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I just tried to purchase a lcd from comets i only went to them because i could not get one from dixons who i normaly use they said they had the tv in stock and i payed by card then i had an email to say they will let me no in 48 hrs if i can have the tv as they cant take payment from my card there is a problem with my card not true they did not have the tv in stock so we called them and asked if i can have the tv as i cant wait 48hrs it was a gift
so my wife spoke to a very rude girl with real attitude who would not help or let us speak to a superviser so we put the phone down and spoke to someone elsem who finaly cancelled the order after 30min on the phone il never use comets or there shops you willing to spend 500 pounds and get treated like that
Most electrical retailers have something called the '28 day rule' whereby they insist on not exchanging faulty goods after that period, claiming instead that this is a manufacturer's problem. Ususally they state 'This does not affect your statutory rights'
The '28-day rule' is, of course nonsense. Your contract is with the retailer, not the manufacturer - the retailer has a contract with the manufacturer. Now there is a form of 28-day rule between theretailer and the manufacturer, in that the manufacturer can demand to see any faulty returned goods that are more than 28 days beyond their sale date, before providing a refund/credit note to the retailer.
This does not apply to the contract between the customer and the retailer (your statutory rights in other words). Any goods that are found to be faulty (and therefore not fit for purpose)can be returned for either an exchange or a refund within a reasonable period of time. This period of time varies dependent upon the nature of the goods and their value, but under European legislation it's at least one year - sometimes longer.
The retailer can ask to take the goods away to check that they are indeed faulty and not wilfully damaged - but assuming they are faulty the purchaser has no obligation to accept a repair.
As I say - most retailers will try this 28-day flannel with you - and far too many customers swallow it hook, line and sinker. The 28-day rule has absolutely no basis in law!
I bought a samsung rs21 american style fridge freezer from comet in feb 08. in april 08 a problem occured with my fridge it had warmed to 12 degrees. i telephoned comet and told them i wasnt happy with this product and wanted either a refund or replacement but no they insisted on repair. the engineer came 3 days later put 3 new parts for the appliance on order which took another week. after repair everything seemed fine until now september 08. fridge and freezer gone down all my food has spoiled and yet again comet are insisting on repair. waited for days for the engineer who told me hes not allowed to write my fridge off this would of entitled me to a refund, so i sent enginner away without repairing it. and waited for manager at head office to make a decission on wether to refund or replace but decides to send yet another engineer. comets customer service sucks i have never been refused replacement or refund with other companie when i have taken faulty goods back i am now stuck with a faulty fridge that i will never be able to put my trust in again and am £600 out of pocket i will never shop with comet again but thats no skin off their back is it.
I've bought a lot of electrical goods from Comet and never had a problem. I usually go to DRG shops (Dixons, Currys, PC World) to price things up but then buy them in Comet as I know that if I have a problem they will sort it without any fuss, unlike Dixons Retail Group!
here is a thought..... if comet feel they do not need to follow the sales of goods act and they as a company consistantly went against it then I would think that alot of their customers would log very serious complaints about them, which after a while would need to be investigated. comet are still one of the nations favourite electrical retailers, they have a good customer loyalty and as far as I am aware are still very much trading, therefore they must be abiding to all the regulating laws, surley all the custom they get isn't down to dirty dealing and law breaking? customers demand so much more from retailers these days and what they don't realise is it's not us poor sods behind the counter stopping you from getting your exchange or refund it is the jobs worths in the head offices who sit at their desks and come up with these wonderfull ways to hide behind policy and then tell the stores to empower the customer and make them happy, so we at he store will look at a customer situation and sometimes bend the rules and relax policies and make the customer happy (which believe it or not is what we want, we don't like being shouted or swore at) and then get slapped with a big penalty from head office for doing unauthorised refunds/returns. I know that what goes on behind the scenes is of no concern to the paying customer but what we do in stores effects the performance of the whole company and when you work for a large retailer like that you get more of an understanding why certain rules and procedures need to be in place, now that does not always make them fair and I myself happen to disagree with alot of the "policy barriers" that my company inparticular enforce whilst keeping within the regulating laws, however I have a mortgage and two kids that need feeding and clothing so if I want to keep my job I have to do as I am told and I feel it is greatly unfair that in the process of doing my job I am constantly swore at, verbally abused and threatened on a daily basis. In closing
because I have been blessed with the retail experience that I have I can honestly say I would never come to your place of work and swear at you or threaten you so next time you have a problem with a store, just stop, take a breath and at least let them try before you wage war, then when you can honestly say that you were patient and gave them the chance and they still havn't produced a result, then by all means do what you have to do!
What a load of rubbish i have just read from blahblahblah (appropriate name tho!)The Sale of Goods Act is there to protect customers, Comet may like to think you are exempt from it and bully your customers into dealing with the manufacturer direct, but you are breaking the law. Go and take a look at the the Act, if you have a problem understanding it, I am aware that you don't look up Acts of Law on a regular basis and therefore it can be difficult to understand. Just ask and I will point you to the relevant sections that you need.
I have worked very closley for the last eight years with a trading standards officer and in his 30 plus years in the job and my eight years in retail I have never seen a case where a customer has left a store gone to trading standards and come back (at all) because the final result is always the same.
1: They tell the customer they are in the wrong and must allow the retailer to attempt to resolve any issue without demands.
2: The customer is told that a case will be set up and when they have the full facts they will apply for a exchange or repair (very rare).
3: The customer is told due to the nature of the claim the SOGA (sales of goods act) will not apply to the case.
Im not saying the sales of goods act is rubbish but when you read into it how it is meant to read you will find the retailers are protected as much as the customer from faulse claims.
Final message,
Every case should be treated as its own and most customers will find the best service from all retailers,
What most staff have issue with is the attitude of a small customer base who show little or no respect toward them even when trying to help beyond the point of reading a policy on a computer screen.
