Both my wife and I went to Comet in December last year for a new upright Frost Free Freezer. My wife said to the salesman she wanted to have it in the garage as there is not enough space left in the kitchen, his response was that it was OK for it to be put in there!!
Not yet six months old and we noticed that the temperature had decreased to -35C then later on during the day it had gone to +12C. Went to the store and spoke to the manager informing him that the freezer is faulty and asked that it is taken back, after a lengthy discussion and cutting a long story short he replied that he would not accept it back as it is under warranty and the engineer will come and fix it.
During our conversation and through his attitude I stated to him that from what you are saying I might as well take the freezer to the skip and dump it there............his reply was.........wait for it............YES!!!!! :@
Anyway we had the engineer out, he inspected it but could find no fault and on leaving said it was probably a blip and may not happen again!!
With that we then decided to check on the hour every hour, sure enough the next day the temperature had run amoke so another call to the engineers. The board controlling the freezer temperature was changed, the engineer explained due to the varying temperatures all the food has to be thrown out (my wife is chronically sick and any food that is or may be contaminated in any way would have a dire effect on her health).
After a couple of days guess what!!.....The temperature was all over the place. Engineer comes and I told him straight that this freezer goes, he phones his service manager who said no as they want to move the sensor to a different position and try that. Again the food had to be thrown away.
One day later guess what!!........ :brick:
Over £250 worth of food ruined and we have not yet received a single penny in compensation for the loss so tomorrow they will be given 14 days to take it back with a full refund otherwise I will be taking legal action!!
Sorry for the moan but I have had enough!!
Nigel.
Had Enough of Comet.
Moderators: Guru's, The Ministry
Had Enough of Comet.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
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Techy111
- Battle of Britain
- Posts: 3319
- Joined: 15 Aug 2007, 13:51
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Re: Had Enough of Comet.
Maybe you should try the Comet 4B....?
Tony
Tony
The last surviving and complete Vickers Vanguard....."Superb"
Re: Had Enough of Comet.
I thought at first it was a moan about THE Comet.
I must admit I've had similar experience with rivals Currys yet contrary to usual experience, excellent service from their sister company PC World. I suspect it's a problem with crinkly tin shed retailers, loads of knock down price goods sourced from the Far East, staffed by a few commission-hungry minimum wage wonks trained in Gestapo style pushy retailing technique but completely clueless and not in the slightest bit bothered about aftercare as that doesn't earn them commission.
I know a lot of people who would rather pay extra and use a local high street electrical retailer in those places where they still exist (and here in coastal West Wales our nearest crinkly tin sheds are all over 40 miles away in Bangor, Wrexham and Aberystwyth) simply becuase they know if things go bang, they know they'll get someone who is interested in keeping their custom and will at least try and help.
I wonder if it's worth checking with Trading Standards as to what they think is the legal length of time within which you can reject an item as not being of saleable quality? I suspect six months is probably too long, but for the cost of a phone call and a chat with a Trading Standards officer at your local Council you may find they have some advice worth taking which you can batter Comet with. I always advise people with problems like this to give their Trading Standards a ring and usually they come back saying it was worth the call.
I must admit I've had similar experience with rivals Currys yet contrary to usual experience, excellent service from their sister company PC World. I suspect it's a problem with crinkly tin shed retailers, loads of knock down price goods sourced from the Far East, staffed by a few commission-hungry minimum wage wonks trained in Gestapo style pushy retailing technique but completely clueless and not in the slightest bit bothered about aftercare as that doesn't earn them commission.
I know a lot of people who would rather pay extra and use a local high street electrical retailer in those places where they still exist (and here in coastal West Wales our nearest crinkly tin sheds are all over 40 miles away in Bangor, Wrexham and Aberystwyth) simply becuase they know if things go bang, they know they'll get someone who is interested in keeping their custom and will at least try and help.
