to be a bit hmmm about this store's returns policy?

[BinkieWoo]

I bought a coffee machine from a large retailer yesterday. Today I opened it and set it all up, followed the instructions to the letter and it broke on the third go!

The store we bought it from isn't open again until tomorrow so I'll take it back then but I'm a little bit suspicious about the fact the receipt has a bit printed on the bottom saying that the manufacturer is responsible for all aftercare. I will be so angry if they refer me to the manufacturer for a repair - if it can only make 2 cups without breaking then it's clearly not fit for purpose?!

The returns policy says that the store will only refund/exchange faulty goods if they are "returned in the original packaging, totally intact and in a saleable condition". Well firstly it came with some sample coffee pods which have been used and secondly surely any faulty good is never going to be in a saleable condition if returned to the store?! If it were saleable then the customer wouldn't be returning it!

Am I missing something really obvious here?!

I was in Argos returning something faulty today that I bought in May - I still had the receipt. It shouldn't have broken this quickly (it's an electrical item).

They were fine about it. No quibbles. They also had a big sign on the wall saying they would accept returned faulty items...possibly up to a year, I think.

So hopefully you won't have a problem.

I've also had good experiences with Argos.

Ok well I feel better about it all now, I especially like the advice about getting it in writing, I'll remember that one!

Argos policy for returning faulty goods

It just doesn't seem as clear-cut to me in the policy on their site? Would anyone mind giving it a read and telling me if I'm misunderstanding what it seems to be saying?

Madlizzy, no it wasn't. It was all my fault you see for banging the hoover against a skirting board. Argos are shite IME

I've returned numerous items to argos. I've always found them very fair to deal with. My sisters vacuum cleaner broke on day 364 of a year guarantee. And they replaced it no questions asked.

Is it not a bit premature to start a ranty thread before you have even tried to return it?! Bet they will just refund you tomorrow without question. Surely if you want to moan about anything it should be the product.

I'm being ranty about the wording of the policy :)

And I'm not even being that ranty...for me!!

Rosh if it broke as a result of something you did then I can see why they weren't as fast to move on yours.

On the face of it you are describing damage, rather than fault. Hoovers aren't actually designed to be banged against walls, so they do have a point.

That said, so do you, because logic dictates that because of the purpose it should be able to withstand the odd whack.

Your case is entirely different because you did something that resulted in a problem, whereas the op has an appliance that just doesn't work. Her case is more cut and dried.

She is 'I bought this and it doesn't work' which will no doubt garner the response 'sorry about that, refund or replace?'

Whereas you are 'I bought this and when I hit the skirting boards with it that bit broke.' to which the general response would be 'you hit the wall with it and it broke? So you broke it then? We can't replace or refund something because you broke it.'

Totally different scenario. And tbf they had no idea how hard you whacked it into the wall. I'm sure it was a light tap but you could have unleashed strength of the bear.

Of course that situation would want a lot more pushing because the first thing you did was say that your action resulted in breakage. You would then need to provide reasons why you thought it was down to a fault rather than improper use.

Just ignore that store policy as you're not claiming under that. You're claiming under the sale of goods act. This is your statutory right which remains unaffected.

I'm afraid I suffered a similar set of circumstances with a faulty pram. The store returned it to the manufacturer as they are entitled to do. It still came back faulty. I argued my point for good 20 minutes that my contract is with the retailer and not the manufacturer, they still refused, saying it was a manufacturing issue. I hope you get what you want. I didn't.

Just to update - I took it back today and they exchanged it with absolutely no problems at all. They even called me back afterwards as I was walking out because I'd put literally everything back in the box, including what was left of the "taster pack" of coffee pods, they gave them back to me as they said it'd just all get thrown away when it got sent back to the manufacturer so I may as well keep them :)

I was really impressed with them - they even carried it all out to my car as I had dd with me.

Still think the wording of their policy is weird but I guess it doesn't matter if their in-store service is like that.

Argos sell off all their faulty goods on pallets as 'faulty/spares' to market traders etc. Some other poor bugger will end up with it one day.

another one who has never had a problem returning to Argos. DH had a silly circular hair clipper gadget that never worked properly they took it back no question. I had a tooth water flosser thing for almost a year and it packed up again no question instant replacement. good luck.