Empire Direct potential scam....

chuckles1066

You order an expensive item and pay £29.99 for an edXtra membership card which entitles you to a 3 (or 5) year extended warranty on the product in question.

Your card arrives very quickly and they debit your credit card at the point of order (as opposed to when they actually ship the goods); the logic behind this strategy becomes apparent when they claim your goods are out of stock and they don't know when they're expecting more stock.

So you cancel.............they refund you very quickly but not the cost of the card.

So it seems a lot of their deals are based around flogging you a useless card for £30?

The local Trading Standards Officer that I spoke to took a deep breath when I mentioned "Empire Direct"

hollydays

Are you saying they wont refund the card at all,or just not quick enough?

chuckles1066

hollydays wrote: »

Are you saying they wont refund the card at all,or just not quick enough?

They're crafty, the card is a separate part of your order which they fulfill.

The fact that you're using the card for an extended warranty on a product they're unable to supply seems lost on them.

chuckley

can the card be used on only that said item or other items purchased after that?

Blacksheep1979

or of course you could not be so foolish to buy such a card when uk consumer law offers you the same protection for free...

Poppy9

I've bought a few things from Empire Direct over the years. The goods have always been delivered on time and the prices are very competitive. My last buy a built in double oven was cheaper by £200. I bought the card too to give me the 5 year warranty.

deanos

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

or of course you could not be so foolish to buy such a card when uk consumer law offers you the same protection for free...

When it costs £30 its a no brainer, you get your item fixed quickly without the hassle or argument after year 1,yes you have consumer rights buy they can ask you to proove the items faulty after 6 months if they wish , it also covers you on any other items you buy.

Blacksheep1979

money saving - pay £30 for no real reason, doesn't exactly go hand in hand does it?

deanos

The £30 covers any other items you buy, if your TV packs up after 2 years and you ring empire and they ask you to get an engineers report which you have to pay for yourself, and sending letters to and fro bleeting on about your rights i think the £30 will have been well spend to get it fixed no quibble.

I wouldnt spend £200 odd on a warranty like Currys sell but for the sake of £30 its well worth it , especially when you can use it on other items you buy

Poppy9

I thought it was worth £30 for the sake of no hassle, especially as I had saved over £200 on the purchase.

It's all very well saying you have consumer rights but trying to enforce them after 12 months is a nightmare, especially when you can't even go in the shop and shout at someone:p

chuckles1066

Poppy9 wrote: »

It's all very well saying you have consumer rights but trying to enforce them after 12 months is a nightmare, especially when you can't even go in the shop and shout at someone:p

Well that's the other thing; as a new customer with a £900 tv on order I had to jump through hoops just to speak to someone. If you ring them you have to sit on hold and listen to Mull Of Kintyre four times before the line goes dead and if you write to them (even by Recorded Delivery) they just ignore you.

So God only knows how they treat their disgruntled customers

I'm sure Empire Direct have some happy customers; I just won't be adding to that number.