Grounds for complaint against Comet?

harrpau7

I am just wondering if I have grounds for a complaint against Comet for the television I bought from them in February last year.

The television I purchased was a Panasonic plasma that cost £500. I also purchased the 5 year extra care warranty at an additional cost of £165. About 8 months into having the television it started buzzing very loudly, I e-mailed Comet and engineers came out on 3 or 4 occasions and replaced parts but the problem still persisted. In the end the television was taken into the workshop (which took nearly 3 weeks when they said it would take a few days) however the buzzing was deemed to be within the manufactures specification and thus they refused to repair or replace. I however went into the store and a lovely woman in there said I could bring the television back and they would replace it. Brilliant I though.

So start of April I have my new replacement tv (another Panasonic plasma) and for 2 months of so everything was lovely. Wimbledon started last week of June and when I was watching a match I noticed a line about 7 inches from the left hand side of the tv against the green grass. I fiddled with the picture setting, used the scrolling bar feature that gets rid of screen burn but no luck. So once again I emailed them and requested an engineer comes out, to which they actually phoned me back to arrange an engineer visit and I was happy with the support I was receiving thus far.

Then it all changed. I e-mailed them a couple of days prior to the engineer coming out to check if it was a morning or afternoon visit. The e-mail I received back said that an engineer would not be coming out but my tv would actually be picked up instead for analysis and possible repair. I had no replacement tv this time and this was a huge inconvenience, not to mention that this wasn't what I was told on the phone. Not happy, I once again visited the Comet store I purchased the tv from and told them my issue. Again, in store they were very helpful and said that if I let them take it away I could refuse repair and then have another replacement. This was another decent gesture, however I was a little concerned with what models they had, as none of them had the specifications of my current tv for the same price. Plus I wasn’t happy that I would be without a tv.

In the end though I agreed that they could take the tv and a day was arranged for the tv to be picked up. However I tried e-mailing them to confirm what time during the day they would come out as I had plans and got nothing back. So obviously when I wasn’t in the house I received a phone from the person scheduled to pick up my tv saying that I wasn’t in. I explained the situation and was told I would receive a phone call later in the day to arrange another day for pick up. I was never called to arrange this.

So once again I e-mailed them. Couple of days later I received a response arranging another day for pick up. They also said I would receive a call when the people who were going to pick up my tv started their shift to give an indication of what time they would be coming. And as sure as the sun rises, I received that call at about half 8 in the morning saying they would be with me within the hour.

About half 9 I received another phone call from the same guy, advising me that he was at my house, my old house. I could not believe it. He said it would take him a few hours to come to my current house (the address of which they already have as they have been there before). The guy apologised and said he would pass on my details and I would receive a call later. I decided to go into the Comet store anyway and complain. Once again, they were very helpful in store and said that all I needed to do was get them to pick up the television and then I could come into store and pick a new tv, and they would also put something towards a better model. So I thought I would wait for the phone call to arrange the tv being picked up and then go in store a couple of days latter and get the third tv from them. Once again however, I didn’t receive a phone call to arrange the tv being picked up, nor replies to my e-mails I had sent them expressing my disgust at the collection guys going to my old address.

I am at the end of my tether with this. The tv and warranty has cost me the best part of £700 and I feel I deserve better, both from the tv itself and the service I have received. The people in store have been helpful; however the service from e-mailing has been abysmal.

Do I have grounds to complain? Or am I just wasting my time?

Kurtis_Blue

Bit of advice, bullet point the above, no one has the time to read all that.

harrpau7

Kurtis_Blue wrote: »

Bit of advice, bullet point the above, no one has the time to read all that.

Bullet point is good advice, but it's not exactly War and Peace. It's a fairly big read because it's a long ongoing issue, but at least just give me an opinion on whether I have a leg on as well as the other advice you gave me please.

Kurtis_Blue

I didnt read it.

[Deleted User]

harrpau7 wrote: »

Do I have grounds to complain? Or am I just wasting my time?

I would say: Yes & Yes.

Another point - I have owned a few Panasonic electronic items and generally had no issues. Are you sure it is not a peripheral, i.e. Sky/ Freeview box which is causing the problems?

Also - ignore the complaints above, I read the whole thing and it wasn't too difficult, the information was relevant and (for the most) grammatically correct. We don't all require bullet points, some of us can read blocks of text without it being spoonfed.

harrpau7

Sfitzter wrote: »

I would say: Yes & Yes.

Another point - I have owned a few Panasonic electronic items and generally had no issues. Are you sure it is not a peripheral, i.e. Sky/ Freeview box which is causing the problems?

Also - ignore the complaints above, I read the whole thing and it wasn't too difficult, the information was relevant and (for the most) grammatically correct. We don't all require bullet points, some of us can read blocks of text without it being spoonfed.

Thank you :-) (although confused that you think that I should complain yet I am wasting my time).

[Deleted User]

harrpau7 wrote: »

Thank you :-) (although confused that you think that I should complain yet I am wasting my time).

What I meant was that you have grounds to complain but it would probably be a waste of time. Good luck

Kurtis_Blue

Sfitzter wrote: »

I would say: Yes & Yes.

Also - ignore the complaints above, I read the whole thing and it wasn't too difficult, the information was relevant and (for the most) grammatically correct. We don't all require bullet points, some of us can read blocks of text without it being spoonfed.

And yet you had nothing of value to assist the OP, for a wide range of views and helpful advice from informed posters a concise posting would be of great help.

[Deleted User]

Kurtis_Blue wrote: »

I didnt read it.

Kurtis_Blue wrote: »

And yet you had nothing of value to assist the OP, for a wide range of views and helpful advice from informed posters a concise posting would be of great help.

You're right, your post was much more helpful.

Kurtis_Blue

Sfitzter wrote: »

You're right, your post was much more helpful.

Of course it was, I'm sorry you do not see that.

Moneymaker

I guess that your unknown model "Pasanonic plasma" is too large to fit in your own vehicle? Most companies specify a "return to base" warranty anyway so, since Comet seem incapable of collecting it, I recommend you hire the services of a van driver, put the TV in its original packaging, and ship it back to the shop.

Make sure you tape to it a note detailing (briefly) the precise history and symptoms; your name and contact details; what you want them to do and a copy of the original proof of purchase.

I've worked in Service and I've seen numerous items returned under warranty with some or all of the above details missing. Nobody knows why it's arrived or what's to be done with it so it sits in the store room until the customer phones to complain!

Keep a copy of everything and, in particular, make a note of the model number and serial number. (Easiest way is to photograph the TV from every angle and make sure the printed labels are legible.) I've lost count of the number of times a customer has phoned to ask about his TV or whatever but can't actually identify it. "Yes, Sir. We have around 100 stacked in the workshop stores. Please come in and point it out to us."

BTW the model number and serial number ought to be on the receipt but often isn't. If you buy a TV or get an exchange, be sure to ask the salesman to write these details on the receipt.