Not A Happy Camper (Maplin)

Member Name: utero

Product:	Maplin
Date:	19/06/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good choice of products

Disadvantages: Customer service and returns policy are a complete joke

Do you need something to fend off cats which looks like a cheap plastic satellite dish? Need some disco lights to brighten up your living room? Well Maplin Electronics are the destination to go for all these things on the high street.

Stocking anything electronic related, this would be the place to go for those little computer components that they don't sell in your normal retailers, the stores are generally well spaced out and stocked. But I will not be darkening their doors ever again unless I am absolutely forced to.

Having perused through a few other opinions on Dooyoo concerning Maplin it looks like I'm not alone in coming across ridiculous policy when trying to return something.

A few months back the PSU on my laptop decided to stop playing ball. In need of power and not able to wait, I purchased a Trust branded PSU from Maplin complete with multi attachments. The price of £35 was reasonable, I'm sure I could have got something cheaper but when you need something there and then you're not left with much choice.

Now this week I encountered a problem where the PSU was getting electric through it but it wasn't charging my laptop. So with receipt in hand, I took it back to the store. After a brief explanation the store assistant faffed around in the relevant section under the notion that I had asked for help with buying one. I assumed he was new as he seemed to be devoid of knowledge. Then the manager got in on the act and realized that a small band had fallen off the adaptor and that was the problem.

I then waited around for about 15-minutes listening to the strains of Madonna's Erotica playing out in the store, this on a separate note was a bizarre choice for in store ambience. Meanwhile the staff went scrabbling around in odds and sods boxes for a replacement adaptor piece. Lo and behold they had anything but, however they did have another PSU in stock that I thought would be the answer to my dilemma.

But then I was introduced to Maplin's frankly crap returns policy. Under no circumstances could they open up a new packet, it was plastic sealed you see and it would scupper their chances of getting their money back from the supplier. Quite why this was my problem was baffling. Instead I was told that they would send it away for up to two weeks to see if they could confirm whether it was faulty. Well we already knew the fault and I wouldn't expect something to fall off after about 2-3 months use.

After some ridiculous back and forth debate between the manager, and myself we were no closer to getting that sealed pack open and being handed a replacement tip. Then he had the bright idea of calling his tech support line to see if there was a known problem with said product. At this point I was fuming and waited for another eternity while they tried to get someone on the phone. Finally they discovered there was a few which had had a similar fault. Then it was like the clouds opened and god handed down to Maplins the divine right to open the plastic packaging and replace the adaptor tip.

I have never encountered such ineptitude for a problem that could have easily been rectified within a couple of minutes. If a product is faulty then it's faulty, this wasn't even a repair worthy case. The whole experience has led me to write this opinion as I'm all for singing the praises of retailers when they offer great service. But with the good you must also share the bad and this is one of the worst I've encountered from what is not a small independent trader but a company with stores nationwide. If they've employed this kind of service since day one then I'm surprised they managed to get to the stage of being nationwide.

I just have my fingers crossed that nothing else occurs with this PSU as I really don't want the stress again. My recommendation to fellow consumers would be that if you can get it elsewhere then do because if something goes wrong then it's not worth the hassle.

Ironically Maplin's shares it's name with the holiday camp setting of 80's sitcom Hi De Hi - both with their own unique brand of comedy.

Summary: Danger! Danger! High Voltage! Avoid!