Richersounds instore purchase return policy

asbokid

trets77 wrote: »

i have to stick up for Richer Sounds here . they have just been voted best UK retailer by Which survey . and i 100% agree .

That's great, if you respect the opinion of Which. However, Which is just a business, with an income of £70m in 2010. Only a small part of the Consumers' Association that publishes Which magazine, actually operates as a charity. Neverthless, much is made of that charitable status. The CA subsidiaries, such as its publishing arm, where the real money is made, are profit-making companies.

i purchased a 2nd hand DVD player in one of their open box sales , and it didn't work . i took it back to a different store about a week later and they changed it for a different model , no questions asked .

Richer Sounds sold you faulty equipment. What you bought as an "open box" was probably a customer return. It clearly wasn't tested properly before being put back on sale.

In the circumstances, the least the company should have offered is a full refund. Instead, you accepted an exchange for a different (more expensive?) model. Richer Sounds was lucky to keep your cash. I wonder what happened to your faulty DVD player? Was it put in the next "open box" sale at your local Richer Sounds store?

twice i broke the binding posts on a set of speakers from them ( totally my fault both times ) and they fixed them for a reasonable price both times .

What sort of "reasonable price" for these repairs are we talking about?! Richer Sounds made two charged repairs of faulty equipment. That doesn't win them any accolades. I've never broken binding posts on any loudspeaker. Perhaps the model you were sold has a design fault, and should have been repaired or replaced by Richer Sounds, F.O.C.?

i have asked them to reserve stock several times , and they have always been most helpful . never had anything but superb service from them

In my experience, Richer Sounds is no better than any other box-shifting electrical retailer. Although the company spends a lot of money on corporate propaganda to persuade the customer otherwise.

Why don't you just buy the supercare ??? if you don't need to claim on it , then you get the full amount back as store credit when it expires .

Buying Richer Sounds' product insurance is a completely separate matter.

The OP wants to try the equipment in his own home. Under the Distance Selling Regulations, he has a right to do that and to reject the goods for any reason he wants. But those Distance Selling Rights only exist when the consumer buys online.

Since Richer Sounds is refusing to match those rights if he buys instore, the OP would be wise to buy online (or from another retailer which does give a no-quibble returns guarantee to try out equipment at home.)

Hammyman

asbokid wrote: »

I once wasted two hours driving to a Richer Sounds store to buy equipment that they assured me on the telephone was in stock when it was not.

Ever thought they may have sold it in that time?

Hammyman

asbokid wrote: »

Since Richer Sounds is refusing to match those rights if he buys instore, the OP would be wise to buy online (or from another retailer which does give a no-quibble returns guarantee to try out equipment at home.)

Doesn't work that way under DSR.

From the OFT:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

Would the DSRs apply where a consumer has examined
goods in my shop and then orders the same goods from me
via distance means?

2.13 This depends on the circumstances, but we consider the DSRs would not normally apply where a consumer examines goods at your
premises and later orders those goods by distance means, even if the
goods are slightly different, for example, ordered in a different colour
from those actually examined.

asbokid

Hammyman wrote: »

Ever thought they may have sold it in that time?

nope.. they lied about stock to get me in store, where they hoped i would buy something else.

asbokid

I know what the OFT guidelines say, but the OP hasn't even bought anything yet from Richer Sounds..

If the OP buys an Onkyo DVG-R45 from Richer Sounds online, the company has no way of knowing that he previously walked in to any one of the Richer Sound stores on the high street, asked to listen to the Onkyo DVG-R45, but didn't buy.

googler

asbokid wrote: »

nope.. they lied about stock to get me in store, where they hoped i would buy something else.

If I'd phoned them, they said it was in stock, my next statement would be - "Please keep one aside for me, I'll be along in X hrs"

Did you ask them to do this? If not, I'm not surprised at the outcome. As previous poster said, they could have sold it in your travel time.

asbokid

googler wrote: »

If I'd phoned them, they said it was in stock, my next statement would be - "Please keep one aside for me, I'll be along in X hrs" Did you ask them to do this? If not, I'm not surprised at the outcome. As previous poster said, they could have sold it in your travel time.

Yeah, of course I told the store to reserve the equipment. This was a Cambridge Audio amplifier set - a C500 control amp and a P500 power amp. The amp set was listed in the Richer Sounds catalogue as a special offer available in store only.

I phoned around the local stores and none had the amp set in stock, all were sold out. So I cast my search further afield. Eventually, staff at a Richer Sounds store some 80 miles away said that they did indeed have the "special offer" amp set in stock. I explained that "I will be there later that afternoon, so please keep the equipment aside for me." They were happy to do so, made a note of my name and said they would ensure that the kit was waiting for me.

After a two hour drive, I arrived at the store to find that no reservation had been made. Remember this was a special offer of a pair of amps (C500+P500). It was THE special offer in the latest R.S. catalogue, so there was no confusion over it. The store said that they did have the individual amplifiers available at their full price, but the staff refused to put those amps together to form the special offer. This wasn't a manufacturer's special. It was a Richer Sounds deal. Buying the two amps separately would have cost around the double the price of the special offer. When I remonstrated, the staff said there was nothing they could do. They recommended other equipment as an alternative. This wasn't good value and wasn't what I wanted. So I left.

