Sorry to drag this old subject up again folks, but as you will probably notice I’ve been off the forum for some time.

WHY? PC World and their absolutely crap after sales service.

This will be a record-length post.

Now before any of you PC World fans start jumping to their defence, read this lot. It is all true and it has happened to me, or the wife. Let me point out that we got an extended warranty when we bought this heap of junk in May 2001.

It is a Packard Bell, (OK, so I deserve a slap round the head for that mistake) running Windows ME, (another slap?) which ran OK for about the first year. We did notice that the picture was dark on some games, but were informed by a PC World engineer on its first health-check that this was something to do with our graphics card not being 100% compatible with some games. REMEMBER THIS FOR LATER!!

About two years ago it started crashing after about 45 minutes of being used and wouldn’t start up again for about 1 hour, and this was shortly after a health-check. We phoned the service line, which is a joke in itself.

(THIS QUOTE FROM AN EARLIER THREAD) ----

“You contact them by Email with a problem, and their response is to give you a phone number to ring. You ring the number and you get five minutes of pressing buttons till you're where you want to be, then you're on hold for a further 10 minutes. Then you either get given another number to ring, or they talk you through the problem on the phone for another 20-30 minutes. THEN they decide you need an engineer out, cos it can't be sorted over the phone. THEN an engineer calls, fixes it (?) and two weeks later you're on the phone again.

PLUS, if on your first phonecall they deem it to be a software fault, instead of directing your call they give you a different number to ring and you have to go through it all again.

It is costing a small fortune, and this is on top of what I paid for the extended warranty”

----- so, after a very expensive phone-call it was decided an engineer would come out. He just blasted dust out of the system with compressed air. Now, this engineer was switched on! He noticed that the picture was dark and told us that the monitor was faulty and made arrangements to have it replaced. The new monitor came, the bloke delivering it spent ten minutes trying to connect our old speakers to it not realising that the speakers were integral (I had to point this out!), and hey presto, no more dark pictures!!!! It WASN’T the graphics, which means it was faulty when purchased and the engineer we asked about the dark picture at the outset was talking crap!

Weeks later the CD/R packed up. It was due it’s health-check so we mentioned this fault when we dropped it off, and asked them to see why it wouldn’t play some games which have been played on other computers with same setup. “Don’t worry, we’ll look into it for you.” they said.

We collected it and were told that the CD/R problem would need an engineer’s visit. (Another sodding phonecall) WTF? The bloody thing has just been in their hands! As for the games? “We’ve installed them and they work fine.”

“Will we be able to play them when we get home?” I asked.

“No problem,” was the reply.

We took it home, set it up and guess what! Same error message. The games wouldn’t play. FLANNEL, OR WHAT? We also noticed that the Q & R drives had been swapped round.

Engineer came out to replace CD/R. He said that the two drives shouldn’t even have been touched during a health check, never mind swapped round. It wasn’t till weeks later when we tried to copy files to CD that we realised we neede software to install the programme. He’d forgot to leave it.

About a week later, the same problem of overheating, and not restarting for an hour, started happening again (another half hour phone call) and someone came out and replaced the fan. He gave us the software for the CD/R.

A couple of weeks ago, guess what, crashing and refusing to restart AGAIN. Decided to take it to the Rotherham branch, expressed our dissatisfaction and left it to be fixed after asking them to see why their engineers can install and play certain games, but we can’t.

Phoned them (usual 10 – 15 minute pantomime) a week later to see if it was ready.

They said, “We’ve fixed most problems and the games run OK, in fact I’ve been playing them for the last hour and there’s been no problem, but it’s not quite ready yet. We’ll ring you later today.”

An hour or so later they rang us and said, “ It’s fixed, but it won’t play the games because our processor is too slow.”

We collected it and were told by the engineer at the desk that everything was running OK and the games were installed and playable. When we told him that the engineer we’d spoken to on the phone had told us that our processor was too slow he replied, “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve been playing it for the last hour and it’s fine.”

“Will it play when we get it home?” I asked.

He replied, “Of course it will, I’ve been on it for an hour.”

Once again, the game DIDN’T play and the same error message came up. (So why the blatant lies on two occasions?) Not only this, but the computer crashed within 30 minutes and wouldn’t start up again (AGAIN !!!!) Also, the bloody DVD drive wouldn’t work. It worked OK before it went in!!!

Yet another sodding phone call. “It sounds like it could be something to do with the processor or motherboard. Looking at our computer readout of your calls to us, it appears to be more serious than a cooling fault. We’ll send an engineer who’ll bring all the parts. It’ll be a virtual rebuild.”

“At last,” we thought, “PC World have woken up.”

NO CHANCE !!!!

The engineer turned up with no parts! He WAS going to bring a mother board, ‘But the one he was given had burned out !’ BURNED OUT?!!! WTF? Was it second hand!!!!?

He did a quick diagnostic on the useless DVD and said it was incompatible with our computer. We’ve had it for nearly 4 years and it’s worked OK till the last time PC World had their hands on it. Why incompatible now?

Four days later he returned and replaced the motherboard and the DVD. Guess what? The new DVD is faulty!!! He’ll be back on Monday with another one.

In the meantime we thought we’d reboot it to freshen it up and reinstall our software. NO CHANCE!! Once the comp has read the boot floppy it asks us to enter the System serial number. What system serial number? Never needed this before! So we’re now running a crap computer, incorrectly rebooted from when it kept crashing, and no way of rebooting it till Monday when the engineer calls again.

