PC World (UK) love or hate?

[goldmercury]

Just had an awful experience in PC World. I was refused to purchase a laptop because they had done some form of set up on the laptop and would be including an additional Windows 10 recovering USB. However I did not want this just the laptop at the advertised price.

I've made a video to make it a little more clear,

Really wondering if I should put in a formal complaint to either PC World or trading standards. So mad right now!

 

[Kitten Kong]

Couple of questions Scot. Why shop in pc world in the first place?.

Was the laptop which was in stock a display model, or was it new in the box?. If it was new in the box, then they wouldnt / shouldnt have done any form of setup on it.

 

[goldmercury]

Good question Nige - main reason I was in PC World as I thought my step Dad was going to come in and take a look at the laptops. There is no where local except pcworld/currys where you can look and feel the laptops. He has a tendency to bash the keyboard so I was looking for something firm. A shop visit was required as you just can't find that type of info out on amazon/ebuyer/where ever online.

They had 4 in stock so I would assume they were new.

I also noted when I was in there that the Lenovo's felt the cheapest with very flimsy keyboards.

 

[ajm]

I used to work for PC World many years back in their Business division at one of their largest stores. Am surprised to see this kind of behaviour and attitude of staff is still prevalent in stores. Not all stores are the same and you were unlucky this time. I only go there if there is something I need urgently, however prefer John Lewis over Currys/PC World.


Dont waste your time and energy in making a complaint as it will make no difference to them...there are better things to do.

 

[Eagle21]

It sounds like a bait-and-switch tactic, which unfortunately seems to be quite common with many retailers these days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, customers are "baited" by merchants' advertising products or services at a low price, but when customers visit the store, they discover that the advertised goods are not available, or the customers are pressured by sales people to consider similar, but higher priced items ("switching").

It is illegal in England and Wales, not sure about Scotland.

 

[Moltuae]

main reason I was in PC World as I thought my step Dad was going to come in and take a look at the laptops. There is no where local except pcworld/currys where you can look and feel the laptops.

Can't remember the last time I set foot in a PC World myself but, back in the days when I did residential work, I would often send customers there for that very reason. "Go to PC World", I would tell them, "and find a laptop that you like the look and feel of and make a note of the make/model". "Do NOT make eye contact with any of the assistants and do NOT enter into conversation with them".

The good thing with this approach was that I was almost always able to find a slightly better (and usually cheaper) laptop from one of my suppliers (or other online sources), but one that was physically the same or similar to the one the customer had chosen. It also gave me a better idea of the customer's budget and expectations and, since they'd seen PC World's price, it gave them the reassurance they were getting a good deal.

Actually, thinking about it now, I did enter a PC World not so long ago. I'm not proud of it; I was desperate. I needed to configure a UPS via serial (RS232) and I had left my office without any type of serial cable or adaptor. PC World was nearer than my office so I figured I'd nip in there for a USB/Serial adaptor. The spotty ex-McDonalds sales assistant looked at me like I was asking for flux capacitor, then he disappeared off out the back for a while before returning with a slightly older, less spotty, colleague (clearly some sort of manager or 'team leader') who confirmed it was not something they stocked. Fortunately there was a Maplin about a mile away and I was able to get one from there (not that Maplin are much better than PC World, but they do stock more in the way of adaptors and connectors).

 

[glennd]

So in summary, the shop refused to sell the product at the advertised price. In this country that practice is illegal and the shop can and should be prosecuted. You should report the incident to your consumer affairs.

 

[goldmercury]

I'm with Eagle here - it does seem like a bait and switch - I may if I have time follow up on this - will let you guys know the outcome. Thanks for the responses.

 

[NJW]

the shop refused to sell the product at the advertised price.

It's along time since I was current with UK law, but it's not as straightforward as that. The advertised price is an invitation to treat, not a binding contract (on either side). The seller can reject the buyer's offer of the advertised price. Additionally, although the price of goods must be displayed, this is not the case for services (e.g., laptop setup).

