I am urging anyone in this Forum NOT to purchase anything from Dixons this xmas.

After a six month battle with them and their loan shark hire purchase team Cetelm UK, I have been legally informed that despite Dixons delivering a TV that broke down, depsite them not issuing a replacement for 8 weeks and despite them being rude, unprofessional and unhelpful, I am still required to stump up £900 in interests payments because it is not down to them to "inform the customer when the free interest offer period ends on any good they sell"

Yes, 24 months after buying a tele from them, it is not down to them to issue a letter or reminder (which would have been difficult as they took down the wrong correspondence address in the first place) but it is down to the customer to remember and get in touch with them.

Its an absolute disgrace.

DO NOT SHOP THERE.

Another place i would recomend not buying anything from is reg vardeys on penistone road. I bought a car from them on HP in july and the salesman "forgot" to tell me that in addition to the first payment there would be a £170 admin fee. I complained until i was blue in the face and it got me nowhere. The service i recieved when the car kept breaking down was also shocking. It took them 3 months to sort out a knocking from my suspension and when i complained that it was holding 3,000 revs when out of gear and stationary they more or less called me a liar and then told me it was normal.
The moto of this story is stay well clear.

Originally posted by mikebayly
Yes, 24 months after buying a tele from them, it is not down to them to issue a letter or reminder (which would have been difficult as they took down the wrong correspondence address in the first place) but it is down to the customer to remember and get in touch with them.

I think you'll find this is fairly standard practice - it's how they make as much as possible from you even when using zero percent interest deals...

Never had any problems at Dixons in Meadowhall or Fargate! Always had excellent advice and great service.. Especially if anything goes wrong.. their repair people are there the next day to fix things usually!

Sounds like your beef is more with the finance company.

Originally posted by evildrneil
I think you'll find this is fairly standard practice - it's how they make as much as possible from you even when using zero percent interest deals...

your right & its been on watchdog.
it is for you to remember what u sign for not them. take some responsibility for your actions.

i had a similar deal, paid 3 weeks b4 the 6 months was up,absolutley perfect transaction.

Mikebayly,

Sorry I have no sympathy for you on this matter.

When you sign the deal it is up to you to pay the balance before the interest free period is up.

Sour grapes comes to mind.

I just baught a spanky new monitor from Dixons Fargate and i found them to be exeptionally helpfull...Mind you a cheeki smile does go a long way...;)

Agreed.

Im afraid if you dont fully read what your signing up to, your not doing yourself any favours. Though the comment about rudeness and them not replacing a faulty TV for 8 weeks is another matter and doesnt affect your main problem.

Originally posted by DiscoPaul
not replacing a faulty TV for 8 weeks is another matter and doesnt affect your main problem.

There must be a pretty valid reason why that happened... In my experience, Dixons/Curry's have excellent after-sales service for breakdowns.

The whole Dixons Stores Group (Dixons, Currys, PC World) has generally pathetic after sales support as well as inflated prices in the first place. That's my view as a customer and from working for them for 6 months.

If any one has a problem with purchases or credit companies, get clear and practical advice from Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or visit there web site at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
This includes problems with the motor trade.

I have recently had nasty experience with Dickos on Fargate.

Bought an MP3 player for 40 quid as a pressie.
A brand only they sell.

It bust after 4 months.

They wouldnt refund without a receipt.
Despite only them selling it grrrrr.

I went back with my credit card statement showing the 40 pounds.

They looked it up on their computer and couldnt find my card details thus told me I was trying to con them.

They did not have a satisfactory answer as to what exactly I had bought in their shop on that day for 40 quid, if it wasnt on the computer then I was lying seemed to be the official line.

They track every card used at the shop.
They denied my card had bought anything within a 3 month window despite me showing them the statement.

At this point I went crackers.

They were still not helpful.

I will never ever ever ever buy anything again from Dickos or any related company.

Thats ever :)

The ironic thing is I bought it from them as opposed toonline for the after sales - ha ha ha

Cheers

d

I worked for the company, they are as bad to work for, as they are with thier customers.. glad im out of there..

not bought anything since, thier cover plan was a rip off, now thier new thing is even worse, the Mastercare service is a joke, the people at PC world dont know what theyer talking about, thier PC's are cheap, the equipment they sell breaks too easy...


Explain... I could purchase an item from a dixons group plc store, and the SAME item from somewhere else, and the Dixons one always breaks o_0!!???!

Any ways.. I dont like them personally, never have, never will... go to branded shops, like., The sony shop, or the panasonic shop, theres enough of them around now :)

For electrical items I always use Comets at Retail World at Parkgate near Rotherham always found them polite and helpfull never pushing the good ol extended warranty plan.

