OT: Why you SHOULDN'T use Dixons or Currys
Jon Doe
Bardo
"Jon Doe" <j...@doe.com> wrote in message
news:ltoya.54218$YZ....@news.easynews.com...
I'd say that most of the more sensible members of this newsgroup already
know not to touch Dixons Group stores with a barge pole!!!!
Andy Jenkins
From memory, most people class Comets insurance scheme in the same
light right ?
Around March 1999 I bought a 28" widescreen TV, a Dyson and a Sky D
box (yup .. *that* long ago). I bought insurance for all of the
items. I can't remember the cost of the insurance, but it was around
£300 mark.
Sky D box has worked flawlessly since day 1 so no issue there.
Dyson. Had 2 years warranty with the Dyson anyway, and in that first
2 years claimed for a new motor. About 6 months ago the motor went
again. Contacted Dyson, who said "oh .. you bought Comets insurance
policy". Expecting a "we can't help you" I got a "no problem Sir, it
will be collected tomorrow morning". It was. It was fixed and back
with me within 3 days.
TV. The TV was a nightmare. First the TV was faulty and the volume
control wouldnt work via the remote. Comet replaced the TV. This was
on the first day. About 6 months later the tube went funny and we had
a new tube. At the same time Imentioned that I had scratched the
glass. "No problem sir " your covered on your warranty. Excellent !!
Since then, we had another tube. And yup .. that one went as well
(keeping score ? thats 3 tubes now). The day that Comet advised that
the 3rd tube was buggered, they called up and said that if I pop down
my local Comet I can pick a new TV to the same value as what I paid
all those years ago .. some £750. If I spent less, I would have the
difference in vouchers .. which seemed VERY reasonable. Went down,
and picked up a new 28" widescreen TV with all the features I had
before, plus a better subwoofer, all for £599, so had £150 in
vouchers, which my 6 year daughter had a whale of a time working out
what she wanted.
Dont tarnish all insurance schemes with the same brush. There are
success stories. Occasionally.
Cue horror stories from Comet Insurance now ....
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Alien Zord
Dix-a-fix. We did some subcontract repair work for them and they used to
triple our charges to the customer. Brought tears into many's eyes as I
discovered from customer's letters of complaints that were on a few
occasions accidentally left in the shipping crates. Ever since then I
would never touch Dixon's and their offshoots.
s n u f f y
news:5u5kcvc4bmdfoi7n1...@4ax.com...
<snip>
> Cue horror stories from Comet Insurance now ....
sod that, what TV did you buy to have that many problems?!
Andy Jenkins
lol .. fair enough .. Toshiba. Apparently at the time I bought the
Tosh they were using Philips tubes. Now Tosh are making their own
again. Apparently.
guv
>> http://mastercare.blogspot.com/
>>
>> The link speaks for itsself....
>
>I'd say that most of the more sensible members of this newsgroup already
>know not to touch Dixons Group stores with a barge pole!!!!
Indeed!
Not just them though - and pretty much a problem with insurance in
general. (sorry - its a long un - but tell me you wouldnt have gone
ballistic in these circumstances!)
I bought a Hotpoint integral Dishwasher online - now about 2 years
ago. When bought - it was paid for by barclaycard and got a free 2
year extension on the warrenty.
In January, it broke down and the fault was described to them
suggesting it was the pump that had gone. They sent out British Gas as
their sub contractors. He turned up, said it was a faulty pump (no
kidding sherlocke) and a second day off was booked. On the morning,
they call at about 10am to say they had tried to call the previous day
but no one was in. (So what!) That was then changed to someone
telephoned yesterday - wrong - no calls displayed on caller ID - and
was subsequently "we havent got the part you need". Why the lies? Why
make it sound like we had fucked them up?
A sebsequent visit was made (3rd day off work). He fitted a new pump
and left - only to be called back within 20 mins when my missus tried
to use it and it still didnt work. The guy came back within an hour.
He left about an hour later saying it was the module that was broken.
(Why didnt he check that it worked before he left in the first place!)
A further appointment was made for the module - and several phone
calls and return calls unkept, they were told in no uncertain terms
that this was awful service - which they admitted.