It is mainly the fault of customerss why you get bad service as all the best staff are forced to quit jobs and replaced by young people who really dont care about YOU the customer,
You demand low prices you demand quick repair turn around and you demand that you can call each and everyone of our staff stupid little retards.
This may not be the case for all customers but it only takes a few to kill a trade.......
I suggest that you either use the poor internet sites that charge cheper prices and fail to supply or give our guys a break they after all are trying to do a job just like you.
My final fianl message,
I have a fantastic staff body and have never had a major complaint against any of them and get some great feed back from customers about each and everyone we always manage to resolve any problem with calm words and a good communication with the customer.
THANKYOU TO ALL THE STAFF OF COMET, CURRYS,AND JOHN LEWIS WHO REALLY CARE ABOUT CUSTOMERS.
1. The SOGA is to protect the customer from unscrupious traders. If you check the SOGA, you will see that the retailers are liable for any repairs on the item, irrespective of the 6-month rule. This rule allows the first 6 months where it is the retailer who has to prove fault. After that, the retailer is still liable for repairs, but the customer has to prove that the fault existed in the first place. The customer does not have a contract of sale with the manufacturer, so the customer can not be made to contact them for a repair.
2. No, when you buy from a retailer, you enter a contract of sale with the retailer. It is irrelevant what restrictions the manufacture says. As the rules say "Your statutory rights are not affected", i.e. your righs under various consumer protection laws are not affected.
3. The SOGA is in addition to any manufactures warranty. The SOGA also allows redress of up to 6 years (5 years in Scotland) from purchase.
4. Do you have any proof of your claim? Actually, from what I have seen, it is a result of reducing costs and using very cheap components that make items fail within the 12 month warrany period.
5. Yes, I agree with you in a fashion. Whether the item is £60 or £6000, you will get a lemon in any batch. But what makes a good retailer stand out from a from a bad one, is their customer services. Get a good retailer who knows the SOGA correctly and the customers will be happy.
Just to let you all know the "sales of goods act" is meant to protect the retailer aswell as the customer.
1:After the 6 months it is indeed up to the customer to prove any fault was down to the manufacturing of the product which then becomes the responsiblity of the manufacturer not the retailer.
2:When you buy from a retailer you enter the terms of the manufacturer under their own standard period if it be 12 months or more.
3:You only get a retail warrenty if you buy it which is why it is called manufacturer warrenty.
4:If you look at many cases that retailers deal with day in day out most times the customer has had some major influience on the fault with the product which is not covered under your 12 months.
5:When you buy any item wheter it be £100 or £10,000 you expect it to work but s**t happens (sorry from the harsh words)it is not staffs fault or even the manufacturer no one thinks im going to sell Mr Smith a faulty item (they know it will cause many more problems).
Final message,
Most of you have brought a house if the front door gets stuck and wont open do you go to the previous owners and demand your money back or a replacment door? no you go out and buy a new one or sort it out yourself.
Just a few points I would like to add to your comment. You say that after 6 months, it is up to the customer to prove that it is not fit for purpose, but what you fail to mention is that the SOGA has been ammended to include durability. If, say a £2000 TV decides to pack up after 18 months then it is within the SOGA that the retailer may have to repair the item, given the general wear and tear. Indeed, the SOGA implies that the customer as upto 6 years of statutory rights against the retailer for repairs.
See http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/pcworld/77353-sale-goods-act-etc.html
Obviously a £6000 item should last longer than a £60 item
Hello, Im new, but Ive come across these kind of 'comments' before, Ive worked for comet for 7 years and have come across my fair share of incidents, just to clear some things up;
*We have to follow guidelines, yelling, screaming, being abusive, quoting 'the law' doesnt work, nobody deserves that sort of treatment.
*If a product breaks comet will get it fixed or if not, it will be replaced, if its over 6 months old its up to you the customer to prove that it wasnt fit for the purpose it was sold, which will require legal action, thats what the sales of goods act states.
* Comet are not just interested in getting your money, a lot of the staff are just sales people and not qualified to deal with abusive people, so they do the best they can, they are only human, remember.
* If comet broke the law then they wouldnt be able to continue to trade would they? Some people expect the earth and its their god given right to demand things.
I have been watching this topic for a few months now and thought I would finally comment. I will continue to post here as long as reasonable debate goes on and I dont start getting abused like I have before (not on here though.)
I bought an Acer laptop from Comet online in November 2006. On delivery, I unpacked it and plugged it in and quickly discovered that the card drive didn't work. I took it to a local Comet store who told me I'd have to deal with Acer directly. I argued my consumer rights and after a lot of hassle they suddenly agreed to replace it and I took home a new laptop.
At the beginning of October this year, still within the 12 month warranty, I left the room for 10 minutes and returned to find that the laptop had failed. There was a black screen full of 'fatal error' messages and the top left surface of the case in front of the keyboard [Fn Alt] keys had actually melted and caved in. I touched it and burned my finger and realised that it was a catastrophic failure and also a fire risk. This time, I took it back to a Comet store in Leeds area. They again tried to fob me off by asking me to ring Acer. I said I'd bought it from Comet and that I only wanted to deal with Comet. I pointed out the two failures, said I'd lost faith in the product and wanted a replacement of a different make. They were extremely hard-nosed and said that after the first 28 days all they would ever do is return faulty items to the manufacturers. So back to Acer it went.
