Returning faulty gift to comet without a receipt

ruthyjo

My nine year old son was bought a cheap hitachi portable cd/radio/cassette player for xmas by his aunty. She bought it in November but obviously didn't give it to him until the end of December. He set it up himself and was using it, presumably happily, until the middle of this week when I heard it in action for the first time. When using the cd player there was loads of crackling and buzzing - it was completely unsatisfactory and sounded quite dangerous.

Rang up the aunty and established it had been purchased from Comet and set off yesterday with OH and three kids to exchange it. As it was the gift we didn't have the receipt although my sister in law did still have it thirty miles away.

OH went to return it at the customer services desk whilst I waited with the kids. After about twenty minutes he came and found us. The sales girl had spent this time ringing up the branch where the thing had been bought and trying to persuade them to go through the receipts on their system to locate the receipt for our item. Not surprisingly they had refused - we only knew it had been bought some time between October and Xmas which didn't give them much to go on. She then told my OH we could exchange it for another identical item on someone else's receipt(!)

When we looked they had the same item on display but not in stock. A trip back to customer services established that in their eyes this meant there was nothing they could do, despite the fact that the item was faulty and so (I think) we didn't need a receipt.

OH was quite happy to leave it at that and get his sister to post us the receipt. However I had used the time weighing up the products on offer and had decided that the original gift was rubbish and that I would replace it with a more expensive sony product and would also buy a sony cd clock radio.

This meant that I wanted to spend about a hundred pounds on top of the refund of £25 due for the original product. I'd also dragged three kids into comet on my weekend and didn't fancy having to repeat the experience next weekend. The big ones were quite happy playing the display xbox 360 (don't get excited though - it was displayed but none were actually for sale), but the three year old was quite fed up.

Surely comet would be flexible enough to offer an exchange when I wanted to spend so much more money in their store? Off I went to customer services and explained what I wanted to do. They weren't at all willing to let me do this because they insisted they could only exchange for the same item. This is because they would have to process the exchange on another customer's receipt for a purchase of the item selected at random from the receipts held on their system. That has got to be the most ridiculous system for offering refunds/exchanges without a receipt ever invented. I mean would you be happy if you returned a dodgy item to them and in the ensuing discussion you were accused of having exchanged it previously when actually they had just used your personal details for another customer? Surely using data like that must contravene the data protection act?

There then ensued a stand off between me and the assistant with her insisting she wouldn't exchange against another item and me insisting she was obliged to as the original item was faulty. Eventually she mentioned she only needed the number off the receipt rather than the physical receipt. Why hadn't they said this straight away when my husband first approached them and explained the receipt was thirty miles away and saved us and them the 45 mins so far? How can anyone be so stupid as to spend 20 mins trying to ring a store when they know the info they are trying to get is easily available elsewhere because we've told them so?

Anyway used the store phone to ring my sister in law's mobile (hope that ate into their margin), as I "couldn't" get any reception on my phone, and ask her for the receipt number. She was out shopping and I had to wait until she got home and could ring me back with this, taking the whole process over the one hour mark.

Finally I triumphantly presented them with the receipt number. They asked what items I was exchanging for and I assured them I would now be replacing the item elsewhere. They then asked for the card the item was originally bought on to refund to - after a mere hour of discussion about how it was a gift and we hadn't bought it ourselves. Bit my lip very hard and handed over my card. No comment was made that this definitely wasn't the right card.

Went home, ordered the replacement for my son from currys online using a five percent off code from this site and my egg card for another five percent off and the other product from John Lewis with a save £10 off £50 code so at least I saved some cash over buying from Comet. Well done Comet on missing out on those two purchases thanks to the world's most stupid system for processing exchanges.

in_my_wellies

That is unbelievable to us isn't it and I would be very cross if my details were used in that way.

I hope you have more luck with Curry's. I could repeat your story when my son (about 7) bought a Curry's brand alarm clock which broke after 2-3 weeks. It was very cheap and he bought it with pocket money so we had no reciept. They couldn't find it on their system and even though it couldn't have been bought anywhere else they refused an exchange. They said 'we can't because he might have pinched it'.

