To think this a really bad of Argos?

Not everyone accepts low standards. Plus the OP said it lasted 4 months before it went wrong.

I would contact them again and tell them you're going to raise this with your local Trading Standards department, as it's absolutely Retail 101 that a discretionary return period of a few weeks only applies if you change your mind; it's completely irrelevant if they have sold you a faulty product.

Tell them that you need a like-for-like replacement, regardless of whatever price they're charging now, and you'll accept the voucher that they've already given you as compensation for the postage of the duff item back to them, your time and inconvenience and the store's deliberate attempts to deny you your statutory rights and fob you off with faulty information (well, it was either deliberate on the store's part or otherwise completely negligent basic staff training on their part - maybe they'd like to clarify which, to help you give a more accurate report to Trading Standards for them to pinpoint the exact nature of Argos' breach).

Remember: they have much, much more to lose here than you do. They aren't some dodgy local cowboy; they're Argos, for goodness' sake.

I had a totally different experience with Argos. Bought an electric toothbrush that stopped working after 6 months. Took it back to Argos they gave me a new one and refunded me £5 as it was cheaper then. You should have stood your ground in Argos you obviously got a jobsworth who thinks it’s their money when they refund you !!

Of course you would, what do you think is the shelf life of a toaster!

I had the same problem with Argos this year when I bought an electric sander from them. It lasted 6 weeks. I was ultra cautious when I did use it (no longer than 10 mins at a time with a cool off period of at least 15 minutes).

They refused to give me a refund or exchange because it was past 30 days and said I had to contact the manufacturer. So I contacted my local store and the manager got really arsy with me because I managed to bypass their crappy phone system and speak to an actual person in the store 🙄 He said they didn’t have a like for like replacement in stock and not to bother visiting his counterpart in the neighbouring town because “he’s really strict on these things”. So I thought fine, I’ll go to the one in another town that’s 20 minutes from me. And I spoke to a lovely guy who agreed to give me a full refund then and there on the spot.

Yeah, this is a weird take on things. Of course it matters what an item is. We have a 14 year old toaster that was £40 and I expected about 5 years out of it minimum.

Whereas if you buy a pair of running trainers for £50 and run 3 5ks a week, of course they will die within a year.

I bought a fridge freezer from Argos. The delivery turned up a day early. I was working so had to dispatch MIL to let them in the house.
The drivers damaged my decking and also smashed a glass dining table. The left it with huge shards poking out and went on their merry way.
It took weeks of emailing and finally me contacting the chief executive to get a response that was satisfactory. They gave me a £100 voucher. I’ll never shop with them again. It was a real pain to sort.

Yes I would expect any electrical item to last at least 2 years, otherwise imagine all the extra items in land fill.

I’d expect anything I’d bought for £50 to last years. Has the heat got to your brain?

@landofstories fitting username btw. I still have an old vacuum cleaner that cost £40 that is still going strong several years later although I was recently gifted a shark so I use that now because it's cordless and fab , point still remains.

I know someone who used to buy something from Argos, use it until it broke but by then the receipt and the guarantee would be long gone, so they would buy it again and simply switch the new item for the old and return for a refund 😳 stating they were sold an old faulty item.
I think it was a well known scam - and so this is why we can't have nice things.

I work for a company that supplies Argos with fairly high ticket prices. 300 to 600 pounds, and we have had many cases where Argos have refused refunds for faulty items and gave the customer out customer services telephone number. The customer then gets very frustrated that we can’t help at all and they have to go back to Argos. Such bad service and doesn’t happen with any of the other large chains we supply

i would write a letter of complaint outlining all the issues especially having to post it back and ask for some money for that as well

Just ring them and say you won’t be posting it back, you will take it to this branch of Argos on this date.

Loads of things that can be bought for low prices I would expect to last for years - alarm clock, lamp, battery charger, kettle.

I'm afraid its just the way "customer service" goes these days. It really is non existent. Before I retired I was in customer care and loved helping people and giving advice etc,sadly as we older ones retire,so has the "care".

Seriously? Something has to be fit for purpose no matter the cost, and you don't know what the item was either.

I've just returned my iron to Argos after 18 months , it's absolutely not fit or purpose, is already decided to purchase a different one from there costing £150 more , they had no issues with it.
However if I did not want to purchase a new one from Argos I would have had a refund no problem.

It wasn’t fit for purpose. Write to them and give them 30 days for a refund and say that you will otherwise be issuing in the small claims court for costs and ask for their address for service. You should follow this through, but it’s worth it.

thats a shame , I actually use Argos a lot and always have a good experience,

I would expect an item like a toaster or kettle to last at least 5 years and cost £50 or less.

Sadly, it's the high Street now. All you can do is know your consumer rights and be ready to quote them.

My 15yr old bought a coat. A zip broke within 2 weeks so she took it back with the receipt. They were awful to her. So I took it in.

You'd think I was asking for the staff themselves to give me the money out of their wages. I had to quote consumer rights and refuse to be fobbed off with "call head office". They were so rude! I refused to leave until the manager had called head office herself. She stomped off clearly expecting to come back with a "they agree with me, get out" but instead she came back, suddenly all smiley with some nonsense about how "they were aware of a fault with this batch". She said they could either send it off to the manufacturers for them to issue a refund (yeah right) or I could take a credit note. Now, again, this is against my consumer rights but I wasn't going to win that argument and my daughter would spend the credit note so we accepted that.

They actually gave her £20 more on the credit note because they didnt take off a discount. Normally I'd have gone back as soon as I'd realised but I thought screw them and didnt. My daughter went back a week later to spend some of it and the lady refused to serve her and another member of staff had to step in. Imagine being more childish than a 15yr old. 🤣

Eh? Plenty of electrical items are £50 or less, and yes I’d expect them to last years. Toaster, kettle, slow cooker. Not sure what your point is?