My laptop was returned to the store for me to pick up a week later. I took it home and switched it on. It booted up OK but then failed again within about 4 minutes. The keyboard, mouse and USB ports were all dead and there was a plain blue screen with only faint vertical bars showing. I phoned Comet head office in Hull and spoke to a character called Mark Lambert. He told me that it would have to be returned to Acer yet again and that nothing else would be done in terms of a refund or replacement. When I tried to argue my case he simply held his ground. I sat and thought the situation over carefully and felt dismayed by their attitude. I actually rang him back to plead my case further. His actual words: "Oh ... I thought we'd finished our little conversation", in a sickening and patronising tone that dismissed any notion I had that I was dealing with a decent company with any concern whatsoever for its customers. I took it back in, it was sent off to Acer once more and I have not heard any more for the last 4 weeks. I have been without a working laptop for around 7 weeks now.
My overall impression is that Comet's attitute stinks, their customer service is abysmal and that their only interest is to take our money and then we can just sod off. I contacted consumerdirect.gov.uk who advised me to write to the credit card firm I bought it through, since they are jointly liable. I've done that and the original transaction is now in dispute. It has also been passed up to Trading Standards who called me back today. They say that the whole business of 'reasonable period' and proved 'unfit for purpose' are grey areas and that ultimately I may have to take it to the small claims court. They said I might expect a reduced refund value since I've 'enjoyed some use of it' over the 10 month period. I fully accept that and had already told Comet I'd be quite happy to pay extra and buy a better make and model if they would at least offer some form of store credit. But no; they don't want to part with a single penny it seems.
I do not want it back, regardless of Comet's sales patter and arrogance as I simply don't have any faith in the product's safety, (especially left unattended), nor in its reliability.
i recently purchased a large screen television and recordable dvd player from the gateshead branch of comet, staff were helpful and knowledgable and seemed honest with me telling me which manufaturers they were having faults with. i chose samsung even though this wasnt the cheapest it has proved faultless since the day the delivery men installed it for me. i have purchased things from other stores in the past and i can honestly say that i found comet's customer care the best by far. i might be 1 of the lucky ones that hasnt had a problem with my purchase but i wont be blaming comet if anything goes wrong with the tele... keep up the good work
alot of customers think that by uttering the words "trading standards" and "sales of goods act" the retailer will quiver in their boots and give them what they want, i work for a electrical retailer and think it is totally unfair the amount of bad press we get, just the other day i was on the recieving end of a ear bashing off of a customer because we couldnt exchange his tomtom, i was called all the names under the sun and verbally abused by a man who quite frankly reminded me of my 3 year old throwing a tantrum, he too threatened me with trading standards so one of my collegues rang them for him while he was in the store and guess who was in the wrong! like it or not no matter what you purchase now days there are procedures for faulty goods be they big or small, the people in the store dont all sit in a group once a week and come up with new ways to annoy customers we simply have to do as we are told, the majority of us earn just over the minimum wage and sales staff are no longer payed on a commision basis regardless of what people think, but we still deal with people every day who are down right rude and abusive and then expect us to bend rules and change procedures to meet their needs, there is alot of talk about the sales of goods act as soon as a customer doesnt get the refund or exchange they want but just think would companies like comet and currys be trading the way they are and still keeping a good customer loyalty if we were breaking laws and sales of goods acts? the majority of people who leave the store saying they will ring the local newspaper or trading standards or watchdog because of how they have been treated are the ones who end up coming back and accepting the service we offerd in the first place because they have been told they are wrong, another thing that really winds me up is when people who have faulty dishwashers or sat navs go faulty and they cant possibly live without them, they NEED a exchange right away, do people not have sinks anymore? can people not read maps anymore? i know its not ideal and procedures should be changed when it comes to warranties, service to customers could and should be improved but that will never be determined by the store that lies with manufacturers and untill they improve their service we have no choice but to follow the rules we are set
the one thing which it must be said about comet and all the other high street retailers such as currys, john lewis ect, is that we have to follow the guidelines issued to us by the manufactures of the goods.
my biggest problem with working for the company is that its the sales staff who take 90% of the abuse from customers, and belive me i'm a salesman, i have taken some, even for problems outwith my control, for example if goods which i have been told by my main warehouse team are going to be late in. yes there are somethings we could handle better, we are not perfect far from it, but what i and all my fellow workers at the branch im in do is DO OUR BEST. i have even taken stock out to a customers house, at cost to myself, installed the item and made sure it was working and not even been thanked. oh and before anyone asks the reason we do this is goodwill, we do not have to, infact anyone who does this can lose there job. it is done to give the best service that we can.
You are forgetting one crucial and fundemental point. The Sales of Goods Act is there to protect consumers from retailers who "wash their hands" of faulty items after the sale. The Act, as described by LAW, makes the RETAILER liable for any faulty goods, irrespective of any extended wareantees or manufacturers guarentees. The retailer is responsible for any faulty item UPTO 6 MONTHS from the date of sale. This isn't fiction or a phrase picked up from the pub. THIS IS FACT.
The 28-day period you state may be company policy, but it is not law. I repeat, it is not law.
The customer engages into a contract with the retailer (e.g. Comet). If this item then develops a fault within 6 months, it is in law that the onus is on the retailer to either repair or replace the item. Now if the repair means that the retailer just passes it onto the manufacturer or another qualified company, then by law this is reasonable. If the manufacturer does not want to repair the item, then this is of no concern to the customer as the contract of sale is not with them. The retailer then has to shoulder the cost of the repair or replacement.
I would suggest that you read the Sales of Goods Act (here is the link if youy can't find it http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page24700.html). If, on reading the Act, you are still in disagreement, I would suggest that you spend a few hours with a Trading Standards Officer.