A word of wisdom...NEVER EVER take an HP agreement from any store or car dealer....just put it on your own credit card...in the long run, you will be much better off...if you play your own credit card right you can get interest free credit. HP agreements are a waste of time and simply offer zero protection in case of faults. Credit card purchases must safer and subject to much more control and protection in case of dodgy goods, etc.

I have seen so many people STUNG by HP agreements it makes me ill....DONT DO IT!!! Interest free credit offers, dont believe it...there is ALWAYS hidden stuff that will catch up with you. Use your own credit cards, much easier, no paperwork, no cons, and you can get your money back easily in the case of faulty goods.

I bought a car from a garage 5 years ago and paid by credit card, despite the very tempting interest free credit HP plans the salesman was DESPERATE for me to sign. He was most reluctant to take a single credit card payment for the whole purchase price. Anyway the car, which was supplied with 1 years MOT, broke down after 1 day and the engine seized......the garage were most unhelpful and said it was outside their warranty (as if). Independant examination revealed the car was "significantly not as advertised and described"...Garage refused to refund, claiming engine seizure was not covered by their pathetic 3 month warranty, and denied that car was "significantly not as described"...I had the car towed back to them, dumped it on their forecourt with a large and rather rude notice about cowboy garages, called my credit card company and after a few more calls between us, they reversed the payment within 48 hours...IN FULL. The garage in question ceased trading a year later.......

now try doing THAT with a HP agreement, they will still be charging you interest 3 years later and sending all kinds of nasty letters, even if the car has since been crushed/written off.

Originally posted by ukdavvy
The ironic thing is I bought it from them as opposed toonline for the after sales - ha ha ha


So why didn't you dave the reciept? :confused:

unfortunately not everyone has a credit card with £8-10k spending limit.
get real please.

Originally posted by Andy
So why didn't you dave the reciept? :confused:

agree entirley - you have few consumer rights regardless of Watchdog if you cant produce a receipt. all retailers display a notice which states they will refund or replace with proof of a valid receipt.
why does everyone insist on blaming the retailer.

what about doing a list of shops to avoid in the run up to christmas so other people don't ripped off. And a list of shops that are recommended for there good after sales service that way the bad shops might start treating there customers better ?

Originally posted by Space
There must be a pretty valid reason why that happened... In my experience, Dixons/Curry's have excellent after-sales service for breakdowns.

I'm not a big fan of this chain of stores and I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth following poor after sales service getting a video recorder fixed.
I have to say I have a lot of sympathy for your poor after sales experience but as other posters have said you need to read the small print when you take a credit agreement, unscrupulous companies use every trick in the book to get you to part with your money and this is just one technique.

Why buy anything like that in shops anyway- far cheaper deals online :D

I had the exact same thing with B&Q. Luckily my mum had warned me that they might do that so I started paying it back earlier, but I was still peeved, and then, after my interest free period had ended, they set me up a new account that I didn't ask for - so I now have two accounts that I have to pay back - refuse to go there now. Especially since everything that we got from there in the first place is all broken and crap!

Originally posted by Micky
Mikebayly,

Sorry I have no sympathy for you on this matter.

When you sign the deal it is up to you to pay the balance before the interest free period is up.

Sour grapes comes to mind.

Hmm.

Interestingly, Both Dixons and cetelem changed their story on this about three times on the reminder issue. When we were sold the tele, we told by the dixons sales staff that we would be notified when the free credit period expired. Of course, I cant PROVE he said that. But either way, I am going to take his word, rather than ring their associate credit company on the spot and go through their policys with a fine tooth comb. Nobody does that FFS.

Cetelem then agreed with this about six months ago, only to backtrack and say "we sometimes do send reminders and sometimes dont. Either way we are not obliged to by the terms of the contract"

The only ray of light in all this was a very honest member of the cetelem team who said "we get this all the time. Dixons staff will say anything to get you to sign the contract"

So you are damn right its sour grapes, and rightly so.

I can't say I feel sorry for you. Why on EARTH would ANYBODY buy somehitng from Dixons? You should have known better.