If feel this saga will continue. We won’t be taking advantage of the next free health-check, that’s for sure. Whenever PC World get their hands on it, it comes back knackered!

I’ve missed out a lot of what I was going to write. God knows what our outlay would have been if we hadn’t got extended warranty. The phone calls alone (more than mentioned here) have cost a fortune.

So, PC World. Honest? No!, Capable? No!, Commited to the customer? No, not once they’ve got your money! That’s my opinion from my experiences.

Having read this, are there any other PC World customers out there with similar tales to tell? If you’re not registered on the forum, get registered and tell us your horror stories.



:mad: :rant:


POST ON WRONG THREAD. AWAITING REMOVAL TO GEN. SHEFF. CHAT.

Mod: I've moved it, but to be honest I haven't read any of it - it's so bloomin' long. Hope there's nothing rude in it :D

what you should have done is took it to a proper pc repair place and then sent the bill to pc world just a thought

btw i run windows me on a packard bell and have no probs with it and its about 6 years old got it from currys at heeley

Originally posted by craigmason
what you should have done is took it to a proper pc repair place and then sent the bill to pc world just a thought



the problem with this, if coverplan don't authorise it, it may invalidate the cover, and also they may not pay for the bill!!

now markham, i understand your frustrations,

and if you are still having bad luck with your agreement with coverplan, send me a pm and i will see what i can do regards this!!

if it really does have a bad repair history, they would write it off due to that and issue vouchers for a replacement item

Thanks for that Robbie :thumbsup:

We're expecting an 'engineer' tomorrow (Monday) to replace the useless DVD drive they gave us on Thursday, and hopefully to sort out the reboot problem.

When that's done, and it's rebooted and we can put our software back on, IE - new graphics card (ours), CD writer/copier and a few games which I hope can be done when Iget home from work, I'll see how it goes. My fingers are crossed, but I won't hold my breath.

By the way, having someone else fix it WOULD invalidate the warranty as you point out.

You might say that PC World have me by the goolies!

I'll let you know tomorrow Robbie

Thanks :thumbsup:

Originally posted by markham


By the way, having someone else fix it WOULD invalidate the warranty as you point out.



this is not always the case,

as it does state on your agreement,
"sometimes we may ask you to pay for the repair by an authorised engineer and reclaim it back"

not an exact thing but it will say that or there abouts

and what it means by authorised, is somebody not dodgy!!

ANOTHER way to get round this, lol

is if your going abroad, tkae it with you, and get it repaired across there, as there are no technicians over there from PCW they would have to authorise repair

As my faith in PC World is nonexistent at this moment, I take anything they say, either in writing or verbal with a pinch of salt.

I even have a work sheet from the last but one health-check which states that the Simpsons Hit & Run game has been installed successfully and been played by the engineer. It won't play, and never has, and we have been told over the phone that our processor is too slow for that game and that's why it WON'T and SHOULDN'T work.

Not being a computer buff myself I don't know what the problems are, so I obviously don't know how to fix them. If PC World don't know what the problems are, surely logic dictates that they replace any parts which could possibly cause the problems, even if it involves a partial rebuild. Had they done that the problems would have been sorted by now and this thread wouldn't exist.

After all, the effort wouldn't be waste as the parts they remove could be tested and if they're in good order used again on another repair job. They do obviously use salvaged/used parts as repair replacements!

Maybe they don't deal in logic:mad:

well let me know fella

And it continues!!

Have just found the 12 digit serial number that it asks for when the reboot floppy is inserted.

'Great!' thought I, 'I can now reboot, freshen up the system and reinstall some software to see if any faults (new or old) occur prior to the engineer's visit tomorrow.' As recommended by him on his last visit!!

Wrong!!!:mad:

Inserted boot floppy:thumbsup: Typed in serial number:clap: Asked to insert Master CD no.1, so inserted it in R drive, pressed 'O' for OK,:gag: Asked AGAIN to insert Master CD no.1, reinserted it, pressed 'O' for OK, same request!!!:rant: Guess what, the bloody thing isn't reading/recognising the Master CDs:loopy:

Does the drive work? Yes, because I've just installed my CD copying software successfully using it!

So the engineer will arrive tomorrow expecting a rebooted PC, and only having to fit a new DVD drive.

Wonder what flannel we'll get!

Am I completely pee'd off? That's an understatement!!!!

At this point I think the question you need to ask yourself is this...

Would it be better to say "sc*w the warranty cover" and get someone to take a look at all the problems and give you a no BS answer that will most likely be something that costs a couple of hundred pounds.. BUT also results in your blood pressure dropping a few million pounds PSI :)

Of course I'm biased, looking to drum up business, :D but in all honesty, having seen more than a few bald people (ie: lost all their hair) in your position I suspect plan Z might be better ;)

I'm fairly certain you can give them a deadline.
If you were to say, on the phone, I'm giving you one week to have this pc totally up to spec and working everytime and in its original condition. If you are unable to do this I will regard it as in violation of the agreement when I bought the pc and may have to terminate our agreement for a full refund (giving you the option to purchase elsewhere).
Now - I think by giving them a reasonable amount of time to solve the problem gives you a legal stronghold, issuing a dissatisfaction warning expresses your intention and I would imagine that if your pc is not doing what it was designed for (under consumer law) they are obliged to give you a full refund or replacement and furthermore, if a replacement is unsatisfactory you have the right to demand a refund in order to terminate dealings with the company.
One trick they tried with someone I know was a similar story to yours - declarations of being fixed, having used the equipment just fine etc but once home it didn't work. After 3 trips they finally agreed it was a faulty piece of hardware and offered to give the money back minus £10 so that they could fix the item and put it back for sale at a reduced rate without losing money. Meaning my friend would have paid for the privelige of owning a faulty item for 2 weeks.
She kicked up an enormous fuss and asked for the manager and went on about her absolute disgust. They gave her a full refund - which she spent elesewhere!
Isn't there a new government helpline about consumer rights? You could give it a shot.