The problem everyone here has is a lack of knowledge of exactly what service Comet, or any other retailer actually provide. We are just a retailer, not a manufacturer. When you purchase an item from Comet, you are supplied with a warranty period provided by the manufacturer. Comet will act on the manufacturers behalf, but more importantly by thier policies. We have strict guidelines bound by contract to supply a service level insisted on by that particular manufaturer. Example: Bosch supply a 2 year warranty, of which ensures if a product breaks down within 28 days from purchase will be exchanged or refunded, after this period they deem it to be a reasonable amount of time in use to warrant a repair. Another(and incidently the most common complaint on this site), a laptop made by Acer. This manufacturer basically wont leave repair or even diagnosing a fault in the hand of Comet which means all faults are dealt with by thier own people on a helpline. The only time Comet can repair or even autherise exchange is under Comet's own extended warranty policy as then we don't have to do as were told. When Comet buy products from a manufacturer, the manufacturer decides whether or not to let Comet's service department carry out repairs(which the huge majority do).
I think that the reason some people believe otherwise, is that there is the odd occasion when Comet have exchanged or refunded goods against the manufacturers policies out of genuine goodwill, which they need to understand means Comet are then stuck with a faulty item which the manufacturers wont re-inburse us for. So in this sense, both Comet and our customers are both victims seemably unfair warranty policy. Some will surely say that Comet can afford it, but to be black & white, Comet as with it's competitors is a business not a charity. It's there to make a profit.
As is obvious, i am a Comet employee, and i can say for myself that i believe I provide a very high level of customer service to ALL of my customers with to tools that i'm given, and I speak to people every week with the same concerns as most on this site and believe me, even when customers are polite and understanding. These after-sales policies frustrate me as much as you. Too many of your opinions are brought from anger of not getting what you want. i understand it better than most, and i'm tired of being spoken to like a piece of sh*t about issues that not only me but even Comet have control over.
I hope to christ people would understand these basically simple FACTS. But i'm sure ill have Mr "i know the law, i heard it in the pub" stamping a fine tantrum tomorrow morning.
why do people thnk that shouting works to get an exchange this is not the case have you ever thought that the people that sell you the items DON'T make them and as for the sales of goods act it only works in very extreme cases any item that you buy has to have a proven fault which most of the time only the manufacturer can tell comet, currys ,dixons ,miller bros,the late power house all offer the same kind of terms in 12 mths warrenty which is a contracr between the manufacturer and the customer which is why it is called the MANUFACTERS WARRANTY not a retail one retailers offer you a chance to take the warranty from them in sted so if you decline this you will have to wait the 21-28 day repair period thank you and goodnight
Just visited the Comet website, and the AL1716S is clearly desribed as a TFT monitor, no mention of any speakers or sound facility. If their website stated it did when you ordered, it certainly doesnt now.
I bought online an Acer LCD AL1716S for £149.99 plus P/P of £7.95 which was delivered on 26th August 2005. I was horrified to discover on setting it up that there was not any sound facility- I had thought that this would be integral-I am not very good at technology!. I emailed comet within their 7 days deadline -Aug 30th telling them they had sent the wrong screen as it is marked AL 1716 only- I understood the screen to include speakers/sound with the 1716S no. My email was not answered, nor was any phone call made- I had left details with a friend to look out for both for me as we were going for a short holiday, which he did faithfully. I contacted them by phone today and they insist that I am wrong and I have got what I ordered which is a screen without sound, speakers! I do not agree. I sent copies of their online blurb plus their confirmation of order notice this afternoon- I received a reply telling me this email was closed and to access their question and answer facility. Nothing at all happened when I 'clicked here'!When I called I got more of the same! but she would look into it and ring back- that was no good either.
Has anyone any advice as to what I can do next ? I did try to contact Acer online , to query update possibility, by email and received a non delivery email by return. Have I been duped or have I been stupid and not ordered correct item? PS I paid by credit card- should I query redress if any with the company concerned? I'm as sick as a Parrott!
Disappointed Isabelle 06/09/05
Ok, this is an OLD problem with Comet now, but I have only just stumbled across your site, so thought I'd leave a comment for the world to view.
Back in April 2004 I purchased a HP Laptop from the great and wonderful (cough) Comet.
I purchased this Laptop from the store at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.
The laptop (at the time) was at a very good price, it has since dropped through the floor, as is the case with most electronics.
My transaction began when a salesman approached me, I asked why the laptop was at this price, was there anything that this laptop was missing compared to the others around it.
His reply was that the only difference was that this laptop had a Celeron processor and did not include a DVD writer.
So, a few moments of thought as the salesman was trying to sell me a store credit something or other, and I decided to buy it using my debit card.
About an hour after I opened the laptop, I noticed that this laptop does not include an infra-red port Â? This at the time was a facility that I had used frequently on my previous laptop. In fact, until this point I did not even realise that some Laptops did not have IR ports, all of the laptops I had either owned or used had included an IR port.
I felt at the time that not having the IR port that I did actually use a lot was enough for me to pay a little extra and get the next model up.
I checked the booklet that the Comet receipt is stapled to, and read that Comet will not exchange or refund an opened item.
I was a little gutted but I thought, Oh well, tough luck, that will teach me to believe the word of a salesman.
The next day as I went to connect my external USB HDD to the laptop, at which point I became aware that this model does not have USB 2.0 support, which the external HDD I had at the time required.
There was also no firewire, I never user firewire anyway, so was not too bothered.
So this laptop that was only cheap because it did not include a DVD writer, and had a Celeron CPU was actually missing a couple of other pieces of hardware you might expect to find on a laptop costing not far off £1k.
I decided to email pretty much my above Â?storyÂ? to comet customer services, and so began the 10 (or what ever it was) days of emails between myself and the comet customer services team.
I said that I accept that you are not willing to give a refund, even though I felt the item was mis-sold to me. Can I please just return the item and pay MORE for the next model up.
They refused to accept this.
The salesman denied he said what he said, until I emailed that my sister was there on the day of the transaction, at which point he decided that he could not remember for certain what he did or did not say, but that it does not sound like the sort of thing he would sayÂ?Â?
Eventually the best I could get from them was that they sell IR adaptors for about £60 (about £2 from ebay) and that as a gesture of goodwill they would give me a £20 store credit towards an IR adapter.
