Help needed: Currys Gp are threatening me

DEMO_3

i need help on a situation.

this is a long story but ill try and keep it as short as possible.

i purchased a laptop back in june 2006 via pc world BUSINESS, and purchased coverplan. in Dec 2006 it went wrong so i returned it to pcworld who sent it for repair.

According to their business terms, if the laptop cannot be repaired in 4 weeks, they will issue a new laptop or pay out the value for a new one in vouchers.

well after 4 weeks, then 8 weeks then 12 weeks, i queried again and again to see why it was taking so long to fix. eventually after several phonecalls the matter was resolved in June 2007, SEVEN MONTHS LATER.

I was given vouchers for a replacement. But the value was not the value of my laptop, so again i argued witht hem, and eventually they sent me a second voucher to make the difference.

Now here is the problem. this time they send me 2 vouchers, instead of one, for the difference.

I had used all the vouchers to purchase a new laptop in July 2007.

today i get a letter, saying, they overpaid me, and that i HAVE TO WRITE THEM A CHEQUE FOR THIS OVERPAYMENT WITHIN 7 DAYS OR THEY WILL TAKE IT FURTHER (debt colection etc).

where do i stand? do i HAVE to return this money, even though i do not have it as i have spent it on a laptop IN THEIR STORE.

my problem is,
1> they took SO LONG to come to a conclusion - 7 months, when they should have fixed the problem in 4 weeks. and then underpaid me initially.

2> had they not overpaid me, i would not have spent that money? i do not have that money to return to them now?

3> the fact that they have only just asked for it, and it has been over 6 months since i used them, do i legally have to return it?

PLEASE anyone out there know aything on how to deal with this??

thanks.

jonesMUFCforever

You knew that you had been overpaid - you said yourself that you got 2 vouchers instead of one.
Compare this with someone putting money into your bank account - if it is not yours then you can't spend it.
Why did you not query the fact that you received 2 vouchers when you got them?
My guess is that you hoped that you would not be found out.

Answer to your query - you are legally obliged to refund the voucher value - however I would negotiate a repayment plan with them if you can't refund all at once. They will be pretty daft to take it further if you agree to pay in stages.

Your original complaint about them taking 7 months to repair your laptop is a separate complaint to this.
You may want to make a counter claim for loss of use of your laptop - perhaps the value of the voucher would stop you taking it further for breach of contract???????

benf90

Not really too sure if the credit card section is best suited for your questions. The debt free wannabe section might be best, simply because there's probably more people viewing that board who will know exactly what legal rights they have.

I suppose morally you should repay them, despite the length of time it took them to sort things out.

Have they specifically stated debt collection though? You've not mentioned that the laptop was bought on credit. Credit agreements will have terms to state that they can pass your details on to debt collection agencies etc.

If there's no credit agreement then surely they can't pass your details on to any other company and if they did it would be a breach of the data protection act? I'm not an expert though so don't take this all as fact because I could be wrong.

Surely the only route they have to take this further is to take this to court / sue you.

Scribble

This is just my take from researching it before Xmas when I mistakenly received a higher product...

Legally you should return something that you know has been sent to you by accident. Some people believe it not to be the case, but in fact that is only totally unsolicited goods (no reason or I *think* relationship with the supplier) arriving in your name. And there will be limitations to that, as it's to protect you from being sent things apparently for free and later charged in a scam-like fashion.

In this case, the second voucher was always legally Currys' and still is. So repayment, I am presuming, is the only real option.

CannyJock

Threatening a 7 day response time is standard. Sometimes 14 days are quoted. It's all standard pseudo-legal speak. I'd bet a pint that it's a standard letter they've sent.

One thing you should do is keep everything in writing from here on in, and reply promptly but don't panic over the 7 day thing. Send your letters recorded delivery.

I'd write back stating relevant dates and referring to any other communication you've had with them. You state your position that they had breached their agreement and that they failed to repair your laptop within 4 weeks. You state that it took 7 months, repeated calls/letters etc, at your cost for them to eventually provide vouchers. Emphasise the cost, your time spent pursuing them and inconvenience to yourself, and as it's a business laptop that you had to make alternative arrangements.

The value of the vouchers were insufficient for an equivalent replacement, you contacted them and they provided you with an additional voucher.

Both vouchers were spent in their store on "date" to purchase your laptop.

Six months later they have contacted you saying that you should not have had two vouchers.

Point out that these were provided in response to your complaint about the insufficient voucher value provided, further to your complaints about their delays in providing the voucher in the first place.

You should state that you do not accept that there is any refund due as you did not specify the value of the first or second voucher that they provided, and that these vouchers were spent in store.

Point out that you consider their letter to be highly inflamatory and adds further insult to injury. State that you expect a letter of apology after the matter has been properly looked into.

Basically, take the "outraged and gently seething" approach, you may get more sense from the reply to your letter and it may address some of your points (or it'll be a standard reply letter they pull off the shelf).

So long as you keep the dialogue open and argue your case, you've got a decent chance of winning the argument. That's what I'd say from what you've said. Good luck with it.

DEMO_3

hi all, thankyou for your replies.

i wasnt sure which section this was for so i put it here.

to be honest, when i received the two vouchers, they came at different times. one was a week before the other. so i genuinly thought it was a 'compensatory' voucher. i even queried it with the pc world business guy who used them against the replacement laptop.

my grave concern is having to return the value, which if i didnt receive it in the first place, i would not have used it and thus not have to repay now.

it like saying, heres £xx to spend in store - no attachments, then 6 months later, ... oh you remember that money i gave you, well i want it back?

i know there's no such thing as a free lunch but, when put in context to what i had to go through to get it in the first place, i actually took it to be their offer to me. maybe im just too gullable in this day-and-age?

CannyJock

Nope, not gullible. There are other posts about people receiving money they shouldn't have from people they shouldn't have.

Your situation is totally different, you received a voucher after asking for it.

Any normal person would have done exactly the same. I'm speculating that they have some automated review process that's spat you a letter assuming they sent you two vouchers (e.g. if you'd lied and told them you didn't received the first and they sent you a replacement).

You should put the facts to them in writing. Post to let us know how you get on.

DEMO_3

CannyJock wrote: »

(e.g. if you'd lied and told them you didn't received the first and they sent you a replacement).
.

no, actually. in fact even tho i did ring coverplan, they would not accept my word that the replacement laptop was worth more than what they initially paid me. so i had to get the pcworld guys to ring coverplan and prove to them, my replacement equivalent was more. they then sent out the vouchers.

this is why i understood the two vouchers to be a genuine offer, as they came at the request of th epcwor;d staff, and even when redeemed, they were not queried by their staff.

i honestly belive i have done nothing wrong. nor have i lied to obtain 'extra' vouchers. coverplan do not send out extra vouchers at the customers request .. for obvoius reasons. the pcworld staff had to prove my laptop was still worth £1800, even after so long, as it was still their high end laptop, efore they sent out the voucher difference.

johnmoney05

Easy. Tell them there is NO money. All money has been used in their store for a new laptop. So, suggest to them you return your "new" laptop to them and ask for the difference, of course the price you paid for. Fair enough, right? Free use laptop for a few month! done!

CannyJock

Question is, having been through what you've been through, would you take out another policy on your next new laptop?

DEMO_3

i have totally given with all currys gp. had i not received the vouchers, and received money as refund, i would have gone to Dell or something... never again purchasing any cover/insurance etc from any currys gp shops !