Fio all those who love Dixons as much as I do..;-)

[Anthony Frost]

Frederik Pohl, "The Midas Plague". And I think he did another story in the same world, possible "The Man Who Ate The World".

Anthony

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

No.

Currys is Dixons. Comet is, err, Comet.

[Magwitch]

:::Jerry:::: muttered:

Oh sorry, I thought the ponderous waffle above was some sort of post-modern tract on consumerism and responded in kind (are you my bank manager btw?). Do explain what a 'distress purchase' is for those of us who, (luckily) have never had to make one.

[Meldrew of Meldreth]

In article , Magwitch writes

Something you have little or no choice over making. For example, a bus fare from Stagecoach, as there are no other bus companies available locally (and assuming you have no option of walking or cycling).

[Tony Bryer]

Interestingly both have a long history as traditional retailers

"Charles Kalms opened the first Dixons photographic studio at 32 High Street, Southend. The business was incorporated as a private company called Dixon Studios Limited and registered on 27 October 1937 with share capital of £100. ... When the first studio opened in Southend, the shop front could accommodate a name of no more than six letters. The solution was found in the telephone directory - "Dixons" was short enough to fit over the door!"

"The Company is founded in 1933 by George Hollingberry in Hull as Comet Battery Stores Limited - a two man business charging batteries and accumulators for customer wireless sets. The Company then moves in to the radio rental business and by 1939 has 2,500 accounts with a small fleet of vans."

remember the first Comet Discount Warehouse near here being opened in Hayes c.1970. Nothing on display IIRC: you went to the counter, paid and got given a sealed carton. I still think of them as Comet Discount Warehouse though on white goods (and probably other things) local independent shops can be significantly cheaper.

[Chris Brown]

PC World have their own peculiarities though. I use them to buy my printer cartridges, mainly because they charge the same price as Robert Sayle (this is unusual - IME PC World are typically very expensive), but actually seem to have them in stock. Every time they sell them to me, they always ask if the cartridge is for "personal or business use". I say either "Personal", "Business", or "Both" depending on my mood. It doesn't seem to make any difference to print quality or anything.

[A Plagued Lighthouse Keeper]

I always thought a retailer sold things. Every time I've been to Comet in the last 10 years or so to buy white goods (not exactly often mind) the product I've wanted was on display but they had no stock and wouldn't sell me the display model. That's what I call useless. Same was true of Currys and the other crap one on the Beehive mind.

Ended up buying online in the end...

[Tony Sumner]

I nearly did when the washing machine finally died, but it seemed that online purchases of white goods typically have delivery times of about a week to ten days. Not good when you've got a three-day old lot of wet washing. I phoned Andrew McCulloch (sp?) to see what they had in stock - expecting to pay over the online price - and they beat the online price and delivered next day. So they get my recommendation.

Tony

[bw]

The business/personal question is to do with the VAT receipt if paying by card because included in the total cost of 11.75 is a 2.5% 'card handling' fee which is not subject to VAT, the VAT receipt will show 9.75 + VAT + Card fee.

[A Plagued Lighthouse Keeper]

I thought this scheme had been ruled against now? (at least the recent Private Eye so claimed)

[bw]

Apparently so according to this,

, but a Tesco receipt from yesterday still has the 2.5% fee message.

[mike ring]

Worse in the sense I tried to enforce my rights on a DVD which failed because the tray wouldn't open. It was nearly 3 months after purchase

Not necessarily a replacement, but a reasonably expeditious repair.

It was a total nightmare and about 6 weeks of hard graft to get it done, umpteen phone calls to the one and only number they have, the only line contact is by filling in a form so you can't prove you sent anything, and of course they don't answer.

I can't imagine what it cost them to give me all the aggravation, hundreds more than if they'd just done it, which in the end they had to, just ahead of the courts.

Would you feel good about a shop that had done that to you?

mike

[Andy Hall]

At running a business.

Existing.

[Fitz]

Given my recent experience of the link I'm not surprised.

Walked into the store explaining that my contract expired months ago and I wanted to take home a new phone that day, having all the right proof of address etc. that is always needed. I asked them to sell me a phone. They asked what I was looking for and I plucked an example out of the air of the sort of tariff I was interested in which happened to be on T-Mobile. The reply truly flummoxed me. "T-Mobile give much better deals through their stores sir - I recomend you try there". And that was it. I walked out wondering how they ever made money - now everything becomes clear.

Even the advice was rubbish - I went to the T-Mobile store and gave similar introduction and the drippiest, most useless sales assistant offered me the most awful of deals which I rejected so she just walked off. Ended up going to Phones4U where I got a deal approximating what I wanted.

-- Steve F

[Meldrew of Meldreth]

In article , Andy Hall writes

Very helpful :-(

[Meldrew of Meldreth]

In article , mike ring writes

I've had exactly the same experience with PC World. Bought a modem that was DOA, and they refused to take my word for it (what would I know, I only worked in that industry) and insisted on sending back to supplier to be tested.

It's a common problem, but if you can find a guaranteed way of avoiding it then buy elsewhere. Perhaps a John Lewis kind of place will be less of a risk?

[:::Jerry::::]

post-modern

(luckily) have

You really are an ignorant little moron trying to look as though you have a brain cell...

[bob_builder]

They can still take the 2.5% processing fee, as before, but now have to pay VAT on it.

[A Plagued Lighthouse Keeper]

So what's the point? They won't reduce your bill by 2.5% if you pay cash so it still feels like a con of some form to me...

[mike ring]

I think that's right, but the skinflint tendency really balks at paying top dollar-ish, when the chances of failure these days are really quite small.

Like filling leggy blondes with gin & tonic, and backing second favourites for a place, me and humanity never learn ;-)

mike