Day arrived - another call "sorry no part arrived". Day number 4
wasted and more chasing.
Another apointment made - also cancelled but a days notice given.
After 2 1/2 months and day number 5 off, I get yet another phone call
to say "sorry part not arrived". This despite checking the previous
day that they had it!
Pissed off at day number 6 being booked, I told Britsih Gas I expected
compensation - to which they replied I wasnt a customer of theirs, so
should address my compliants to the insurance company - which I did,
and was told it wasnt their policy to do so!
Eventually we agreed not to let British gas near the machine again -
and use Hotpoint themselves to fix it - which I had to pay, and
reclaim when billed.
They were called. The problem explained, and what was expected from
them given what had already happened. "Dont worry, we carry these
modules as stock items".
Day arrived - no show! Phone call later, and get told "the part didnt
arrive".
Another appointment made - and several complaints to the insurance
company (who were told I expect a replacement if they dont fix it this
time - and they agreed!)
This time, the Hotpoint guy arrived, fitted the module - and the
machine still didnt work!
Phoned insurance company, who agreed that 3 1/2 months was excessive
and agreed to supply a replacement - which turned out to be a cheque
for £455.
The hotpoint guy that called, said it had to be the pump - and
suggested this machine was the bees knees and rarely goes wrong.
So we decide to keep the money (bare in mind nothing paid for the time
off) and get their engineer back again to fit yet another pump.
This time, he turned up as booked, took the pump out, which he
descibed as a working new pump - just not fitted correctly, and the
machine now works once more - at a cost of £90 to us.
Is there a moral to the horror story? probably not, other to say
British Gas are also a bunch of useless c*nts, whom I would rather cut
off my right arm than employ again. The checky bastards even called me
after to ask me if I was happy with the repair work they did(nt) do!
--
Marquee Hire at cheap rates from www.37b.co.uk
Spamtrap - <Remove "my-pants" to reply by email>
Gavin Gillespie
"guv" <gu...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:4j7lcvc7b15o57ld2...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 20 May 2003 12:48:00 +0100, "Bardo" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>
> >> http://mastercare.blogspot.com/
> >>
> >> The link speaks for itsself....
> >
> >I'd say that most of the more sensible members of this newsgroup already
> >know not to touch Dixons Group stores with a barge pole!!!!
>
> Indeed!
>
> Not just them though - and pretty much a problem with insurance in
> general. (sorry - its a long un - but tell me you wouldnt have gone
> ballistic in these circumstances!)
>
> I bought a Hotpoint integral Dishwasher online - now about 2 years
> ago. When bought - it was paid for by barclaycard and got a free 2
> year extension on the warrenty.
>
All Hotpoint products carry a 5 year parts guarantee, it's the £86
call/labour charge that makes the repairs expensive.
guv
<not.w...@dontuse.com.uk> wrote:
>> >> http://mastercare.blogspot.com/
>> >>
>> >> The link speaks for itsself....
>> >
>> >I'd say that most of the more sensible members of this newsgroup already
>> >know not to touch Dixons Group stores with a barge pole!!!!
>>
>> Indeed!
>>
>> Not just them though - and pretty much a problem with insurance in
>> general. (sorry - its a long un - but tell me you wouldnt have gone
>> ballistic in these circumstances!)
>>
>> I bought a Hotpoint integral Dishwasher online - now about 2 years
>> ago. When bought - it was paid for by barclaycard and got a free 2
>> year extension on the warrenty.
>>
>
>All Hotpoint products carry a 5 year parts guarantee, it's the £86
>call/labour charge that makes the repairs expensive.
Yeh, I know that....having said that, I was sure when I called, they
said it was £85 - yet was charged £90 and receipted for that amount!
Not going to shout the odds though. If I never have to ring them again
about this item, it will be too soon!
Ridwan Hughes
says...
>
> It still amazes me the seriousness people take these extended warranties.
> Theyre just not necessary.
My £60 DVD player came with a leaflet offering me an extended warranty,
the 3 year coverplan is £60...
--
Rid
Dave Fawthrop
Just say NO
to all extended warranties.