So THAT'S why I'm soddin' bald!!:o

Let me see what tomorrow's 'dur, it's bust I fink' visit reveals Martin before I decide.

I think I can predict, "Looks like a ?????? fault mate, I'll arrange for an engineer to come out and have a look:heyhey: "

Notice the 'Have a look', as opposed to 'Fix it'.!

Thanks Zebra for the info :thumbsup:

If it isn't working 100% as per spec tomorrow night including ALL the games that have been played by us in the past I will take the road you recommend.

Watch this space.

zebra, the problem with your theory is, he has signed a contract thats states if any SINGLE repair takes longer than 6 weeks to repair the machine will be replaced!!

a full refund would not be given, if he wanted to cancel the contract he would lose all monies owed!

if while on about consumer right you are talking about "sales of goods act"

yes you could go down this road, but it would not be with his extended warrant, as they are abiding by there T&C's on this,


in that you are covered for UNLIMITED REPAIRS





now markham, if there is further faults, id nip this in the bud and contact 0870 901 3000 to tell them

open 24/7

I understand your point but any company is obliged to p[rovide a service to a certain standard - which they clearly aren't. BY checking all the fine details of a contract you can invariably find a loophole.
Unlimited repairs is fine, I understand, but if the pc spends more time at the shop than at home it is not fulfilled its purpose. If most of the time at home it is broken, still not fulfilling purpose.
Dealines with companies to sort things out are legal and wil normally allow the person signing the contract to declare the original contract null and void but it must be a reasonable length of time.
Ideally, these tactics should be done by letter as you have a legal backing then. A letter could be delivered in person and receive a written receipt for your intentions. If they accept and do not alter anything or contact you (within a given time) to discuss it you can normally say that they had totally accepted your plan.
it's best to have a chat with the manager (who will most likely want you off his or her back and ask them about the clauses as you make equiries.
Ie:
You: If I give you a deadline to complete the work and you don't do it Im in a position to have a refund aren't I?
Manager: Waffle blufff blah blah
You: But if the product you sell me doesn't do what it was intended isn't that a legal issue?
Manager: Waffle yak
You: Can you understand that this is causing me problems and I feel that PC world is not doing what it should? As the manager aren't you ina position to sort this out?
That will give you an idea of how you can get round the manager if at all.
I've returned goods to shops in M'Hell who state a no refund policy as goods did not suit purpose - and received a refund. I've also had unwanted books from bookclubs and refused to pay for them by reminding them I had cancelled my membership and since I didn't want to pay for postage they had to collect them by 2 weeks from letter date or I would regard them as a gift. A stray cat broke my cat flap ( which shouldn't be possible since its lockaable and the cat ripped it off and got out) even after the warranty ran out I got an exchange from a well known catalogue store.
The law is on the side of the consumer but you just have to find the bit that applies to you.
You do have to be careful not to trip yourself up but even PC World will get sick of a persistant whinger, especially one who has sought legal advice or who seems armed with all the required info. Unlimited repairs does not mean perpetual repairs, extended warranty should not mean extended problems and since the shop are causing a lot of the problems they can back out if you give them the option.
If you never try the option of a refund or replacement you will never get one - worth a shot though!

P.S two other thoughts - you could take a log of everything which has happened so far and ask if they deem it reasonable.
Also, take a tape recorder and say you want to record their replies as you are worried about your consumer rights and a friend has offered to listen to the tapes if anything goes wrong again.
If they agree to anything you want or like - get it in witing straight away.
Ask direct questions about what would they do in your situation and insist on an answer.
Go in as often as you can until you reach a situation you are happy with - getting sick of you can achieve a lot sometimes.
Repeat yourself (this is a good one) they will look at you gone out but it works sometimes to keep repeating your ideal until they either do it or come close.
Ask for your extended warranty to be refunded and have it repaired elsewhere, I know someone who builds my pcs from scratch every 3 yrs or so to cater for upgrades and changing needs, only trouble I have is what I introduce to the pc and Im sure there's plenty more ppl who can help more effectively than pc world.
I'll shut up now - I have a bee in my bonnet about consumer issues and Im rarely beaten cos it niggles me so much! :-D

Markham,, when I saw the title of your thread I knew before I read it that it was going to be about PC World.
Wonder why they popped into my head.
Actually I could have read your thread without actually reading it as its the same old story with them and I vowed never to buy a PC from them ever again.
When I bought my sons laptop recently I went streight to Dell direct.
You live local to me and I know someone in our area who repairs them, My mate lives next door to him and always goes there for advice and thats where I will go if I need attention.
Pm me if you would like his cradentials.

Originally posted by Robbie_Lovin


yes you could go down this road, but it would not be with his extended warrant, as they are abiding by there T&C's on this,


in that you are covered for UNLIMITED REPAIRS





now markham, if there is further faults, id nip this in the bud and contact 0870 901 3000 to tell them

open 24/7

Thanks to all for advice and support. It's unbelievable.