I was fuming, I donÂ?t know if I should have gone further, but I really did not want to deal with them anymore, I refused to collect the store voucher from the store at Cribbs Causeway.
As it happens I actually got on ok with the laptop (plus a £2 IR adapter and a USB 2 PCMCIA card, both from ebay), I still have it now, although it is up for replacement, and like the last 12 months of electronics shopping, Comet will be the last place I go for a replacement.
Why did I buy a laptop & digicamera from Comet?
Walk in store to be greeted by smiling faces, Spot a Digi Camera I want...Tell the woman I want it, so she comes up and says, "Okay. With that you will need
Recargable Batterys
SD Card these are around £30 for a 128mb one
and a Printer"
I reply..."I DO NOT need rechargable batterys, There is a SD card right there for £15 and Why do I need a printer...I have a computer"
To be very rudley annswered...Fine have that card and You didnt tell me you had a computer...We get to the salesman computer to be told...The camera is no longer made and that no were has them in stock. So I got the display model which I wasn't too fussed about
Now the Laptop Viasco.
See one I want, I tell the man, he comes up and trys to get me to get a credit store card thing. I go no, he still explains, so I let him finnish. After all that we go to the computer and find...Once again there is none in stock...So I travel 30 mins down the road to the smaller comet, I get the same laptop without the Storecard junk talk. Laptop cost £899 plus I bought insurance and a printer and a cable (Why dont these come with the printer!) and some ink..In all I spent well over £1300 at comet. get the Lappy home, It overheats and sqweels like a lobster getting boiled..So we phone the insurance people no answer...try again no answer...try again, Wrong department...Strange it was the number I was given to phone. So I phone the other people, the "Correct People" to be told its normal, So I just slam the phone down..How is getting so hot it smolded a peice of cloth about 5 cm away from the heatsink exit thing on the side of the laptop? Then I drop the thing and the wireless ceises to work anymore and the Keyboard splits in two....Oh god not another phonecall..So I phone miraculously It got picked up 3 days later so I was happy..Expecting it to take 10 days like it was said..Im still waiting...over a month later for my laptop back..Voucher time on Tuesday they say. Now the value of my laptop has gone down nearlly 50%...I will be so PI$$ed off if they only send vouchers for that ammount and not the ammount I paid...
Stay clear of insurance and Comet..Very Poor Service.
Bought a Teletext portable form Comet in Cardiff. Kept flashing teletext intermittently even when no teletex selected. Comet took TV away for repair..................6 weeks later...........still no TV. Decided to go along to the store where I bought the TV. Staff were unhelpful and rude. I decided to get rude myself and started shouting the odds in from of potential customer's. Imagine, the manager came out to see me! Instant replacement!!
The lesson here though is that if the item fails within the first 12 months you can quote the "Sale of Goods Act", THIS IS LAW! Whether Comet says so or not.
Do not put up with crap about "company policy".
Do not accept a repair! Do not listen to sh*te about manufacturers. Comet sold you the goods, THEY are responsible, NOBODY ELSE. The goods should be of "merchantable quality".
If the goods fail within the warranty period you can demand a replacement OR a refund. DO NOT ACCEPT A REPAIR!
I will never buy from them again, I've also persuaded a large group of my friends to avoid them too!
On the 26th March I purchased a chest freezer from this rip off merchant. It was delivered on the 4th April. By the 21st of April, the seal had split in 2 places. I spent 3 days attempting to get through to the repair centre with no sucess. I spoke to customer services who sent the repair centre an email to call me on my mobile. This call never arrived. I continued to try to contact them but could never get through. I called customer services again and was given a direct number for the repair centre. Again I couldnt get through. By now the freezers motor was working so hard to try to keep the food frozen, it kept tripping out my electrics. I called customer services again to complain and was promised the customer care manager would call me back the next day. Glad I wasnt holding my breath for that call! I then tried at the Broadstairs branch that I purchased the freezer from. They just fobbed me off with Head Office. I called Head Office and yet again I was promised a call back the next day. Surprisingly nothing happened. By now understandably I just want my money back so I can get a freezer else where. I now have a freezer full of rotting food that I cant through out as I need an engineer to verify my claim. I called Head Office again and demanded the name and contact number of the managing director ( Mr Simon Fox ). I spoke to Darren who works with the managing director. I went through my complaint again. He promised me that either he or the investigations team would call me on my mobile the following day. Oh deep joy - the call never came. I then sent a recorded delivery letter to Simon Fox threatening to take him to court to get my money back. Needless to say that day I had a call from Comet. On the 26th May ( you can imagine what the freezer smells like by now) an engineer finally came out. He told me that he needed to put a report in to the office and Comet would be in touch. Today I received a letter from Comet, saying that as agreed they would now exchange the freezer for me. When was this agreed? And with how? I just want my money back and the cost of the food that I lost. Sadly I will now have to take this company to the small claims court. It might cost me money but its now the principle.
I dont have any complaint with the fact that the freezer was faulty - these things happen sometimes. What I do object to is the lack of customer service. Do not shop with this company. You may buy faulty goods that you are then stuck with! See you in the county court Simon Fox!!
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Comments:
so my wife spoke to a very rude girl with real attitude who would not help or let us speak to a superviser so we put the phone down and spoke to someone elsem who finaly cancelled the order after 30min on the phone il never use comets or there shops you willing to spend 500 pounds and get treated like that
The '28-day rule' is, of course nonsense. Your contract is with the retailer, not the manufacturer - the retailer has a contract with the manufacturer. Now there is a form of 28-day rule between theretailer and the manufacturer, in that the manufacturer can demand to see any faulty returned goods that are more than 28 days beyond their sale date, before providing a refund/credit note to the retailer.