Dave Fawthrop <da...@hyphenologist.co.uk> Some of my Hobbies: VDU Glasses
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Bardo
"Dave Fawthrop" <hyp...@hyphenologist.co.uk> wrote in message
news:638mcv468bn333hjq...@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 21 May 2003 01:34:51 +0100, Ridwan Hughes
> <f...@ridhughz.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> | In article <105343293...@doris.uk.clara.net>, nos...@nospam.com
> | says...
> | >
> | > It still amazes me the seriousness people take these extended
warranties.
> | > Theyre just not necessary.
> |
> | My £60 DVD player came with a leaflet offering me an extended warranty,
> | the 3 year coverplan is £60...
>
> Just say NO
> to all extended warranties.
They're not *ALL* that bad, you know. Years ago I bought a 55" Toshiba RPTV
from Jolly's for £3500 (they were expensive back then!) and they chucked in
a free 5 year warrantty. Almost 5 years later, the thing died horribly and a
repair man turned up and basically asked me if I wanted it repaired or
written off! When I told him I'd be happy to have it written off, he took it
away and about 2 weeks later a cheque for £2500 (minus depreciation) turned
up! Result!!!
David Robinson
[snip story of how good Comet insurance is]
On these three items, the insurance cost you £300. So, after the two
year warranty period for the dyson was up, you would have had a repair
bill without the extended warranty / insurance. Let's say it was a
disasterous problem, and you just bought another dyson - £200.
Sky D - no problem. Therefore no cost saving.
TV. Under UK consumer law, things have to be of merchantable quality
and fit for purpose. Your position is weakened if you accept a repair,
so I would always demand replacement or refund. Given this, whatever
the warranty period, you can expect a £750 TV to last a few years, so
any serious faults less than (say) two years after purchase should be
rectified free of charge under UK consumer law. After the second major
fault in six months, I would have demanded a full refund - you know
when you've bought a turkey!
So whilst product insurance and extended warranties do give you peace
of mind, on average, they're a complete waste of money. If they
weren't, i.e. if, on average, you actually did save more than you'd
paid in, then they wouldn't sell them!
Despite your bad luck with your purchases, I can't see how the
extended warranty saved you money. Without the warranty you could have
demanded to have your money back for the TV at several points, losing
nothing.
The only instance where it helps is if you get stuck in an endless
cycle of repair/fault/repair/fault, and then it just helps to extend
this cycle for free beyond the usual warranty period. Extended
warranty or not, it's best to avoid this cycle by demanding a refund
at the first sign of trouble. (I wish I'd known this years ago!)
The other case, where the product breaks down well beyond the normal
warranty period, but within the extended warranty, always seems like
false economy. The cummulative cost of the extended warranty or
insurance would often have payed for the repair anyway. I accept that
there are exceptions, and paying for an insurance or extended warranty
at a predictable time may be much more convenient than an unexpected
bill. That's a decision that everyone must make.
But if there really was more money in it for the consumers than for
the stores, then the stores wouldn't be selling these things!
Cheers,
David.
Glen Cumming
> know not to touch Dixons Group stores with a barge pole!!!!
Yeah - my rule of thumb is never take a warrenty unless it involves
water.
Then I go to John Lewis who as a rule always provide 2 or 3 year
warranties for free and will be price matched. I bought a Sony Wega TV
from them and I knocked them down £300 and it still came with a free 5
year warrenty and they delivered and installed it for free.
Basically electronic components are so good nowadays that they'll
either go wrong really quickly (i.e. easily within the standard 1
year) or they will work for their expected lifetime IMHO. I've bought
5 tellies, 4 video recorders, 5 dvd players and loads of bits'n'bobs
over the last 10 years and only ever had one DVD player pack up which
it did in the first week - got it replaced and never had a problem
since - so its worth the risk - or go to Richer Sounds who actually
have a sensibly priced warranty scheme and give you the money back if
you never use it.
What with a really good online presence for electronics I hope Curry's
and Dixons's days are numbered (and the Sony shop - who have nothing
to do with Sony).
Glen
Laughing Mushrooms
>water.
Just saw a brand new long play video recorder in Asda for 44 notes with a years
in home warrenty.
