B&Q Price promise Boll**ks

[Earl Kella]

Went in today to get a small spot light plus a few other bits, was shocked to get bill for £77. WTF? Checked receipt which was correct but I couldn't believe the price of some of the items I picked up without really checking.

So I went next door to Wickes and got the whole lot equivalent items and the bill came to £52.

Went back to B&Q and said "OK can I have my refund plus 10% please". They said "No, sorry it has to be the same brand so this time we can only give you a refund."

And we are not talking all Black and Decker here either, just differant manufacturers. So in fact B&Q can get a "Fred Bloggs Mitre Saw" mark it up by 50% and still be safe with their price promise because they know Wickes don't do Fred Bloggs.

The penny drops; of course it has to be the same brand however their notice just states "same product" with no mention of brand. All this time I've been buying there thinking it must be cheaper than next door or else everyone would be getting this 10% refund. NOT TRUE, Earl you've been suckered in.

Should I take this up with trading standards or am I just being a bit Harry Enfield?

Earl

[Andy Hall]

I wouldn't say you've been suckered. If the product has a different brand name on it and different packaging, it is not the same product.

There are always several sides to these discussions.

The retailers have own brand products for a variety of reasons, this being one of them. They did give you a refund on the purchase, which they are not required to do by law since there was probably nothing wrong with the thing.

Another game which is commonly played with branded products is for the vendor to produce a special package for the retailer. For example, take a look at Kärcher pressure washers. You will find that B&Q sells a model designated KB203. As far as I could see, it doesn't appear as a model number on Kärcher's web site or at any other retailer, and comes with a certain package of accessories. The machine, of course, is a standard model from the range. Halfords do the same from time to time with KH bundles.

This serves the manufacturer as well because there is less justification for their other retailers selling standard products to complain if B&Q wants to bomb the price on a packaged deal.

I've successfully had 10% payouts from all of the sheds from one time or another on branded products, notably decorating materials and security products.

I don't think that Trading Standards will be interested in what happened here because the products weren't the same and they have operated within their policy.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Dave Plowman]

Of course it has to be an identical product. Would you expect all cars to be the same price?

[Dave Liquorice]

My thoughts as well. These days you really do have to read what it says not what you would like it to say.

Vanilla Ice Cream or Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream only one has Vanilla in it...

[Earl Kella]

What you say is true.

However I do think that what you say is not obvious to the average consumer. If they go into a shop to buy a Tenon saw (one of the items I bought) B&Qs price promise may imply to them that if you can buy a Tenon saw from anywhere else cheaper then they will give you the 10%. Especially as they only had one brand of Tenon saw for me to make my choice from.

I still think their large 5 foot sign should state that the price promise applies to the same brand only and not same "product" or else this is misleading. To me a Tenon saw is a Tenon saw.

Earl

[Andy Hall]

Well..... OK.....

Why don't you give Trading Standards a call on Monday and see what they think about it.

If Sainsbury's were doing a price promise, and you went to Tesco and found their own brand of beans was cheaper than Sainsbury's own brand, would you expect to claim from Sainsbury's? You might if it were Heinz.....

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[chris French]

In message , Earl Kella writes

I consider myself an average consumer, what ever one of those might be.

Well I have to say tat it is pretty obvious to me that there are going to be different quality products - even if they aren't all sold in one store.

No that is another point, if you truly think the wording of the sign is unclear then yes contact TS. I don't know that I would consider that wording deliberately misleading, I can see how someone might consider it unclear.

This is just another promotional tool, it is wrong to believe that it means the prices must there fore be low. Most people are probably never going to actually check so even if other places are selling the products lower, there is probably a limit to the number of people who would claim any way.

[Peter Parry]

To be fair the difference is often no more than a label. Wing Pang Po Motor Factory of China turns out tools, at the end of the production line some get a B&Q label stuck on, some a Wickes one and some (in a different colour plastic moulding) a much more up market label. These identical products get sold at enormously different prices.

[Andy Hall]

Yes but they are not necessarily identical.

A product is the complete package including the backup services (or not). The retail deliverable might or might not include accessories like a plastic case or some bits or a small unrelated item to make the item more attractive to the buyer.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Earl Kella]

You don't walk into a car showroom and see all types of car on offer, you only see one brand. I am trying to argue that a price promise should state all criteria involved and not expect the consumer to find out the rules when they try to take them up on the offer.