Originally posted by craigmason
what about doing a list of shops to avoid in the run up to christmas so other people don't ripped off. And a list of shops that are recommended for there good after sales service that way the bad shops might start treating there customers better ?

i think it tends to be

a) "your" attitude to them
b)the ability of the staff..

my nephew has a complaint about shop/restaraunt etc he visits usually for bad service,lack of attention or food quality.
aftershopping in Trafford centre with him all weekend , i can honestly say that if i was a shop assistant i'd ignore the arrogant b'stard & if i worked in Macd's i'd def. spit on his Big Mac.
whereas 99.9% of the time i receive good if not excellent service.

i work at currys, if you get something on credit from currys you dont owe the money to currys to but to hfc bank, that is the company it is set up through. So basically once you have bought it it isnt in the hands of currys anymore im sure dixons work the same

Although you can get things a lot cheaper on-line, when things breakdown its easier to return to a shop than try and figure out how and where to send it to, even getting a phone number can be hard work and emails get no reply.

I've had problems with McDonalds, I ordered a burger and it didn't look anything like the picture on the wall.

I tried to take it back but the man with one star told me it had now reached it's best before date but I could order a deep fried salad.

Originally posted by mikebayly
Hmm.

Interestingly, Both Dixons and cetelem changed their story on this about three times on the reminder issue. When we were sold the tele, we told by the dixons sales staff that we would be notified when the free credit period expired. Of course, I cant PROVE he said that. But either way, I am going to take his word, rather than ring their associate credit company on the spot and go through their policys with a fine tooth comb. Nobody does that FFS.

Cetelem then agreed with this about six months ago, only to backtrack and say "we sometimes do send reminders and sometimes dont. Either way we are not obliged to by the terms of the contract"

The only ray of light in all this was a very honest member of the cetelem team who said "we get this all the time. Dixons staff will say anything to get you to sign the contract"

So you are damn right its sour grapes, and rightly so.

For gods sake dont hold the sales assistant to his word ring the finance company and get the settlement figure before it switches to the 29+ percent rate, the contract is binding you cannot get out of it.

Also if i may point this out as you know PC world is a part of the dixons group dont buy some thing there if you arent sure its exactly what you want There is NO statutary change of mind period even if you have bought the wrong thing they DO NOT have to take it back unless the product is faulty or you relied on the advice of a sales assistant and if you do ask a sales asssitant if it is suitable for your intended purpose make sure you have a witness.

Also be aware that if you sign a credit agreement in a shop there is NO cooling off period and you are bound by the agreement from the moment you sign it.

See s67 Consumer Credit Act 1974

s67 Cancellable agreements

A regulated agreement may be cancelled by the debtor or hirer in accordance with this Part if the antecedent negotiations included oral representations made when in the presence of the debtor or hirer by an individual acting as, or on behalf of, the negotiator, unless—

(a) the agreement is secured on land, or is a restricted-use credit agreement to finance the purchase of land or is an agreement for a bridging loan in connection with the purchase of land, or

(b) the unexecuted agreement is signed by the debtor or hirer at premises at which any of the following is carrying on any business (whether on a permanent or temporary basis)—

(i) the creditor or owner;

(ii) any party to a linked transaction (other than the debtor or hirer or a relative of his);

(iii) the negotiator in any antecedent negotiations.

However if you can convince a court that untrue oral representations (they lied to you to get you to sign up )were made and you relied on these representations at the time the contract was signed you stand a good chance of getting it cancelled. Best to have a reliable witness there when talking to them really because you have to prove that on the balance of probabilities your version of the story is the true one.

Originally posted by mikebayly
I am urging anyone in this Forum NOT to purchase anything from Dixons this xmas.

After a six month battle with them and their loan shark hire purchase team Cetelm UK, I have been legally informed that despite Dixons delivering a TV that broke down, depsite them not issuing a replacement for 8 weeks and despite them being rude, unprofessional and unhelpful, I am still required to stump up £900 in interests payments because it is not down to them to "inform the customer when the free interest offer period ends on any good they sell"

Yes, 24 months after buying a tele from them, it is not down to them to issue a letter or reminder (which would have been difficult as they took down the wrong correspondence address in the first place) but it is down to the customer to remember and get in touch with them.

Its an absolute disgrace.

DO NOT SHOP THERE.

more or less every shop that offer goods on credit do it this way... it's how they make money

there's not really anything you can do about it

i agree though it is dispicable really

Originally posted by twentytwo
i work at currys, if you get something on credit from currys you dont owe the money to currys to but to hfc bank

And what a company they are too deal with.

Know your rights, keep your reciepts and for Gods sake - READ THE SMALL PRINT

Yes, companies will rip you off, but they will tell you about it first! If you don't pick up on it, its your fault!