Would you give 50 notes to extend the warrentee or bin it if it went wrong
after the year and buy another one?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
My various obscure mumblings and bits can be found at:-
M...@mj.com
Cumming) wrote:
>
>Basically electronic components are so good nowadays that they'll
>either go wrong really quickly (i.e. easily within the standard 1
>year) or they will work for their expected lifetime IMHO. I've bought
>5 tellies, 4 video recorders, 5 dvd players and loads of bits'n'bobs
>over the last 10 years and only ever had one DVD player pack up which
>it did in the first week - got it replaced and never had a problem
>since - so its worth the risk
>Glen
If only that were true in my case. I would guess that probably
between 25% and 50% of the electrical/electronic goods that I buy
fails either in the warranty period or soon after it expires. All
categories - domestic, diy, AV, and PC. I think I must live on top of
some electrical hellmouth. But I still don't go mad on extended
warranties. An occasional one here and there. I do have rather a lot
of equipment though, and statistically speaking I should suffer more
than average. Realistically speaking, I do.
When Tempo was around I bought a vcr with an extended warranty - it
wasn't too expensive. A few weeks after Tempo went bust I received a
letter from Curry's saying they had taken over the Tempo extended
warranty scheme. I mentioned this in a newsgroup discussion on the
subject at the time (maybe umd), and somebody replied 'yes, but try
using it'. Well, I did, when the carriage mechanism started jamming on
eject. The Mastercare desk in my local Curry's fixed it without a
hitch. No quibbling. It took a week because he didn't have the
carriage in stock, which he said he normally does and could have done
it while I waited if he had. It doesn't make me a lover of DSG and
Mastercare though - I was just lucky.
MJ
Jaime
<M...@MJ.com> wrote in message
news:6s8ncvklnd4mo101b...@4ax.com...
> On 21 May 2003 03:41:09 -0700, gl...@cumming66.freeserve.co.uk (Glen
> Cumming) wrote:
>
> >
> >Basically electronic components are so good nowadays that they'll
> >either go wrong really quickly (i.e. easily within the standard 1
> >year) or they will work for their expected lifetime IMHO. I've bought
> >5 tellies, 4 video recorders, 5 dvd players and loads of bits'n'bobs
> >over the last 10 years and only ever had one DVD player pack up which
> >it did in the first week - got it replaced and never had a problem
> >since - so its worth the risk
> >Glen
>
> If only that were true in my case. I would guess that probably
> between 25% and 50% of the electrical/electronic goods that I buy
> fails either in the warranty period or soon after it expires. All
> categories - domestic, diy, AV, and PC. I think I must live on top of
> some electrical hellmouth.
snip
Maybe not an electrical helmouth, but very possibly a doggy electricity
supply. Can you monitor your voltage supply, if so does it sit around or
even above 250 V or prehaps it often is low down neer 210v, do the lights
dim and bright and do lightbulbs not last very long?
Jaime
Laughing Mushrooms
>Mastercare though - I was just lucky.
VERY lucky! A friend asked for a service call by Mastercare due to his video
recorder having tracking errors. I was there when the "engineer" called.
Suddenly a huge flash and bang.. The idiot had obviously shorted something out.
After a comical hour while he attempted to show us all that he knew what he was
doing, he made excuses about it needing to be taken back to a workshop (well it
did, but only due to the damage said idiot caused).
After he went we picked up 8 screws and the video head screening lid from the
floor along with a blackened screwdriver and the solder stuck to the carpet was
noted.
After 8 weeks the video was returned still unable to play properly. It was
taken back to Currys and a refund obtained after an argument and threats to sue
for the damaged carpet.
I wouldn't trust these cowboys to fit a battery in a torch!
M...@mj.com
wrote:
>
><M...@MJ.com> wrote in message
>news:6s8ncvklnd4mo101b...@4ax.com...
>>
>> If only that were true in my case. I would guess that probably
>> between 25% and 50% of the electrical/electronic goods that I buy
>> fails either in the warranty period or soon after it expires. All
>> categories - domestic, diy, AV, and PC. I think I must live on top of
>> some electrical hellmouth.
