MESA, Ariz. — Patricia Kordovsky depends on her hearing aids to experience the world around her.
"My world is very quiet," Patricia Kordovsky said. "It's just like a light switch. I put my hearing aids in; I can hear. I take my hearing aids out and can't hear anything."
The Mesa resident experiences severe hearing loss after suffering from infections in both ears.
Kordovsky said she bought her current pair of hearing aids in February for $2,600 from Beltone Hearing Aid Center in Mesa. The purchase agreement included a three-year warranty and insurance to cover cleanings, adjustments and repairs.
"It's a complete maintenance to make sure that your hearing aids are working to their best they possibly can," Kordovsky said.
When Kordovsky stopped by for a cleaning in July, she said the store near Main Street and Greenfield Road had shut down without explanation.
"I was so angry. I just wanted to cry," Kordovsky said. "You feel very vulnerable because you know if you can't hear, your communication goes way downhill."
When 12News visited the location, there was no signage or proof a hearing aid store was ever there, except for a note from the neighboring business.
"I have no information on the closing of this store, so it is a waste of your and my time to come over and ask me about it," Mail Boxes Express wrote.
A Beltone spokesperson confirmed Christopher O'Brien was an independent operator, but couldn't say why the Mesa store closed.
"Distributors in a network as large as ours come and go and do not have further information to provide on this location," the spokesperson wrote in an email.
12News tried to reach O'Brien, by phone and in person and did not immediately hear back.
"Everybody has life changes. I understand that, but I really feel very strongly that people should have been given a letter and perhaps a couple of referrals of where we could go to," Kordovsky said.
Kordovsky said without a warranty, maintenance would cost hundreds of dollars annually.
“I don’t have another path to follow. This is just a dead end. We have no recourse. We have no place to go. Just spend more money," Kordovsky said.
Thomas Domonoske, an attorney with Consumer Litigation Associates, told 12News that people in Kordovsky's position may have some options.
"If it was from the store where you bought it from, in general, that warranty is only as good as that store staying in business. Whereas, if it's from the manufacturer, than it doesn't matter who sold it," Domonoske said.
Domonoske said consumers might have even more options if they didn't pay with cash because federal law allows some credit card charges to be challenged.
"It's a detailed inquiry that starts with someone getting together all of their documents and not just counting their losses," Domonoske said.
After calling dozens of hearing aid stores in the East Valley, Kordovsky was told Tri-City Audiology in Mesa would honor her warranty.
Consumer protection experts recommend people in similar situations file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office or find a consumer litigation attorney to learn your rights.
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