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Problem with warranty from A Company

jollygreengiant - 18/7/12 at 05:58 PM

Ok so it's not me but a family member and the scenario goes llike this.

13th July 2012, person goes into PC store to pay for and collect a Tablet device reserved for her.

Over the weekend she finds out that the Micro phone in it is not working.

Today she takes it back for them to sort and they turn round and say 'sorry we can''t do anything at the mo, the person who sold you this is on holiday and we need to check CCTV because this is the wrong tablet. You paid Ł99 for this tablet and you should have paid Ł180. Go away, we will be in touch'.

Now as I see it, they handed her the 'wrong' tablet so they should warranty it.

Any one see any problems with this, before I start getting legal involved, also this is NOT the first time that they have refused to honour warranty, the last time it was an Mac book pro with a faulty/dry conector to the hard drive on the mother board.

blakep82 - 18/7/12 at 06:10 PM

the issue isn't the warranty in this case

the issue is she's got a receipt for a tablet, and returning a completely different one for being faulty.

they have to be sure of what happened with the sale, whether the correct one was given to her, and she's trying to pull a fast one and bring in another similar tablet she has which is out of warranty to try and get a repair/replace for free (i'm sure thats not the case, but i'm just saying!)

or whether the staff memeber put the sale through and gave the wrong one, in which case they will sort it one way or another, take that one back and give her the correct one for example

but, yeah, they have to be sure they did hand her the wrong one to start with, you see what i mean? the warranty itself is not in question

but they'll need to see the cctv with the staff memeber to have them talk through what happened in the sale, and how the situation turned out the way it did before they can really resolve it properly

[Edited on 18/7/12 by blakep82]

steve m - 18/7/12 at 06:14 PM

I think she should go back in the store with her Dad or suitably agressive looking m8

I doubt the will tell her to F*** off again

blakep82 - 18/7/12 at 06:22 PM

^go with that approach, and she'll get even less help, and just be sternly told that they've already told her what they need to do. it won't get her anywhere further

[Edited on 18/7/12 by blakep82]

steve m - 18/7/12 at 06:34 PM

So lets get this clear,

1) She bought an item, and has a reciept (i presume)

2) The item does not work

3) She takes broken item back to the original shop to be fixed within days

4) They tell her to come back another day while they, err do what ???

MMM, perhaps a read of the Sale of goods act, would be in order, as at no where in that document does it say,
You have to go away as we need to check the cctv or speak to the individual that sold the item to you

Citizens advice, may be the best option here

blakep82 - 18/7/12 at 06:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by steve m
So lets get this clear,

1) She bought an item, and has a reciept (i presume)

2) The item does not work

3) She takes broken item back to the original shop to be fixed within days

4) They tell her to come back another day while they, err do what ???

MMM, perhaps a read of the Sale of goods act, would be in order, as at no where in that document does it say,
You have to go away as we need to check the cctv or speak to the individual that sold the item to you

Citizens advice, may be the best option here

yo'uve missed an important bit though, shes came back in with an item that doesn't match the one she bought on her receipt! thats the problem the shop have!

they need to check if the one she is returning is in fact the exact same item she walked out with! thats why they want to speak to the staff member, and check the cctv.

suppose you sold your car to someone, they pick it up on a trailer (coz they need to come in a car and go back with 2, but they're on their own) and take it away, that night the phone you complaining you never told them the gearbox was smashed to bits inside, and when they come back, its a totally different car on the trailer, what would you say?

from the description of reserve and collect etc, i think i know the shop you're talking about, and the bar code of the actual item is supposed to be scanned as the sale goes through, some staff get impatient waiting for the item and just use the product code off the reservation paperwork.

so in theory, the system is supposed to be fool proof, unless the staff member uses the code off the paperwork, in which case a manager is supposed to check the item before it leaves.

obviously something's gone wrong at the sale, but they need to know that a customer isn't trying to pull a fast one on them.

[Edited on 18/7/12 by blakep82]

steve m - 18/7/12 at 06:51 PM

Sorry,

Despite the item not being the same, product codes etc will take 5 miniutes to check on the company stock for one branch

Sending the customer away is not the way they should of dealt with the problem

coozer - 18/7/12 at 06:58 PM

I had a similar issue with a brand new PC from the world store..

