GREAT 'WHAT SHOPS DON'T WANT US TO KNOW" HUNT

sammyy

MaccyB wrote:

I wrote to Hotpoint the same time I posted this thread, as yet I have not had a reply. :mad:

Sorry.I know this is an old post and I don't know if this still relevant but I had a washer dryer from hotpoint that went wrong on numerous occasions after about two years.After calling them out a few times they let me have a new one for £50.

Fifer

(note - a DVD recorder however does need a licence.

The info on the site is somewhat misleading as not all DVD recorders require a TV licence. Only those with built-in TV tuners do.

tigermatt

hellofreebies wrote:

this might be not be applicable to this thread but do move it if need be....do you not find it annoying when your in a shop and your buying numerous items..whether it be in a clothes shop or grocers.... when they tap tap tap on the til there is no til display of what your getting charged per each item thus you only know what price you have paid (especially when the sale or reduced items hasnt been scanned at the sale price) only when you have paid got your reciept and walked away...jjb sport have no display whats so ever..there till is like its under a glass table so they can serve on goods on top.. complained about this in jjb sports and the guy said its always been this way at this store since he started working there 4 years ago... only im sure when i was once working in a shop i was trained that by law this info must be displayed for the customers view. its just time consuming when they have priced you incorrectly and you have to go queue customer service for a refund where it could of been rectified at point of sale. i wonder how much money the shop can swindle when people dont check their reciept til there home and cant be bothered to return to refund for wasting same amount in fuel?? what do you guys think?

Watch out in supermarkets when you see offers - a good example is yoghurts. There are so many different brands, that supermarkets will usually give buy-one-get-one-free's on the whole range. In small text at the bottom of the offer sign there is usually

Excluding...

and they exclude the most popular brand's!!!!!!

libitina_2

Paul_Herring wrote:

Why for the DVD player? You don't need a licence for one of those (note - a DVD recorder however does need a licence. PC TV Cards also require a licence.). And it's not the purchaser's details that must be obtained, it's the place the equipment will be used.

The details are spelled out at http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/tvdealers.jsp

Don't know
We were told it was anything that plugged into a TV.











Edit: Have emailed them and asked.

zincoxide

steve_c wrote:

In response to "5 STEPS TO ROCKET YOUR NECTAR POINTS BALANCE"

I tried this method with success for a couple of months and was doing rather well but a few weeks ago Meccagames.com closed my account whilst I had £4k deposited on the website. This meant that I could not withdraw the money back to my Barclaycard!!

After several frantic phonecalls to the company and being treated like a criminal by their "security department" who wanted an explanation of my gambling habits as they did not consider them normal, I was told that the only way that they would return my money was if I sent them copies of bills, driving license and BOTH sides of my Barclaycard (which I’m not sure is legal in itself).

I sent all this information to them and waited for a few weeks expecting a reply which did not come, I finally contacted the Meccagames security dept again who denied receiving my information.

I sent everything again by recorded delivery and received a letter today stating that my money would be returned in one weeks time, my account would remain closed and that a 5% handling fee is to be deducted, this is apparently stated under 6.5 of their terms and conditions-pays to read the small print.

Not only will I loose £200 for this 'handling fee' I am also incurring interest on my Barclaycard at about 25% apr.

Just a warning for those doing this, or thinking of it (oh, and also Barclaycard are stopping awarding Nectar points at the end of August but I’m sure this is relevant for other card award systems and gambling websites)

Although gutted I guess you have to accept that sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.

Steve

This was not entirely illegal but in itself, also not entirely legal. Their 'security department' do not have the right to ask you for this information, fundamentally the card used belongs to Barclaycard so if anyone has an issue with it then it should be them as the only losses Mecca would make is the 2.5% handling charge.

You would certainly be entitled to claim against them for any charges you have sustained during the period the funds were not available.

However, and I was work within Corporate Security, it is also worth bearing in mind that you are taking advantage of a loophole and although this may not be illegal, don't be surprised when the company cottons on to it and doesn't treat you too well!!

anji2

tullula wrote:

A friend works in Thomas Cook and told me they charge basically what they want on discounted hols. Apparently one guy paid nearly £500 over the odds for a holiday.:mad: Will I get in trouble posting this .

Thankyou you are very brave and I hope you don't get in trouble !!
Anji
xxx

Ali_UK

have just read this thread from beginning to end (well, it's a slow day at work!) There's some interesting stuff here!

I just wanted to add about booking holidays - I've booked my last two through Thomson and got (what I consider) to be a good deal. I was going to book online (which gave me a 'discount') however there was a problem with the site so I ended up phoning the call centre. I told the operator I had tried online etc and anyway, they quoted a price £100 per person more than the net price, I told them the net price and he went off line for a bit, came back with the holiday, plus seats together (£17) plus inflight meals (£10 per person) plus insurance and waiver (£80 per person - probably could have bought this for £30 elsewhere I know) at £100 under the net price I'd got (I hadn't asked for any of these things on the net booking!). I might have been able to push for more of a bargain but was feeling quite happy already so I just snapped it up!

