British American Tobacco...

curiousyellow_2

Hi All
On my way home from a holiday in Tunisia i bought 200 cigarettes from the duty free shop at the airport ( i know i shouldn't smoke!!). Basically the cigarettes weren't fit for purpose and i phoned BAT to tell them. They've sent me an envelope to send them back for analysis with a letter (and this is whats annoyed me) saying if there's a genuine problem and they're not counterfeit, they will only replace them on a 'value for value' basis.
This means i will only get back about 50 cigarettes when i've paid for 200!
Does anyone know if they can legally do this, or are they trying to 'pull a fast one', and can i demand they replace all the cigarettes i sent them?
Thanks

Butlers1982

Basically the cigarettes weren't fit for purpose

Why werent they, what was wrong with them?

'value for value' basis

Have they told you they will only give you 50 for 200?
where have you got this figure from.

I am aware that if you have bought goods that are couterfit, they can distroy them without giving you any money.

maninthestreet

How can a cigarette not be 'fit for purpose'? Did they fall apart in your fingers making them impossible to smoke? How much did the cigarettes cost?
You didn't buy the cigarettes from BAT, you bought them from the DF shop in the airport - so your complaint is with them, not BAT. You can avoid the problem in the future by giving up smoking.

Butlers1982

How can a cigarette not be 'fit for purpose'

Thats what was puzzling me!

curiousyellow_2

Butlers1982 wrote: »

Why werent they, what was wrong with them?




Have they told you they will only give you 50 for 200?
where have you got this figure from.

I am aware that if you have bought goods that are couterfit, they can distroy them without giving you any money.

when i spoke to their customer services they said they would replace them on a value for value basis. i spent approx £16 for the 200, so they will replace them with £16 worth of English duty paid cigarettes ( about 3 packs of 20)

I'm am aware if they're counterfeit they'll be destroyed, and i'll receive nothing.

Butlers1982

So youll get what you paid for them so you wont loose out on anymoney.

Its seems as though both maninthestreet and myself are intreaged as to how cigarettes are not

'fit for purpose'

curiousyellow_2

maninthestreet wrote: »

How can a cigarette not be 'fit for purpose'? Did they fall apart in your fingers making them impossible to smoke? How much did the cigarettes cost?
You didn't buy the cigarettes from BAT, you bought them from the DF shop in the airport - so your complaint is with them, not BAT. You can avoid the problem in the future by giving up smoking.

what a lovely reply!

"How can a cigarette not be 'fit for purpose'? Did they fall apart in your fingers making them impossible to smoke?"

they were so strong i was unable to smoke them.

"You didn't buy the cigarettes from BAT, you bought them from the DF shop in the airport - so your complaint is with them"

I think you're wrong. Did the DF shop manufacture them? If there was a problem in the manufacturing process, then it is BAT's problem.

As for your last comment, i wont reply to that as i dont want to offend, i only posted on here for advice, not fatuous remarks!

woohoo_postingid

curiousyellow wrote: »

they were so strong i was unable to smoke them.

Are cigarettes different strength in different countries? If so, and you bought them in Tunisia I wouldn't have thought they were unfit for purpose if that's how they are sold in Tunisia.

If, for example I buy an ipod in a foreign country which uses a different voltage and I charge it in the UK and it blows up, it does not mean it's unfit for purpose as it was designed for a different country.

Blacksheep1979

Don't really think you have a leg to stand on here. I had a Malaysian friend at university who would smoke Marlboro lights - yet the Malaysian ones were as strong as the Marlboro reds over here. Its pretty much down to you not doing the research on the product that you were going to buy. Take it as a sign to give up

pulliptears

I think people are being unjustly hard on the OP. If this had been say a bar of chocolate would people reply with
"you can avoid the problem by not eating chocolate?"

The fact that the OP smokes is of his/her concern. OP felt they had legitimate cause for complaint and asked for advice, not a lecture on the dangers of smoking.

Blacksheep1979

If the op had bought a bar of chocolate and say it was more bitter due to a higher level of coco in the product I would still have said they haven't researched the product.

They have no cause for complaint as that is how the product is in that country - it is happily sold there and that (unfortunately for the op) is the way they obviously prefer it.

As someone else said, if you bought electrical goods in another country but they didn't work over here due to differing electricity or different connectors it would be your fault and not the manufacturers.