Upon returning the item 3 days after purchase I was fobbed off in a similar manner and told to contact the manufacturer... in the usa... as the model was old stock, I'd bought it in the sale (it wasn't) and not there current on shelf model...

So, to cut a long story short I was extremely annoyed and refused to budge telling every one that walked past the counter what a shower of poo this lot where pointing at my PC on the counter... this promptly brought the manager down who lambasted the monkey behind the counter and it was quickly exchanged.

Go back and stand your ground, mention the sale of goods act if need be, make a fuss, demand to see the manager/CEO.

steve m - 18/7/12 at 07:14 PM

Nice one Steve

Thanks for backing me up !!

blakep82 - 18/7/12 at 07:28 PM

coozers situation was a bit different though, going in having a matching receipt for the product in hand, yes it should have been swapped without question for a product with a similar spec if the same item was no longer in stock.

anyway, try what you want, but i know how the place works more than you think i do
you might think that shouting at someone over the phone, or trying to intimidate someone in a shop will get you what you want, it doesn't, it just makes the 1 person that can help you, less likely to want to help you

checking the stock file for the day she bought it, will not show her buying the one she's returning. thats the issue!

re the OP, the receipt did not match the item she was returning with, simple as that!

[Edited on 18/7/12 by blakep82]

BigLee - 18/7/12 at 08:06 PM

quote:
Originally posted by steve m
Sending the customer away is not the way they should of dealt with the problem

Agreed, this could/should have been dealt with in store at the time. However, if the product returned does not match the receipt, they are not obliged to do anything. Clearly an error has occurred that needs putting right, which they are offering to look into and resolve. Kicking off and intimidating people will not help. Play it cool as the honest customer you clearly are, and common sense will prevail, and as a gesture of goodwill they may allow you to keep the better model. Upset the staff and they'll deliberately be obstructive to your situation. I know I would! I've always had great service in situations like this through being nice, rather than offering to kick there head in.
I fully see Coozers position though as I've known them try that old chestnut. "You have to phone this number, it's nothing to do with us etc" in which case they are way out of order. That's when to send Steve M in.....

robinj66 - 18/7/12 at 08:08 PM

What she needs to do is return to the store with a witness, speak to the store manager and ensure she tells them they have a fixed time (eg, 5 days) to contact her with a view to dealing with her complaint (ie the faulty item) {all other things being equal, she is entitled to her money back]. She should also tell them they need to advise her of their position in writing.

daviep - 18/7/12 at 09:00 PM

Depending on whether you knew you had the wrong tablet changes the situation.

If you knew you had recieved the wrong tablet you shoud have done the honest thing and made the company aware of the error. If you didn't play by the rules it's hardly fair to expect the company to.

If you didn't notice and it was a genuine mistake then you would hope that the company would investigate and sor it out.

Either way I don't think the response is unreasonable at the moment.

Regards
Davie

balidey - 18/7/12 at 09:17 PM

There is another option to help overcome the receipt not matching.

Buy a 2nd tablet of the same make as the Ł180 one.
Then return 'that' tablet. You know, the one with the faulty microphone that you have a receipt for.
Then when its exchanged you have two working tablets.
If you are allowed you could always return one of them, or sell one on ebay.

owelly - 18/7/12 at 09:28 PM

But surely, they guys at PC World should just exchange the faulty Tablet for the one they should have given her in the first place? The fact that they gave the customer the wrong one in the first place is irrelevant and they should be glad to get the better machine back on stock even though it needs the microphone sorting out!

JoelP - 18/7/12 at 10:23 PM

quote:
Originally posted by owelly
But surely, they guys at PC World should just exchange the faulty Tablet for the one they should have given her in the first place? The fact that they gave the customer the wrong one in the first place is irrelevant and they should be glad to get the better machine back on stock even though it needs the microphone sorting out!

They wouldnt know at this point if they had actually given her the wrong one, or if she was trying it on. Bit daft though, because if she was trying it on, she would have bought the same one as the one she wanted to swap!