This does not apply to the contract between the customer and the retailer (your statutory rights in other words). Any goods that are found to be faulty (and therefore not fit for purpose)can be returned for either an exchange or a refund within a reasonable period of time. This period of time varies dependent upon the nature of the goods and their value, but under European legislation it's at least one year - sometimes longer.
The retailer can ask to take the goods away to check that they are indeed faulty and not wilfully damaged - but assuming they are faulty the purchaser has no obligation to accept a repair.
As I say - most retailers will try this 28-day flannel with you - and far too many customers swallow it hook, line and sinker. The 28-day rule has absolutely no basis in law!
Petejs at 9th Oct 2008, 01:58PM
store managers.
I am looking to get as many people behind me as possble as I want to take this to the BBC
Watchdog and the press, through out the UK, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
If you all would get behind me this would be a great start.
Please email me with your stories and the expereince that you have had, so that I can pass as much
as I can on to the press and BBC Watchdog.
You can email me to sharkey2024@hotmail.com
I really hope that you can get behind me on this.
Stephen
because I have been blessed with the retail experience that I have I can honestly say I would never come to your place of work and swear at you or threaten you so next time you have a problem with a store, just stop, take a breath and at least let them try before you wage war, then when you can honestly say that you were patient and gave them the chance and they still havn't produced a result, then by all means do what you have to do!
I have worked very closley for the last eight years with a trading standards officer and in his 30 plus years in the job and my eight years in retail I have never seen a case where a customer has left a store gone to trading standards and come back (at all) because the final result is always the same.
1: They tell the customer they are in the wrong and must allow the retailer to attempt to resolve any issue without demands.
2: The customer is told that a case will be set up and when they have the full facts they will apply for a exchange or repair (very rare).
3: The customer is told due to the nature of the claim the SOGA (sales of goods act) will not apply to the case.
Im not saying the sales of goods act is rubbish but when you read into it how it is meant to read you will find the retailers are protected as much as the customer from faulse claims.
Final message,
Every case should be treated as its own and most customers will find the best service from all retailers,
What most staff have issue with is the attitude of a small customer base who show little or no respect toward them even when trying to help beyond the point of reading a policy on a computer screen.
It is mainly the fault of customerss why you get bad service as all the best staff are forced to quit jobs and replaced by young people who really dont care about YOU the customer,
You demand low prices you demand quick repair turn around and you demand that you can call each and everyone of our staff stupid little retards.
This may not be the case for all customers but it only takes a few to kill a trade.......
I suggest that you either use the poor internet sites that charge cheper prices and fail to supply or give our guys a break they after all are trying to do a job just like you.
My final fianl message,
I have a fantastic staff body and have never had a major complaint against any of them and get some great feed back from customers about each and everyone we always manage to resolve any problem with calm words and a good communication with the customer.
THANKYOU TO ALL THE STAFF OF COMET, CURRYS,AND JOHN LEWIS WHO REALLY CARE ABOUT CUSTOMERS.
blahblahblah at 20th Dec 2007, 06:05PM
You seriously need to check the SOGA as:
1. The SOGA is to protect the customer from unscrupious traders. If you check the SOGA, you will see that the retailers are liable for any repairs on the item, irrespective of the 6-month rule. This rule allows the first 6 months where it is the retailer who has to prove fault. After that, the retailer is still liable for repairs, but the customer has to prove that the fault existed in the first place. The customer does not have a contract of sale with the manufacturer, so the customer can not be made to contact them for a repair.
2. No, when you buy from a retailer, you enter a contract of sale with the retailer. It is irrelevant what restrictions the manufacture says. As the rules say "Your statutory rights are not affected", i.e. your righs under various consumer protection laws are not affected.
3. The SOGA is in addition to any manufactures warranty. The SOGA also allows redress of up to 6 years (5 years in Scotland) from purchase.
4. Do you have any proof of your claim? Actually, from what I have seen, it is a result of reducing costs and using very cheap components that make items fail within the 12 month warrany period.
5. Yes, I agree with you in a fashion. Whether the item is £60 or £6000, you will get a lemon in any batch. But what makes a good retailer stand out from a from a bad one, is their customer services. Get a good retailer who knows the SOGA correctly and the customers will be happy.
Just to let you all know the "sales of goods act" is meant to protect the retailer aswell as the customer.
1:After the 6 months it is indeed up to the customer to prove any fault was down to the manufacturing of the product which then becomes the responsiblity of the manufacturer not the retailer.
2:When you buy from a retailer you enter the terms of the manufacturer under their own standard period if it be 12 months or more.
3:You only get a retail warrenty if you buy it which is why it is called manufacturer warrenty.
4:If you look at many cases that retailers deal with day in day out most times the customer has had some major influience on the fault with the product which is not covered under your 12 months.
5:When you buy any item wheter it be £100 or £10,000 you expect it to work but s**t happens (sorry from the harsh words)it is not staffs fault or even the manufacturer no one thinks im going to sell Mr Smith a faulty item (they know it will cause many more problems).
Final message,
Most of you have brought a house if the front door gets stuck and wont open do you go to the previous owners and demand your money back or a replacment door? no you go out and buy a new one or sort it out yourself.
Think about it!!!
BlahBlahBlah
blahblahblah at 18th Dec 2007, 10:47AM
Just a few points I would like to add to your comment. You say that after 6 months, it is up to the customer to prove that it is not fit for purpose, but what you fail to mention is that the SOGA has been ammended to include durability. If, say a £2000 TV decides to pack up after 18 months then it is within the SOGA that the retailer may have to repair the item, given the general wear and tear. Indeed, the SOGA implies that the customer as upto 6 years of statutory rights against the retailer for repairs.
See http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/pcworld/77353-sale-goods-act-etc.html
Obviously a £6000 item should last longer than a £60 item
*We have to follow guidelines, yelling, screaming, being abusive, quoting 'the law' doesnt work, nobody deserves that sort of treatment.
