Argos Mail Boxes

[The Medway Handyman]

Had a job booked in today, house divided into 3 flats. One of the tenants has complained that another has stolen his mail, so the (remote) landlord asked me to fit 3 exterior mailboxes.

The landlord obviously wanted each mailbox keyed individually, so he gave me three Argos catalogue numbers for three entirely different mailboxes.

Didn't have time to get to Argos earlier & typically one box was discontinued, one was out of stock & one had a changed part number.

Finally managed to sort this out & bought three mailboxes each completely different from each other. Different price, shape, size, finish.

Having been caught out by Argos before, I unpacked each one in the van before I drove away to check for missing bits.

Unbelievable. Any of the keys would open any mailbox.

Identity theft? Easy! If your chosen victim has an Argos mailbox. No security whatsoever.

Are these people completely thick?

Local security centre solved the problem. Three identical mailboxes all with completely different keys.

Don't buy an Argos mailbox if you want any privacy.

[Andy Hall]

Yes. It's in order to match their customer base.

Which is why it almost always makes sense to go to the place that has a focus on what you are intending to do.

Better still, don't buy anything from Argos.

[Rod]

Not usually one to stick up for Argos, (I hate the place and we are just getting a new Argos Extra - whoopee), I have to admit to relative approval yesterday. Did anyone else see Watchdog? (Yes - I know, the program that seems to spend most of the time promoting itself.) They covered some horrendous skin rashes seemingly caused by sofas made by one company in China. Of the three suppliers I can remember, World of Leather and Walmsleys seemed to not give a damn wheras Argos has done something about informing all customers and replacing sofas.

Credit where credit is due.

[Bob Mannix]

Nothing wrong with Argos, I frequently shop there. An Argos mailbox having an entirely unsecure lock is not at all unbelievable though, I agree - can't imagine why the TMH would have expected anything else!

[nightjar]

I suppose it rather depends on what they see the pupropse of the lock being. A keyed-alike system will prevent access from the causal, curious passer-by, which may be all they expect. It also has some stocking advantages to them and would allow them to provide spare keys easily, were they minded to do so. They should, however, advertise the boxes as keyed-alike.

In France, you have to have a mailbox on the perimeter of the property, so even the ones you buy in a shed have a high-security lock.

I would have gone to a locksmith to start with.

Colin Bignell

[the_constructor]

No one in their right mind could expect Argos to be responsible for the locks that they put onto the boxes or anything else. They boxes and other goods are sourced by Argos from manufacturing companies who in order to keep the price down often use the same components. James

[F]

Why not? A simple problem with keys and mailboxes shouldn't be enough to damn them out of hand.

I've bought lots of things from Argos over the years. Quick and pleasant service, decent prices, good quality goods and on the odd occasion I've had to take something back (usually because it turned out to be not quite what I wanted - ie my fault) they've given me a full refund with no questions asked.

[David in Normandy]

Despite this the postman has a special master key that opens all mail boxes so he can put small parcels in that are too big to go through the slot. I can't help wondering how freely available such a master key is. A crooks delight.

[George]

Righto,however I'd find it a bit cramped doing it in a mailbox.

[The Medway Handyman]

I'm just gullible Bob :-)

[The Medway Handyman]

I will next time.

[Andy Hall]

Zero value over and above ordering the items from a web site.

Bad experiences on all of those points.

[Andy Hall]

Zero value over and above ordering the items from a web site.

Bad experiences on all of those points.

[Frank Erskine]

Not exactly; if you can get goods 'over the counter' there's the advantage of not having to wait for a delivery.

Admittedly Argos does have a bit of a 'chav' image - people hanging around waiting for their 'number' to be called, but I suppose it's not much different to Screwfix :-)

A while ago I bought a TomTom thingie from Argos. After a short time the carrying case stitching failed and I had no bother whatever having the whole kit & caboodle replaced with no paperwork or questions asked (as is only right). There wasn't the hassle of having to parcel up and post the machine to some vague destination...

[chris French]

In message , Frank Erskine writes

Yup, and prices can be better than websites. I also like being able to look things up and reserve online, knowing they have just what I want and just have to pick it up.

My returns experience to argos has also been similarly good.

Yes some of the stuff they sell is a bit rubbish, but that goes for lots of places. But mostly they sell branded stuff it seems and you pretty much know what to expect.

[A.Clews]

Thus spake F ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

Maybe, but what an *incredibly* sterile and characterless shopping experience it always is.

Still, not a lot different from internet shopping, really.

[Andy Hall]

Been there, tried that and they didn't. No apology or compensation

Similar issue with M&S and received both

[Frank Erskine]

Perhaps it's you, then, Andy...

[Andy Hall]

That could be.

However, the difference is the outcome.

I will buy from M&S in the future. I will not buy from Argos.

There is no excuse for bad service, regardless of the price.