Trying to complain to Argos but only have transaction id (not order no)

itm2

I am trying to contact Argos regarding a £220 pair of Technics earphones which have become faulty just over a year after I bought them (1 year + 9 days). I am overseas at the moment (for the next week), so telephoning them is not the easiest option.
I have tried using their FB/X/Chat channels, but they are all bots and are requiring me to enter an order number. The only email I have from them (an e-receipt) does not have an order number, only a transaction id - it was reserved online and collected in-store. Does anyone know how I can contact them online in a way which doesn't involve bots?

kaysdee

If you reserved online, do you have an Argos account? I only ever order online and collect from store and I have 45 pages of order history going back to 2016. All have order numbers. If you can find it this way, maybe you can get somewhere with the chats.

Isthisforreal99

Note that as they are over 6 months old the onus is on you to show they were inherently faulty (if you are claimimg under Consumer Rights).

Was there a manufacturers warranty?

ThumbRemote

Isthisforreal99 said:

Note that as they are over 6 months old the onus is on you to show they were inherently faulty (if you are claimimg under Consumer Rights).

Was there a manufacturers warranty?

No, the onus may be on the the OP to show an inherent fault. But this is jumping the gun when they haven't even managed to speak to Argos yet. 

Flugelhorn

itm2 said:

I am trying to contact Argos regarding a £220 pair of Technics earphones which have become faulty just over a year after I bought them (1 year + 9 days). I am overseas at the moment (for the next week), so telephoning them is not the easiest option.
I have tried using their FB/X/Chat channels, but they are all bots and are requiring me to enter an order number. The only email I have from them (an e-receipt) does not have an order number, only a transaction id - it was reserved online and collected in-store. Does anyone know how I can contact them online in a way which doesn't involve bots?

there should have been another email before that acknowledging that the order and then letting you know that they were ready to collect

flaneurs_lobster

Maybe don't sweat it until you're back home in a week? Then store visit?

Undervalued

To make a claim under your consumer rights you only need "reasonable proof of purchase" so they can't be too prescriptive about paperwork / order numbers etc. As others have said, a few days until you are back in the UK should make no difference. You will most likely need some independent proof that this was an inherent fault and not misuse etc. 

itm2

Thinking about it, I maybe just went into the store and requested it there (I usually reserve online, but in this case I used a few gift vouchers and may not have been able to do it online). There is also no record of the item in my Argos account, which suggests this is the case.
How on earth could I prove that there was an inherent fault with the item???

born_again

itm2 said:

Thinking about it, I maybe just went into the store and requested it there (I usually reserve online, but in this case I used a few gift vouchers and may not have been able to do it online). There is also no record of the item in my Argos account, which suggests this is the case.
How on earth could I prove that there was an inherent fault with the item???

You need to get a report from a 3rd party. Local electronics repair shop should be able to do it. 
But be prepared that they may opt to refund which will not be the full amount paid.

Okell

itm2 said:

... How on earth could I prove that there was an inherent fault with the item???

Because it's over 6 months since you purchased them the onus is on you to "prove" (on the balance of probabilities) that the earphones had some latent or underlying "fault when you bought them.

As you have seen, you will usually be told that you need some independent "expert" report to prove this.

However, one of the requirements of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is that goods must be of "satisfactory quality".

S9(2) of that Act says:

"The quality of goods is satisfactory if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking account of—

(a) any description of the goods,

(b) the price or other consideration for the goods (if relevant), and

(c) all the other relevant circumstances (see subsection (5))"  [My bold for emphasis]

s9(3) says:

"The quality of goods includes their state and condition; and the following aspects (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied;

(b)...

(c)...

(d)...

(e) durability."  [My bold for emphasis]

Consumer Rights Act 2015

So the law says that satisfactory quality is to be measured against what a reasonable person (not an expert) would consider satisfactory, and it also says that the satisfactoryness or otherwise of the quality of the goods can be assessed by looking at characteristics like price, what they're used for, and durability.

I'd suggest that before going to the expense and inconvenience of trying to find an independent expert you put the above argument to Argos (ie that £200+ headphones should reasonably be expected to last longer than 13 months) and see how they respond.

If they don't play ball you have the option to sue them - if you think it would be worth it.

Obviously if you sue them, an independent expert report would make your case stronger, but I'm not 100% convinced that you actually need an expert report to win a case on not of satisfactory quality based on price and lack of durability.  Assuming you haven't been guilyt of misusing the headphones and caused the "fault" yourself.

But note (1) I'm not a lawyer - I'm only giving my opinion not legal advice, and (2) if you get to court, cases can be either lost or won - nothing is certain.

NB - If Argos accept that they are faulty, they basically can either replace or repair, but they only have one opportunity to do either.  If the 'phones fail again you are entitled to a refund, but because it's more than 6 months after purchase, Argos can reduce your refund to reflect the use you've had of the 'phones.

itm2

Argos have indeed insisted on an independent report. This is from a web chat with a real person earlier:

"As your item is now outside of its 12-month warranty period, the best option is to get an independent report and send it through to us.

The report will need to be: 

•    On letter headed paper.

•    Be completed by a registered and relevantly qualified tradesperson

•    To find a tradesperson you can go to https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/find-a-trader/

•    Include that the fault is due to a manufacturing fault, not fair wear & tear.

•    Include a contact telephone number for the tradesperson who completed the independent report (if this is not part of the company header)"

I  have no idea how much I would have to pay for a "relevantly qualified tradesperson" to do this work, but my instinct is that it could easily run to >£80 (maybe even >£100), which would render it borderline unfeasible if Argos may not in any case provide a full refund. The odds seem to be stacked against me here.

Interestingly, a friend of mine had a similar issue with an Asus Zenbook laptop which failed about 18 months after he bought it from Amazon. Amazon refunded him immediately, and agreed that it was not acceptable. I guess Argos are a very different proposition.

The conclusion of my chat with Argos was that I wanted them to tell me how I can escalate this as a formal complaint. They would not tell me (despite me asking 3 times), but promised that a manager would call me back within 4 hours. Unsurprisingly, that was more than 6 hours ago and I have heard nothing.

My instinct is that I shall draft a formal letter of complaint and send it via snail mail when I get back to the UK next week. It will give me a good idea of Argos's attitude to the sort of situation that I find myself in, and their approach to customer service.

As a matter of interest, does anyone have any experience of paying for the sort of report that Argos are requesting? In particular, I would be keen to know (a) how much did it cost, and (b) did Argos provide a full or partial refund?