To be so angry and really saddened at Argos for selling moshi monsters that have been opened and tampered with?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Grrrrrrrrr!!!

I am just back from Argos with ds1 (5 years old) who was desperate to buy new Moshi Monsters with his birthday money. For those not familiar with Moshi Monsters, they are basically collectable figures of different characters, some which are 'ultra rare' ie much coveted by my son and all those who collect them. The ultra rare ones sell for a fortune on eBay. (eg £30 for oe that costs £1 in shops).

So he got three packets which consisted of four moshi monsters you can see in the packet, and one 'surprise' one which may be an ultra rare one. While I opened the first packet I noticed the plastic packaging had been cut with scissors at the side and the 'surprise' moshi had obviously been taken out and swapped for a common moshi (I know this cos the surprise ones are always wrapped up in white tissue paper and this one wasn't). Lo and behold the other two packets were the same, all open at the side and tampered with. We were home when I discovered this but I fully intend to call the manager tomorrow and complain!!!

Aibu in feeling utterly saddened and cynical that a shop would do this to a kids toy? I know there are bigger things going on in the world but my son was so excited to be using hs pocket money to try to maybe get an elusive ultra rare moshi, he's got no chance if the world s like this!

YABU to complain about your son's suffering in a cruel, cruel world

But YANBU to be annoyed that the shop has tampered with products.

might be worth tweeting argos or facebooking them about it. often makes them listen more xxx

It's likely one of the employees has done this rather than Argos as a company. The rare ones sell well on eBay. DH reserved a popular video game a couple of years ago & when we went to collect he was told 'someone cancelled your reservation'. We complained & the guy serving us suddenly said he 'had one in his locker that he'd reserved but he would let us have his copy instead'.

Its more likely that a customer has returned them and the staff haven't realised the contents have been tampered with isn't it? Its a shame and a pita for you but I think you're making a bit if a leap by accusing Argos of deliberately ripping off children.

Iklboo, that's actually highly likely to be true. I work for a video games retailer and staff do this all the time to avoid angry or upset customers. Staff frequently give up their own reserved copies if its the last one going because a sale/hitting targets is more important.

DD loves Moshi Monsters and I would be livid! Staff must have either swapped them themselves or not checked returned products properly. Either way, worth a complaint definitely.

Ok you are hamming it up with the. 'what chance has he got in a world like this' it's not life or death.

Are the products on the shop floor or do they get them from the warehouse?

Ah, thanks stuntgirl. We were just really annoyed that someone (maybe not the guy who served us then) had 'cancelled' our reservation on the system within 15 minutes of us placing it online.

oh dont get me started about argos my sis is at war with them at the moment

Ooh if it was online then I'd definitely blame a dodgy system. I don't trust online preorders/reservations, especially for big releases. My companies one is shite, makes mistakes left right and centre.

They were on the shop floor so I think it must be employees tampering with them before they are placed on display.

If it's on the shop floor much more likely to be customers.

Local toy shop had dreadful trouble with people pinching the Club penguin code discs from the toys. They stored them behind the counter for ages because of it.

If theyre on the shop floor its just as likely to be customers. I've worked in retail for years and it happens a lot (old bras in packs, new one stolen- nice). If they go for a lot in ebay there will be professional shoplifters going after them. You definitely need to speak to the manager so they can sort out a replacement and look into it but I really don't know why you are assuming an employee is doing it?

I just assumed it would be too difficult for a member of the public to open the packet without obviously ripping it, take out the 'secret moshi' which is covered in tissue within a thin cardboard cover, and then put in a common moshi, without being seen by staff! Maybe I'm being naive!

If it's from a shop it's more likely to be staff, because most theft from shops is by staff. But that's only because people who steal have most opportunity at their place of work, not because shop workers are generally more thievy than people in general.

You were totally NBU until I read your last sentence.

A little naive . Honestly you would be amazed what shoplifters come equipped with. Its fairly common for them to have prams with magnets on the side for removing security tags for example. Or a foil lined bag to get past the sensors. U've often found razor blades on toy shelves where people have used them to slice through tags and seals. Its a constant battle, and even worse at this time if year because they'll be taking orders.

Not much winds me up but shoplifters really do.

Why would a customer replace the toy? More likely staff I'd say.

Good luck with customer services.

Lots of.places are shocking for this. In.tesco the packs were always opened with moshis missing. I bought a tin of 10 moshis from argos (came from store room) and there were 5 lots of duplicates . I just bought the xmas calender from amazon £21 and definitely have 24 different moshis :)

I have never ever ever heard the like.

I think staff - a member of the public would just take it, not waste time replacing it.
Trying twitter is a good idea.

Yanbu to be annoyed, 'saddened and cynical' takes it a bit far though.

Ur not the only one to have got your purchase home only to discover its been pre owned for want if a better phrase. I think Argos just put all stuff that's been returned straight back into the stock pile for re sale. My guinea pig cage had dust ( from sawdust ) still in it and a scooter had a bolt missing. It's appalling really. Things should be checked first.