I wouldn't have been "very happy" having to pay £50 to have the tube swapped in a 14 month old TV.
I always buy my this type of thing from John Lewis because they give (here in Cambridge anyway) a 5 year guarantee that really works. I have returned several TVs with faults including a 4 year old one and I have never had any difficulties with JL. JL also keep their prices below or equal to Dixons (and everyone else).
Robert
What I didn't say was that I was given the TV by work BECAUSE it had gone red and they couldn't be bothered to fix it.
Nick Brooks
Ok, this is what happened.
I took notes. It may be instructive.
In the store were three assistants. Its the Newmarket, Suffolk branch of Dixons. I am namimng names, because what follows is factual.
The two assistants involved are 'Tom' who originally told me it 'would only be a oole o days' and that 'in anycase we will relace it after 6 weeks if it doesn't get fixed' and 'Ben' who sold it to us in the first place.
We enter the store and go and stand by 'Tom' at 13:50. 'Ben' is busy. Tom notices me but decided to ignore me and is seen putting things into a box and taking them out again. I go and stand by the counter.
At 2pm 'ben' appraiches the counter and speaks. I say 'I want a new unit, or a refund before I walk out of this sop'
Ben vanishes to the store back. At 14:05 ben reappears and fiddles with the computer in the shop rear.
Ben says he will phone the manager for authorisation as to what he should do.
I restate their contravention of the sale of goods act.
14:10 still no result. Its only been twenty minutes while we explain to everyone who walks in the shop why we are there. :-)Ben says the manager is called JAMES HAMILTON and we learn later that he is 'away wih a throat ingfectin; but may be in on staurday.
We learn the unit has now been booked for returns, (by 'Ben', who is a resaonable, but junior, type) but will not go out till Monday. I point out that this is a bank holiady. This is hastily corrected to 'Tuesday'.
I insist that this is not good enough. That waiting anoyher two weks for a unit I have only used hal a dozen times in the 12 weeks I have had it is unreasonable, an that I am entitled to more than a vgue promise. I ask him to phone somewone in authority. This turns out to be cusrtomer services at Dixons. He explains teh sitaution nad passed me over to someone who calls themselves 'SeeJay' I ask how that is splet, 'C J' comes teh respnse. I protest that no one is called 'CJ' but she refuses to diculge her real name, and subesquent converstaions make it abundantly clear why. She says her number is 28035, and I ask her if she has any way of proving this, since I have little faith in the veracity of Dixons staff. I may have out it more bluntly that that actually :-)
Point blank refusal. So I ask her to authorise refund/replacement since they have manifestly failed to fix the unit, or even get it to someone who can fix it, in two weeks. She refuses point blamk saynhg that she is not allowed to, and that legally they have 28 days in which to repair or replace. I say that that is not a legal time period, just DIXONS policy. After a heated discusson she admits it is policy. I ask to speak to someone who DIES have authority to refund or replace, she refuses. I mention that there is a nice waasy to do things, and a not so nice way, involving picketing the store, letters to consumer organisations, and legal action. She doesn';t give a damn. Won't budge.
Its now 14:30. We have been in the store nearly half an hour. I don't think they have actually sold antyhing in that time.
We hang around the store having a chat with people coming in. Till about
14:40.Then come home and phone trading statndards, who confirm that we are on legally sound ground EXCEPT that the Act merely states a 'reasonable time period' and this is subject to no actual limits. And unless we go to a high court and set a legal precedent, there is no precise definition of 'reasonable time limit'.
Their recommendation is recorded delivery complaint to the managing director, or one of the directors, and/or a small claims court action, and/or a claim against the credit card company for a refund. Plus contacting watchdog etc. etc. depending on whether we want the goods back, the money back, or personal vengeance :-)
What do you think?
Fun, isn't it?
Isn't this required by the companies act to be on display?
Maybe it'll be best to just let Dixons get on with it. It is annoying but why ruin your Easter fretting about a bloody DVD? Better to get out and go for a long walk in the rain.
The Natural Philosopher wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@b.c:
Behaving like a wanker isn't going to make things any eaiser, even if the law is on your side.
No, not really. Pointless waste of time and money.
I feel your frustration mate, and have been in a similar situation myself (although different circumstances and shop).
If this is any condolence - I will never buy from Dixons again, I had always had a bad feeling about them and your experience just tops it off for me.
Good luck
Alex
In message , Dave Parker writes
although vaguely humorous that really is childish and silly in the present climate and reinforces prejudice against Muslims.
You don't think that losing the staff some sles, is going to get their attention?
You don't think that making life as miserable for the jobsworths, gets their attention and gets your case kicked upstairs?
You don't think reporting the whole sorry episode to here, Watchdog, and everywhere else, will drop Dixons sales even more?
Dixons as a whole care about one thing only. Your money. If you mount actions to stop people buying from them, because they do not live up to ther promises, or trade legally, and stick to the facts, then their sales suffer. If their sales suffer enough, they will sort out their whole atitude to customer service. If not, they will go broke. I am not bothered which one it is, but the current level of service is as far as I am concerned totally unacceptable. To put it mildly.
