Concord digital camera £19.99 [CLOSED]

quidsinquentin

Deaf_Leopard wrote:

I completely agree. The more people who 'know their rights' kick up a stink about this deal the less inclined the company will be in the future to offer similar offers.

I bet the customer care managers at Empire are scratching their heads wondering what they did wrong. They'll probably have had more complaints about this camera offer than they will have had in the last 6 months about anything else and are probably completely baffled because all of the people who are complaining are getting a good deal!

In my personal circumstances, and I suspect I'm not alone here, the ONLY thing that misled me into thinking that the camera was 3MP was this site, and this site alone. As a consequence I strongly suspect I didn't read the Empire webpage properly and ended up with a 2MP camera, confirmed by e-mail perfectly legally and legitimately.

In the unlikely event that I don't get the camera, it doesn't work, or if the delivery people mess me around because I am very unlikely to be in at the scheduled delivery time, then I will be whinging to the company, or the courier as appropriate. Otherwise I will be keeping my mouth shut and quietly congratulating myself on having got myself a bargain.

It seems to me that the longer this site has become established the more unreasonable people are becoming in expecting better than first class customer service when they are blatantly and often greedily exploiting a loophole. Have you thought, for example, that the fact you are having difficulty getting through to the company is that an e-mail was sent out to 500k people who like a bargain (that is the equivalent of FIVE HUNDRED medium sided secondary schools don't forget) advertising a bargain. I know from past call centre experience, both as a customer and as an employee, that any targetted publicity at all quite often causes phone meltdown and frayed tempers.

Hear hear!

Jamie85

People are kicking up a fuss because they were "done", this is a consumer revenge site and we are all here to put one over on the retailers who so often take us for a ride. The fact is, people who bought this camera ordered a far superior model, I myself received no less than 3 emails confirming that I had purchased a 3.1MP digital camera for £9.99 and I have ended up paying £19.99 for a 2MP piece of crap........if I came across this camera in a shop, I wouldn't even pay a tenner for it, it's that bad! and I don't for one minute believe that this was a "genuine mistake", the majority of items Empire are selling are not bargains of the century, they are a reasonable price, I believe they marked the 3040 camera up at £19.99 which would give them a small profit margin on each unit, but when everyone used their discount codes, which they were not bargaining on, to get the camera for 1/2 that, Empire would have taken a loss on each one. Legally, they entered in to a contract which they have not fulfilled, if we got the model we all ordered then concluded it was a piece of rubbish and started kicking off about sending it back for a refund, then fair enough, but as it stands, that is not the case, and people on here don't have the right to condemn those who have been conned for not being happy about being ripped off.

codetown

Felicity wrote:

They do NOT WANT customers like us, people who get things at huge discounts / half price / free!!

Felicity,
I disagree with your analysis.

a) This site is for users to help each other. I try to help others and hope that my considerations will help other who are not satisfied.

b) If you are satisfied with it, be happy. I am not asking you to change your mind.

c) Please be less hostile towards your peers. I am not complaining against you or asking anything to you. I am just telling the facts.

d) Maybe a 2MP camera properly advertised might have been a good deal to some. That would have been an honest proposition that some would have considered. But look at the REAL facts here for customers.
The situation is exactly as described: an item has been publicised and paid for (and it was a 3.1 MP camera), another one (of lower quality and lower performance) sent. That says it all.
A serious company would honour the contract which signed into when it confirmed the order (writing the 3.1 MP as well) AND took the money from customers. All serious companies do checks on orders BEFORE taking money.

My example of TV is excatly what summarises the situation in simple words.
Go and buy a 32" TV and get home to find waiting for you a 21" TV. Would you be happy? I would not and would pretend to get my 32".
(wheter the TV is then paid with discounts, vouchers or other IS NOT the point; if a company does not want to give discounts it does NOT offer them in the first place!!)

codetown

Deaf_Leopard wrote:

In my personal circumstances, and I suspect I'm not alone here, the ONLY thing that misled me into thinking that the camera was 3MP was this site, and this site alone. As a consequence I strongly suspect I didn't read the Empire webpage properly and ended up with a 2MP camera, confirmed by e-mail perfectly legally and legitimately.

I am usually careful to what I buy. Not only I read well the description but I also dowloaded and read the manual of the item before buying it.

The things I mentioned few messages earlier (see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1797665&postcount=239) are well documented.
I have all the saved pages and screenshots (the original item page recovered via a pal on this site!) and read them back before posting and confirm they are absolutely clear. I was probably one of the first to order and the page was very clear as well the resulting order summary.

It all seemed smooth on the site (I also checked and revisited it a few times with friends interested) until the 15th March, when they started changing things (and at that point they changed offer!).

So those who ordered it before the 15th march for sure are in their rights to have the 3.1 MP camera they ordered.

I would not have expected at all this situation from Empire Stores.
Something they might have done was to close down the offer after 24 hours, but they should still have honoured those who got confirmation and were charged for the 3.1 MP camera.

