poor customer service and protracted refund/replacement process ***Resolved***

[javafter]

hello,

 

i bought a new laptop from comet online which has two major hardware and manufacturer defects. I've summarised the events below. I have already been without the laptop for a week and I want to get it sorted before my christmas break. To me it seems a clear cut case of comet replacing or refunding my purchase and them pursuing samsung to recover their costs. Any thoughts on how i can speed up a resolution?

 

bought online 28/11/11

delivered 30/11/11

 

08/12/11- laptop failed and reported.talked through restore which failed.

picked up 09/12/11 for inspection.

 

15/12/11 spoke to digicare the inspection/repair company- waiting for parts-hdd and motherboard. prob be delivered on 19/12/11

15/12/11 12pm- rang comet. told them i dont want a refurbished unit with major repair -i bought new a week before problem. provided order number and SV number operator understood. will get back to me.

 

16/12/11- emailed comet to ask for an update.

16/12/11 11AM- received call from operations team asking for my SV number- which was supplied on the 15/12/11. i requested a new replacement laptop or a refund. he stated that although my warranty is with comet, they have to go through the manufacturer before offering refunds or replacement. I explained to him that the laptop has a major defect which was obviously present at purchase and that i would only accept a new laptop or a full refund. he again said he had to speak to the warranty company. i accepted but asked him to call me back ASAP.

 

16/12/11 3PM- waiting for call back.

[rebel11]

Hi jav

 

Welcome to CAG

 

There is a Comet's Rep on this site that can look into the matter. This thread should be picked up by the Rep.

Theres also info in my signature 10,11,12 and 13.

[kurvaface]

Warranty and manufacturer's input is irrelevant.

 

They must comply with SOGA.

[BankFodder]

Comet are directly responsible for providing you with a replacement. Anything else they say is a lie or simply poor staff development.

 

Don't get caught up in this. Just sue them. Do it now. They will soon fall into line.

 

People should steer clear of Comet. They don't deserve to get your honest hard-earned money

[rebel11]

This might be of interest:-

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382928/Credit-card-firms-refund-price-faulty-goods-students-legal-battle.html

 

Depending of how you paid, you could ask your provider to carry out a Chargeback.

 

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/chargeback-on-credit-and-debit-cards/

[Guest Comet Response]

hello,

 

i bought a new laptop from comet online which has two major hardware and manufacturer defects. I've summarised the events below. I have already been without the laptop for a week and I want to get it sorted before my christmas break. To me it seems a clear cut case of comet replacing or refunding my purchase and them pursuing samsung to recover their costs. Any thoughts on how i can speed up a resolution?

 

bought online 28/11/11

delivered 30/11/11

 

08/12/11- laptop failed and reported.talked through restore which failed.

picked up 09/12/11 for inspection.

 

15/12/11 spoke to digicare the inspection/repair company- waiting for parts-hdd and motherboard. prob be delivered on 19/12/11

15/12/11 12pm- rang comet. told them i dont want a refurbished unit with major repair -i bought new a week before problem. provided order number and SV number operator understood. will get back to me.

 

16/12/11- emailed comet to ask for an update.

16/12/11 11AM- received call from operations team asking for my SV number- which was supplied on the 15/12/11. i requested a new replacement laptop or a refund. he stated that although my warranty is with comet, they have to go through the manufacturer before offering refunds or replacement. I explained to him that the laptop has a major defect which was obviously present at purchase and that i would only accept a new laptop or a full refund. he again said he had to speak to the warranty company. i accepted but asked him to call me back ASAP.

 

16/12/11 3PM- waiting for call back.

 

 

I apologise that your laptop has developed a fault so soon after purchase. We really should not be attempting a repair on this unit . As the fault has already been confirmed we would now look to replace.

 

Would you please email me via http://ow.ly/65y2V with your purchase details, full name and address and I will pick it up straight away.

 

Hope this helps

 

Nadine

[javafter]

Thank you Nadine.

I am more than happy to have a new replacement laptop. I have sent a message to you as suggested above.

 

obviously in a large company like comet there must be misunderstandings and differing levels of knowledge within your staff however I did actually receive a phone call at 5 PM from one of your investigations team who advised me (in my opinion, incorrectly, which would seem to agree with your interpretation) that I was not entitled to a new laptop replacement because the repair (replacement motherboard and hard drive) had been completed. Even though I have not authorised a repair to my laptop and I would not have authorised such a major repair as it is obviously now a refurbished unit and far more likely to fail beyond the warranty period but before the end of its useful life. in addition I was advised by comet in the first place to contact digicare by comet as they could not authorise a replacement without the underlying fault being identified. If I wanted a second-hand laptop I could have bought one on eBay etc. I did explain all this to your colleague in the investigations team however his response was that there was nothing more could be done because the laptop had been repaired and therefore I was not entitled to a replacement. I then asked if I could escalate the issue to someone else at comet and was told that there was no one to escalate the issue to because the answer would be the same. I did manage to get the address of comet's head office in Hull from him and was just about to start correspondence pursuant to a small claims court process however it seems that you may be able to eradicate this headache from myself and your legal team which I am grateful for.

 

thank you to the other respondents on this thread and to the consumer action group-this is an excellent website and resource.