So cross we've never been back except to do price checks and then bought elsewhere!

smcaul

Someone else who has learned never to shop at Comet,they have the most pathetic CS that I have ever come accross. I have had many a row with them over their returns policy of faulty goods, best one was when I was refused a refund because item was 35 days old and their T&C's state only 28 days. I did point out that for 1 the T&C's are on the back of a receipt, which means they are issued after you have completed your purchse - so you have no time to read them before hand, and the fact that they state "These do not affect your statutory rights" which they were and still do. I will never shop at comet again.

ruthyjo

I guess that I should be grateful they didn't argue the over twenty eight days thing with me. They started to but saw the look in my eyes and I think decided it just wasn't worth it.

Poppy9

Sadly as a gift recipient you have no statutory rights with the shop. Only the buyer has these. Legally the buyer does not have to provide a receipt as proof of purchase if goods are faulty as a shop is not required by law to issue you with a receipt. Therefore their T&C cannot vary your rights under consumer law by demanding a receipt.

Also they cannot say that goods should only work for 28 days or 12 months. Within the first 6 months the onus is on them to prove that the goods were not defective at point of sale. After this period you have to allow them to inspect the goods to establish the fault but the law is not specific on what length of time goods should remain in working order. If I remember correctly it mentions reasonable with regard to price and product purchased. Therefore if you pay £50 for a TV and it breaks after 18 months that might be held reasonable. However if you pay £600 for a TV you would expect it to be of far higher quality and durability. The same with washing machines, fridges etc. Just because they are over 12 months old does not mean that you have no rights. Everyone would reasonably expect them to last more than a year.

My brother has taken Currys to the small claims court for a £600 telly that broke after 4 months that they wanted to repair only. He got his money and they had to pay his court costs.

Comets & Currys are renown for inventing their own 'consumer rights' and usually will not back down until you take them to the small claims court. Visit your local Trading Standards office and if they tell you that you are within your rights legally to reject the goods then don't bother keeping on at them. Just write one letter giving them 7-14 days to refund/replace the item or that you will make a claim in the small claims court. If they fail to respond then just issue proceedings. You will save yourself a lot of stress.

Trading standards

soolin

I wouldn't buy anything from Comet ever again, they have the worst customer services ..ever.

My story was a faulty video recorder back in the days when they were expensive items. I took it back on day 30 and they basically just laughed and said 'too bad'.

Ended up with about 4 different repair men coming at various times, all of whom said it wasn't repairable but on each occasion Comet still refused a replacement and just sent another repair man. In the end we had to threaten small claims and they virtually threw me out the shop with a different machine and suggested I didn't go back again as I was upsetting their staff!

Soo

kazzy

if you return faulty goods ,shops can insist on 'proof of purchase'.This does not necessarily mean a receipt.It can be a bank statement,credit card statement.You can even have a witness(ie a friend who was with you at the time) as proof of purchase.
A radio,for instance could have been bought in any number of outlets so it is quite reasonable for a shop to require 'proof of purchase' from that particular shop.By law a shop business is allowed to insist on P.O.P..
You will find though that many do not (like M &S) as this is good customer service and also every item you buy in M&S has an M&S label on it.

kazzy

I should have added to my last post ,I totally sympathise with you at bl**dy Comet.My oH and I steer well clear of that shop,precisely for their horrendous non existent customer service

herbal

Ok OT i know but it's concerns Currys.

My mum in law bought us a blender for xmas, we already have one. She has given me the receipt but paid using CC. Now is there a chance we can get a refund on this without getting my mum in law down the store.

Thanks, and sorry for taking it off topic.

jobbingmusician

I would think that if yr MIL lent you her CC for the afternoon, if Currys felt awkward they could simply refund to the CC.

ruthyjo

jobbingmusician wrote:

I would think that if yr MIL lent you her CC for the afternoon, if Currys felt awkward they could simply refund to the CC.

Wouldn't really conceal from your mother in law that you had returned the item though!

When we returned the cd player to comet they refunded onto a different credit card without even noticing. We're not having a very good run at the moment and have also returned an iron to currys this week. Again they did a manual credit card receipt - it didn't tie into the original purchase at all. It was the same card but it needn't have been as they didn't check so I'm sure you'll be fine.