I wonder if it's worth checking with Trading Standards as to what they think is the legal length of time within which you can reject an item as not being of saleable quality? I suspect six months is probably too long, but for the cost of a phone call and a chat with a Trading Standards officer at your local Council you may find they have some advice worth taking which you can batter Comet with. I always advise people with problems like this to give their Trading Standards a ring and usually they come back saying it was worth the call.
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Kevin Farnell
- Vintage Pair
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Re: Had Enough of Comet.
Never trust these 'Budgie..T' retailer myself.Chris558 wrote:Maybe you should try........ Argos..y!(Sorry, don't mean to take the P.)
Jokes aside, you should be able to claim your lost food on the house insurance. Also, check out your consumer rights, 12 months warantee is a legal requirement on new goods.
Check out http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
Regards
Kevin
Stratospheric traces, of our transitory flight.
Trails of condensation, held in narrow paths of white...
Trails of condensation, held in narrow paths of white...
Re: Had Enough of Comet.
Many thanks for all of your support and replies.
Will be speaking to Trading Standards later today but presently awaiting a telephone call from the Service Manager.
Six months may appear to be a long time but this problem may well have existed earlier and we had not noticed as the freezer in the garage is for long term storage, we have a fridge freezer in the kitchen though the holding capacity is not very large hence the one in the garage which is accessed about once a week.
In any event, the warranty on the freezer covers loss of food yet they are dragging their feet in paying out, we have in total 3 claims pending!!
The freezer had been delivered in January of this year and was less than six months old when the problem first came to our notice, on first contact with the manager at the store he had the nerve to say that the onus was on us to prove that the freezer is faulty. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002:
If a consumer chooses to request a repair or replacement, then for the first six months after purchase it will be for the retailer to prove the goods did conform to contract (e.g. were not inherently faulty)
However, I will be speaking to Trading Standards this afternoon.
Just had call from Comet, engineer coming out Wednesday then decision to be made!!
Regards
Nigel.
Will be speaking to Trading Standards later today but presently awaiting a telephone call from the Service Manager.
Six months may appear to be a long time but this problem may well have existed earlier and we had not noticed as the freezer in the garage is for long term storage, we have a fridge freezer in the kitchen though the holding capacity is not very large hence the one in the garage which is accessed about once a week.
In any event, the warranty on the freezer covers loss of food yet they are dragging their feet in paying out, we have in total 3 claims pending!!
The freezer had been delivered in January of this year and was less than six months old when the problem first came to our notice, on first contact with the manager at the store he had the nerve to say that the onus was on us to prove that the freezer is faulty. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002:
If a consumer chooses to request a repair or replacement, then for the first six months after purchase it will be for the retailer to prove the goods did conform to contract (e.g. were not inherently faulty)
However, I will be speaking to Trading Standards this afternoon.
Just had call from Comet, engineer coming out Wednesday then decision to be made!!
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
Re: Had Enough of Comet.
I always thought that if it was a "Manufacturers Warranty" the liability on the store selling the goods was only for the first month. Totally different set up if the warranty you took out was with the store though. :think:
As a general rule, the best place to buy anything like this is John Lewis, because they will price match with any store locally AND you automatically get a 5 year warranty.
As a general rule, the best place to buy anything like this is John Lewis, because they will price match with any store locally AND you automatically get a 5 year warranty.
Ben.
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DaveB
- The Ministry
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Re: Had Enough of Comet.
Hi Ben 
Warranties are odd things. You will generally get a 12months warranty straight out of the box (manufacturers) and the extended warranties bought in-store may be from someone else. However.. should anything fail within the first 12 months, your first port of call (mine anyway) would be the point of purchase. A place like Comet will always say.. keep the receipt as this will be required if the product goes wrong. After contacting them, they may well say.. phone this number for service which may be their own bods (as I've known happen personally) or the manufacturers but I think the onus is still on them to provide a service for the life of the warranty.
