Scan.co.uk Faulty Goods Returns/Refunds

snootyjim

Hi

[rant]
I've just been dealing with Scan.co.uk this morning, and I'm getting increasingly stressed and angry. I've bought tons of stuff from them in the past without any trouble, but last week I received a shipment of four hard drives in the post. I started to use them, and have since discovered that two of them are faulty, they've both suffered damage to their internal mechanisms. To me, that says that they've taken an almighty smash on their way here, but who knows...

Anyway, I contacted them to tell them about the first hard drive, which I discovered was broken last week. The guy on the phone said that they would pick it up, and take it back to Bolton, test it, and then if it was broken, I would receive a replacement, probably taking 5 working days in all. If they decided it wasn't broken, they'd charge me £35. I said that was no good, I needed it ASAP, so he told me to make a new order, and that he would put the other drive down for a refund. So basically, I would get the drive today (Monday) and P&P would be free since it was a replacement, but on the downside I would be £50 out of pocket for a week. I agreed to that, but then on Saturday was furious to discover that actually another one was broken.

Considering they're meant to last several years, two broken in the same package is ridiculous. I contacted them again today regarding the other one, and they told me that they could do the same thing again, or I could wait 5 working days. I told them that there was no way I would go another £100 out of pocket, taking me to £150, because I couldn't afford to do that for a week, and so I decided I'd have to wait for the 5 days. As I'm still living at home, I mentioned it to my mum, who decided to phone up and see what the deal was... ultimately she offered to jump in and pay the £100 so I could receive the drive tomorrow, but then Scan started saying that this time round I would have to pay the £7 for postage, because last time that was a "one-off" and who knows why it was ever issued anyway...
[/rant]

What I really don't understand is that if I purchase something from a shop and it's bust, I walk back to the shop, I say "These are faulty goods - sale of goods act, can I have my refund now please?" However, if it's Scan, they seem to be able to consider me a liar, wait 3/4 days to test it to confirm whether or not I am a liar, and then issue a replacement or refund. Why are they immune to this?

uktim29

snootyjim wrote: »

Why are they immune to this?

It's not their immune to this thats the way it works.

They will have dealt with many people who are liars (I worked with the public for 13 years, many of them lie), simple as that. Obviously they will want to check each case in genuine.

Although you may know it's faulty, they don't. If you stand on the other side of the counter and see what they have to deal with you'll soon realise why they do this.

snootyjim

Well of course, but it doesn't work that way in PC World or similar. If I take in an item and say that it's broken, they replace it instantly regardless of any testing.

And of course, why would I return an item that isn't broken for a replacement? If they have the original in their possession, they lose nothing by sending out another - I've already paid them their £100. It's not as I've got something to gain by returning goods that work perfectly for a replacement.

JoanneJ

Hi
Wonder if this was ever resolved to your satisfaction?
I, like you, have spent £100s with SCAN over the years [over £1k I estimate!] and had no real reason for complaint, except maybe concerns their postage prices were unnecessarily high.

Then when a low cost item proved faulty I had to pay £3 to send it back only to be told it would not be repaired/replaced and that I would only receive a refund of £2 [against £18 original costs including listed price, postage and VAT ON BOTH!] despite 3 months still being left on the 12 month warranty.

I tried to negotiate a higher refund and asked for the faulty item to be returned as I then intended to send it to the manufacturer but SCAN.CO.UK have REFUSED to send the item back to me. I reminded them of the business I had given them over the years and how their site boasts:

"Scan 3XS - Specification, Service, Satisfaction. What is 3XS? In a nutshell, we want to offer you the right Specification of goods and the right Service levels, for you to feel Satisfied with your shopping experience at Scan so you will have no hesitation to buy from us again."

which they seem to have ignored completely in this instance.

They have now stated they sent a cheque for the refund and £2 is their "final offer" and that they will "never return the item to me" but 9 days later I have received nothing.

Consumer Direct state I have rights, including receiving faulty item back AND refund for remaining warranty period BUT I should use further time and money to write all down in a letter, send recorded delivery etc etc.

I doubt SCAN.CO.UK will even reply as their previous statement clearly illustrates they have closed the matter.

So have I no possible recourse?

I have also now found the manufacturer's site cannot be found via any search engine though it was live on 27/2/09.

As an avid M Lewis follower I am baffled how I have landed in this predicament.

Any helpful advice on how to obtain redress?