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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...

 xxx St James Gardens
Leyland
Preston
PR26 xxx

8/4/09

Coverplan ref: 2407xxxxxx


Dear Sir/Madam, 

I am writing with regret that I have so resort to these measures to complain. Copies of this letter has been forwarded to Coverplan, Currys head office, Watchdog, various on line forums and small claims court/solicitor.

I purchased a 36” Sony T.V, DVD and VCR from Currys store at the Capital Centre, Preston on 22/3/2004. Upon purchasing the items we agreed to insure them with Coverplan at your recommendation . This cost an extra £419.00 for the T.V, and £25.00 each for the VCR/DVD for 5 years cover. 

At around Christmas time 2008, the T.V showed outlines around people and started flashing different colours. We persevered with it until the picture was annoying to watch, and decided to claim under the Coverplan agreement as we had never claimed before.

May I point out that from Christmas 2008 my partner has been housebound since an accident at work and operation and has not left the house. May I also point out that we have an answerphone on permanently.
May I also add that I am registered disabled with Meniers disease and cannot go out, so the T.V is the only pleasure I have.

Here is the record of utter disaster that followed:

26/2/09 – Phoned Coverplan to log repair.

2/3/09- Engineer promptly arrived (impressed upto now!). He told us that the tube was going and would have to see if the parts where available.

5/3/09- Phoned repair company to see what was happening. They said that we where not even on their system as the engineer hadn’t yet logged it. We were told to phone early next week.

6/3/09-phoned Coverplan to see if they knew anything. Was told “don’t worry Mrs Turner, the engineers will phone you when they have some news.

10/3/09- phoned engineers who said that we where on the system and they where trying to find a part.

11/3/09-phoned Coverpaln who told me that if the repair was not complete in 21 days after the engineer had called, we could raise the 21 day rule ie/ send vouchers for a replacement. Spoke to a lady called Alison.

12/3/09-phoned engineers who told me they where ordering the part and it would arrive in hopefully 7-10 days.

16/3/09-Phoned Coverplan again to see if they knew anything and they said again about raising the 21 day rule (lady called Devica).

18/3/09-Phoned Coverplan again and spoke to a lady called Jessica who said again about the 21 day rule and said “no need to contact us again – wait for the engineers to contact you. She even gave me the 23/3/09 as the 21 day rule was up.

23/3/09- Waited until close of business and then phoned Coverplan to raise the 21 day rule. The lady said she was processing it as we speak. That the 21 day rule was now raised and we would get vouchers for the television. I said thankyou at last’s its’ resolved.

24/3/09-My partner was in the bath and couldn’t get to the phone. When he came downstairs there was a message from the engineers to ask to come to take the T.V away. He rang them back and said to the lady – I have raised the 21 day rule with the insurance. She said we have tried to contact you. My partner said “ no you haven’t because I have been here 24/7 and in anyway we have an answerphone. How come you rang me the day after the 21 day rule was raised. She said we must have dialed the wrong number. My partner said itn;t it funny, you can manage to dial the right number AFTER the 21 day rule has been raised. She said because the rule had been raised she would close the case for repair. My partner said do you contact the insurance company now. She said no, we don’t, you do.

24/3/09-Phoned Coverplan who said 21 day rule was being processed and voucher would arrive shortly.

30/3/09-Phoned Coverplan as we hadn’t heard anything and was told our policy was 6 week rule and that we couldn’t claim until 6 weeks was up. Obviously we where upset that 4 people had told us about the 21 day rule at Coverplan and it had actually been processed.!!! We where referred to a gentleman (supervisor) called Bob. He listened sympathetically to our tale and referred us to a manager called John. After relaying the story umpteen times we repeated it again. John was adamant that we had to wait 6 weeks. We asked about the repair and he said he would instigate a new job for a repair and the engineers would be in touch. He also said that the 6 week rule stood and that if we hadn’t heard anything by 8/4/09 we could log a claim under the 6 week rule.
We waited for the engineers call…………………..

Nothing.

8/4/09- Phoned Coverplan to log 6 week rule and spoke to numerous people and eventually got through to a supervisor called Ash. He informed me that the job was closed and had not been re-opened. He said that the engineers had told him that they had tried to contact us on a few occasions. He also said that we had avoided the engineers phone calls! RUBBISH.