>
>snip
>Maybe not an electrical helmouth, but very possibly a doggy electricity
>supply. Can you monitor your voltage supply, if so does it sit around or
>even above 250 V or prehaps it often is low down neer 210v, do the lights
>dim and bright and do lightbulbs not last very long?
>
>Jaime
>
Yes. Exactly. I've never given it much thought and I don't know if
it's common throughtout the country. The lights do flicker now and
again, and I've always felt that bulbs should last longer. Certainly
the power supply has a habit of momentarily failing during the night,
which is when I'm most on the pc, to an extent whereby I've got a UPS
now. I've also put one on all my av equipment. I got fed up going away
on holiday and coming back to find nothing recorded because the power
went off at some point. I'll start monitoring things more closely
from now on.
Jaime
<M...@MJ.com> wrote in message
news:eskncvkcs5703svkt...@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 21 May 2003 18:13:05 +0100, "Jaime" <use...@jaimem.org.uk>
> wrote:
>
> >
> ><M...@MJ.com> wrote in message
> >news:6s8ncvklnd4mo101b...@4ax.com...
>
> >>
> >> If only that were true in my case. I would guess that probably
> >> between 25% and 50% of the electrical/electronic goods that I buy
> >> fails either in the warranty period or soon after it expires. All
> >> categories - domestic, diy, AV, and PC. I think I must live on top of
> >> some electrical hellmouth.
> >
> >snip
> >Maybe not an electrical helmouth, but very possibly a doggy electricity
> >supply. Can you monitor your voltage supply, if so does it sit around or
> >even above 250 V or prehaps it often is low down neer 210v, do the lights
> >dim and bright and do lightbulbs not last very long?
> >
> >Jaime
> >
>
> Yes. Exactly. I've never given it much thought and I don't know if
> it's common throughtout the country. The lights do flicker now and
> again, and I've always felt that bulbs should last longer. Certainly
> the power supply has a habit of momentarily failing during the night,
> which is when I'm most on the pc, to an extent whereby I've got a UPS
> now. I've also put one on all my av equipment. I got fed up going away
> on holiday and coming back to find nothing recorded because the power
> went off at some point. I'll start monitoring things more closely
> from now on.
>
We have exactly the same situation, and I too decided to get a lien
conditioning ups to solve the problem. Dam electricity companies cant get
their act sorted.
Jaime
Smurf
> I went for a job at Mastercare once and couldn't get away from the fucking
> place quick enough. Total cowboys from start to finish...
Is that in Hemel Hempstead?
I used to walk past a small Dixons office opposite their HQ in Hemel, always
a ton of fag ends outside and some rather stressed out people standing out
there smoking.
Laughing Mushrooms
>
>Is that in Hemel Hempstead?
Bristol but they are all the same.
Trapper~John
> Ridwan Hughes in <MPG.1934da063...@130.133.1.4>:
> wanted me to purchase an extended waranty for £60. Furthermore, my
> father purchased a monitor from PC World for £50, and the extended
> waranty was £150. Needless to say we both told the salespeople where
> to go.
>
> One of the reasons I don't usually buy from them is because I find it
> very embarasing when they hold you up for ages to try and buy an
> extended waranty, when my parents purchased a freezer from them they
> even got the manager to come out to try and get them to buy this
> waranty. They would not let us buy the product and leave until we had
> seen the manager.
>
> Andrew.
They once tried to sell me a warranty for a WS telly, when I said no the
salesman asked me why? I said it was too expensive, he said "not as
expensive as buying a new telly", to which I replied "if your goods are such
a low quality, that they need replacing after a year, then you can keep
them". I walked out of the shop at that point.
Philomena
>They once tried to sell me a warranty for a WS telly, when I said no the
>salesman asked me why? I said it was too expensive, he said "not as
>expensive as buying a new telly", to which I replied "if your goods are such
>a low quality, that they need replacing after a year, then you can keep
>them". I walked out of the shop at that point.
That's probably what he wanted you to do. He probably wanted to hold on
to that set to sell it to somebody who was willing to buy a warranty.
Trapper~John
He was welcome to it. I ended up going to a smal local shop, got the same tv
about £60 cheaper and got a free 5 year warranty with it. He even threw in 2
scart cables!
