Argos won't honour a free gift offer

Mobilelocksmith

Hello everyone. I'm a new user so hope that this post is in the right place :-/
I wonder if anyone out there can assist me?
Approx 6 weeks ago I purchased a portable TV from Argos online. There were 6 special offers to choose from including the one I chose of a free sound bar (a gadget that connects to the TV to make it sound better) worth £39.99. Given the TV was £99.99 I thought this was a great deal.
As soon as I placed the order I was informed that the free gift was currently out of stock but they would email me when it was back in. Seeing as I received no email for weeks I chased it up a couple of days ago to be told that the item was no longer available from their suppliers and as it was subject to availability I would not be receiving it, or anything else in its place.
My question is, can they do that? I chose that TV based on the free gift and now I'm not getting it I wish I'd gone elsewhere and looked for a similar deal.
Thank you in advance.

ThumbRemote

You cannot force them to supply the soundbar. However as it was a part of the contract they agreed, and they have now breached that contract, you should be able to return the TV for a full refund.

Mobilelocksmith

Thanks for your reply.
I emailed them last night (everything in writing is best I guess) and asked them what they proposed to offer me as a replacement. The stance the guy took on the phone earlier in the week was that as it was now discontinued that was the end of it.
I'm not usually a complainer so I'll see what they say.
I figured that if it was part of the original deal they can't just change that after I've paid the money.
Thank you for your help.

bris

What they are doing is called an unfair term. Your contract was based on the fact you were getting the soundbar in the deal. This is the main reason you formed the contract in the first place.


The courts would look at the over all picture and whether or not the contract would have been created without the promise of the gift. In this case, like many others before it, the answer would be no.


There is a bit in the SOGA regarding free gifts and whether they were fundamental to the contract or not, You need to point this out to Argos.

pooch

Mobilelocksmith wrote: »

Hello everyone. I'm a new user so hope that this post is in the right place :-/
I wonder if anyone out there can assist me?
Approx 6 weeks ago I purchased a portable TV from Argos online. There were 6 special offers to choose from including the one I chose of a free sound bar (a gadget that connects to the TV to make it sound better) worth £39.99. Given the TV was £99.99 I thought this was a great deal.
As soon as I placed the order I was informed that the free gift was currently out of stock but they would email me when it was back in. Seeing as I received no email for weeks I chased it up a couple of days ago to be told that the item was no longer available from their suppliers and as it was subject to availability I would not be receiving it, or anything else in its place.
My question is, can they do that? I chose that TV based on the free gift and now I'm not getting it I wish I'd gone elsewhere and looked for a similar deal.
Thank you in advance.

Mobilelocksmith wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.
I emailed them last night (everything in writing is best I guess) and asked them what they proposed to offer me as a replacement. The stance the guy took on the phone earlier in the week was that as it was now discontinued that was the end of it.
I'm not usually a complainer so I'll see what they say.
I figured that if it was part of the original deal they can't just change that after I've paid the money.
Thank you for your help.

Do you have a copy of the offer, and importantly the terms & conditions, that you thought you were applying for?
If so, please post an image of them here.


The reason I ask is that I remember a similar offer from Argos about 2 months ago.

BUT... it involved you ordering a TV (possibly selected models only) together with the soundbar for £39.99. The total price you would then pay would be less the £39.99 being the cost of the soundbar ordered.

You presumably didn't order the soundbar at the same time (because it was out of stock). So you ordered just the TV ... and that was the contract you formed.

This would also coincide with their claim now that the earlier offer was subject to availablity.

Of course, you may be referring to an entirely different offer, hence why I have asked for details. But if the item is no longer available, what would you like the supplier to do?


Edit: Also Argos offer a 30 day moneyback guarantee on most items sold.
So if you really thought you were getting both a TV and soundbar for the price you paid, and you only received a TV, you could have returned it any time within those 30 days (unused, in its original condition) for a full refund.

If you have used the TV, or it is otherwise not in it's original condition, you may have difficulty in securing any refund, especially after such a long time (and way after the 30 day moneyback guarantee has expired)

Mobilelocksmith

I did order the soundbar, and it was to be discounted at the payment stage. However as it was out of stock a message popped up saying that Argos would email when it was back in stock, as it couldn't be delivered with the TV.
Unfortunately I didn't get a screengrab.
I don't want the supplier to do anything! Argos say they can't get supplies of it and so that is that. My question is, are they obliged to supply anything in it's place? The free soundbar was the reason I chose that particular TV. I could have gone elsewhere and purchased a TV from someone who could supply a free soundbar.
Yes I could have returned the TV and am well aware of the 30 returns policy. However I have been waiting for Argos to email me when the item is back in stock and had no reason to return the TV, or to think the delay was anything other than a temporary delay due to supply issues. I don't want to return the TV. I would just like them to fulfil their part of the deal. If they can't then where do I stand? Can I reasonably ask for a £39.99 discount on another soundbar?
I believe as it formed part of the deal I shouldn't have to suffer as a result of issues they are experiencing, but that may not be the case legally. Which is why I'm here asking for advice.

marliepanda

You cannot demand they do anything if you are unwilling to return the TV. They could simply say you can either keep it without or we will refund you in full. Nothing unfair or illegal about that.

You can ask for a £39.99 discount on another soundbar, Argos may well go for it (they'll have lots of customers who try to demand the most expensive sound bar as a 'replacement' I'm sure)

As you know they do not legally have to offer you any discount on it, as you can return the TV, but you could certainly ask.

ThumbRemote

Mobilelocksmith wrote: »

My question is, are they obliged to supply anything in it's place?

No

Mobilelocksmith wrote: »

If they can't then where do I stand?

As already explained, you are legally entitled to cancel the contract.

Mobilelocksmith wrote: »

Can I reasonably ask for a £39.99 discount on another soundbar?

You can ask, but Argos are not obliged to give you this

bod1467

ThumbRemote wrote: »

You can ask, but Argos are not obliged to give you this

But if they did reject this offer then they must have taken a stupid pill that morning ... they'd be much better off reducing their margin on another sale than losing the whole sale in its entirety.

Mobilelocksmith

Update:
After my initial conversation on the phone I emailed customer services with my questions. After a couple days I got a reply and a phone call stating they had managed to source a soundbar for me and it would be delivered this Tuesday. Good result
I'd like to thank those that have posted on here helping me, and obviously Argos for making that extra effort to get one for me.
Thanks you everyone for all your help