Be prepared to be bullied and harassed by Currys at Milton Keynes Retail Park. Having seen the TV adverts I decided to purchase a BLACKBERRY PlayBook
7" Tablet (with a free leather case) which was on offer for £129. I
ordered the item using the 'reserve & collect' facility: assuming
that this would be a quick and convenient method of shopping. But how
wrong I was!
The member of staff (at the Milton Keynes The Place Retail Park of Currys)
who served me asked whether I wanted to purchase insurance for the
product at a cost of £30. I said that I wasn't interested in buying
insurance as the PlayBook was a Xmas gift for my 33-year-old son, and
therefore it would be up to him to organise insurance cover if he felt
he needed it.
The sales-person then decided to try and 'push' the
insurance sale by describing the (alleged) benefits of Currys insurance
policy and I kept repeating that I only wanted to purchase the
Blackberrt PlayBook Tablet and nothing else!
He then said that he
would only allow me to have the free leather case for the Tablet if I
agreed to purchase the insurance as well. I pointed out that the case
was advertised as free without any mention of having to purchase an
insurance policy but he insisted that I could only have the case if I
paid £30 for the insurance.
I responded by saying that under those
circumstances, I would take the PlayBook without the free case. (I had
absolutely no intention of spending any more than the actual cost of
the item it was all I could afford: I'm a pensioner!)
But to my
dismay, this awful individual continued to try and push the insurance
sale to the point where his tone and manner became very aggressive and
intimidating.
When I still refused to pay for insurance he then
adopted a different tactic he said that insurance was essential as
the Blackberry PlayBook Tablet is [quote] "a rubbish product and is, in
fact, one of the most faulty Tablets ever sold by Currys: hence I would
invariably have to make an insurance claim for repair or replacement in
the very near future. Again I pointed out that it would be my son's
responsibility for sorting out a fault (or accidental damage).
I said
that a £30 insurance charge for an item that only cost £129 was totally
out of proportion and in fact a more appropriately-priced policy
could be purchased elsewhere. I also pointed out that if the item I'd
purchased did prove to be faulty, then my son would lodge a claim under
the manufacturer's guarantee.
Bizarrely, his response was that
(without insurance) a faulty product would have to be returned to
Blackberry and not to Currys and returning it would involve a great
deal of expense and inconvenience for me.
I told him that this would
be in breach of Trading Standards regulations the fact is that if an
item turns out to be faulty or damaged, the seller has a legal duty to
put it right, as the buyer's contract is with the seller not with the
manufacturer. Hence I would not have to return the tablet to Blackberry
I would return it to Currys.
The sales-person then became very
irate. He said that he was going to refuse to sell me the Blackberry
because I had refused to buy the insurance!
I asked to speak to the
manager, but the sales-person ignored this request. So I took hold of
the box containing the Blackberry and said that I would leave the store
without paying for it if he was going to refuse my payment I figured
that this would be a good way of attracting the attention of the store
manager and I was right: a sheepish-looking man shuffled forward and
introduced himself as the duty manager. He had been standing just
yards away throughout the 'bullying episode' that I had endured, and had
witnessed my ordeal.
Anyway, the manager processed the transaction
without any further delay and without any further attempt to sell me the
insurance policy that I quite patently didn't want. He said that the
sales-person had only been trying to describe the benefits of
insurance however he offered no explanation for the sales-person's
claim that I could only have the free case if I purchased the
insurance policy as well. (I think this translates as blatant deception?
I'll check the matter with the Advertising Standards Authority). Nor
did the manager offer any explanation as to why the ruthless
sales-person had persisted with his heavy-handed sales 'technique' over a
prolonged period of time after I had already explained repeatedly that I
really did not wish to purchase insurance.
As I was leaving the
store the salesperson shouted a comment about me not being normal.
Interesting I assume Currys staff think normal people are those
who can be bullied and harassed into buying unwanted, unnecessary,
far-too-expensive, insurance policies?
Needless to say, I shall not be shopping at Currys again! read more
