To think this a really bad of Argos?

YANBU we recently had the same issue. Fan just broke after a few months. I got the barcode. Took it back, not even in a box or with the remote. She just took it and processed the refund.

If you have a return barcode then it's really not up to shop staff to argue about it.

Well, I wouldn't have expected compensation, but they should have paid the postage.

Let's take for example a hairdryer. Argos has a few that cost between £12-15. I'd be happy if they only lasted a couple of years.

They also have a Babyliss one for £30 with a 5 year manufacturers guarantee. I expect they have them around £50 too. I would definitely expect them to last wasy longer then a few months.

Why on earth not? £50 isn’t pocket change.

Yes I had a terrible customer experience with JL recently too. It’s quite depressing as they used to be the one place you could rely on and now they’re just as dire as everywhere else. The enshitification of society rolls onwards.

That isn't great, but to be fair to Argos customer service has hugely declined everywhere. People often buy this stuff online, but I suspect posting it back at your expense would be the norm with online as well.
This is the trouble when a different method takes over- Argos doesn't have to be any better than online, because that becomes the norm.

@Loveheart10 I had a very similar experience with Argos, item defective. Returned for like for like item, only to be told it had increased in price and I had to pay the difference! I no longer shop there as a matter of principle, it’s complete nonsense!

Write back and explain you need the higher cost refunded and the postage cost refunded.

I’ve had the 3rd party seller bollocks from Amazon recently. I am using them less and less these days.

To be honest I do not understand why you agreed to post it back. I would have told them that you would drop it to your local store or else that they send a courier to pick it up.

There's plenty of guidance here on what your rights are www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/goods/selling-and-supplying-goods and there are different versions for England and Wales and for Scotland. Aimed at businesses but just as helpful for customers. I think Argos have a bit of a reputation for being crap. Lots of retailers try to send you to the manufacturer.

And yes, I expect a toaster to last several years. Under EU rules things have to be made more durable and repairable now (as of 31 July I believe), and so manufacturers won't make a crappier version for the UK, we'll get them too.

Well I certainly would.

Ime ..
Dh approaches counter...
Declares it's s broken.
Refund immediately..
Never had any issues with Argos ever..
Until they changed to Argos Pay instead of an Argos card.

They've lost a high spending customer..
Absolutely rubbish system now.

No, not at all. I just wouldn’t be expecting something that cost £50 to last years.

Yes of course I would expect an item to last a few years.
im baffled you are shocked that people expect items to last.
In the OP’s case 4 months is ridiculous for an item to need replacing already.

It used to be the sale of goods act now it’s the consumer rights act.
within the first 6 months of purchase you’re entitled to a repair or replacement as the item is assumed to be inherently faulty, if this doesn’t solve the issue a refund should be given. Within this 6 months the burden of proof is on the retailer to prove the item was not inherently faulty.
After 6 months you still have the same rights but the burden of prod switches to you so you have to prove the item is inherently faulty, although you can argue that an item, especially a higher vague one, should last a lot longer than 6 months. You should also have recourse from the manufacturer
Within 30 days you can request a refund or replacement straightaway.

This is what I understand the new(er) laws to be anyway

That is really bad.

I've generally had good customer service from Argos - both in store and via their call centre. I did have to call the manufacturer of my previous vacuum (Tower) when it stopped working after about a month and get a reference for Argos to accept the return in store. But that's the only time.

We have had issues with HMD phones before and they have just accepted them as faulty after I rang the support helpline and they told us to return them in store for a different phone.

Whoop! But did you expect this to be the case when you bought it?

I bought a kettle and toaster from Argos for less than £50 and they are about 12 years old now and still going strong!

But did you expect it to be?

Doesn’t matter.

In thid case not necesarily. A lot of thse places use 3rd party sellers in the same way as Amazon but it should state this on the website and in that case th seller is responsible.