Help Needed - Currys PC World will not honour my pre-order for the PS5.

TtRx

Hi all. I'm really hoping you guys can help me with this one. 
I made a pre-order for the ps5 twice as soon as the window to do this went live. At the time of the pre-order only £5.00 was needed for each unit ordered, and I received email confirmations of this, making clear that approximately 28-days before the release I would receive a further email in order to pay in full. Therefore on 22 October 2020 it came as no surprise to be receiving an email from Currys PC World asking me to pay in full.... What did come as a surprise though was the way it would be done.

For some strange reason CPCW decided to increase the price of the PS5 by £2,000.00, and provided a code to discount £2,000.00 during checkout.

Not understanding the logic of this but following it anyway, the first PS5 was purchased and a receipt emailed to confirm this. However, the second PS5 was intended as a very expensive donation and as such I opted to 'Buy Now, Pay Later'. This isn't usually an issue as my partner already has an active credit plan set up with Currys PC World which was cleared a long time ago and is now dormant, waiting for our next overpriced purchase. I was looking to get it paid off fully within 6 months. However, the Currys PC World website had other plans:-



After a couple of attempts I give up and tried to purchase the PS5 outright, however the "discount code" for £2,000.00 was now coming back as "used" and was no longer accepted. I therefore called Currys PC World and after approximately 55mins (online chat appears to be out of service - likely due to Covid19?)  I get through to a customer service rep who says she'll arrange for a new code to be issued, with it expected to arrive within 2 days... It didn't 
And so I called back and spoke to another who pretty much said the same, but mentioned that it may take a little longer than 2 days.... Approximately a week later the code again didn't arrive.

I called CPCW several times after this, waiting what must have been realistically an hour each time on hold - only to be spoken to rudely, hung up on multiple times when I asked why I couldn't just pay without the need for a "discount code" or just fobbed-off by clearly disinterested customer service staff.

Exasperated and with time running out I set out all my thoughts in an email to Alex Baldock (CEO of CPCW and Dixons). Shortly after I receive an email from 'Simon' at SCCCustomerSolutionsTeam on 'behalf of' Alex Baldock to say they were dealing with matters. However, things are far from over... Indeed, after much to and fro'ing I was given a further code from a "team set up to help customers' who had issues with their codes". This code didn't work AGAIN!

Which takes this whole sorry mess to a climax today. After not being contacted by Chris at the CEO Complaints Team since discovering the code didn't work - again, I am now told there is nothing further they can do. The window is now closed and they are not "able to" do anything further.

Some notes:-

• Since I escalated the complaint to Chris at the CEO Team, I seem to be the only person chasing up matters. I am only contacted by Chris after I have emailed him for an update. There does not seem to be any courtesy calling, ownership or chasing matters to resolve matters within other departments. 
• I am told by Chris that other customers' have also been affected, but he was not willing to provide numbers. Additionally Chris explains he does not know why the PS5 could not have been set to one side knowing full well I was experiencing issues through no fault of my own. It seems from his comments that CPCW have more customers wanting a PS5 than actual units as the PS5 I pre-ordered has already been allocated.
• Chris advises he can only consider a 'gesture of goodwill' at this time that in no way is a replacement for the PS5 I reasonably reserved in goodwill.
• I assume the problem occurs during the processing of the basket - the code is processed before the purchase is completed which results in the code no longer being accepted in the event of an issue during checkout. 
• I originally went for CPCW due to their size, knowing they are likely to have sufficient stock available for release day. Clearly I did not take into consideration, nor predict, their absolute disregard for reason and common sense.
• Covid-19 or not, their service is an absolute disservice to the word "service". 

So here I am. And all I wanted to do was to pay for a product! It's CPCW who have put into place hurdles and ballsed everything up along the way, and so I come here in the hope someone can give me a pointer in what I can do. Is a pre-order (especially one that's accepted and paid for) a legal contract? Additionally what are my rights now that they've pulled the rug out from underneath me.

I appreciate any help you guys can give - truly, and I'm hoping this whole sorry tale is understandable. I posted this in a rush, and while not being 100%.

Thank you in advance. 

