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So Currys are back on TV, pleading with the public to buy their over pried tat for Christmas.  Their latest computing advert features two laptops, both advertised as having savings of over £100.  A veritable bargain one might think.  But alas, no!  Closer inspection of the advert reveals in the (very) small print at the bottom of the screen that the higher prices have only been charged for 21 days!

This is getting a bit below the belt, even for Currys.  When I worked there the company at least insisted on 28 days for price establishment.  28 days is the minimum required by law in order to show a blanket saving without having to qualify it with dates.

Let me be clear - you can show a saving after 21 days if you declare how long it was at the higher price, it is not illegal but it is IMMORAL.  THESE ARE FAKE SAVINGS.  Currys never had any intention to sell any number of these machines at the higher price.  The ship one to each store for them to display in order to meet the legal criteria for price establishment but little or no stock to actually sell until the price goes down.  (This part of the routine hasn't changed since all the time that I have worked for Currys!)

So what they are actually doing is OFFERING FAKE SAVINGS  and hoping that you wont notice that the higher price was for such a short period of time.  ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT.

Also, ask yourself this;  "If I ignore how much they tell me that I am saving and just take the spec of the product and the price that it is being sold for, does it still seem good value for money?"  where Currys are concerned, the answer is almost certainly NO!

The savings are FAKE, the prices are TOO HIGH, and the service is DIRE.  the only 3 reasons that you need to ensure thst you NEVER BUY FROM CURRYS this Christmas

 So Currys and PC World are merging to form mega stores.  Predictable?  Possibly, after all it does make sense to compound together two loss making branches of the same company.  However, as both branches have a diabolical record for respecting customers rights and providing shocking service, NBFC feels obliged to ask, 'Will there be any attempt to improve customer service?'

One thing that we can say already is that even though there is a massive increase in the space dedicated to selling the worthless crap that Currys and PC World pedal, the prices are as uncompetetive as ever.  Perhaps someone should tell DSG about the principle of economies of scale and that these savings should be passed on to the customer.

Also, now that they've got even more space to hide in, best of luck in finding a member of staff to serve you (unless you want to buy one of the products that they get paid commission on!).

NBFC will be monitoring these new, 'mega-carbuncles' for any legal issues or instances of poor service - AND THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN PLAY A PART.

We want YOUR experiences.  Please post on here - Are Currys & PC World changing for the better?  We want your good experiences (if there are any!) and the bad experiences.

Just a quick post to thank everyone for their contributions to this forum and we hope the information in our answers is of some use to you all.

NBFC is still here and we're doing our best but have other commitments at the moment. Our attention will return to this blog very shortly, and rest assured, we have plenty more reasons why you should Never Buy From Currys.

In the meantime, please keep your experiences coming.

So there are a load of currys stores closing right now. You'd expect some bargains then maybe? Sadly no. The stores nearest to me are only offering a measly 10% off and have shipped out all their pristine stock. So what they are really wanting is for you to pay 90% of the original price for something that has been on the shop floor, on constant demo for 6 months or more, prodded and had greasy fingers over by the world and their children!

Out of pure, morbid interest, I went into my local store, thankfully only 2 weeks left before they are gone... I enquired about a TV that I have seen in their window every day for the last year (literally) and, again I was only offered 10% off the standard ticket price. I could buy a new, boxed one on line for less than that!!

I pointed this out to the salesman and his response was shocking. I repeat, verbatim...
"Dont buy it then, get it on line! I don't care, I'm loosing my job in 2 weeks." - I'm not surprised with an attitude like that.

So, I left, not buying anything (as usual) but there were plenty of other people who were quite happy to buy the overpriced crap that Currys were peddling.

I'll miss Currys when they're gone... Where else can I get a laugh a day?

After years of delivering shoddy service, tatty products and useless staff, 4 Currys stores in the south of england are due to close in the next 3 months NBFC can reveal.

It seems that the public have got fed up with being ripped off and have voted with their feet, forcing 4 highstreet Currys stores to close.

NBFC can reveal that the first 4 stores to close in the South will be;

Salisbury, Eastleigh, Bournemouth and Winchester (The staff in Winchester haven't even been told yet!)

With a further 6 stores earmarked for closure within the next 9 months!

Whilst we can't name names on here our sources are very reliable on this matter and have also been confirmed by staff in the stores.

One member of staff from the Eastleigh store has commented to NBFC, "I knew it was happening. There's loads of stores closing. I've been trying to get a transfer out to another store but the company wont do it. I feel like the company are dumping me in it"

Currys own figures to the London stock exchange show a massive fall in the footfall into their stores and in the money that the stores are actually taking. Perhaps this situation will convince the company that the British public do not want to buy from a bunch of charlatans and fraudsters.

Good news if there ever was any...

Question - When is half price not really half price?

Answer - when its only been reduced to the price it really should be anyway!