I can get access to my Sky phone records to prove how long I was on the phone to Coverplan, the Engineers etc. I am also contacting sky to see if I can have any record that shows who has dialled me…just to prove that we are telling the truth.


This matter is not laid to rest, nor can you close a case without it being resolved or even informing me!

I will take this all the way to prove my innocence. How can a large chain store sell insurance that is not valid.

This matter will not stop until it is resolved.

Awaiting your prompt reply.
Yours sincerely


Sxxxxx Wxxxxx Txxxxxx

SO WOULD YOU EVER BUY A CURRYS EXTENDED WARRANTY ?!?

 I had the following tale emailed to me today - yet another example of dreadful service from currys;

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Dear NBFC,  having saved up £300, I decided that I would go to Currys to browse through the available stereo systems. Now to me, £300 is a lot of money - okay so I wouldn't be able to afford a top of the range stereo that could talk, make cups of tea and do the vacuuming for me - but hey, I only wanted to listen to some music. On entering the store, I found the required department and spent 10-15 minutes perusing the available merchandise. There is quite a lot of choice and being a bit of a techno-phobe I couldn't tell what was the best buy for the money available. Eventually a member of the sales team came into view, and I therefore called him over to see if he was able to assist me with my potential purhase. I advised him how much money I had to spend and that I just wanted something that would enable me to play cd's and listen to the radio with some quality of sound. He looked slightly disgruntled to be called over - perhaps he was due a tea-break - who knows??? Anyway, after bluntly explaining to me (in language that didn't make much sense - far too technical) what the differences were with stereo systems available within my budget, he summarised with the comment "If I were you, I'd go away and save a bit more money - you ain't gonna get much for £300". NICE selling technique!!! So dear Currys, I did indeed go away; next door in fact to an independent electrical retailer who happily took my money in exchange for a half decent panasonic stereo system - which was reduced significantly and works very well.

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Thanks for sharing your experience, any other offerings will also be published.

Shame on you, Currys

 There are many reasons why Currys are shit, here's just 10 of them;

1)  How many hoops have you gotta jump though just to avoid going on a disciplinary?
2)  How much grief do you get from your area manager?
3)  How many of the board of directors actually know what they are doing?
4)  How much of the crap that you have to sell the public would you actually buy yourself?
5)  Would you buy an extended warranty?  WELL, WOULD YOU!!!???
6)  That product that you just bought from Currys may well have been retuned by the previous customer after up to 28 days use!! (Or worse still, been returned as faulty and they're reselling it!!)
7)  The staff don't care about giving you good advice, they are TARGETED on selling certain products and paid a 'bonus' (AKA COMISSION) - WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT A PC WITHOUT BEING PRESSURE SOLD SOME OVER PRICED ANIT VIRUS?  WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT A TV WITHOUT BEING PRESSURE SOLD SOME SERIOUSLY OVERPRICED CABLES?
8)  When was the last time you went into a Currys store and actually found a member of staff that could be bothered to help you?
9)  When was the last time you went into a Currys store and it was clean and tidy and didn't look like some pikey jumble sale?
10)  Have you ever seen a price in a Currys store that was even vaguely competitive, unless it was some awful 'exclusive' own brand product that you cant get anywhere else anyway and the build quality is so poor it would break after a few weeks anyhow.

SO THE MORAL OF THESE 10 POINTS IS...

DONT SHOP AT CURRYS, DONT WORK FOR CURRYS, DONT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH CURRYS

THEY'RE A BUNCH OF LIARS, THE COMPANY IS JUST AFTER YOUR MONEY, THEY SELL USED STOCK AS NEW, THEY CHARGE EXCESSIVE PRICES AND GIVE POOR SERVICE.

INFACT, JUST PUT THE DYING DOG DOWN...


HOW CAN I BE CERTAIN OF THIS?  I USED TO WORK FOR THEM FOR OVER 7 YEARS, AND I'M ASHAMED OF EVERY MINUTE...

 

WELCOME TO THE BIRTH OF... "NEVER BUY FROM CURRYS"