Originally posted by Mooly
Know your rights

number one.

you have the right.... not to be killed

murder is a crime, unless it is done by a policeman or an aristocrat

know your rights!

hi all
anyone remember the spectrum 3 computers,the one with the floppy drive?, my lads wanted one years ago so the wife and myself went to comet (off queens road)and dealt with a middle aged female assistant, when we enquired about the 'puter, she looked in a rather large stock book (the wide printout paper that folds up)and she replied yes,we have three that have just come back in,so i asked, come back in from where?,her reply was,they've been out to customers,one was broken but is now fixed,the other two were sent back because they didn't know how to use them:confused:

anyhow i said to the assistant, i want to buy a new one-not a second hand one,her reply was, "these are brand new"so the wife and myself looked at each other,turned and walked out of the place never to return:clap:

we did get one eventually,from tandy,it went back one week later,it turned out they had it on display for all and sundry to play on and was completely worn out,the joystick buttons wouldn't operate,the edge connectors at the back were actually worn through.
anyhow i took it back all fired up for a good row and...bu**er me, they gave me my money back straight away:thumbsup:

regarding B&Q, i can't praise them enough, a couple of items i bought from them packed up (battery on drill went and something else packed in but can't remember what:loopy: )and the lass on the till told me to go and get another from the shelf-it was that easy 10/10 for B&Q.

regards,john.

Same thing happened to my bro a couple of years ago with a washer, we all just laughed at him for being so stoopid & taking the finance in the first place.- sorry not really in a sympathetic mood today x

What I want to know is what happens when someone buys something from Argos, gets it home, uses it for 15 days then takes it back! Lets say a Stereo or TV... Does the next person to buy one get a used second hand piece of crap or do they sell them as recons or exchanges???

Originally posted by Space
What I want to know is what happens when someone buys something from Argos, gets it home, uses it for 15 days then takes it back! Lets say a Stereo or TV... Does the next person to buy one get a used second hand piece of crap or do they sell them as recons or exchanges???

I dont know but the 16 day policy is really good, I have used it A LOT! lol! I would love to know what happens to them.

I have been known to buy things from pc world and taking them back and buying them again with 10% off... lol, why not?

Also, before you think of getting anything from PCW, go to the website and get the collect@store price, you get the product for the internet price at the store!!! what a rip off (up to 30% cheaper online, but you can reserve it online and collect it for the same price... or you could go in to the shop and pay full price)

As I have always said... The whole DSG is FCUKED UP!!!

Originally posted by trub86
I dont know but the 16 day policy is really good, I have used it A LOT! lol! I would love to know what happens to them.

It depends on how honest a customer you are. Not just you, customers in general.

If, to the person on refunds, it looks like the product has never been opened/touched/tampered with at all, it can go back into stock to be sold again.

However, if the product has been used, or looks to have been used, we can refuse the refund if the customer says they have used it. The 16 day money back guarantee doesn't say bring the item back, partially in its box, without the instructions with broken polystyrene, it has to be unused, undamaged and in the original packaging.

If a product looks used, but may have been supplied like that, or the customer is annoyed that it came looking like crap, we put the item with the damages pile and they get sent to the warehouse, where they probably get binned, sent back to the manufacturer, or if they work (because lets face it, a lot of customers are bare faced liars), they may be repackaged and sold as a managers special.

That is pretty rubbish... If I was buying something from argos, and I was paying the rediculous prices they ask, I would expect it to be brand new... as you say, someone could say it is unopened and it has probably been used for 15 days!

That happened to me with a radio I bought and they wouldn't swap it because it was scratched... the manager regreted coming to work that day...

Originally posted by trub86
That is pretty rubbish... If I was buying something from argos, and I was paying the rediculous prices they ask


If the prices are that ridiculous, stop skinning yourself and go somewhere cheaper :hihi:

i once saw a newspaper advert for dixons staff, which read:

WE WANT PEOPLE TO SELL, NOT SERVE!

kind of sums 'em up....

although to be fair this ad was in the eighties and i don't reckon they are as bad as they used to be....

:)

Dixon may be at fault for the service issues but please confirm.

Did YOU forget to pay?

If so how could you forget to pay for £900 worth of months??

Letter or not, I assume you signed upto a 6/12 month interest free contract, so you should have known when repayments were due and when interest would start hitting the loan?

???

i remember returing a coputer game to dixons where the disk was damaged.