Their policy is poor, their customer service department is just a complete dead end. Their staff are untrained in anything but convenient excuses. And they supply faulty goods.
Would you, knowing that, but from them?
Not really. Why should you have to waste your time.?
After this fiasco, I would have gone home, had a cup of tea and written said letters to MD and sent them special delivery giving them
7 working days to resolve the matter and advising them that if this is not done that you will immediately initiate legal action for recovery of the money spent plus expenses.. Send it by fax as well.Write to your credit card company and make them aware that you are in dispute with DSG, I have found that Mastercard and Visa are pretty good about this and will generally pull the transaction and make the retailer explain themselves.
Total cost about £4 for that.
Then after 7 working days initiate a Small Claims action on their web site if matter is not resolved.
To be honest, I don't know why DSG waster their money and everybody's time trying to defend the indefensible. They probably play the numbers game and rely on the natural British reticence to complain.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
The trouble is that, to my knowledge, the way they treat customers has been the same for over 38 years. I have heard many vocal complaints in the press. Trading Standards have had many successful prosecutions against them. Yet they are still a potent high street sales force.
There must be a better way of alerting the buying public of their cheating ways but I do not know what it is.
I wish you luck with your campaign.
Not worth the effort. Somy regard after sales service the same way landlords regard their cutomers at chucking out time:
'We've had your money, now piss off'.
The Natural Philosopher wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@b.c:
No - Dixons care not a fig about my money. I never buy anything from them so they never get any of it. Almost never - about five years ago I desperately needed some AA batteries at 07:00 at Heathrow - not a lot of choice. They only care about the money of people who actually do or will give it to them.
I don't think that TNP is behaving onanistically at all. In fact, I think that he has been remarkably restrained.
I would have been nowhere near as tolerant.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
On Thu, 8 Apr 2004 19:35:40 +0100, "dave @ stejonda" uttered:
Nah, Not Muslims, just Suicide bombers.
-- Dewi,
(remove spin for email)
Demetrius Zeluff muttered:
A lesson you could also learn when posting to a newsgroup... let's hope you never need any d.i.y support or advice. People DO remember Trolls you know. TNP was far too trusting with these incompetent sharks. Under the law he had the right to demand a refund/replacement the first time he went in with the DVD/VCR and was fobbed off and deceived for 2 weeks with the promise of a repair that never made it out of the shop.
I notice that currently "Under Special Offer - Easter Sale" Dixon are promoting an "Interactive Internet - the World at your fingertips etc. etc. garbage garbage" package for the astonishing price of "Only £999.99".
All I can say is if tempted, do bear in mind that your Dixon salesman probably can't operate a simple in-house computer system with all options covered for him, and their Customer Services Department acts as a cut out between Dixon, you and the law.
It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Parker" saying something like:
My late mother in law had a very reasonable view of life, which she regularly applied to the local shopkeepers.
"If there was nothing wrong with the money, there should be nothing wrong with the goods."
Our family has always applied this principle. NP is doing just that. If this behaviour were to occur in the US, there would be a lawyer panting on the leash for the chance to sue Dixons. That is what will be happening here within a few years. Customers only get annoyed when the shopkeepers (staff) don't do their jobs properly. Unfortunately, it's a common experience in the UK with our Master, Slave, incompetent management culture. Good customer service means that the person goes away delighted and will recommend you to others and return again another day to spend more money in your shop--good business.
As a side comment, in the 80's, Dixons sold a range of Siemens TVs which caught fire on a regular basis. The staff were very aware of this and made sure that they sold the product insurance with the sets to avoid a mass of irate customers! The normal insider remark was " sold another 17 fires today!"
Regards Capitol
It sounds like she was a very sensible & straightforward woman.
It will stand you in good stead.
NP is doing just that.
I rather suspect that TNP has an axe to grind. S/he has previously claimed an understanding of the SoGA, but his/her actions have demonstrated this is not the case.
I have no doubt there would, but this country is somewhat more advanced. The U.K. consumer is protected by legislation,( in this case the SoGA), the enforcement of which, due partly to the legislation & party to our legal system, means that it is not necessary to employ or engage a solicitor, at least not in the vast majority of cases. Enforcement of consumer rights is therefore quite inexpensive & does not expose the consumer to unquantifiable legal costs. The cororally of this is of course, that the consumer/the public need to be aware of the protection afforded by Law.
Customers only get annoyed when the shopkeepers (staff) don't do their jobs properly. Unfortunately, it's a common
Personally I beleve this is not a matter of incompetence as retailers such as DSG do not attain a ore-emince due to incompetence.
Indeed, but the jury is still out as to which of the two philosphies will prevail.
Regards. Joe Lee
The Natural Philosopher wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@b.c:
Anyone could have told you that dixons were bloody awful before you went there. We[tinw] all know Dixons is bloody awful; you can stop telling us [tinu].
Have you been to see the Citizen's Advice Bureau yet?
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