RIP-OFFS 2

High street stores are fobbing off customers who have legitimate complaints and denying them their legal right to have faulty goods fixed. Household name retailers are misrepresenting the law over repairs, replacements and refunds, according to a damning study by consumer champions Which? Its researchers visited 60 shops, including Argos, Comet, Currys, John Lewis and independent outlets, with a complaint about a faulty fridge that was just out of a one or two-year warranty. Staff in just 16 of the stores accepted the fact that, despite the time since purchase, the retailer still had a responsibility to resolve the problem.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 gives consumers limited protection for up to six years after purchase, regardless of store or manufacturer warranties. The Act says that when a product is bought it must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and meet its description. If it develops a fault at a time in its life when this should not reasonably have happened, the shop could be responsible for rectifying the problem. Which? said in these circumstances, the customer should ask for a no-cost repair or replacement.

It said, "The retailer must do either in a reasonable period of time and without causing significant inconvenience. In practice, these rights last for a maximum of six years after purchase (five years in Scotland)." In reality, however, it found many retailers keep customers in the dark about their rights in order to avoid the time and expense of fixing a product. Which? said staff were generally quick to deny any liability. One staff member at Argos said, "There's nothing we can do, it's over a year ain't it."

Comet achieved a better performance than rivals, however, one member of staff sent the researcher away, saying, "After a year, unfortunately, we have nothing to do with it." Currys staff performed poorly with one suggesting the customer should approach the Citizens Advice Bureau. Which? found that many stores would refer the customer to the manufacturer, but while some manufacturers may help, the retailer is actually legally responsible to sort out any problem.

John Lewis also fobbed off customers in many cases. However, one member of staff was rated as 'excellent' after giving a clear explanation of rights. Richard Lloyd, of Which?, said, "We've uncovered some appalling ignorance by staff. 'When people's budgets are tight the last thing they need is to be given the wrong advice that could prove costly." The organisation has developed a free consumer rights mobile phone app to offer advice. Details are also on its website.

Argos said it was 'disappointed' by the Which? findings. It promised to review staff training. Comet said it was pleased that most of its staff performed well and insisted training on the law is provided. Currys said it was 'extremely disappointed' by the research. It said, "All our store staff receive comprehensive training about the Sale of Goods Act." John Lewis said consumers have to prove the cause of any fault where it occurs more than six months after purchase. It was 'disappointed' some staff had failed to live up to expected standards. (Source: Daily Mail, Nov/11)

Shoppers are paying the same price for products despite some of them getting smaller. Consumer watchdog Which? has uncovered big-name brands have been shrinking and without lowering their prices. Among the products which have been getting smaller are leading brands of ketchup, orange juice, washing-up liquid and washing powder. Fairy washing-up liquid, for example, has shrunk from 450ml to 433ml, with no drop in price. Fairy told Which? this was because it had concentrated the product but this only helps if you actually know to squeeze out less.

A bottle of Persil Small & Mighty laundry liquid used to be 730ml and gave shoppers 20 washes, it's now 630ml and gives just 18 washes. The price has changed from £3.99 in October 2008 to around £4.30 today. Persil bio and non-bio tablets are now sold as a 40-tablet (20 wash) pack, when they used to come in a pack of 48. The price has also decreased, but not by the same ratio. Shoppers now get 83% of the contents but at 94% of the August 2010 cost, if bought at the widely-available prices.

Persil told Which?, "When sold at their recommended retail price the tablets are the same price per wash. The Small & Mighty range changed from two pack sizes (20 and 42 washes) to four (18, 28, 54 and 85 washes), helping us offer better value. Retail prices are up to retailers; however, our larger packs sell at an average cost per wash, which is lower than this time last year." Own-brand ketchup from Sainsbury's reduced in size from 485g to 460g but it still costs 95p. Sainsbury's has since apologised, saying it never intended to mislead customers. It has agreed to lower the price.

Which? said, "If you're worried about rising shopping prices, one way to cut your shopping bill might be to switch from branded to supermarket-own items. You don't have to compromise on quality, either, as we've had a bumper crop of good value Best Buys this year. Overall, we found buying the leading brands of ketchup, orange juice, olive oil, laundry liquid, washing powder, washing-up liquid and dishwasher tablets would cost £38.67. But if you swapped those for the top-rated equivalent supermarket items, made up of Best Buys, or items we think are worth considering, the bill would come to just £18.35, a saving of 53 per cent on your bill." (Source: Daily Mail, Sep/11)

Computer repairers paid to fix laptops are snooping into private files. Technicians sift through confidential documents, pinch secret passwords, look at emails and one was even caught leering at a girl’s private bikini-clad photos. They were also found misdiagnosing faults, overcharging for basic work and deleting private files. The evidence was uncovered by a Sky News investigation where a new laptop was taken to repair shops in London. Engineers installed it with secret cameras and spy software and rigged it with a simple, easily detectable fault.