Firstly I'll reply to Robbie. Thanks for advice, but the phone number you quote is the same number we have used to report these faults. The same number that costs a fortune and the same number that dispatches the 'pseudo-engineers' out. In other words it's of no use to anyone. In fact I suspect it's Jeremy Beadle on the other end!!

Zebra, your posting is very informative. The unlimited repairs point is the bugbear. Unlimited repairs to the same fault over a period of over a year does not constitute a 'repair'. The fault reoccurs, then the fault was NEVER repaired in the first place. Basically, in spite of several attempts by engineers to trace and fix the problem, nobody has been able to categorically state what the problem is, nor take responsibility for sorting it.

Cycleracer, thanks for offer of help, but first I'll take this pantomime to the limit with the warranty issue. Mainly because PC World took my money, and by getting someone else to repair it A) costs me money which I shouldn't have to pay, B) lets them off the hook, and C) the more they cock this up, the more ammo I have against them.

My gripe isn't just that the product, responses and workmanship/professionalism is crap, but because this junk is needed in our house for the following :- Son at college needs to do coursework and research, son taking GCSEs early so needs to use it, youngest son needs it to do basic homework and I am doing a course to further my career path and need word processor. So far, in the past 12 months, every time any of us have tried to do any of this work it has been lost due to the '30 minutes then crash' syndrome. We're ALL behind with our work!. That's mainly why I'm fuming. I didn't pay good money (plus extra) to accept something that doesn't remotely resemble the advertised article when bought.

A good analagy would be to buy a car with wheels that don't turn, and when the mechanic turns out he keeps fitting new wiper blade!!:loopy:

Interesting thought! (I have them sometimes)

I wonder if customer calls to PC World and the Call centre are recorded? Now that would be interesting material.:heyhey:

Part 36.

Just got back from having a cuppa, 10 minutes, and the screen saver had 'frozen'. Had to switch off and restart! That's a new one!!
:help:

some calls are recorded in PCworld, not all,
and they would only be used for training!!

zebra, you state about managers of PCW etc, but what you fail to see is, it is out of there hands!! it is only because the product (in this case pc performance) was sold by them, THATS WHERE IT ENDS

YES you can take it in to PCW for repairs, and sometimes yes it may be repaired in store......

ok, here's what the situation is markham,

you have a PC, regardless what happens, you are covered for unlimited repairs, it states if any single repair takes longer than 6 weeks to repair, your item will be replaced, now in a case of PC's it would be vouchers issued to you, to get a replacement!
BUT only if it did take longer than 6 weeks!

the number i gave you previously, 90% of the time has excellent customer service, and i know you have been messed about, so that is a very sad case to be honest!!!

NOW, if your machine is deemed "fixed" and then returned to you, and the fault is still occuring, you need to report it back with in 3 working days, it will then carry on as the same 6 weeks!!

if this is not done, it will be classed as a new job!

now in the case of persistent repairs, i would not try and get a product written off until it got to about 5 repairs actioned on it, and the repair bills would have to be quite high, which generally is not the case!!

i do see what your saying zebra, i get it a lot of the time at work, by people insisting they should have the products replaced, have a refund or engineer out next day etc, but i can safely say that the pestering does not make us want to do it any more so, we have to see sense in our job, and we will look in too each case on its own merits and go from there,

now from what markham has said, personally i would say this product needs to be written off, BUT (and im not saying anyting you have mentioned to be false markham) this may not be the full case, and it coould be customer mis-use, it could also be a small bug, or all this could have been going on for a number of years and not just the last few months!!

im not saying your false in everything you say ebra, but the customer has a contractual agreement with Coverplan,
and very rarely would coverplan out step its agreement, if they did and it was picked up on, it would be rectified by one of the advisors!!!



but on a further note, if only you had purchased this from curry's or dixons, cause i probably would have ended up with your call by now, as im on a resolve team!!! that only does them 2 brands, but im always willing to do a friend a favour

Originally posted by Robbie_Lovin


ok, here's what the situation is markham,

you have a PC, regardless what happens, you are covered for unlimited repairs, it states if any single repair takes longer than 6 weeks to repair, your item will be replaced, now in a case of PC's it would be vouchers issued to you, to get a replacement!
BUT only if it did take longer than 6 weeks!



NOW, if your machine is deemed "fixed" and then returned to you, and the fault is still occuring, you need to report it back with in 3 working days, it will then carry on as the same 6 weeks!!

if this is not done, it will be classed as a new job!



Thanks for that Robbie.

Am I to understand then, that as the problem keeps reoccuring over a period of some months and has not been sorted inspite of various attempts, it is an ongoing problem and can be classed as a single repair. IE Not repaired correctly since first reported a year or so ago?

Originally posted by markham
Thanks for that Robbie.

Am I to understand then, that as the problem keeps reoccuring over a period of some months and has not been sorted inspite of various attempts, it is an ongoing problem and can be classed as a single repair. IE Not repaired correctly since first reported a year or so ago?


if you have reported it back with in 3 working days it is yes

I'll do some sums to work out the time scales. Cheers!!

Can't believe this. I'm getting more help from Currys/Dixons staff than the place I bought it.

Thanks folks!!

Originally posted by markham
I'll do some sums to work out the time scales. Cheers!!

Can't believe this. I'm getting more help from Currys/Dixons staff than the place I bought it.

Thanks folks!!

i dont work for currys/dixons, im a specialist so to speak on there products!!!

