Curry's asking customers for personal info

katejo

I bought a replacement set of earphones for my iPod today. When I went to pay, the staff member wanted to check my name/address. She claimed that this was to validate the guarantee. I thought that she was pushing an extended guarantee which I didn't want. She said that there was no additional charge but that the transaction would be voided if i didn't supply the info.
I almost walked out but did go through with it in the end because I needed new earphones and there was no other store nearby which would have them.
Is a store like Curry's now allowed to insist on this? I have never had it in any other store and will not be going back to Curry's if i can avoid it.

mije1983

They can ask for anything they like. However, in turn, you are able to refuse to give the information and decline to purchase there.

unholyangel

Probably so they can sell your details to D&G so D&G can then try and sell you their "fantastic" warranty under which you'll pay premiums totalling about 3 times what the product is worth.

Nicfaz92

Just to offer another point of view, having worked for Currys customer service previously, I cannot tell you how many customers return with a faulty item and no proof of purchase expecting a solution. It is very difficult to help someone when you cannot work out when an item was purchased.

However with every customer in this situation I would search the system using their surname and postcode and would be shown a list of any (usually high value) products they have purchased - IF they gave their details at the point of checkout.

At this point you can effectively re-print a receipt and begin to establish when the product was purchased and how to progress with helping the customer. If the customer has not given their details, and does not have proof of purchase I would generally be unable to assist them.

I'm not suggesting this is why they ask you for your details, I have no idea why they do this, And I am not endorsing Currys in any way shape or form. But I can tell you from experience that not all customers find this to be such a terrible thing and I have managed to please a LOT of customers by reprinting a proof of purchase they no longer had and then usually being able to assist with solving their issue. (E.g. a repair needed to be carried out by the likes of Dyson/Samsung/Hoover would require proof of purchase before the manufacturer will help)

katejo

Nicfaz92 wrote: »

Just to offer another point of view, having worked for Currys customer service previously, I cannot tell you how many customers return with a faulty item and no proof of purchase expecting a solution. It is very difficult to help someone when you cannot work out when an item was purchased.

However with every customer in this situation I would search the system using their surname and postcode and would be shown a list of any (usually high value) products they have purchased - IF they gave their details at the point of checkout.

At this point you can effectively re-print a receipt and begin to establish when the product was purchased and how to progress with helping the customer. If the customer has not given their details, and does not have proof of purchase I would generally be unable to assist them.

I'm not suggesting this is why they ask you for your details, I have no idea why they do this, And I am not endorsing Currys in any way shape or form. But I can tell you from experience that not all customers find this to be such a terrible thing and I have managed to please a LOT of customers by reprinting a proof of purchase they no longer had and then usually being able to assist with solving their issue. (E.g. a repair needed to be carried out by the likes of Dyson/Samsung/Hoover would require proof of purchase before the manufacturer will help)

Interesting! If I lost a receipt, it would never occur to me to go back to the store to ask for a copy.

Nicfaz92

@katejo You would honestly be surprised how many people genuinely think it is the retailers responsibility to keep this information and return to store with only their product (I have worked in customer service for several retailers)

It was of course always nice to be able to help those who appreciated it though.

SuperHan

Also as an ex-Currys employee I can vouch for that's why they store the information to identify your purchase in case you have any issues with your receipt later on.

A number of times I'd have people come in with insurance claims wanting a print out of all their purchases, and giving their info allows that.

They won't be passing your information on to anyone else - under Data Protection rules (and even more under the new GDPR) they just aren't allowed to do that. It is simply for the purpose of registering you as having made the purchase on the system.

For future reference though, if you feel uncomfortable, the wouldn't know if you gave a name and address that wasn't yours...