*If a product breaks comet will get it fixed or if not, it will be replaced, if its over 6 months old its up to you the customer to prove that it wasnt fit for the purpose it was sold, which will require legal action, thats what the sales of goods act states.
* Comet are not just interested in getting your money, a lot of the staff are just sales people and not qualified to deal with abusive people, so they do the best they can, they are only human, remember.
* If comet broke the law then they wouldnt be able to continue to trade would they? Some people expect the earth and its their god given right to demand things.
I have been watching this topic for a few months now and thought I would finally comment. I will continue to post here as long as reasonable debate goes on and I dont start getting abused like I have before (not on here though.)
Thanks. :)
glowy69 at 16th Dec 2007, 08:35PM
At the beginning of October this year, still within the 12 month warranty, I left the room for 10 minutes and returned to find that the laptop had failed. There was a black screen full of 'fatal error' messages and the top left surface of the case in front of the keyboard [Fn Alt] keys had actually melted and caved in. I touched it and burned my finger and realised that it was a catastrophic failure and also a fire risk. This time, I took it back to a Comet store in Leeds area. They again tried to fob me off by asking me to ring Acer. I said I'd bought it from Comet and that I only wanted to deal with Comet. I pointed out the two failures, said I'd lost faith in the product and wanted a replacement of a different make. They were extremely hard-nosed and said that after the first 28 days all they would ever do is return faulty items to the manufacturers. So back to Acer it went.
My laptop was returned to the store for me to pick up a week later. I took it home and switched it on. It booted up OK but then failed again within about 4 minutes. The keyboard, mouse and USB ports were all dead and there was a plain blue screen with only faint vertical bars showing. I phoned Comet head office in Hull and spoke to a character called Mark Lambert. He told me that it would have to be returned to Acer yet again and that nothing else would be done in terms of a refund or replacement. When I tried to argue my case he simply held his ground. I sat and thought the situation over carefully and felt dismayed by their attitude. I actually rang him back to plead my case further. His actual words: "Oh ... I thought we'd finished our little conversation", in a sickening and patronising tone that dismissed any notion I had that I was dealing with a decent company with any concern whatsoever for its customers. I took it back in, it was sent off to Acer once more and I have not heard any more for the last 4 weeks. I have been without a working laptop for around 7 weeks now.
My overall impression is that Comet's attitute stinks, their customer service is abysmal and that their only interest is to take our money and then we can just sod off. I contacted consumerdirect.gov.uk who advised me to write to the credit card firm I bought it through, since they are jointly liable. I've done that and the original transaction is now in dispute. It has also been passed up to Trading Standards who called me back today. They say that the whole business of 'reasonable period' and proved 'unfit for purpose' are grey areas and that ultimately I may have to take it to the small claims court. They said I might expect a reduced refund value since I've 'enjoyed some use of it' over the 10 month period. I fully accept that and had already told Comet I'd be quite happy to pay extra and buy a better make and model if they would at least offer some form of store credit. But no; they don't want to part with a single penny it seems.
I do not want it back, regardless of Comet's sales patter and arrogance as I simply don't have any faith in the product's safety, (especially left unattended), nor in its reliability.
my biggest problem with working for the company is that its the sales staff who take 90% of the abuse from customers, and belive me i'm a salesman, i have taken some, even for problems outwith my control, for example if goods which i have been told by my main warehouse team are going to be late in. yes there are somethings we could handle better, we are not perfect far from it, but what i and all my fellow workers at the branch im in do is DO OUR BEST. i have even taken stock out to a customers house, at cost to myself, installed the item and made sure it was working and not even been thanked. oh and before anyone asks the reason we do this is goodwill, we do not have to, infact anyone who does this can lose there job. it is done to give the best service that we can.
sctosman27 at 23rd Oct 2006, 12:10AM
You are forgetting one crucial and fundemental point. The Sales of Goods Act is there to protect consumers from retailers who "wash their hands" of faulty items after the sale. The Act, as described by LAW, makes the RETAILER liable for any faulty goods, irrespective of any extended wareantees or manufacturers guarentees. The retailer is responsible for any faulty item UPTO 6 MONTHS from the date of sale. This isn't fiction or a phrase picked up from the pub. THIS IS FACT.
The 28-day period you state may be company policy, but it is not law. I repeat, it is not law.
The customer engages into a contract with the retailer (e.g. Comet). If this item then develops a fault within 6 months, it is in law that the onus is on the retailer to either repair or replace the item. Now if the repair means that the retailer just passes it onto the manufacturer or another qualified company, then by law this is reasonable. If the manufacturer does not want to repair the item, then this is of no concern to the customer as the contract of sale is not with them. The retailer then has to shoulder the cost of the repair or replacement.
I would suggest that you read the Sales of Goods Act (here is the link if youy can't find it http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page24700.html). If, on reading the Act, you are still in disagreement, I would suggest that you spend a few hours with a Trading Standards Officer.
I think that the reason some people believe otherwise, is that there is the odd occasion when Comet have exchanged or refunded goods against the manufacturers policies out of genuine goodwill, which they need to understand means Comet are then stuck with a faulty item which the manufacturers wont re-inburse us for. So in this sense, both Comet and our customers are both victims seemably unfair warranty policy. Some will surely say that Comet can afford it, but to be black & white, Comet as with it's competitors is a business not a charity. It's there to make a profit.
As is obvious, i am a Comet employee, and i can say for myself that i believe I provide a very high level of customer service to ALL of my customers with to tools that i'm given, and I speak to people every week with the same concerns as most on this site and believe me, even when customers are polite and understanding. These after-sales policies frustrate me as much as you. Too many of your opinions are brought from anger of not getting what you want. i understand it better than most, and i'm tired of being spoken to like a piece of sh*t about issues that not only me but even Comet have control over.
