Store too busy with sales to deal with a return until Jan?

Lily73

My sis in law has bought a tablet for her son that isn't working. She wants to return it but said she needs to wait until after the New Year as the store (Argos) will refuse to deal with her return due to them being busy dealing with sales at the moment.

I have never heard of this before but she says that she went to return an item to Argos and JD Sports last year and was told the same thing i.e. that she would have to go back in Jan as they wouldn't deal with her return until then and that they also had as sign on the shop door stating this!

scaredy_cat

contact your local trading standards for advise.

custardy

for exchanges yes
however for a faulty item I would say that was unacceptable

Kategold

Reading this post just confirmed for me that argos are useless.

I have decided never to buy from argos again after an experience just before christmas in my local store. I have been wondering whether to try and complain, send an email to argos but having read other posts i am not sure there will be much point. So i will just tell everyone i know how bad their customer service is.

Whilst placing an order in store, i overheard a customer trying to get help with a computer he had bought 5 weeks before. He was repeatedly told that all they would do was send it away for repair as it was opened, it was out of the 30 day return and they were not responsible as it was probably a software fault.

The customer said he needed the computer and so couldn't wait for it to be sent away. I perhaps stupidly but out of exasperation at waiting to be served, said to the member of staff that I understood that if they had proof of purchase etc they should not be fobbed off with a repair as the product was less than 6 months old and the contract was with the store. I showed the customer and the member of staff the basic rule on this website on my phone and still the member of staff was adamant that this was not the case and was not "argos policy".

The customer decided they would leave and return with everything and armed with the details of their statutory rights. The staff were insistent that they were not subject to the law that if it is within 6 months they have to show it was not faulty on leaving the shop but vice versa.

When I bought my order they wanted to charge a small fortune for extra cover but at this point i was wondering already whether i wanted to buy from there. So thought i might just return the item sealed to then go elsewhere.

I remained to collect my order, only to see the member of staff go over to the manageress and tell her about my take on the law, much sniggering and hilarity and rudeness in my direction. When I left the store the manageress just smirked at me.

I fear that this particular store will be breaching customers rights wherever they can get away with it but perhaps it is argos policy to be rude, and a law unto themselves. They appear to never accept blame and be rude about it. I hate to see customer being rude to people who are just doing their job but to be the subject of rudeness as a customer is no fun either.

I have never posted before but I have kept thinking about how rude the staff were and there adamant approach to their policy which I believe is not even legal.

scaredy_cat

if you don't complain they they will keep on doing it. you must complain and keep taking it higher if the reply is unsatisfactory.

[Deleted User]

a couple of years ago i took a mobile back that wasnt working on the 27th no suggestion i should return in the new year,had there been it would have been a case of god help them

kayleigh_x_2

I returned an item back to Argos yesterday for a refund with no problems. There was nothing in store to say about refunds and exchanges being processed after a certain date. I would go back and question them again and ask for the store manager aswell.

Chris25

I took a couple of things back last year & the first one, I can't remember where to - *smacks forehead in frustration but may have been Next* - but there was a sign instore saying 'no returns etc'. I hadn't seen this but was told at the till by the assistant when it was my turn to go to the till.

As the item was missing a button, and therefore damaged, I argued that it was their fault & not mine that I'd had to return it. So she called over another member of staff to be told that in this case it was fine to refund. To be honest, I think she was inexperienced and probably overwelmed by the amount of people to serve and if the shop has told her that that's their Sale policy, she's not going to argue.

The other shop also had a sign (again can't remember where) but no customers at refund till & so it didn't bother them to refund me.

I'd never seen these signs before last year - I wonder if it says anything on the gift-receipts; if the items are presents and unsuitable, it would be awful for the recipients to make a wasted journey.

JethroUK

Lily73 wrote: »

My sis in law has bought a tablet for her son that isn't working. She wants to return it but said she needs to wait until after the New Year as the store (Argos) will refuse to deal with her return due to them being busy dealing with sales at the moment.

I have never heard of this before but she says that she went to return an item to Argos and JD Sports last year and was told the same thing i.e. that she would have to go back in Jan as they wouldn't deal with her return until then and that they also had as sign on the shop door stating this!

Doesn't stop you getting a replacement today!


just have to wait for your credit/refund until Jan

Not sure whether there is a date/time limit attached to refunding - but i know in case of a laptop they have the right to send it away (check it is actually faulty) which must take a least a month

Kategold wrote: »

.... i overheard a customer trying to get help with a computer he had bought 5 weeks before. He was repeatedly told that all they would do was send it away for repair...
...

See!

BTW - they are perfectly within their rights to satisfy themselves that the item is indeed faulty - for obvious reasons

Kategold wrote: »

.... The staff were insistent that they were not subject to the law...

not in a million years

Kategold wrote: »

........I remained to collect my order, only to see the member of staff go over to the manageress and tell her about my take on the law, much sniggering and hilarity and rudeness in my direction. When I left the store the manageress just smirked at me. ..

never happened - people are just not that rude, especially in the shop floor, and they have no axe to grind - you were in a bad mood, wound up and mind set to match

your mind is where laughter turned into jibes and smiles turned into smirks

JethroUK

Chris25 wrote: »

...As the item was missing a button, and therefore damaged, I argued that it was their fault & not mine that I'd had to return it. So she called over another member of staff to be told that in this case it was fine to refund. To be honest, I think she was inexperienced and probably overwelmed by the amount of people to serve and if the shop has told her that that's their Sale policy, she's not going to argue.

....

I imagine its really a case of management not defining to their staff the difference between "Returns"

1/ People returning stuff because they just dont like it (company policy, not legally enforceable - come back when/if we got time to sort out 'your' mistake)

2/ People returning stuff faulty (consumer rights returns)

Chris25

JethroUK wrote: »

I imagine its really a case of management not defining to their staff the difference between "Returns"

1/ People returning stuff because they just dont like it (company policy, not legally enforceable - come back when/if we got time to sort out 'your' mistake)

2/ People returning stuff faulty (consumer rights returns)

yes, I think you're right - and I think a lot of people, still, are unaware that unless goods are faulty or unfit for purchase, we don't have a right to exchange goods just because we don't like the colour, for example. We have become used to High St stores allowing us to exchange items or refunding us when we have changed our minds.

In my case, the first assistant was young, quite likely a Saturday and holiday worker; if she'd been told not to take any returns on the till, possibly didn't differentiate between return because of a changed mind & return because of something faulty.

To a degree, I can understand why shops do or are starting to do this - they want to sell as much as possible in their Sale period & folk returning goods make a busier period even busier with no profit for the store, unless they're buying other items. And shop staff seem to get abused by customers even more during Sale time!

But Mangement do need to make all staff aware of the issues of returning faulty items. And Sales staff need to make sure Customers are aware of the Store Policy when buying the goods, if it's not printed on a Gift-receipt.