While PC World's tactics may be underhand, they're not illegal.

@goldmercury: you could have ordered and paid online, for immediate collection in store, when you either would have paid the advertised price or have known about any extras. Avoiding PC World is a better option.

 

[Eagle21]

It's along time since I was current with UK law, but it's not as straightforward as that. The advertised price is an invitation to treat, not a binding contract (on either side). The seller can reject the buyer's offer of the advertised price. Additionally, although the price of goods must be displayed, this is not the case for services (e.g., laptop setup).

While PC World's tactics may be underhand, they're not illegal.

If you want to get up to date with UK law then have a read through
"The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008"
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/schedule/1/made
It has a list of 31 unfair trading practices, two of which (5 and 6) cover bait and switch fraud.
So bait and switch fraud is, I believe, illegal in the UK.

I'm with Eagle here - it does seem like a bait and switch - I may if I have time follow up on this - will let you guys know the outcome. Thanks for the responses.

I would call the local Trading Standards Department. Have a five minute chat with them on the phone. They should be able to let you know if PC World engaged in unfair trading, and whether it is worthwhile making a formal complaint.

 

[NJW]

If you want to get up to date with UK law then have a read through

https://www.businesscompanion.info/...sale-and-supply-of-goods#Howisthecontractmade

It doesn't have the provenance of your link, I'll agree. Note also that the event occurred in Scotland: different laws may be applicable.

See also this statement by PC World, for what it's worth.

 

[Krynn72]

Back when I worked my 3 months at CompUSA I was told that if someone refused to buy the extended warranty or a good amount of accessories, that I needed to "check the back" and find that we were actually out of stock of the one they wanted. It was a huge scam to make the branch manager look good in corporates eyes, since he was selling an apparently huge amount of upsets and warranties, and he'd get free week long vacations and large bonus checks.

I couldn't stand any of the scumbags there and so I quit very quickly after starting.

 

[joydivision]

I've had a couple of reports of this happening from customers too. I think it is happening because of rogue sales staff under pressure to make add on targets. Either way it is illegal and something I am sure trading standards would be very interested in. In one of the cases I know of, a customer was apparently told the laptop would not be under warranty unless they purchased the at home setup.

 

[Diggs]

Don't mean to show my ignorance, but here in the states, PC World is a magazine (now only online) but the store is using the same (old) logo I believe. Can someone provide details between the two?

 

[Kitten Kong]

@Diggs PC world were at one point owned by the Kingfisher Group. They also own Dixons, and Curry's, and are also part of the Carphone warehouse (used to also own Time Warner / Aol). Carphone warehouse is also part of Talk Talk (read talk talk scandal from a few weeks back).

They are the equivalent of Best Buy, Comp USA, Geek Squad etc.

They have a 'service' desk, which can deal with the smaller issues, ie virus removals, tune ups etc. However anything bigger, ie laptop issues, its sent off to some service outlets based around the country.

They are notorious for attempting to up sell Symantec, and their extended warranties. Everything at one point had to be up sold, else the sales staff (not a technician) failed to get their commission) At one point, they were extremely expensive. However since they now operate something called 'Know How'.which has made their repair costs more sustainable for their clients. (I am more expensive than PC world for the majority of their services).

In 2008, they were ranked in the bottom 10 retailers in the UK. According to a survey from Which?.

Much more detail can be found here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_World_(retailer)

 

[Moltuae]

Don't mean to show my ignorance, but here in the states, PC World is a magazine (now only online) but the store is using the same (old) logo I believe. Can someone provide details between the two?

I believe the two are unrelated and, apparently, PC World magazine is branded as PC Advisor in the UK:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Advisor

It is the UK edition of IDG's PC World. (Another now-discontinued magazine called Personal Computer World and a PC World retailer – neither related to the PC World magazine – already existed in the UK.)