Yeah guys I accept I am trying to blame "the company" for my own mistake in buying their own offer of purchase. I have a choice and in future I will definitely shop around instead if believing that B&Qs price promise means they are the cheapest around.

I still do maintain that that is the purpose of their price promise to lull shoppers into a false sense of security that what they are buying is the best deal. So, you see a mitre block and it is £15 and you automatically think "I can't get one cheaper at Wickes or else B&Q would have spotted it and lowered their price".

Price promise should clearly state "same product, same brand".

The only reason for my original email was the complete feeling of being ripped off after buying a few small items, price differences as follows:

3 spot light B&Q £34.97 Wickes £24.99 + bulbs £5.16 Coping Saw (sorry not Tenon) B&Q £9.98 Wickes £7.99 Saw blades B&Q £3.78 Wickes £2.29 Adjustable Bevel B&Q £13.98 Wickes £7.99

Those few quid extra on each purchase make the world of difference to me. I don't think I have ever visited a DIY store and spent less than £50.

I generally use B&Q because of size and choice compared to Wickes (my local stores for reference only) and I am pretty disappointed to find that they do not always offer value for money.

Cheers

Earl

[Peter Parry]

True, but as I am sure you know the "value added" usually isn't, it's merely an excuse to hoick the price up. Some time ago I used to frequent a shirt factory in Belfast quite a lot (where the walls were positioned was quite important at the time). In between other things I was always intrigued to watch shirts being produced of identical materials to identical designs on identical production lines until at the end of the line the pile of shirts were randomly distributed to a number of other production lines. On these different labels were sewn into them and different packaging used. Identical shirts ended up with prices of GBP70 plus or GBP5 depending upon nothing more than the wrapping.

[Andy Hall]

Earl, I believe you'll find that all the sheds have a similar price promise. I am pretty sure that the notice on Focus is similar to that in B&Q,.

You can't get a B&Q one in Wickes or a Wickes one in B&Q so there isn't a conflict.

The brand is inherent in the meaning of the word "product".

But were they the same and at least of the same quality?

They are only doing what they say they are doing.

Every retailer does price comparisons on its large selling lines and will selectively trumpet when it feels that it has a price or product advantage.

Supermarkets do it with loss leaders to get you into the store.

You said yourself that you use B&Q because of size and choice. That has value as a convenience. There are probably some other examples of items where B&Q is cheaper or has things that Wickes does not. It then comes down to how much time you want to spend doing price research. There is a trade off there.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Dave Plowman]

Well VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat may all be basically the same car but sell for vastly different prices too. Unless both products are labelled 'Bloggs MkIII', it would be unwise to assume they are identical regardless of looks. One might be machined and tested to a much higher standard, for example.

Take DVMs. Supposedly exactly the same make and model can cost a considerably different price according to whether it's been accurately calibrated and has a certificate confirming this. But you couldn't tell just by looking.

[Alan]

In message , Andy Hall wrote

Tesco's will only compare their prices with Sainsbury or Asda. If they compared their prices with those charged in lesser known supermarkets operating in the UK they woud be seen to be _very_ expensive.

[kinslerp]

How about identical (and I mean identical), but only a different badge? I've had retailer claim that a small badge meant they were a different product, and decline to offer the same price. Fair enough, perhaps, but it shows up the worthless nature of some of these offers.

#Paul

[Andy Hall]

Then it isn't identical.

They were.

To a point they are, but generally own-brand products are sold at the lower price points as it is. You can compare products of the same brand that are available in multiple places and obtain a refund. Remember that they don't *have* to make these offers.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Dave Plowman]

But how can you (or they) be certain they are identical and just the badge is different? They could be built/tested to entirely different standards - and maybe even include a different warranty.

[Earl Kella]

Not regularly, I've found they just keep you on the line for hours.

At least I can rest easy knowing I have helped these people out :-)

My wife tells me I am such a cynic about everything and never believe any advertising trash, or even some "reality" TV prog. That's why I was so pissed at not realising the mechanics behind the price promise.

Not anymore!

Earl (Still think sign should say "Same product, same brand").

[Steve Firth]

Only a very stupid person would think that.

[John Stumbles]

Do you phone up those 09**** numbers when you receive a mailshot or SMS saying you've won a £x000 prize?

How much have you made recently helping West African businessmen spirit the personal fortunes of recently deceased/deposed dictators out of their countries via your bank account?

Remember: there's no such thing as a free lunch :-)

1. Read the small print
2. Caveat Emptor

Hey! let's be careful out there!