I hope to christ people would understand these basically simple FACTS. But i'm sure ill have Mr "i know the law, i heard it in the pub" stamping a fine tantrum tomorrow morning.
Has anyone any advice as to what I can do next ? I did try to contact Acer online , to query update possibility, by email and received a non delivery email by return. Have I been duped or have I been stupid and not ordered correct item? PS I paid by credit card- should I query redress if any with the company concerned? I'm as sick as a Parrott!
Disappointed Isabelle 06/09/05
Back in April 2004 I purchased a HP Laptop from the great and wonderful (cough) Comet.
I purchased this Laptop from the store at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.
The laptop (at the time) was at a very good price, it has since dropped through the floor, as is the case with most electronics.
My transaction began when a salesman approached me, I asked why the laptop was at this price, was there anything that this laptop was missing compared to the others around it.
His reply was that the only difference was that this laptop had a Celeron processor and did not include a DVD writer.
So, a few moments of thought as the salesman was trying to sell me a store credit something or other, and I decided to buy it using my debit card.
About an hour after I opened the laptop, I noticed that this laptop does not include an infra-red port Â? This at the time was a facility that I had used frequently on my previous laptop. In fact, until this point I did not even realise that some Laptops did not have IR ports, all of the laptops I had either owned or used had included an IR port.
I felt at the time that not having the IR port that I did actually use a lot was enough for me to pay a little extra and get the next model up.
I checked the booklet that the Comet receipt is stapled to, and read that Comet will not exchange or refund an opened item.
I was a little gutted but I thought, Oh well, tough luck, that will teach me to believe the word of a salesman.
The next day as I went to connect my external USB HDD to the laptop, at which point I became aware that this model does not have USB 2.0 support, which the external HDD I had at the time required.
There was also no firewire, I never user firewire anyway, so was not too bothered.
So this laptop that was only cheap because it did not include a DVD writer, and had a Celeron CPU was actually missing a couple of other pieces of hardware you might expect to find on a laptop costing not far off £1k.
I decided to email pretty much my above Â?storyÂ? to comet customer services, and so began the 10 (or what ever it was) days of emails between myself and the comet customer services team.
I said that I accept that you are not willing to give a refund, even though I felt the item was mis-sold to me. Can I please just return the item and pay MORE for the next model up.
They refused to accept this.
The salesman denied he said what he said, until I emailed that my sister was there on the day of the transaction, at which point he decided that he could not remember for certain what he did or did not say, but that it does not sound like the sort of thing he would sayÂ?Â?
Eventually the best I could get from them was that they sell IR adaptors for about £60 (about £2 from ebay) and that as a gesture of goodwill they would give me a £20 store credit towards an IR adapter.
I was fuming, I donÂ?t know if I should have gone further, but I really did not want to deal with them anymore, I refused to collect the store voucher from the store at Cribbs Causeway.
As it happens I actually got on ok with the laptop (plus a £2 IR adapter and a USB 2 PCMCIA card, both from ebay), I still have it now, although it is up for replacement, and like the last 12 months of electronics shopping, Comet will be the last place I go for a replacement.
Final words:
Comet; donÂ?t bother, theyÂ?re not worth it!
Why did I buy a laptop & digicamera from Comet?
Walk in store to be greeted by smiling faces, Spot a Digi Camera I want...Tell the woman I want it, so she comes up and says, "Okay. With that you will need
Recargable Batterys
SD Card these are around £30 for a 128mb one
and a Printer"
I reply..."I DO NOT need rechargable batterys, There is a SD card right there for £15 and Why do I need a printer...I have a computer"
To be very rudley annswered...Fine have that card and You didnt tell me you had a computer...We get to the salesman computer to be told...The camera is no longer made and that no were has them in stock. So I got the display model which I wasn't too fussed about
Now the Laptop Viasco.
See one I want, I tell the man, he comes up and trys to get me to get a credit store card thing. I go no, he still explains, so I let him finnish. After all that we go to the computer and find...Once again there is none in stock...So I travel 30 mins down the road to the smaller comet, I get the same laptop without the Storecard junk talk. Laptop cost £899 plus I bought insurance and a printer and a cable (Why dont these come with the printer!) and some ink..In all I spent well over £1300 at comet. get the Lappy home, It overheats and sqweels like a lobster getting boiled..So we phone the insurance people no answer...try again no answer...try again, Wrong department...Strange it was the number I was given to phone. So I phone the other people, the "Correct People" to be told its normal, So I just slam the phone down..How is getting so hot it smolded a peice of cloth about 5 cm away from the heatsink exit thing on the side of the laptop? Then I drop the thing and the wireless ceises to work anymore and the Keyboard splits in two....Oh god not another phonecall..So I phone miraculously It got picked up 3 days later so I was happy..Expecting it to take 10 days like it was said..Im still waiting...over a month later for my laptop back..Voucher time on Tuesday they say. Now the value of my laptop has gone down nearlly 50%...I will be so PI$$ed off if they only send vouchers for that ammount and not the ammount I paid...
Stay clear of insurance and Comet..Very Poor Service.
The lesson here though is that if the item fails within the first 12 months you can quote the "Sale of Goods Act", THIS IS LAW! Whether Comet says so or not.
Do not put up with crap about "company policy".
Do not accept a repair! Do not listen to sh*te about manufacturers. Comet sold you the goods, THEY are responsible, NOBODY ELSE. The goods should be of "merchantable quality".
If the goods fail within the warranty period you can demand a replacement OR a refund. DO NOT ACCEPT A REPAIR!
I will never buy from them again, I've also persuaded a large group of my friends to avoid them too!
I dont have any complaint with the fact that the freezer was faulty - these things happen sometimes. What I do object to is the lack of customer service. Do not shop with this company. You may buy faulty goods that you are then stuck with! See you in the county court Simon Fox!!
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