When rebooking the same holiday for this year, I again got a net price and then phoned the call centre, told him the net price, and said I was going to book today if I could get the right deal. I got the identical holiday for the same price again (was expecting some uplift as it was a year on). So, if you're serious about booking something phone the tour operator directly and tell them you want to book today and see what you get! I wouldn't bother with going in to a travel agent (sorry any TA's out there!).

simon123

A couple of points to some posts:

Tesco Refund and replace:

I once was buying beer for a party & bought loads of cases of continental bottles. When paying each case came up as £2.00 more expensive than advertised. I quietly let the cashier scan them and take my money knowing about the money back policy. At customer care they promplty gave me all my money back and all the beer free!!!
Can't remember how much this added up to cause it was about 8 years ago but I remember being smug until... the next day when the hangover kicked in!

All breakages must be paid for:

Again in Tesco a few months back I was helping my mum with her shopping (cause I'm nice) She managed to use the trolly to knock over 12, yes 12 cases of red wine!
It was absolutely everywhere i wish the ground could've swallowed me up.
They had to close the aisle.
Luckily there was no mention of charge, which I would've argued about anyway cause of the way they were stacked.

Draught soft drinks in pubs:

I used to be a manager at a nightclub which is owned by the biggest club operator in Europe. Because of this they had imense buying power.
We used to sell pepsi at £1.40 a half but it cost us 1p a pint so we made £2.79 profit on each and every one we sold.
Don't forget the 50p mark up on all soft drink mixers to go with your Vodka etc.
So you can see, companies like Macdonalds must make huge profits on their soft drinks.

A Vodka and coke used to cost us 23p by the way

HOLsale

libitina wrote:

Don't know
We were told it was anything that plugged into a TV.











Edit: Have emailed them and asked.

well they're feeding you a line of bull then because i've used their very own wording on their website as an argument and they've accepted that it is indeed the case that as long as your tv is NOT connected to an aerial and it is detuned you can use a dvd player and/or a vcr for the sole purpose of watching pre-recorded (store bought) tapes and dvd's.

we haven't watched broadcast tv in years and had some rather pushy people try to feed us this line too but i knew my rights. i've blatantly told them to have their people come to my house because i have NOTHING to hide...they stopped bothering me!

in any case they'd have fun trying to prove that i was actually using the tv to view anything other than dvd's and videos.. we're in student accomodation so we have a minute kitchen/living room. the aerial is in there behind a massive bookcase that houses all my pulses, spices, cookbooks and my microwave etc. it's about a 30 foot stretch to get to where the tv is. the tv is detuned and of course has no aerial but they'd have to move two heavy wardrobes out of the way to prove that fact.

go ahead tv people i DARE you :rotfl:

actually though one thing the last guy i spoke to advised me of was to make sure i didn't have ANY videos that had been taped off the telly. even if it was just a few minutes that someone taped off the telly they'd use that to fine me... that's not a problem for us, the few brief months that we did watch tv (and paid for a license) we never taped anything anyway...

jeppy

i used to work for a company selling ferry crossings. 1st of all you think you are ringing around for lots of quotes, you may have only called 2 companies!!! There may be more but there are 2 companies who disguise themselves as different names!! Always the same abta no tho!!!! Watch out for their ins sales technique!! I cannot say more but check your dates!!! Basically they make a commission for selling holidays/ferry crossings, but if they didn't sell upto 80% hol ins they will lose some or all of their commission!!! This is a lot of money!! Watch out, always check!!

Also, very rarely we were given the option of tariffs and discounts to give. The lower the discount the higher their commission. You may think you have a bargain, but always say you'll have to shop around!! If the sales person has more to offer they advise you. Always take their name and check with an alternative and go back and see if they will price match less £5.. Sometimes they have special offers for past bookers. just pretend you are one but have lost a postcard you received recently and see if they suggest anything. These people have a manual with special offers!! Also they want to sell, they get commission, they are really happy if you offer to take out ins, you can always cancel if you find it cheaper!!

Good Luck

there are some great deals, but always ask if this is the best offer and always ask to either reserve the booking(particularly for package hols, these ferry companies are usually camping/ hotel/villa holidays too, especially where travelling by ferry is the main option!!) or take a name and call them back, when you call back don't ask for the person and see if you get a different price!! If its dearer speak to the initial person who obviously was more honest and deserves the commission!!

I was honest, honest!! I always gavemy cheapest deal first!!! Some people will but some are hard so try it on!!