LAPTOP REVIVAL
After initially offering a free diagnosis, the webcam shows that almost immediately the technician at Laptop Revival in Hammersmith, West London discovers the loose memory chip and clicks it back into position. The problem is solved, yet the computer nerd then begins browsing through our hard-drive. A folder marked ‘Private’ is opened and he flicks through our fictitious owner’s holiday photos, including intimate snaps of her in a bikini. He then tells the investigator the motherboard is faulty. Usually it costs £130 but he’ll replace it for £100.

A few hours later, another technician boots the machine. He searches the hard-drive until he finds log-in details for the girl’s Facebook and Hotmail. He removes a memory stick from around his neck, plugs it in and then copies them across. The technician was so impressed with a snap of a busty girl on holiday that he uploaded it to the memory stick packed with similar photos of from other customers’ computers. Worryingly, when he finds log-in details for the girl’s online bank, he attempts to break into the account but only fails because they were false.

Managers at Laptop Revival denied knowing about the alleged abuses of trust carried out by its technicians when confronted by Sky over the abuse. Trade group the Technology Channels Association (formerly the Personal Computer Association) suspended Laptop Revival's membership, hours after the expose aired. TCA chief exec Keith Warburton said, "Sky's investigation revealed several activities that were at least reprehensible, if not criminal. As soon as we became aware of Sky's investigation we suspended Laptop Revival. It will be given an opportunity to respond but if no adequate explanation is forthcoming Laptop Revival will be expelled from the association".

PC WORLD
The PC World technician removed the battery and mains power-supply then made several unsuccessful attempts to switch the machine on. He then triumphantly diagnosed a faulty motherboard and insisted a new one was needed. The investigator was told unless £230 was paid in advance, the laptop couldn’t be repaired. The technician was given the go-ahead but when the computer was collected and examined it appeared only a memory chip had been replaced and not the motherboard.

After calling customer service for an explanation investigators were told they wouldn’t be getting a refund and the £230 was for PC World’s expertise at diagnosing the fault. A spokesman for PC World later apologised and said, “Our technician following the correct procedures but could have given clearer advice. After a thorough investigation we have concluded that he should not have made an assumption about the cause of the fault of the laptop.”

DIGITECH
This firm fixed the fault but they also spent a while snooping. The webcam reveals the technician at the store in Putney, South West London, takes a quick look over his shoulder, before flicking through our holiday pictures. He then attempts to ‘clean up’ what he’s done by deleting the ‘recent documents’ folder. When confronted, a Digitech employee claimed the technician accessed the holiday snaps to “test the computer’s memory.” The company have refused to give an official response.

EVNOVA COMPUTERS
Technicians at Evnova, in London’s Barbican, spotted the loose memory chip but they also said a new motherboard was needed. The investigator declined their offer and collected the laptop but under examination it was discovered that Evnova technicians had soldered the memory-bus pins together to ‘recreate’ the original fault. When confronted, the irate owner admitted soldering the parts, claiming he thought the investigator was from a rival repair company. (Source: Daily Mirror, Jul/09)

Repair companies charge as much as £87 for an engineer just to take a look at a broken washing machine. Many manufacturers impose a fixed fee for repairing kitchen appliances, however small the job - even if the problem can't be fixed. Others recommend repair firms who charge a minimum callout fee just to turn up at a customer's home and customers often have to call expensive 0870 numbers to arrange for an engineer.

What they charge:

Bosch £64 call-out plus parts

Dyson £85 including parts

Hoover £93.30 including parts

Hotpoint £94.98 including parts

Whirlpool £79 plus parts

Zanussi £74 call-out plus parts

(Source: Sunday Mirror, May/06)

Parents who book holidays for them and two children are being charged more for their trip than four adults travelling together. The rip-off came to light after an eagle-eyed dad discovered that it cost £154 more for an identical 14-night summer break for a family. It means it can work out cheaper NOT to claim child discounts. The price muddle is because expensive "under-occupancy" supplements are added for under-12s on some self-catering holidays, but not for adults. Although child prices may be cheaper in the brochure, when the supplement, hidden in the small print, is added the family holiday price soars.

On one internet holiday website dad of two Darren Pegrum, of Bromley, Kent, found a seven-night break in an apartment in Faro, Portugal, with thomson.co.uk. It cost £1,856 for a family of four, but was £114 less at £1,742 for four adults. And a 14-night holiday in Ibiza with portlandholidays.co.uk cost £1,496 for adults only, £154 less than the family price of £1,650. Also, two weeks at Santa Eulalia, Ibiza, with Portland was £136 cheaper for adults than a family. One travel agent said the rules were well known within the travel industry.

He admitted, "As costing a holiday can be complicated, most families never realise that they can often secure a sizeable discount on their self-catering holiday simply by not claiming their child discount." Tour operators use the under occupancy rule to make sure they get a decent return when they rent out an apartment. If it sleeps four people and only two book the holiday, a supplement is charged to make up for that but for families paying "discount" rates, the children are not counted so they are hit with the under-occupancy supplement. (Source: Daily Mirror, Mar/07)

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