners are the new grandparents in the scamming world, according to the Better Business Bureau. A scam that has long preyed on the elderly is turning to business as a new source of victims. The BBB said firms have reported receiving calls from blocked phone numbers where the caller claims to be a police detective. The business owner is then asked to provide bail money for an employee who is in the hospital after a drunken-driving-related accident. Just like in the grandparent scam, the would-be thief tries to get the person who answers the phone to give up details, such as the name of an employee. The BBB said when some callers were pressed for the name of the employee, they would reply with "it's someone you'd least expect."

To avoid this scam, business owners are urged to ask specific questions and train employees on how to respond if they get such a call.

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