New TV - safest place to purchase

Wonka_2

About to buy our first new TV for a few years and we’re out of London now so ‘local’ retailers are limited. 

I’ve narrowed down to a couple of ‘full price’ models but also looking at clearance stock. 

If I go for the ‘full price’ option I can get from Richer Sounds (6yrs warranty), John Lewis (5yrs warranty) or Samsung themselves (5yrs warranty + 2yrs interest free + 5% discount) 

Has anyone any experience of Samsung Direct and the potential risks vs the other 2 established players ? 

Money_Grabber13579

No practical experience myself but from threads on here, it seems that customer service at Samsung might not be a strong point. The majority of transactions probably go very smoothly but when they don’t it might be difficult to resolve. I can’t recall ever having seen equivalent complaints for Richer Sounds.

Richer Sounds would therefore get my vote.

400ixl

I'd go with Richer Sounds.

Been a few threads in recent months about people having issues with Samsung as it appears their online store is not actually run by them. So unless you can buy from a Samsung physical store, but that then limits some rights around distance buying.

RefluentBeans

Eh it’s the same as most places in my opinion. There’s always going to be a few cases of really bad customer service that taints the well across the board. 

Anecdotally, JL seems more hot on doing the bare minimum to meet their regulatory requirements (demanding engineer reports etc) but I’ve always had good experiences with them, personally. People seem to recommend Richer Sounds, but I’ve not heard much from them, and not dealt with them. Samsung is a massive corporate structure and so it makes it challenging to pin down anyone when something goes wrong. 

The thing to note is that the customer service models can change over time - JL used to be renowned for its customer service and now it seems a lot more basic. 

It’s important to read the warranties of these companies properly. A 10 year warranty is useless if you are required to use their engineers and pay for the service of the product (as this will cost wayyyy more normally). Plus actually remember the warranty could well be with another party and not part of the contract between you and the retailer. You also have rights under the CRA that the retailer must uphold. Be sure to make it clear on any claim what you are claiming - a warranty claim or statutory CRA claim. 

Also worth remembering that you have got added protection if you use a credit card to pay. 

DullGreyGuy

Nows an awkward time to buy a TV because you are right in the middle of the 2024 models becoming available so looking at the near flagship LG the G4 model isn't available for delivery yet and so the 2023 G3 probably will be further discounted when it is. 

JL have terrible service these days but their warranty is stronger than Richer Sounds, but a year less. Richer Sounds has better service and is where I'd buy unless an online only retailer had better offers (I'd need delivery anyway)

Grumpy_chap

Wonka_2 said:

If I go for the ‘full price’ option I can get from Richer Sounds (6yrs warranty), John Lewis (5yrs warranty) or Samsung themselves (5yrs warranty + 2yrs interest free + 5% discount) 

If I have read this and understood correctly, the TV is available for:

• £X from Richer Sounds (6 year warranty)
• £X from John Lewis (5 year warranty)
• £95%X from Samsung (5 year warranty)

If that is correct, JL look to be a non-starter as they are full price and do not have the extra year of warranty.

Is the extra year of warranty worth the £5%X?  If so, RS it must be.

Buying from Samsung also includes the interest free credit, so there would be S75 / S75a cover in the event of an issue arising which gives two routes to enforce consumer right should the need arise.

If this was me, I'd order from Samsung.

I have no recent experience of either of the three companies for consumer rights on a TV.

DullGreyGuy

Grumpy_chap said:

Wonka_2 said:

If I go for the ‘full price’ option I can get from Richer Sounds (6yrs warranty), John Lewis (5yrs warranty) or Samsung themselves (5yrs warranty + 2yrs interest free + 5% discount) 

If I have read this and understood correctly, the TV is available for:

• £X from Richer Sounds (6 year warranty)
• £X from John Lewis (5 year warranty)
• £95%X from Samsung (5 year warranty)

If that is correct, JL look to be a non-starter as they are full price and do not have the extra year of warranty.

Is the extra year of warranty worth the £5%X?  If so, RS it must be.

Buying from Samsung also includes the interest free credit, so there would be S75 / S75a cover in the event of an issue arising which gives two routes to enforce consumer right should the need arise.

If this was me, I'd order from Samsung.

I have no recent experience of either of the three companies for consumer rights on a TV.

Your assuming the warranties are equal @Grumpy_Chap, Richer Sounds if they cannot repair it economically...

"we will offer credit vouchers taking into account age, condition and use"

So at 4-5 years old they'd only give 50% of the original purchase price in store credit, better than what you'd get under your statutory rights but not equal to a different warranty that will give you a new replacement of an equivalent model. 

zoob

Not sure about buying from Samsung, i think there was recent posters complaining the Samsung direct wont give both an extra discount and the extended guarantee, it was just either one or the other 
The extended guarantee was turned down when registering because theyd taken the extra discount 

born_again

Given the number of recent threads on buying direct from Samsung & issues after purchase.
Not sure about that.

In reality Richer Sounds is the one that has not been posted about.
But as ever most people never have issues with any of them 🤷‍♀️

carly

Based on the lack of customer services I received from Samsung after buying a monitor from them and the positive experience I have had from Richer Sounds I would not hesitate to go with the latter.

Gavin83

There’s been a few negative threads on here about buying TVs from Samsung direct. My understanding is you can’t have both the discount and the extended warranty but they don’t really advertise this very well.

Personally I buy all my electrical goods from Richer Sounds. No complaints and they offer better demo options than most places too.