I remember an interesting case some time ago whereby a chap bought a radio (I think it was) and this went boobies up around a fortnight after the 12month warranty had expired. The place he bought it from were not keen on doing anything about it so the chap went to court. The decision there was that no manufacturer should make things of this (or any other) type that will fail in 13months (for example) or 12 months and a day and ruled that the chaps radio be replaced. I'm not quite sure if it was the manufacturer or the shop who were dragging their heels but he got a replacement.
Slightly off topic.. I bought a Texan 17" monitor from PC World years ago and the salesman said it came with a 12month manufacturers warranty and would I like to buy an extended warranty. Considering the price I paid for it (close to £500) I thought it a prudent step. Anyway.. getting the monitor home, I opened the box and went straight for the gumph and found that it actually came with a 3 year warranty :o PC World were not best pleased but eventually offered me a full refund or an extension of 2years over the manufacturers warranty (taking it to the original 5years I thought I'd bought) and a refund so I took the 2year extension
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Warranties are odd things. You will generally get a 12months warranty straight out of the box (manufacturers) and the extended warranties bought in-store may be from someone else. However.. should anything fail within the first 12 months, your first port of call (mine anyway) would be the point of purchase. A place like Comet will always say.. keep the receipt as this will be required if the product goes wrong. After contacting them, they may well say.. phone this number for service which may be their own bods (as I've known happen personally) or the manufacturers but I think the onus is still on them to provide a service for the life of the warranty.
I remember an interesting case some time ago whereby a chap bought a radio (I think it was) and this went boobies up around a fortnight after the 12month warranty had expired. The place he bought it from were not keen on doing anything about it so the chap went to court. The decision there was that no manufacturer should make things of this (or any other) type that will fail in 13months (for example) or 12 months and a day and ruled that the chaps radio be replaced. I'm not quite sure if it was the manufacturer or the shop who were dragging their heels but he got a replacement.
Slightly off topic.. I bought a Texan 17" monitor from PC World years ago and the salesman said it came with a 12month manufacturers warranty and would I like to buy an extended warranty. Considering the price I paid for it (close to £500) I thought it a prudent step. Anyway.. getting the monitor home, I opened the box and went straight for the gumph and found that it actually came with a 3 year warranty :o PC World were not best pleased but eventually offered me a full refund or an extension of 2years over the manufacturers warranty (taking it to the original 5years I thought I'd bought) and a refund so I took the 2year extension
ATB
DaveB :tab:
Old sailors never die.. they just smell that way!
Re: Had Enough of Comet.
Rgr that Dave, but I'm pretty certain the obligation for a warranty lies with the manufacturer, not the reseller, although for good customer service they should offer to help you by providing contact number etc.
Instore Warranties (the things that comet, dixons, currys and the like sell) are really just insurance policies that pay them money to repair or replace the product if it goes faulty within the time frame of the agreement. A manufacturers warranty is obviously different. I remember i used to always buy samsung monitors as they had a 3 year manufacturers warranty as standard (this was about 7 or 8 years ago). I had a 17" Syncmaster that went T/U after 34 months. I packaged it up and sent it off and a few days later got a brand spanking new one. excellent service. A bit different when the product is acually storing things of higher value than it costs though.... that would really p155 me off, regardless of how fast the engineer came out to fix it. I guess this is why those insurance companies charge so much for freezer contents cover... not an issue for me though, I've only got an ice box.
Instore Warranties (the things that comet, dixons, currys and the like sell) are really just insurance policies that pay them money to repair or replace the product if it goes faulty within the time frame of the agreement. A manufacturers warranty is obviously different. I remember i used to always buy samsung monitors as they had a 3 year manufacturers warranty as standard (this was about 7 or 8 years ago). I had a 17" Syncmaster that went T/U after 34 months. I packaged it up and sent it off and a few days later got a brand spanking new one. excellent service. A bit different when the product is acually storing things of higher value than it costs though.... that would really p155 me off, regardless of how fast the engineer came out to fix it. I guess this is why those insurance companies charge so much for freezer contents cover... not an issue for me though, I've only got an ice box.
