to be annoyed clock of clock/radio just purchased in charity shop doesn't work

[Pangurban1]

That's it. I saw a lovely little retro Philips clock/radio in a charity shop. I asked the person at the counter if it worked and the guy said you'd just need the batteries. Have brought it home and put in the batteries. Radio blaring, but still a stopped clock face.

It was dirt cheap, 3.99. Bought it for it's dual purpose. Should I return it? Do charity shops goods have to work or are they exempt?

[araiba]

yabvvvvvvu

i don't think i have ever heard of someone being so unreasonable in the history of time as you.

if you need the £3.99 take it back and explain the problem, if £4 isn't much to you then you still got a cheap radio. jebus

[TheoriginalLEM]

If it is electric (that you have to plug in) it has to be PAT tested to ensure it is safe, but no more than that.

If £3.99 is dirt cheap for that particular model then i'd just suck it up and put it down to experience, but if you can buy a new one for a tenner then i'd return it. If that makes sense.

They shouldn;t sell things that don't work, or should have at least stated that it was radio only. Same as any other shop really.

[Roomba]

I disagree, actually. Unless the item was sold clearly labelled as 'sold as seen', I would argue that it doesn't fulfil the purpose for which OP bought it. I would return it, it isn't about how much it cost is it? Or whether it is a charity shop or not. Besides, for me at the moment £3.99 is a significant part pf my budget (don't laugh, millions of us are so poor we would struggle to afford even this) to spend on something that didn't do what it was supposed to do.

Take it back, OP. I'm sure they will refund you politely with no issues.

[Roomba]

Upon rereading rhe above posts, I think that I'm actually agreeing with previous posters, sorry... I have run out of coffee, that's my excuse.

[OurBlanche]

The Sale of Goods Act applies to charity shops too. Unless it was labelled as faulty it should work 'as new'.

[SaucyJack]

3.99 isn't "dirt cheap" for something that doesn't fricking work. He bus yourself.

For the prices charity shops are charging these days then they need to be selling decent quality stuff.

I'd take it back no probs.

[RiverTam]

Oh my good God. You're begrudgung giving a charity £4? Ffs, tell me what charity it is and I'll donate £4 to them.

Jesus. i know it's not yet December but could you not have some Christmas spirit?

[Pangurban1]

My goodness, araiba. 'in the history of time'. I don't think I've ever heard such a hyperbolic statement.

It's not about the money really. Although, when I bought it the assistant insinuated that it was only missing the batteries. I have bought dvds from this shop and arrived home without any disc in the cases. They keep the discs behind the counter and are supposed to put the disc in when a person comes with the case to buy it. Wasn't watching them and presumed they had done their job.

Hmm. Not sure what to think, now. It is an old item.

[Pangurban1]

RiverTam, I do indeed give donations to charities. I think you are muddling donations with purchases. I do not need a dud item.

[araiba]

it was meant to be super-mega-hyperbolic

as said, if you care about £4, take it back, if you don't then use it as a radio and buy a clock

[Pangurban1]

SaucyJack, It was not an especially quality item. That is ok. It was a spacesaving item for me. They gave no indication it was not working.

[RiverTam]

Then chuck it away. But don't ask for your money back. You can turn it into a donation instead.

[SaucyJack]

You could've bought a new one from Argos for £5.99 if there wasn't anything special about it then.

It's no way to run a business. They'll only have themselves to blame if they go under by offloading old crap like that.

It's a shame really. I used to love a charity shop, but there are too many these days trying to charge nearly new prices for stuff that's only fit for the bin.

[ScribblerOnTheRoof]

yanbu

just because its from a charity shop. doesn't mean it is ok to be broken!

[SoupDragon]

Personally, I don't think you are at all unreasonable to be annoyed. If a shop is going to sell electrical items, then they have to work.

What you do about it is another matter. I'm not sure if I could be arsed to take it back but I wouldn't miss £3.99. It would make me wary of buying anything like that again from that shop unless I had tested it before paying.

[Pangurban1]

In that case, this 'donation' would probably be going on the cost of running a shop. The electricity, rates, shop manager's salary. Not to the cause or the people actively working with the cause.

It is immaterial to the principle of whether the item was 3.99 or 399.

[MaidOfStars]

What bizarre responses, OP.

Especially:
OP It was dirt cheap, 3.99. Bought it for it's dual purpose. Should I return it?
araiba hyperbolic stuff....if you need the £3.99 take it back and explain the problem

So, araiba, what the OP suggested then?

I think the clock radio should work as both a clock and a radio, unless indicated otherwise, so I suspect you can ask for a refund. If you are kind enough to leave the outstanding amount as a donation, I'm sure the charity will be grateful. If you would like the money back, they should honour that.

Although if the responses here are anything to go by, I would prepare yourself for sneering and accusations of unparalleled cheapness (never exceeded in the history of time!).

[ALemonyPea]

I would expect something I bought to work, regardless of where I bought it from. Unsure if I'd return something to a charity shop, I wouldn't however use that charity shop again.

[Joolsy]

I would definitely take it back, if nothing else to make them aware that they should be checking their electrical goods more carefully in future. If, for example, an elderly person had bought it and it cost alot of money to them and they weren't in a position to return it, that would have caused them alot of problems.

It's like saying, if I buy a meal & a drink in Wetherspoons for £5 it's ok for it to be rubbish. Not the case. However much you pay is irrelevant.

[araiba]

a £5 meal and drink in Wetherspoons is rubbish

but there were two obvious answers to the OP's issue, take it back for refund or don't and consider the £4 a donation. I just cant see the aibu for the situation..

[Bananalanacake]

I thought Phillips were a good make of clock radio, I was given one when I was 11, I'm now 37 and it's still working, it's a plug in one though.

[BrianButterfield]

If you bought a £4000 clock radio (if such a thing exists) and it didn't work,you'd get assistants fawning over you, deep apologies, money off or a gift for your inconvenience...if you buy a £4 one and it doesn't work, tough shit and sucks to be you.

YANBU.

[whatstheplanphil]

Take it back and ask for a refund, it doesn't work properly.

[SoupDragon]

I just cant see the aibu for the situation..

Maybe read the thread title then.

[Joolsy]

araiba - it's rubbish in what respect? The taste? No, we go there every week for their Wing It Wednesday and it's bloody lovely. The price? Umm...no. Get off your high horse.