Confused? Read on and all will be revealed.

Lets take a current example. Currys are selling (as at todays date) a Kodak MD41 digital camera for £79.99. They claim a saving against a previous retail price of £199.99. Prior to the reduction to £79.99 it was retailing for £89.99.

NBFC today contacted Kodak and spoke to a member of their press department. The RRP for this model has been confirmed at £89.99.

SO, CURRYS HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED THE PRICE FOR 28 DAYS THEN CREATED A 'FAKE' REDUCTION BACK TO £89.99 - THE PRICE IT SHOULD BE! They then reduce the price after a further 2 weeks to £79.99 in order to extend the period during which they can claim a saving. This is legal, the only legal requirement being that the goods must have been offered for sale for at least 28 days at the higher price.

Claimed saving - £110 , REAL SAVING, JUST £10!!!! Not exactly good value!!

AND ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CURRYS SCAM PRICING...

Offered for sale (as at todays date) an LG 37 inch LCD, model 37LH5000. This model is advertised at £599.99 as a saving of £50.

THE SCAM IS THAT THE PRICE WAS PUT UP BY £50 JUST 30 DAYS AGO If you'd have bought one 31 days ago you'd have paid, thats right, £599.99 (prices confirmed by T.K. a CURRYS EMPLOYEE!!!)

So It's not really a saving is it? Some how this scam is legal because the higher price was charged for over 28 days but it's not exactly moral is it?

With fake savings like these, will anyone shop at Currys this Christmas?

 Hi NBFC,

ive got a unusual problem with currys, the problem is I got Laptop as a gift for uni and that laptop devloped a fault within 28 days of the purchase date so currys gave me a replacement no problem, then after a couple of months later I had noticed my laptop was only showing 1gb worth of ram I was thinking to my self its supposed to have 3gb, so i checked the hp site and box and i was right its supposed to have 3gb so there was 2gb worth of ram missing, I also had 3 other problems with the laptop so I contacted the store and told them the main problem about the ram, the manager first pretended to be shocked such a thing could happen so he coldly told me to send it for repair under warranty which i did, it was sent to thier repair team Tech Guys and they sent it back saying we cant do anything as it was sold to you that way so its the stores liablity to resolve the issue, so basically i wasted about 10 days in the repair process so once again I contacted the store the manager he told me to come in with the laptop and would take this further by contacting HP for more ram, I went into the store waited 30mins for him and he still didnt turn up at this point i was getting very annoyed so another person came up and said leave the laptop here and we will ring you with a solution in a couple of hours, guess what they didnt call typical, so i rang and chased it up and was told he was busy and would call me in 5 mins, once again a lie, rang the following morning at this point i was just looking for anyone who would actually deal with the problem, spoke to different person once again hes busy and will call me again no respect for the customer at all, and then I called one last time and spoke to a deputy manager he said he had been chasing this up and the soulution he came up with was that they expect me to come to store pick up the laptop and then find a PC World store and ask them to call customer service with my case no. explaining they had to put 2gb worth of ram in my system but i had to pay for it at first and then ring up to get my money back, so in short they expect me to waste my time and money to get this resolved spoke to the managers at customer service they arent budgeing is their anything I can do to get my money back as it wasnt the same item as stated in the description? any help would be much appreciated.
thanks

neejeeb@xxxxxxxxxx.co.uk

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NBFC says;

The goods were not as described at the time of purchase, therefore the retailer is liable.  If it is within 6 months of purchase you have presumption of fault in your favour.  THE LEGAL ONUS IS ON THE RETAILER TO PROOVE THAT THE GOODS WERE NOT LIKE IT AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE.  And as such they have to accept liability. As the goods are not as described you DO have a lega right to  a refund if you are not happy with the resolution offered - AND THERE'S NO WAY I'D LET ANY OF THE TECH GUYS OR PC WORLD STAFF ANYWHERE NEAR A COMPUTER (not if you want ti to keep working anyway) !!! so I would refuse the remedy that they are offering, clearly stating that you do not believe that the goods will be of the same standard as if the ram was factory fitted.

If Currys dont want to play ball on a refund a quick call to trading standards should help out. Ore perhaps a quick email to watchdog@bbc.co.uk ?

Dear NBFC,

 I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to purchase mobile broadband at the Hamilton branch of Currys. We were told that our coverage was fine, as we live in the country, and the staff was really nice. Until we got home and after attempting to set up laptop etc were told by T-Mobile we were in a blackspot and should never have been sold the product in the first place and efectivly been "missold" their words not mine.

When we returned this to the store we were kept waiting for over an hour, our personal details were left for everyone to see. The manager we complained to had a disgraceful could'nt care less attitude and the whole experience made us feel like we were something stuck to the bottom of the staff's shoe.