Used to deal with PCW and link too though!!

the 6 weeks rule, would have to be an up to date thing by the way, as you cant go back on, ie it would have to be this incident the 6 weeks started!!!

you could try ringing pc service call who will go through the dates with you

Have just finished reading through the service agreement and can find no reference to ringing them within 3 days.

However, I am awaiting September's phone bill to list calls made.

Concerning this 3 day business.....how can you fulfill this criterior if the same fault doesn't materialise within 3 days? Say, for instance, you don't hit the right button or carry out the actions that trigger the fault? Towards the end of September for example my mother-in-law died. For two days before this my wife was nursing her and the computer hardly got touched, two or three days afterwards nobody touched it cos nobody was in the mood. When we started using it...it crashed. Hey presto, longer than 3 days. Still the same fault as weeks earlier when they'd supposedly fixed it.

nah it doesn't mention that part in T&C's

but it is what is seen as a "lengthy" enough time to report a fault back, as regards personal situations, it would be to the discretion of the engineers!!

Haa! Making the rules up as they go along I see!!:suspect:

On the subject of recorded calls, what happens if you state at the start of the call that you do not wish to be recorded? I belive you have a right telephone calls not to be monitored, therefore how do callcentre staff turn off this facility (and not by putting down the phone!)?

Don't know, but if the machinery used to record calls was bought at PC World, it probably don't work anyway!:)

OK, Robbie, I see your view and I understand you have a level of expertise in the area. Bugging people works for me, as does a little legal wrangling having checked the policies.
I'm reciting what I have personally made use of in my personal experience - the things which have worked for me. I can't think of a time I've totally failed. I absolutely hate being ripped off as a consumer.
I reckon between all these peoples opinion you will have a resolution Markham, and thumbs up for the monumental amount of support.
Another story which I am reminded of was a hire car from a company on Queens Rd, they refunded my deposit on return of the vehicle, having thoroughly checked it and I went away happy. Then rec'd a call an hour later telling me they had taken £90.00 off the visa card I used to pay for the hire.
This was apparently to pay for a new tyre since there was 'allegedly' a nail in it when I returned it.
I was livid.
My partner made various calls to check tyre prices etc and discussed things with the hire company as I was at work and when I got home all hell broke loose. The contract stated that'acts of god' and reasonable wear and tear were issues which could be charged for depending on the result.
My argument was:
Do you expect me to sweep the road in front of me before I drive - thereby not needing to hire a vehicle after all?
Was the nail in your parking lot?
It is illegal to take money from a persons card after the transaction is complete, did they think they were right?
How can you prove that no one else has moved the car since I left it?
How can you be sure that the nail was not there in the first place?

This led to a conversation where the chap on the phone was perplexed and he swore that the car would never have left the yard with a nail in the tyre. I pointed out that no one rolled the car forward to check the parts of the tyres which were originally touching the tarmac while the car was parked. Therefore they could not be sure.
The chap refunded the money on my card and apologised for the inconvenience, adding that he hoped I would feel I could use the company again. Very nice but not likely.
They took me for gullible but made a mistake.

Ultimately, with some thought about if the company are doing what they promised and what they agreed, a billion loopholes can be found.
It might not work but considering what has already happened, it cannot possibly hurt.
Good luck!

Thanks Zebra. And you're right, the support has been magnificent.

THANKS EVERYONE :thumbsup:

I think I might push the 'report within 3 day' business pointed out by Robbie. As it doesn't state this in the T&C, then I don't see how they can enforce it. If they are prepared to follow the agreement to the letter for their gain, then so am I for my gain!

And of course, they never did fix the problem after about four attempts, when the T&C states, "We will fix the problem, or exchange the goods."

Thanks again everyone :thumbsup:

Well the engineer came, put in the 'new' DVD drive,............ it was broken!!!!!! That's two in four days.:gag:

He'll be back on Wednesday with another DVD!!!!!!

He then downloaded updates to enable the pc to work better. Off he went.......... It now crashes/freezes again:gag:

I got home from work, went ballistic, rang the number he had called on our phone on LNR and was told they don't discuss cases with customers. WTF??? Gave him a gob full!!!

Phoned Customer Service, asked to speak to manager/someone who knew what they were doing but was told they don't have a number for him. (nice helpful, sympathetic lass though) but was put through to engineers. Helpful/sympathetic bloke listened to my gripes and has arranged for CHIEF engineer to call on Wednesday with all the bits (CPU, motherboard etc).

"This is going on for too long and must be sorted now. That's why the CHIEF engineer is coming."

Is this the end????



:suspect: :suspect:

By the way, the call service people are Mastercare!! Now there's a misnomer if ever there was one.

Well, I'm back everybody.

Chief engineer came......with motherboard and DVD only!!!!!

DVD now works okay, but new mother board is faulty......no sounds!!!!!......AND games still freeze or fail to load.

Got home from work on Wednesday expecting everything to work....stupid of me really!!! Went mad, phoned them, engineer suddenly realised that us having disk drives (Q & R) might be the fault. During one and a half hour phone call he talked me through getting rid of the partition then left me to reboot. It rebooted faster than it has for months! All periferals installed without a hitch so I thought, 'Well done son, it's fixed.'

NO SOUND, NO GAMES WILL RUN. They'll install, but not run.

Rebooted three times since last engineer's visit but to no avail.

Just phoned them and once again promised an engineer on Tuesday 'with all the bits'......NEW motherboard, memory, CPU etc.

Have told bloke on phone to note that if it's not 100% as per when bought when I get home from work, the legal wheels will start turning. THEY breached the contract weeks ago!!