Aylesbury_Duck

I'd have run a mile when asked to pay £2,500 for a console on the promise of getting £2,000 off, let along trying to buy a second one.  I can't see what they're playing at, unless it's a mechanism to limit pre-orders to one per person, which would be sensible.  I presume it's to stop profiteering.  Are you sure you're entitled to place two pre-orders?  

Why can't you just try and buy one normally next week when it launches?  If the second one is being donated somewhere, what's the urgency?

KatrinaWaves

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I'd have run a mile when asked to pay £2,500 for a console on the promise of getting £2,000 off, let along trying to buy a second one.  I can't see what they're playing at, unless it's a mechanism to limit pre-orders to one per person, which would be sensible.  I presume it's to stop profiteering.  Are you sure you're entitled to place two pre-orders?  

Why can't you just try and buy one normally next week when it launches?  If the second one is being donated somewhere, what's the urgency?

No one paid it and was refunded, its a discount code at checkout, so no one ever paid £2.5k

Maybe only discount codes were given to those who preordered, so if you pre ordered, you can buy for £500, if you didnt, the price is £2.5k? I assume they have no other way to do it.

TtRx

I think the process is aimed to deter scalpers? The first PS5 I purchased had the discount code successfully added so it did end up at the original RRP. It's just so.... idiotic. 

If there is a site issue or problem with the purchase when paying the remaining balance, the code cannot be used again! 
There's got to be better ways to deal with scalpers, surely.

And as for getting one next week, it looks like I'll have to resign myself to this. Nightmares from the on-the-day releases of previous consoles still linger like flashbacks in my mind. I just wanted to make things easier, I suppose.

kayleighali

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Are you sure you're entitled to place two pre-orders?  

This could be the reason. I didn't try to order one so I don't know the T&Cs but I know some other places were only one per customer as I seen people complaining it was causing an issue when trying to buy one for each child.

[Deleted User]

Shame it was the one you were going to donate that didn't work and not your own. Maybe you could pretend that the one you bought 1st was the one you were going to donate?

TtRx

kayleighali said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Are you sure you're entitled to place two pre-orders?  

This could be the reason. I didn't try to order one so I don't know the T&Cs but I know some other places were only one per customer as I seen people complaining it was causing an issue when trying to buy one for each child.

kayleighali said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Are you sure you're entitled to place two pre-orders?  

This could be the reason. I didn't try to order one so I don't know the T&Cs but I know some other places were only one per customer as I seen people complaining it was causing an issue when trying to buy one for each child.

There was nothing in the T&C's to say this couldn't be done. Would explain why so many ended up on Ebay for stupid prices.

TtRx

[Deleted User] said:

Shame it was the one you were going to donate that didn't work and not your own. Maybe you could pretend that the one you bought 1st was the one you were going to donate?

[Deleted User] said:

Shame it was the one you were going to donate that didn't work and not your own. Maybe you could pretend that the one you bought 1st was the one you were going to donate?

They're now having the one I purchased. It's for a kids unit for seriously ill kids. I've had personal history with them and wanted to do something neat to replace their aging PS3.I know it would be appreciated and well looked after too.

Aylesbury_Duck

TtRx said:

[Deleted User] said:

Shame it was the one you were going to donate that didn't work and not your own. Maybe you could pretend that the one you bought 1st was the one you were going to donate?

[Deleted User] said:

Shame it was the one you were going to donate that didn't work and not your own. Maybe you could pretend that the one you bought 1st was the one you were going to donate?

They're now having the one I purchased. It's for a kids unit for seriously ill kids. I've had personal history with them and wanted to do something neat to replace their aging PS3.I know it would be appreciated and well looked after too.

Good for you.  A worthy cause.

TtRx

Just to clarify something - I was hoping to avoid the issue of "purchasing on the day of release" as I'm currently still suffering with (what's now been conveniently titled) "Long-Covid". It's no joke - it's pretty much destroyed my ability to function.
Even though I'm no longer contagious (I've had it since beginning of Feb), I can't even climb my stairs without almost passing out, yet alone queue at a store in the hope I can get a release day PS5. I'm resigning myself to disappointment but I don't want my son to pay for this balls-up by missing out either, which is why I wanted the surety of a pre-order to be delivered to my home.