Ben.
Re: Had Enough of Comet.
I'm sure my daughter could be far more specific (cost me a packet for a Law Degree - then went into publishing :roll: ) however your contract is with the shop/supplier - NOT the manufacturer. Most shops will increasingly try to fob you off with stuff like having the first three months on them and then go pester the manufacturer, but that is just tosh. As stated above, although twelve months is standard assumed practise for warranties, the courts will take into consideration how long the pruchased item is reasonably expected to last.
My daughter bought a Tosh laptop from Morgans with built-in wifi in summer '06, but it has at least twice failed due to an interrupt clash on boot-up between the wifi card and something else. The first time they repaired it under the 12 month warranty, then the second time the repaired unit failed they tried to fob her off with "Oh, our custom is to only cover warranty repairs for six( one guy said three) months" - but they had nothing in writing on the invoices or up in the shop.
Not a good idea to p*ss off SWMBO Junior. She dug out a shed load of legal bumph, went into the New Oxford St shop with a letter stating what she may do if they did not fulfil their legal obligations, and allowed her voice to calmy but firmly ascend the volume levels to make sure other customers knew what was going on.
I told her to ask for the problem card to be removed and an external USB wifi card be substituted as the Tosh assembly was fundamentally flawed. This would save them money and get her Tosh back in business without needing reloading the HD and losing all her data. Considering that she was letting them off the hook cheaply, I was unimpressed by the fact that they would not give her a £17 retail unit, but lied and said they were out of stock ( too bad someone came in and bought one before she left the shop) and gave her a cheaper unit instead.
Oh yes, and while I'm on about Morgans, I bought a TomTom One off them in April that was supposed to come with an up to date set of maps and speed camera locations, but it had been pre-registered and therefore will not download the latest as sold maps. As I am 450 miles away they have got away with several arguments down the phone to date on that one.
So - don't let Comet off the hook, threaten them with a small claims court action for damages - my daughter may be able to supply suitable words if you want.
And avoid Morgans while you're at it.
) however your contract is with the shop/supplier - NOT the manufacturer. Most shops will increasingly try to fob you off with stuff like having the first three months on them and then go pester the manufacturer, but that is just tosh. As stated above, although twelve months is standard assumed practise for warranties, the courts will take into consideration how long the pruchased item is reasonably expected to last.My daughter bought a Tosh laptop from Morgans with built-in wifi in summer '06, but it has at least twice failed due to an interrupt clash on boot-up between the wifi card and something else. The first time they repaired it under the 12 month warranty, then the second time the repaired unit failed they tried to fob her off with "Oh, our custom is to only cover warranty repairs for six( one guy said three) months" - but they had nothing in writing on the invoices or up in the shop.
Not a good idea to p*ss off SWMBO Junior. She dug out a shed load of legal bumph, went into the New Oxford St shop with a letter stating what she may do if they did not fulfil their legal obligations, and allowed her voice to calmy but firmly ascend the volume levels to make sure other customers knew what was going on.
I told her to ask for the problem card to be removed and an external USB wifi card be substituted as the Tosh assembly was fundamentally flawed. This would save them money and get her Tosh back in business without needing reloading the HD and losing all her data. Considering that she was letting them off the hook cheaply, I was unimpressed by the fact that they would not give her a £17 retail unit, but lied and said they were out of stock ( too bad someone came in and bought one before she left the shop) and gave her a cheaper unit instead.
Oh yes, and while I'm on about Morgans, I bought a TomTom One off them in April that was supposed to come with an up to date set of maps and speed camera locations, but it had been pre-registered and therefore will not download the latest as sold maps. As I am 450 miles away they have got away with several arguments down the phone to date on that one.
So - don't let Comet off the hook, threaten them with a small claims court action for damages - my daughter may be able to supply suitable words if you want.
And avoid Morgans while you're at it.