They charged us twice for product protection and as yet we have still not recieved a refund. When we phoned head office to complain we were met with the rudest, offhand little girl I have ever come accross. A month down the line we still have heard nothing from our complaint.

Customers at Currys are obviously not held in high regard and in this current climate I would have thought they would be glad of any custom. I would not recommend this store to anyone as maybe it's part of their training program is to teach staff not to bother thier backside with their customers and really treat them as an inconvienience.

PETERX, Hamilton

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Dear NBFC,

I would like to make a complaint about the service I have recieved in 2 Currys stores today. I bought an Ipod Nano a few weeks ago from the Ellesmere Port store. Admittedly, I dont know much about them as im not a computer expert but I presumed all would be explained. The boy who served me "Dan" was not very helpful and made me feel like I was pestering him by asking questions about the product. Regardless of not being too clear on the the product I handed over my £99. I obviously opened the case to look at it, and soon realised there were no instructions with it which I was not advised of in the store. I connected it all up to see how it worked and after days and hours of hard work, I finally figured how to do a few basic things on it off forums id found on the internet, as there is no information given by the manufacturer, and the general public have to try and help each other out! However, what I originally bought it for was to save files aswell as music onto it, i.e, work for college etc, and "Dan" advised me I could do this with ease. This turned out to be the most complicted thing so therefore I didnt use the Ipod and left it in its original case without using it.
I decided I would be best taking it back and changing it for something easier like an mp3. I first took it into the Chester store on Greyhound Park and was advised that because I had opened the case they couldnt refund it! Obviously I was going to open it to look at it. After all, you can try on a dress and still get a refund, I dont see the difference.

The unhelpful girl advised me to take it back to the store I bought it from and it would be at their discretion. I was greeted with the same response in the Ellesmere Port store and advised the same thing. I told the unhelpful woman that the staff werent very helpful the day I bought it and didnt tell me it didnt come with any instructions, and they are obviously not trained in how to work them as nobody could help me that day. I advised her had I known there were no instructions I wouldnt have bought it. She said "Dan" knew about them. I asked why he didnt help me then, she said to look on the itunes website, I asked why I wasnt advised by "Dan", she repeated again to look on the itunes website in a cheeky way. I advised her "Dan" couldnt be bothered explaining and that unless your a computer expert how are you to know anything about these things? I advised her I would be making a complaint about it to which she replied "fine" shrugging her shoulders, again in a cheeky way. I left the store feeling very irrate and not knowing what to do. Is this how Currys want their custoomers to feel? And who do they think they are speaking to people in this manner? They didnt even offer me any help or advice when I tried to explain I didnt know how to use it. The top and bottom of it is, as long as people keep buying into these products they just dont care.

I will never buy anything from Currys again and neither will all my friends and family who I have told about this.
I have actually now agreed to sell the product to a friend of mine who was considering buying one from the store, so theyve lost a sale! 

I wasnt very happy with this service and I think more advice should be given on these expensive items as it seems they sell them to you knowing full well your not going to be able to take them back and that you wont be able to use it, so its a win win situation for them.I wouldnt advise anybody to buy one of these products unless you are a computer expert or know of one!

James Rutherford, Ellesmere Port

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2 MORE REASONS TO NEVER BUY FROM CURRYS

 The following is my experience of shopping at Currys, as a member of the public.  Now remember - I USED TO WORK FOR THEM, so I know the get our clauses and scams they try to pull, yet they managed a few new ones, even on me.

Back in June I moved house and needed a new washing machine.  I wasnt planning on spending very long in my current place, just a temporary stop whilst I look for something more suitable so cheap and cheerful was the plan.  I went into the currys superstore nearest to me (Sadly no local Comet or I'd have gone there instead)  and looked around for something cheap.  I spotted a matsui, marked as a last one.  Interested, I took a closer look at it and it looked in a fair condition.  There was no price on it, only a sash saying 'managers mark down, reduced to clear'  (HAVING NO PRICE TICKET IS ILLEGAL)  Eventually a scruffy teenage member of staff came over towards me but did not greet me at all (SO MUCH FOR THE MILLIONS OF POUNDS THAT THE COMPANY HAS SPENT ON TRAINING ITS STAFF THEN!)  Infact, I had to aporach him to ask about a price.  After a few fairly meaningless grunts and hand waves he disappeared and came back with a printed ticket showing a price at £199.97 and not showing a saving or reduction of any kind.

I took one look and asked him what the reduction was over the shown price.  He said that the ticket showed an already reduced price.  9LEGAL BLOOPER No2 - REDUCTIONS HAVE TO STATE THE HIGHER PRICE)  So I asked what the original price was and how long ago it was reduced - neither he or the 'manger' he fetched could tell me, despite looking on their computers for ages. (I KNOW THEY WERE LYING AS ALL CURRYS STAFF CAN LOOK UP THE DATE A PRICE LAST CHANGED - ITS EVEN PRINTED ON THE TICKETS IF THEY'D BOTHERED TO LOOK!)  Anyway, having conceded that they probably hadn't reduced I was offered £20 off.  Not exactly a 'deal' but it made it the cheapest machine available on the day (cheaper machines were all conveniently out of stock)  So, I paid for it and for delivery and installation - a trully excessive charge of nearly £40.