As for your comments on the large numbers of bargain-hunters applying to this offer: that might justify a delay in the processing.
Certainly does not justify Empire decision of delivering a different item (lower quality) to everyone who ordered the original 3.1 MP camera (as seems to be happening here)!

deedah123

i ordered mine on the 14th march. have still not received my camera.

empire have really let me down this time because im usually really happy with their service.


when i receive it, do you think i should keep it to see wht happens when martin and the team get on to them and hopefully get a 3mp one out of them?

jonbg

codetown wrote:

I am usually careful to what I buy. Not only I read well the description but I also dowloaded and read the manual of the item before buying it.

The things I mentioned few messages earlier (see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1797665&postcount=239) are well documented.
I have all the saved pages and screenshots (the original item page recovered via a pal on this site!) and read them back before posting and confirm they are absolutely clear. I was probably one of the first to order and the page was very clear as well the resulting order summary.

It all seemed smooth on the site (I also checked and revisited it a few times with friends interested) until the 15th March, when they started changing things (and at that point they changed offer!).

So those who ordered it before the 15th march for sure are in their rights to have the 3.1 MP camera they ordered.

I would not have expected at all this situation from Empire Stores.
Something they might have done was to close down the offer after 24 hours, but they should still have honoured those who got confirmation and were charged for the 3.1 MP camera.

As for your comments on the large numbers of bargain-hunters applying to this offer: that might justify a delay in the processing.
Certainly does not justify Empire decision of delivering a different item (lower quality) to everyone who ordered the original 3.1 MP camera (as seems to be happening here)!

You’re absolutely right.
The 3.1mp might just have been a bargain for £10.98 although even that is debatable.
The reason we all went for it was because it was 3.1mp and therefore supposedly cheap at the price. The 2mp sounds like it isn’t worth a fiver.
The consensus on both of these cameras is that they aren’t very good. I am hoping mine doesn’t arrive and they don’t take my money, which, with this company, is very likely! Which itself says it all.
This company’s customer service/systems is/are evidently atrocious. Either their system ignores your order after confirming by email or sends you a different item! I’ll be quite happy, should it arrive, to get my money back but it’s a big hassle and Empire Stores are absolutely to blame.
I’m glad that for a small amount of money (hopefully nothing) I’ve learned not to go near them again.
I for one am not losing any sleep over anyone in Empire stores “scratching their heads wondering what they did wrong” Because if they don’t know………I can give em a long list.

2Princess_Mum

Hi - sorry I'm late to this thread, but I presume the vast majority of you who purchased this "offer" did so on a one off as opposed to setting up an account with this mail order company. If anyone else is still planning to return their camera, then I would suggest hanging on to any free gift that came with the offer. I've checked the terms and conditions on their site and it makes no mention of returning the free gift if you return the products you purchase.

My mum has had an account with this company for over 20 years and gets many free "gifts" with her orders. If she doesn't want the goods, she'll send them back, and always keeps the free gift, they never ask for it back - probably because most of their free gifts are so crap that their more than happy to dump it off on you.

If you guys know different in relation to the offer then return the free gift if specified. But I'm uncertain if the same wouldn't apply whether you hold an account with them or not.

And also the number of free gifts you can get are not limited to your initial order. My mum made three separate orders in the last 2 weeks and got a free TV each time. One my mum gave to my daughter (but really it's for me, as I don't encourage my kids to have a TV in their room ), but it came in more handy for me as she had a spasm because I dared turn off CBeebies in the living room, so I ended up using it in the kitchen!

jadex

Felicity wrote:

BE GRATEFUL, BE HAPPY and / or SEND IT BACK. Then move onto the next offer you are going to be fortunate to get for free or at enormous discounts!

Felicity!

Right, don't worry, be happy :T

Beeing happy is the art of life but it's really easy :beer:

Cheers!

pen1

codetown wrote:

4) The 2MP camera model Concord 2040 was also on sale at the same time. That was the reference n. SS6826, while this 3.1 MP offer was reference n. SW6826.

Hi codetown,

I've been a customer of Empire Stores for many years. This is my understanding of the catalogue references:

-the 4 numbers in the catalogue reference identify the product.

-the letters at the front differentiate the source- for example, the catalogue edition, offer leaflet or website- and the price quoted in that source.

The 3.1 MP camera is referenced in Empire's autumn/winter 2005 catalogue as SD6828, in the spring/summer 2006 catalogue as SL6828 and on the website as SM6828, SF6828 and SA6828, and when using the last reference is on offer at £55.99, reduced from £79.99.

The 2 references you quoted- SS6826 and SW6826 should have identified the same product therefore.

I think this gives credibility to Empire's explanation- that they "made a genuine mistake in describing this product as a 3 mega pixel camera on [their] website- particularly when you consider that the numbers that should have differentiated between the 2 Concord cameras- 6826 (2MP) and 6828 (3.1MP)-are similar enough to have been confused.

carvid51

Like myself, many people possibly only purchased this product because of its spec, ie 3MP. This was clearly stated on the web page and again on the order page. Had it been a 2MP camera I wouldn't have given it a second look. I ordered it well before the web site had been altered and recieved email confirmation that I had ordered the 3MP version and that is what I expect to receive. ( I know now I won't).
I think we have a right to feel cheated.