I spent about an hour in the store waiting for the manager to try and get it working on one of his computers (which he couldent do because the disk vas visible stratches to hell)

then he tells me that they dont have any replacments in stock - i had get my mum to yell at him before I got a refund (i was little :)

dont buy anything from dixons/currys/pc world

Originally posted by goldenfleece
A word of wisdom...NEVER EVER take an HP agreement from any store or car dealer....just put it on your own credit card...in the long run, you will be much better off...if you play your own credit card right you can get interest free credit. HP agreements are a waste of time and simply offer zero protection in case of faults. Credit card purchases must safer and subject to much more control and protection in case of dodgy goods, etc.

Originally posted by willman
unfortunately not everyone has a credit card with £8-10k spending limit.
get real please.

OK, another way of looking at it is that you're not tied to the dealer's finance package for buying a car if you don't want to. The way around this, as has been described above, is to buy the car outright on credit card, either by maxing out your card, or by getting a personal loan at a better rate of interest than the dealer's finance, and then transferring the amount to your card before purchase. That way you are only in debt to the credit card or loan company rather than the car dealer.

The significant advantage of this is that your car is owned outright by you and would not be in danger of repossession if you were to miss a few payments.

Of course, you need a good credit rating to be able to borrow.

We were able to afford our first car (albeit 2nd hand) @ £4000 with a flexible loan from Cahoot and paying the garage for the full price up front.

Be very wary of places like Yes Car Credit and, especially, Carcraft. They are not selling you a car they are selling you finance. Avoid like the plague!!

Originally posted by trub86
That is pretty rubbish... If I was buying something from argos, and I was paying the rediculous prices they ask, I would expect it to be brand new... as you say, someone could say it is unopened and it has probably been used for 15 days!

That happened to me with a radio I bought and they wouldn't swap it because it was scratched... the manager regreted coming to work that day...

Unfortunately they don't have to supply you with a new product, just a working one, which if you think about it is really what you want. "Fitness for purpose" and all that.

99/100 times you get a factory-fresh product though...

Conversely, if you can stand to, there are massive bargains to be had from buying ex-display and returned models, all because of a hang-up the public have that "working" equates to "new". Plenty of new things break too!

I really don't understand why people purchase goods they clearly can't afford.

My philosophy is if you cant afford to purchase in cash then save up for the item you need or get one secondhand or cheaper.

I really don't see how you can blame the credit company, good on them I say for making money out of people who clearly don't know how to manage their finances :hihi:

I bought a new washing machine at the weekend from a DSG store. The salesman tried to sell me an extended warranty which I obviously didn't buy because they're a rip-off.

Imagine my surprise when the machine was delivered yesterday - it had a big sticker on the top saying to ring Hotpoint to activate the FREE 5 year guarantee. They had obviously removed the sticker from the display model so people would pay extra for their guarantee

I've always hated Dixons with a passion - God, remember the days of the old Saisho brand?

Anyhew, my ex- and I (well him, it was his money) bought a 28" TV from Curry's in March 2003. Two weeks later he upped and left leaving yours truly fully-furnished and with said TV. 12 months later I got a letter about the warranty being up and if I wanted to change any details on the letter, to do so and send it back. Unsurprisingly, I wanted his name taking off it and mine putting on as I plumped for the Extra Cover (before anyone points out what a con it is, I live up 5 flights of stairs with a bad back and severe RSI and the TV has no means of carrying it so my taking it for repair anywhere is impossible - although I wait with baited breath for the day I try and call anyone out to it!). Anyway, I got an identical letter back still with his details on it. So I rang Coverplan or MAstercare or whoever they are and asked why the details hadn't been updated. I was told that the ex- had to authorise me to put my name on the warranty for the TV. I told the dork I was speaking to that that wasn't possible. He went "And why's that?" So, still being abit emotionally imbalanced I was like "Not that it's any of your business but he left me however many weeks ago and I don't know where he is, nor do I care". So they told me I had to go to a store and re-do the receipt/warranty thing with my name and details, etc.

Anyway, I seethed my way to the Chesterfield Road shop and I was dealt with by a lovely bloke; he always says "hello" when you walk in. He was gobsmacked by my dealings with the Mastercare muppet and assured me of course that they aren't normally like that. And then he did me a deal whereby I paid the same as quoted in the renewal letter, but got an extra year's cover. I win! I sent a letter of complaint but of course it was the standard "our employees do not normally talk to customers in that manner" and of course it's difficult to convey in writing just how patronising and off-hand he was.

They had obviously removed the sticker from the display model so people would pay extra for their guarantee
I think that's a little presumptious - it's more likely the manufacturer started the offer after the store received their display model. It happens all the time with any retail product - items price-marked with a "suggested RRP" for a limited batch run etc.
Very few people are actually out to genuinely rip customers off, it's just that sometimes it seems that way!