Fast forward 5 days (the soonest they could deliver it - NEXT DAY MAY ARSE!!) and nothing arrives, no phone call to inform me of a problem and no washing machine either.  I had chosen an evening time slot as I work during the day and time off is not really an option so I could not contact currys until the next day.  When I did, after over an hour in a queue to speak to someone, I was told 'yeah, it got broken in transit.  I think, like, someone dropped it of the lift on the back of the waggon'  When I suggested a phone call to let me know would have been nice i was simply told that it was down to the store, not the people who deliver it!  HOW DOES THAT WORK? THE STORE DON'T KNOW THAT THE INCOMPETENT DELIVERY CONTER HAVE TOTALLED IT!  Anyway, I was then told that I needed to contact the store and then put the phone down on me.

Luckilly, being ex- staff I have contacts who can get me the ex-directory numbers for stores so that I do not have to deal with the inept customer service department.  So I called the store direct and to say that they did not want to know is an understatement.  I was told that there was no-one there who could deal with it, I'd have to go to customer services, I'd have to do x, y, and z.  Anything other than someone in the store just holding their hands up and trying to sort it out.  Eventually, by suggesting that I was about to come down to the store in person somebody finally had the common sense to agree to get me a replacement washing machine sorted out.  They assured me that they could supply a similarly spec'ed machine for the same price and cold deliver it in 2 days time.  Hardly a priority solution but at least I'd have something to do my washing with.  There was no offer of a refund of the delivery charges, even though they had failed to meet their agreed time slot, failed to deliver any goods and filed to contact me to let me know that there was a problem.

Anyway, I decided to just learn from my mistakes for now and just wait for the alternative machine to turn up.  To be fair, the replacement turned up at the right time.  The installer made no fuss what so over that it was in an awkward place to install and that it wasn't a straight forward 'plug n play' and all went smoothly.  With one exception.  The washing machine that Currys supplied me was a 'Beko'  and anyone who has either sold Beko products or used one will tell you that they are cheap, shitty and frequently unreliable.  However, cheap and cheerful was the goal so probably not so bad.  

The following weekend, I decided that I would go into the store I had purchased from in order to press my case for a refund of the delivery charges, after all, I had know idea what the authority level of the person I had spoken to on the phone was and maybe the manager would be more service minded.  The first thing that I saw as I entered the store was the very washing machine model that I had just been supplied, being offered for sale at £149.99!  How the store saw this as a suitable replacement for a machine that I had paid £179.97 for is beyond me.  There was no offer of a refund of the difference.  The store manager very rudely refused to refund me any money for either of the reasons that I was requesting and even went as far as asking me to leave his store as he was 'unable to help me'.  Having written to customer services, they do not want to know.  Nor do they want to know when I phone them.  The only thing that got a response and a satisfactory out come was when I served Currys with notice that I was going to the small claims court to retrieve the money that I was out of pocket.

Even then, whilst the money was received, an apology was not!

IF EX STAFF WHO KNOW HOW CURRYS WORK CANNOT EVEN GET COMPLAINTS RESOLVED WITHOUT THE THREAT OF COURT ACTION, WHAT CHANCE HAVE THE PUBLIC GOT?!?

FROM: Stockton Evening Gazette , 19th December 2007.

A court case over Currys' terms and conditions has resulted in the conviction of the retailer over its refusal to honour a price promise. The shop argued that a tumble dryer offered for sale was different to an identical model in another shop which came with a vent kit however, this is argument was rejected by the court.

The case was lost in the District Court by Currys, and crucial set of questions was referred to the High Court by the trial judge.

Consumer Angela Addison was shopping for a tumble dryer and came across a Hotpoint TDL 52P, for sale at Currys for £159.99 and at Comet for £119.99.

Noting that Currys also displayed price promise signs saying that they would "not be beaten on price", Addison asked for the price promise to be honoured. That request was refused, at which point Addison informed the shop that she was a Trading Standards enforcement officer for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

She returned two days later with a colleague to check the prices and later purchased the tumble dryer from Currys after the price promise was again refused. Currys' owner, DSG Retail Ltd, was prosecuted by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council under the Consumer Protection Act of 1987. DSG Retail Ltd was  found guilty of giving misleading price
indications. 

SO NEXT TIME CURRYS REFUSE TO PRICE MATCH, POINT OUT TO THEM THAT THEY ARE LEGALLY BOUND TO.  THEY HAVE ALREADY LOST AT LEAST ONE COURT CASE OVER IT...