By the way, nobody who we have spoken to these past months knows how to contact management!!!! Funny, eh?

Believe it or not, the software for the new CD/R they fitted weeks ago is not compatible so they are sending something different. They think it might be THAT causing the problems.

Basically, Mastercare's engineers don't have a clue about computer fixing. Maybe they train them to fix irons only.

Fingers crossed.:rant: :loopy:

I think your advice is spot on, Zebra. In addition, I think that asking for the name of who ever you are dealing with, then asking for the address of their head office, scares people to death - let them think you are going to complain about them specifically. And if you get no satisfaction, DO contact their head office threatening to contact the relevant ombudsman (find out WHO they are first) and the press. And tell them that you've already posted a long complaint about their company on a forum that's read by hundreds (thousands??).

Works for me.

The address we have managed to prize out of them is a PO box number. Surprise, surprise!!

The problem with Mastercare is that you can never get to talk to anyone in authority. You just can't get past the call centre people.

It is a clear fact that Mastercare don't give a monkey's chuff about customers. My advice to everyone is that if you are buying electrical goods, ask who provides aftercare service first, then if they say Mastercare, buy it somewhere else. And as PC World use Mastercare (and THEY can't work out the fault either) stay clear of both!

Martin_s, I haven't forgotten your offer and may call upon your services soon.:thumbsup:

Well they've lost at least one customer, if it makes ya feel better?!

Forgive me if someone has already posted this (I've checked but it's a lot to go through....), but this looks like it might be of interest....?

http://www.mastercare.org.uk/

And this:

link

Thanks for that BoroughGal.

I feel a lot better now.....NOT!!:gag:

It just goes to show that Mastercare, AND the retailers who use them are criminally dishonest. They offered me, or at least a lass on the phone did, £20 for compensation. I politely told her to stuff it.

Let's hope that everyone, nationwide, who reads this forum will think twice before buying from any store in the Mastercare 'cartel'. In fact, if they type MASTERCARE into their search engine it's full of horror stories.

I will be Emailing the prats who run Mastercare and directing them to this site. That's if the thieving ******** can read of course.:suspect:

I used to work for PCServiceCall - basically the ******* you have had to ring. They are indeed useless and have no intention of fixing your problem - they just want to keep call length averages as low as possible and book as few engineers as possible - that's why I left. Don't let them give you any 3 day rule crap - you reported the fault when it happened and it's never been rectified - they can't change the law. Personally I'd write to the MD or go to the Citizens Advice Bureau - threatening legal action always used to work for customers when I was there.

Hi fnkysknky.

As far as the '3 day rule' is concerned, it never existed in my eyes.

I have informed the bloke who took today's call that I would be proceeding with legal action if I'm not happy after work on Tuesday. He noted it, to be passed on. They'll also be getting the phone bills aswell.

Just out of interest, did you have access to management contact numbers, for passing to customers, when you worked there?

Originally posted by markham
I'll do some sums to work out the time scales. Cheers!!

Can't believe this. I'm getting more help from Currys/Dixons staff than the place I bought it.

Thanks folks!!

Currys/Dixons/Pc World/The Link - same people (DSG Group)

Alex

Thing is - i have them bringing a mo-bo on Wednesday as PB 1 blew up at 11 last night - and yes I did shut down before "fiddling" PC W man claims it's a short corcuit - and then said "now have you checked the power cord is fully in..." "... yes and tried two PSUs too" "Oh, I'll get the guy to come around with a new mobo" I am now on one of my other machines - with 128MB RAM so so so so so so slow (can't even put my 512 in from the blown machine) as this is 168 pins , the other is 186!

Alex

Thanks for that. Found this out a few postings back.

Robbie doesn't actually work 'for' any of the above, so it was a misunderstanding on my part.

Cheers for posting :thumbsup:

PS Good luck with service call :rolleyes:

Nope they wouldn't give them to us.

I once got a lecture for handing out the number for Customer Services as supposedly we weren't supposed to (never told me that...) - according to my manager customers could only contact Customer Services in writing - what sort of policy is that for a company of it's size..

Robbie probably works for CCM who are the contractor who run the DSG call centre (although it could have changed since I was there).

Originally posted by markham
Thanks for that. Found this out a few postings back.

Robbie doesn't actually work 'for' any of the above, so it was a misunderstanding on my part.

Cheers for posting :thumbsup:

PS Good luck with service call :rolleyes:

Cheers, think I'll need it with Wednesday's adventures - hope it's a new component.

Well, when I rang them Surjit didn't seem too bad -but he did say "we'll get an engineer round to LOOK at it" "So, I presume he'll bering a mobo around with him to repair" "Oooh... er.... oh yes oh yes" I also had the cheek to ask if he had any Sp2 CDs going - as one of this machine (but the other HDD that is uauslly in it) doesen't have it in going around, "Oh yes, i'll get the engineer to bring one with him" "excellent". But on the whole their health-check involves them putting a CD in, reading it and doing what the screen tells them to.

Alex

Just discovered another howler in the service agreement.

"Our engineer will call the next day if you call us before 10am".

So why the bloody hell does it take 3 - 5 days if you ring AFTER 10am. Surely 3pm Monday is before 10am Tuesday so the engineer should be here Wednesday. Yes!!?:loopy:

Originally posted by amhudson119


Well, when I rang them Surjit didn't seem too bad -
Alex

Having had a go at the company, I must point out that the engineers we have dealt with have on the whole been friendly and apologetic. Some have even admitted that the company is 'crap' or 'useless'. (Their words, not mine)

One bloke called Matthew at the call centre, the one who talked me through the partition problem, was wonderful. He even reminded me how long we had been on the phone and apologised.

