The COMET Experience (Comet.co.uk)

Member Name: hadenuff

Product:	Comet.co.uk
Date:	20/07/06 (3041 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great when they're selling you something

Disadvantages: The complete opposite when you have a faulty item

Having purchased a fridgefreezer from Comet. It went belly up after 13 months of purchase still within the 2 year manufacturers warranty. To date the following

5 engineer visits, 3 logged 'jobs' in the service care system. Initially they also tried to deny the warranty and wanted to take a credit card incase it wasn't in warranty but was assured it would not be used. How they didn't know it was still in warranty is beyond me. Having confirmed with Samsung the product was and still is in warranty. An unauthorised charge of £77 was taken which has taken up until 2 weeks ago to return since April 06.

The item has again packed in. This would be now the 4th job logged against this item. The fridge is imperative as we have a small baby and even more so as essential severe health related medicines need to be kept in a controlled temperature and need to be taken regularly to manage a serious illness. Although Comet have ensured this is not their problem.

Each service call follows the maximum allowances by consumer law. ie an engineer is never available for a minimum of a week. A cancellation in each of the 3 raised service jobs has been put forward, but never materialises.

Each time a call is made a the customer services department follow a similar fob off procedure the last time I spoke to someone today, they refused to help.

The only option left is the following and to get anywhere it seems that the consumer is forced to go to extremes with this organisation as they seem to operate within there own consumer law which is outside any UK Sale of Goods Act.

I have written a letter to Hugh Harvey who is the MD at Comet and based in Hull, Full address Comet Group PLC, George House, George Street, Hull HU1 3AU, As well as Lesley Law whom I was told by Wendy Norton in customer sales is the Client Services Director again based in Hull and finally a copy has also gone to Andy Grey in the legal department at Comet, again also based in Hull. As well as copies to which.co.uk and watchdog@bbc.co.uk and a consumer complaint has been logged in with the local trading standards office. Please ensure you get a reference number from them. They are very helpful to telling your rights.

Comet have not helped me no matter how patient I have been. Which I have been so far for 4 months, and when you've spent £600 on a fridge freezer you expect it to do the job you bought it for. The same fault has happened on all 4 occasions.

I have given them 3 opportunities to repair the fridge. The second engineer actually left some screws from inside the fridge on top or the fridge, so only god knows where they belong. Log each instance and the result. Time, Date person you spoke to and the outcome each time. It will all help if it goes to court, but don't worry if you've not done this. The the fact the item is still not functioning is all you need for the law to be on your side.

Put a notification in writing. citing the 1979 Sale of Goods Act which clearly states that all goods supplied to be of satisfactory quality. ie free from defects. That if they don't respond that you will have to take the matter to court. And be prepared to do so, as this is likely to be your only option.

With ref to loss of goods due to a faulty item. Again freezer foods etc. Comet demand packaging which the engineer is supposed to log each time with fridge freezer items. However in our case, each time they have refused to do so and said it wasn't there job to do.. We have now lost also over £250 worth of freezer food alone. So please also keep a log of all items you have lost.

If you a shop that has any club card facilities, these or receipts of food stuffs as well as packaging should be enough as this also needs to be compensated.

The law does state that even only one opportunity of repair needs to be given. Thereafter if the item does breakdown you can demand a replacement or a full refund. Please double check with the localtradingstandards site for variations consumerdirect.gov.uk

Unfortunately I will have no choice but to take this matter to court.

There is no point in getting upset or stressed with them as Comet will not address any concerns in a consistant manner. Each individual whom I've spoken to contridicts the other. Forget raising your voice, as even if you stay calm as you can be with them you still can't get anywhere, as even if you're able to put forth a logical and viable reason, this freaks some out. eg a certain individual could not sounded so daft in what he was responding to my query he tried to imply something I was saying was wrong and kept jumping from one subject to another. Frankly I was getting quite concerned he was having an anxiety attack and had to ask him a few times if he was ok. I asked him to put me through to a colleague who may be able to help and he refused and told me he was going to hang up. I asked him politely not to but he did. He just hung up. Everytime to date they just hang up.

The crunch of the matter is if you buy something from them and it doesn't breakdown. You're very lucky.

If it breaks down ensure that they are clear the manufacturers warranty applies which could be 2 years for some white goods. So even if they're policy states 1 years guarantee. This is actually incorrect. As the retailer they have to follow the manufacturers guidelines of warranty which could be 2 or 3 years.. So double check this with the manufacturer and don't by additional warranty. You don't need to. As the retailer the law is clear, the onus can be on them to repair up to 6 years after purchase or replace said item. If it doesn't function for the manner it was purchased for.

Please be aware that the retailers usually get an additional discount from a manufacturer that they have to deal with any fault issues within a set procedure which is usually part of their commercial deals to get larger profit marjins on there revenue streams. ie more profit gain for the retailer, but even though something could be in place with the manufacter to get an extra discount from the manufacturer. They don't fulfill the procedures that may be a prerequiste in any contracts deals they have with the manufacture.

Whether that is happening here is unclear and I can't say either way. But this is usually the case in my experience. Comet commercial policy seems to be to do anything and everything not to have to refund or replace and the only way they are likely to fulfill there contract to you is by going to court.

Anyway if the item breaks down a 2nd time if you wish you can give them an opportunity to repair. Even go to the 3 repair for a 3rd breakdown, which is what I did, by which point the warranty could have run out. But have no fear even if this does happen the law is still on the consumers side and you can still take them to court under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as I said up to 6 years after the appliance is purchased. As it is not functioning as it is meant to do and was purchased for.

The only solution there after is to take it to County Court. This is my next stage so I will update the final outcome. Also with payments taken with out authorisation. This can be addressed with the police and the information commissionaire on 01625 545745.

Finally, if you bought the item by a credit card.. The card company can also be held responsible and it is worth reviewing this route and you can get a refund from them and they would be liable to chase the retailer to get their money back. Let the big boy legal departments fight it out amongst each other..

The sad reality is, commercially many organisations don't give a hoot and are only interested in taking your money. You can't blame them, I'm sure we'd all do the same, fortunately we are protected by law, but sadly we are now getting to the stage due to more pressure on companies by their share holders the consumer also suffers and has to now exhaust the route of the law to get more and more protection. We have to face that we will now have to take this to court more and more. If your not able to do this for yourself you can find companies which are springing up who will deal with you're complaint for you. They can do a standard letter and help you fill out the necessary paperwork. It's a pain but it's worth it as you can list the monies spent on taking the case to court and have that included as required compensation against a retailer. I am no lawyer so please get advice. But don't accept such bad after sales services. We work hard for the things we have and it's the duty of the retailer who are making tidy profits from us to hold up to there side of their contract

Summary: Things to be aware when dealing with Comet After Sales what you'll face and what you can do.