[kurvaface]

Let us know how you get on....

[javafter]

Let us know how you get on....

 

received this message 17/12/11-

Dear -----

 

Thank you for your e-mail

 

As your incident is currently under investigation, I am unable to provide a final response for you at this time but can assure you that the matter is being investigated and that you will receive a response once an update is available.

 

Furthermore, I can confirm that your contact details have also been forwarded to Nadine in response to your web forum chat thread as requested.

 

If you require any further assistance, please feel free to contact me using the Ask a Question facility on the website.

to which i responded with-

please can you give me an indication of when this incident will be resolved?

i've been without a laptop for over a week; you have all the information from me and digicare and i have been given advice from multiple people including your own rep that the laptop should have been replaced.

Under the sale of goods act and EU Directive 199/44/EC i am entitled to a new laptop or refund. The longer this is dragged out, the more inconvenienced i am and the more likely i am to pursue this case in the small claims court.

if you are delaying because you no longer have any of this laptop in stock then i will take a refund or an equivalent spec laptop.

as i'm sure you will understand i want this issue resolved ASAP and definitely before christmas.

 

 

[kurvaface]

Come on Nadine,

 

Take ownership of this problm and get it resolved properly. This is a disgustiing level of service... and you should be ashamed of it!

[Old Cogger]

comet/currys etc., when have you not heard of poor service & over priced guarantees, even years ago take out extended cover - if you not claim you get refund on cover charges send slip below within 10 days to have it recorded, when asked for money back guess what no knowledge of the slip sent within 10 days at start, steer clear of these conglomerates, go to the small man in the street who have not got yachts!!!

[GorgieBoy]

Come on Nadine,

 

Take ownership of this problm and get it resolved properly. This is a disgustiing level of service... and you should be ashamed of it!

 

COMET it would seem are now a rudderless ship out of control , where no one can take ownership of any given problem .

 

I would not blame Nadine though she is trying to resolve the issue and has probably been undermined by a senior faceless manager of which there are many .

 

No wonder all their Retail Stores are now Ex directory , with all calls routed to their National Call Centre where it all starts again ............................ Shocking customer service , beyond belief !

Edited December 18, 2011 by GorgieBoy

[javafter]

I'm now starting to get frustrated with something that could have been sorted easily when the problem was first reported. It seems Comet believe the obligations of a retailer finish when they've taken your money. I received another uninformative and as it turns out, useless, e-mail today advising me that i would receive a call before 6pm- I did not receive any calls from comet on either phone which were both on and had signal all day.

 

I'm genuinely not happy to take a laptop that has been ripped apart and re-assembled with different parts when it was only a week old. I bought a new laptop and I want a new laptop before christmas. However it doesn't seem like comet want to know as they've had all the information to make the decision. I've not used the small claims court before but it seems a very straight forward process. Do you think I should just go for that now or respond to their e-mail?

 

comets latest email-

Thank you for your e-mail.

 

I can advise that this matter is being dealt with by the investigations team and I have requested that they give you a call before 6pm today to provide an update.

 

In the meantime, please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused.

 

Regards,

[kurvaface]

Hmmmm....

 

 

I wonder if they called................................................................?

[GorgieBoy]

Hi javafter ,

 

I think you are being very lenient using the word " frustrated ".

 

This is shocking and I quote my reply to Robbo87 regarding the ongoing problem with his Tv ,

 

 

" Re: Absolute Joke of an aftersales service

Hi Robbo,

 

I would not hold my breath regarding getting a replacement Tv , although you should be , just read the problems javafter is having regarding getting his faulty Laptop replaced which packed in within 7 days of purchase for example .

 

It would seem now that COMET are reluctant to replace any product for a customer with no one able to have the responsibility to authorise an immediate replacement or refund , with every case being passed from pillar to post for further investigation !! .

 

On saying that the more these issues are flagged up on this forum the more chance there is of a positive result , ie replacement Tv in your case Robbbo after all you have been having problems since October with no resolution in sight at this present time ."

 

 

 

I think you would agree that this is how it seems to be , which is totally WRONG , COMET it would seem have their own interpretation of "SOGA" the version they go by and not the real version .

 

Once the money goes in the till everything else goes out the window .

 

 

Edited December 19, 2011 by GorgieBoy

[DES_1001]

Hi javafter,

I have read your thread, i can't see if you mentioned your payment method? But if you paid by credit card ( i really hope you did ) contact your credit card company explain all of your problems, tell then you don't have the laptop and you want a section 75 charge back!

here is a link from which to explain about section 75

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/chargeback-on-credit-and-debit-cards/

hope this helps

[javafter]

problem sorted now. i tweeted @cometPLC directly expressing my problem which seemed very effective.

i'm getting a refund as they have none left in stock.

they were apologetic today however i won't be buying from them again in future as this experience has totally put me off. to think i nearly had to start legal proceedings for such a straight forward case makes me feel sorry for the people who are dealing with more complex issues.

the sales support unit manager had to authorise my refund apparently. so if you are in a similar position and get told 'there is no-one you can escalate to because the answer will be the same' it might be worth asking to speak to the sales support unit manager.

[rebel11]

Well Done Jav:-D