I suppose they have to follow company policy. Poor buggers!

When you spend hundreds on an extended warranty, do they still make you phone a premium number?

It's a 0870 number, but you can be on for hours. Software faults are premium rate.

Either way, it takes no less than 10 minutes to get to the person you want. Sometimes even 20 minutes!!! Had to go through this process just to ring PC World at Meadowhall. There's no direct line to any of their shops.:suspect:

Originally posted by markham
It's a 0870 number, but you can be on for hours. Software faults are premium rate.

Either way, it takes no less than 10 minutes to get to the person you want. Sometimes even 20 minutes!!! Had to go through this process just to ring PC World at Meadowhall. There's no direct line to any of their shops.:suspect:

0870 numbers are charged @ the national rate (8p, 4p or 2p per min).

You'd think that they would have a 0800 number for extended warranty customers?

Judging by the sheer disregard for their customers, I'd say the national rate number is designed to put people off ringing them.

Crafty gits!

At 8p per min, that makes the call I made the other night £7.20. It costs 80p (at least) just to get to where you want to be.

God knows how much we've spent so far!

Originally posted by markham
Martin_s, I haven't forgotten your offer and may call upon your services soon.:thumbsup:
No problem... If you apply soon I can give you a free rhino virus sample to take with you... totally gratis... that's right... my virus protection sucks*... :D

This thread really is turning into one of those soap opera bad comedy storylines though sadly...




*before someone quotes me out of context.. that's not computer viruses peeps ;)

Agreed. Even Monty Python couldn't better this!!

PC World = Python's Comedy World.:hihi:

The longer this thread runs, the more people will read it and get the message.:thumbsup: :heyhey:

When I started this thread I expected to be bombarded with comments from people who were satisfied with PC World.

If you are, and you want to defend them, please feel free!

If you're reading this but not a forum member, then register and put your two-penn'orth in.

Surely someone out there must be happy with them! If not, how come they're still in business?

sadly markham, the call centre people are the best to speak to,

team leaders on a whole generally dont know about polices or what happens etc, they look after there teams,
MD's are there to look after company yes, but would not be that bothered about a complaint, unless of a very serious nature,
and when i say not bothered, i dont mean regards not caring!!
its just not there issue



how long has this been running continuos??
if you PM me your case number i will look in to the situation and see what i can do for you, i will give you a straight answer on where you stand etc!!!


this thread was started 2nd oct, and is now 10th oct, this takes it to a minimum of 8 days of the 42 they are allowed to actually repair the appliance!!!

Isn't there a 4th visit rule as well - on the 4th engineer visit it gets escalated or some tosh. Can't remember it was a while ago and I prefer to forget about ever working for such a pathetic company.

As for MD's - I've always found they are more than willing to help you out as they don't want the bad press - most don't even have a clue about how useless their companies can be until people start complaining to them...

Just thought I'd drag this old thread up to let you all know it's now sorted.:clap:

Replacement vouchers received today, and for a better machine.

There is justice and people who care out there. Thanks !!!!!

:thumbsup: :P :partyhat:

Excellent, good for you!

Want you shold have done from this whole matter is to call the customer service department in the first place.

instead you posted your life story on the service you recived from pc service call.

people that just moan to other about the problem your are having does not resolve the fact of the matter.

i my line of work we see many people blowing their top cos of bad service, instead of this you should have just contacted them and asked for help.

now you have your resolvement now.

why don't you just write to the customer service to let them know how ytou feel. how can any company change their service to the customer if you do not let them have feedback on your ordeal.

Originally posted by thepriest
why don't you just write to the customer service to let them know how ytou feel. how can any company change their service to the customer if you do not let them have feedback on your ordeal.

and let them know what??

they was well with in there rights to carry on fixing the appliance

Originally posted by thepriest
i my line of work we see many people blowing their top cos of bad service, instead of this you should have just contacted them and asked for help.

I do hope your username hasn't anything to do with your line of work. :)

I have visions of dead people visiting you in the middle of the night saying 'you said if we were good we'd go to heaven' and other complaints of bad service such as missing their mouths with the communion host or forgetting the lord's prayer. Oh, the possibilities are endless.

Originally posted by thepriest
Want you shold have done from this whole matter is to call the customer service department in the first place.

instead you posted your life story on the service you recived from pc service call.

people that just moan to other about the problem your are having does not resolve the fact of the matter.

i my line of work we see many people blowing their top cos of bad service, instead of this you should have just contacted them and asked for help.

now you have your resolvement now.

why don't you just write to the customer service to let them know how ytou feel. how can any company change their service to the customer if you do not let them have feedback on your ordeal.


a) Did contact customer service...several times....but directed through to engineers.

b) Bad service from a company of this size DESERVES bad publicity.

c) With the amount of people complaining about this bad service, this company must be blind or stupid to not be aware of the bad service they provide.

d) They pay their engineers, so they must be aware of what their engineers are doing in working time. Therefore they must be aware of the callouts.

e) I pay for a service, I EXPECT it to be good. A computer and extended warranty cost a lot!

Problem sorted now, so it's over.

Hi everyone:clap:

I'm back on with my brand, spanking new PC. Packard Bell nowhere to be seen:clap:

Windows XP, and NO extended warranty:thumbsup:

Boy, how they tried to sell it to us!!