To explain the full and now boring story, there was eventually a satisfactory conclusion, but only after I complained to Richer Sounds customer services. The company pointed out that the amplifier deal was "instore only" and "subject to stock." I argued that a false promise had been made, wasting my petrol and my time, etc. There was nothing except company rules to stop the R.S. store from pairing two amps that it had in stock and selling them at the special offer price in the catalogue, as had been agreed on the phone. Eventually Richer Sounds did honour the deal, but only after a lot of complaining.

So all was not lost, except for the time and petrol consumed in a pointless four hour round journey of 160 miles.

So would I buy from Richer Sounds again, or recommend them to others? Yes, probably.

Would I make 160 mile round journey to buy kit from a R.S. store on the promise that it was in stock? Nope.

Was I happy with the amp kit? Happy with the price, but found the sound quality to be disappointingly mediocre.

Richer Sounds is an electrical box shifter. It thrives on a high volume of sales, loud and brash marketing, lots of "cut price deals" and a minimal level of service. I've got no problem with that. However, the company invests a lot in trumpeting its reputation in various ways. Yet if my experience is any gauge, I am not sure that its high reputation is necessarily deserved. That said, I would sooner buy from R.S. than from Comet or Currys. In general, R.S. will probably offer better value for money.

trets77

so you admit Richer sounds are your preferred retailer . no retailer is perfect , but like you said they are miles better than the rest . Minimal service .. totally disagree . many times i have had taken up a significant amount of time the Sales staff deciding / on the correct product by demos ect . every time i rang them up , someone has had the time to talk to me .

What sort of "reasonable price" for these repairs are we talking about?! Richer Sounds made two charged repairs of faulty equipment. That doesn't win them any accolades. I've never broken binding posts on any loudspeaker. Perhaps the model you were sold has a design fault, and should have been repaired or replaced by Richer Sounds, F.O.C.?

£10 ish . was not faulty equipment . i ripped the binding posts off floor standing speakers ( TWICE !) by shoving them under the sofa without thinking . they were very difficult to repair , but Richer Sounds went the extra mile to do it . do you think John Lewis , currys , Dixons would have ?

In my experience, Richer Sounds is no better than any other box-shifting electrical retailer. Although the company spends a lot of money on corporate propaganda to persuade the customer otherwise.

disagree . i find most people shop there through word of mouth . aside from adverts in Hi fi Magazines , when do you see a Richer Sounds commercial on the telly ?? or any main stream advertising ( Billboards for example) ??

Richer Sounds sold you faulty equipment. What you bought as an "open box" was probably a customer return. It clearly wasn't tested properly before being put back on sale.

In the circumstances, the least the company should have offered is a full refund. Instead, you accepted an exchange for a different (more expensive?) model. Richer Sounds was lucky to keep your cash. I wonder what happened to your faulty DVD player? Was it put in the next "open box" sale at your local Richer Sounds store?

i purchased it knowing it was customer return , and was not certain to work . i purchased fully knowing this , but i had zero hassle when returning . would other retailers have been so obliging ?

Maybe you would like to order the Moon on a Stick the next time you shop there .

Richer_Sounds_Company_Representative

vikramrkin wrote: »

Hi All,

I am planning to buy Onkyo AV receiver + speaker package from Richersounds. Model is ONKYO HTS5405.

One thing I am little worried is how will this unit fit in my apartment. As in what will be the sound quality that I will get with this. The store dont have a demo unit for this. The sales man however said that I can purchase this and return in 7 days if I am not happy and will get full refund.

I looked at the return policy of RC and they say this is allowed only for online purchase. There is no mention of return policy for in store purchases. So I am not sure if the sales man is just saying this for his commission or it is really true.

Does anyone has an experience with returning items to richer sounds?

Thanks
Vikram

Hi Vikram,

I saw your query regarding our returns policy and can confirm we have a 14 day exchange policy.

If you’re unhappy with your product for any reason simply return it to us and we’ll happily exchange it for a different model. All we ask is you return the item in perfect condition, complete with all packaging and accessories.

Should you want to return your purchase for a refund then we’ll happily give a full refund on all unopened products returned within 7 days.

I hope this helps, although please do let me know should you have any further queries.

Many thanks,

John Clayton
Operations Director
Richer Sounds

Richer_Sounds_Company_Representative

asbokid wrote: »

Richer Sounds has some reasonably cheap kit, but customer services is far from brilliant. I once wasted two hours driving to a Richer Sounds store to buy equipment that they assured me on the telephone was in stock when it was not.

Hi asbokid,

I was most concerned to read your comments, and obviously sorry that you’ve had a bad experience with us in the past.

Customer service is paramount to us and it is therefore extremely disappointing to hear of any occasion where we have got things wrong. Indeed, I would be most interested to hear some further information about your experience so that I may investigate with a view to resolving to your satisfaction. Therefore, please would you PM me with some further information and your contact details?

Meanwhile, my sincere apologies and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Many thanks,

John Clayton
Operations Director
Richer Sounds