I also got to take it home the next day, instead of the 30 days Dixons
wanted me to wait.
Tony Walton
> They once tried to sell me a warranty for a WS telly, when I said no the
> salesman asked me why? I said it was too expensive, he said "not as
> expensive as buying a new telly", to which I replied "if your goods are such
> a low quality, that they need replacing after a year, then you can keep
> them". I walked out of the shop at that point.
>
>
I had that conversation just about word-for-word about a Panasonic VCR
from Tempo (now gone bust). "Why do I want extended warranty?" "It's
cheaper than a new video" he said. "So you're saying you're selling me
complete rubbish that's going to break down after a year?" I said.
"Well, no....". "So what exactly are you saying?" "Ummmm....". I got
the VCR with no extended warranty - it's still going strong after four
years or so.
OTOH I bought one of those Jeremy Beadle Landfill DVD players (it's a
Hyundai DVD320A) the other month. I didn't bother with extended warranty
on that either - after all, if all springs come out of the back after a
year I can just get another one, at £49.50 a time!
--
Tony
Laughing Mushrooms
>>the 3 year coverplan is £60...
>
They also make a great fuss of telling you that accidenatl damage is covered.
Errrr.... your household insurance covers that anyway!
It is illegal to claim on two policies for damage so one of the policy issuers
will tell you to 'koff.....
Philomena
I wasn't defending DSG, just pointing out that their more hardnosed
salesclerks would much rather not sell at all unless the buyer agrees to
an extended warranty, so when they seem to be trying to persuade you, or
when they ask questions like "Why not?", more often than not their real
intention is to provoke the person into changing his mind and not buying
the tv set or whatever.
I have to say though that I've from time to time encountered sales
assistants in DSG who had just as much contempt for their employers as
the rest of us and did not go in for the pressure techniques at all.
Especially in PcWorld.
Trapper~John
I know m8, I could have had the tv without the extended warranty had I
pressed hard enough but:
a) I was much too impatient to wait 30 days for my new toy :-)
b) I didn't like his attitude and was about 3 seconds away from twatting
him. I had taken my sister shopping with me, and she persuaded me to leave
before the imminent explosion.
> I have to say though that I've from time to time encountered sales
> assistants in DSG who had just as much contempt for their employers as
> the rest of us and did not go in for the pressure techniques at all.
> Especially in PcWorld.
Of all the people working in my nearest Dixons, there is only one who is
always very polite and helpful. When I went in there once to buy a pair of
binoculars, she even pointed out that there were better (and cheaper) models
in the shop down the street. She was very good looking too BTW ;-)
Unfortunatly, she wasn't there the day I went in for the tv.
non_dixons_customer
recently I called into Dixons in Balham, London wanting to buy a
television.
When the salesman heard I was unemployed he turned his back and
walking away addressed the wall as to the likelyhood of me getting
credit. I got the impression thet they didn't want my business.
Lads in Balham, when I do get employment and have the chas I most
certainly won't be using your shop. I advise anyone else to give it a
wide berth as well.
---
ps: Other people also seem to have difficulties with Dixons.
http://currystrouble.tripod.com/index.htm
http:/www.dixonscustomers.com
http:/www.dooyoo.co.uk/shopping/misc_offline_shopping/currys_review/108389/
http:/www.ciao.co.uk/reviews/5309065.html
http://groups.msn.com/DSGRetailSupportGroup
http://uk.pricerunner.com/computing/computers/palmtops/129233/reviews/120
(one or two satisfied Currys' customers although the vast majority are
not).
http://www.djmurphy.demon.co.uk/dixons.htm
http://www.complaints.com/february2002/complaintoftheday.february27.7.htm
http://www.complaints.com/december2001/complaintoftheday.december6.10.htm
---
pps: seems to be a habit of theirs, pissing of custoners.
a51
I bought a computer at currys and they said it would be a week before
it was deliver. But all i got was the monitior, printer and scanner. I
phone them to find out what was happening about the the actual
computer and they said it would be in other week before it came. Then
on that day I was told it wasn't even comming that time.