Help with faulty pram from Argos

[sarahj22]

Hiya my friend bought a double pram from Argos for £229.99, One of the wheels has fallen of so she has taken it back to be told they can't fix or replace it and will only give her £99.99 as a refund. She dose not have the receipt but has her bank statement showing when she bought the pram and how much for.

Has any body got any advice I can pass on as she can't afford to put the rest of the money to for a new one and now has no pram for her babies.

[dx100uk]

send a pm to blitz

he works there

but yes if you can prove it was brought from argos

they will sort it...or should,

 

dx

[sarahj22]

Hiya thanks for that but she has just informed me what actually happened and why they would only giver her £99.99.

She was in town on her own with her two children when her wheel fell off, with no way of getting home she went into Argos as she originally bought it from there. The sale assistant told her she could only have the £99.99 as she didn't have her bank statement at the time. She tried to explain that she could not get home with her 2 young children to get it so they told her she either takes the £99.99 and buys a single buggy and a baby carrier to get home or it was tough.

She took the £99.99 and got the buggy and baby carrier as there was nothing else she could do. A few days later she went back down with the bank statement proving she bought it from them but they didn't want to know and told her she could not have the rest of the money.

Now I think Argos my be right as she excepted the £99.99 in the first place but she was put on the spot and could not get home with a broken pram and two young children.

Do you think she may have a case to fight to get the rest of the money or has she blown it my taking the £99.99 and buying the buggy and baby carrier to get home with.

Thanks for any advice it's very much appreciated.

[blitz]

Hi Sarah,

 

How long ago did your friend buy the pram? Did she take it back to the same store?

 

Our policy is without a receipt or proof of purchase to refund at the current selling price, to prevent people buying it and bringing it back for more money later on. I know its unfortunate but if she accepted the refund than there is little that can be done.

 

Was it the manager that said no to refunding the extra amount? She can try to send customer services a letter with a sympathetic side "I had no other way to get home".

 

If you could get info on the first couple of questions, and it was the same store within 3 months I might be able to help more. Another question is they usually wouldn't refund without proof of purchase anyway, especially at that amount so wondering if they had a record of the sale or used discretion to allow it. (If I had allowed it at my store I would have said something like: Whilst we don't usually offer a refund without proof of purchase, out of discretion I am happy to authorise a refund at the lowest selling price.)

 

If a pickle like this happens again, the best defense is to ask before refund if the store would be happy to reimburse the remaining amount if they found the receipt. Again its a managers decision if they want to allow it.

[sarahj22]

hi blitz thanks for your help, she bought it on the 21st of December 2009 so it's over 3 months. Argos no longer sell the pram so I have no idea where the £99.99 amount came from. Maybe it was on sale at that price before they stopped selling it.

She is only a young lass and tbh after talking to her I feel they took advantage of her as she had no idea what to do.

When she went down with the bank statement the person at customer services went in the back to talk to someone and then came back and said she could not have the rest of the money as she had already bought the single buggy and baby carrier. It was also the same store it was purchased from.

If this had of been me I would have got home somehow and gone back with the pram and proof of purchase but my friend is a little slow if you know what I mean. No offence to her but like many people she is very intimidated my shop assistants and dose not know whats right and what not.

[dx100uk]

urm....

 

ofcourse not solely directed at argos

but i'd say thats a bit cruel to treat someone like that.

 

esp if they are not on the ball, to put it bluntly.

 

blitz i think that manager need a gentle word via the argos interplanetary comms system......it appears to me that from the start they knew it was worth £200 but took the p*ss out of her and her situation.

 

dx

[blitz]

The thing is we have no way of seeing if you actually brought it at the £200 price or the £99, as nice as it would be we have to have proof for when it was brought to refund it at that price.

 

I am surprised they offered a refund at all, I am really sorry to say in most cases I wouldn't. I may have sympathised and have offered the same thing, but it was a discretionary refund outside of usual policy or legal requirements. If its an old catalogue line, it is very difficult to sort it out after its happened.

 

Neither of us can judge unless we were there, but as above whilst they may have not refunded at the £200 price, offering a refund without proof of purchase in my opinion is going beyond any legal requirements and company policy. I would say they did what they could at the time, the options she would have had would have been a discretionary refund at the last selling price or to bring back proof of purchase, there isn't really anything else that could have been offered. A if you bring proof of purchase back we will refund the rest really doesn't come up a lot and is down again to discretion.

 

Whilst I say things are down to discretion some of the things are very rare or unlikely

 

I think your best bet would be to send a letter to customer services, write up what you have posted here, play on sympathy.

Edited June 11, 2010 by blitz