Originally posted by markham
Hi everyone:clap:

I'm back on with my brand, spanking new PC. Packard Bell nowhere to be seen:clap:

Windows XP, and NO extended warranty:thumbsup:

Boy, how they tried to sell it to us!!

which one you get then im after a new computer so let us know what u got: as i could do with a good computer :D :D :D

Oy 'the priest' did you bypass the whole reason for the forum?
Markham was enabling himself to have a rant and rave, which everyone is entitled to, it helps us remain sane. In doing that he found he had support and offers of help, which any normal person would like.
Support is something which we gain from, Markham was given confidence in his role as the consumer and other opinions reinforced that this was normal but still below expected requirements for PC world.
Yes it might be a good thing to tell PC world but do you REALLY think it will make any difference whatsoever?
Oh, and while I'm annoyed with your post - moaning is a form of self counselling which stops vastly annoyed people going around and sticking guns to the heads of people like you!

Thanks Zebra:thumbsup:

Originally posted by Zebra
Oy 'the priest' did you bypass the whole reason for the forum?
Markham was enabling himself to have a rant and rave, which everyone is entitled to, it helps us remain sane. In doing that he found he had support and offers of help, which any normal person would like.
Support is something which we gain from, Markham was given confidence in his role as the consumer and other opinions reinforced that this was normal but still below expected requirements for PC world.
Yes it might be a good thing to tell PC world but do you REALLY think it will make any difference whatsoever?
Oh, and while I'm annoyed with your post - moaning is a form of self counselling which stops vastly annoyed people going around and sticking guns to the heads of people like you!

Are the confession boxes bullet proof?......walks away muttering...bluddie religion is cause most of the trouble in this world :roll:

Originally posted by Cycleracer
Markham,, when I saw the title of your thread I knew before I read it that it was going to be about PC World.

My immediate thoughts were of:
CSSD
CSSD Ltd
Computer Sales & Software Development
Computer Sales & Software Development Ltd (an unregistered limited company)
Software Development
Software Development Ltd
Computer Sales
Computer Sales Ltd


owned by a pair of charlatans who used to trade in or around Sheffield and environs. Just walking in to PC shops on the other side of the City, the proprietor could tell I was a customer of above outfit because I displayed all the signs of dissatisfied customers which saxon51 undoubtedly displayed after his trial by ordeal with PCW.

Originally posted by Zebra
I understand your point but any company is obliged to p[rovide a service to a certain standard - which they clearly aren't. BY checking all the fine details of a contract you can invariably find a loophole.
Unlimited repairs is fine, I understand, but if the pc spends more time at the shop than at home it is not fulfilled its purpose. If most of the time at home it is broken, still not fulfilling purpose.
Dealines with companies to sort things out are legal and wil normally allow the person signing the contract to declare the original contract null and void but it must be a reasonable length of time.
Ideally, these tactics should be done by letter as you have a legal backing then. A letter could be delivered in person and receive a written receipt for your intentions. If they accept and do not alter anything or contact you (within a given time) to discuss it you can normally say that they had totally accepted your plan.
it's best to have a chat with the manager (who will most likely want you off his or her back and ask them about the clauses as you make equiries.
Ie:
You: If I give you a deadline to complete the work and you don't do it Im in a position to have a refund aren't I?
Manager: Waffle blufff blah blah
You: But if the product you sell me doesn't do what it was intended isn't that a legal issue?
Manager: Waffle yak
You: Can you understand that this is causing me problems and I feel that PC world is not doing what it should? As the manager aren't you ina position to sort this out?
That will give you an idea of how you can get round the manager if at all.
I've returned goods to shops in M'Hell who state a no refund policy as goods did not suit purpose - and received a refund. I've also had unwanted books from bookclubs and refused to pay for them by reminding them I had cancelled my membership and since I didn't want to pay for postage they had to collect them by 2 weeks from letter date or I would regard them as a gift. A stray cat broke my cat flap ( which shouldn't be possible since its lockaable and the cat ripped it off and got out) even after the warranty ran out I got an exchange from a well known catalogue store.
The law is on the side of the consumer but you just have to find the bit that applies to you.
You do have to be careful not to trip yourself up but even PC World will get sick of a persistant whinger, especially one who has sought legal advice or who seems armed with all the required info. Unlimited repairs does not mean perpetual repairs, extended warranty should not mean extended problems and since the shop are causing a lot of the problems they can back out if you give them the option.
If you never try the option of a refund or replacement you will never get one - worth a shot though!

P.S two other thoughts - you could take a log of everything which has happened so far and ask if they deem it reasonable.
Also, take a tape recorder and say you want to record their replies as you are worried about your consumer rights and a friend has offered to listen to the tapes if anything goes wrong again.
If they agree to anything you want or like - get it in witing straight away.
Ask direct questions about what would they do in your situation and insist on an answer.
Go in as often as you can until you reach a situation you are happy with - getting sick of you can achieve a lot sometimes.
Repeat yourself (this is a good one) they will look at you gone out but it works sometimes to keep repeating your ideal until they either do it or come close.
Ask for your extended warranty to be refunded and have it repaired elsewhere, I know someone who builds my pcs from scratch every 3 yrs or so to cater for upgrades and changing needs, only trouble I have is what I introduce to the pc and Im sure there's plenty more ppl who can help more effectively than pc world.
I'll shut up now - I have a bee in my bonnet about consumer issues and Im rarely beaten cos it niggles me so much! :-D

Cor zebra did you write their script for em, it sounds just like my bunch of shysters formerly of CSSD et al before and after they went belly-up