Rebecca Smithers 

Currys failed to give voucher for faulty laptop as promised

My wife and I are classed as vulnerable and we need a computer to order food deliveries
  
  

Currys PC World shop front
A Currys customer visited a store many times but his case was not resolved. Photograph: Sam Oaksey/Alamy Stock Photo

In mid-September I went to Currys to find out when I would get my computer back (bought in 2012) following a repair. I was told it had been written off but, as I had paid monthly for a Team Knowhow support agreement, I would receive a voucher towards the cost of a replacement.

Hearing nothing, I returned to the store only to be told it could take up to two weeks to materialise. At the end of the month I received a text from Team Knowhow seeking feedback on “my recent product replacement” which suggested the matter was closed.

The following day I visited again. I was told to ignore the text and was assured I would receive the voucher the next day. It failed to arrive and, by now, I was travelling to the store almost daily. While there on 1 October, I was provided with a printout that, in addition to confirming that the voucher was valued at £399, clearly stated it had been redeemed.

I am 77, classed as vulnerable, and my wife and I rely on the computer to enable us to place orders for food deliveries, so I felt I had no choice but to pay for a new laptop. The store manager provided a note undertaking to refund my money when I receive the voucher.

I wrote recorded delivery to the Currys chief executive, but that got me nowhere. I’m still voucherless, £399 poorer and at my wits’ end.

AH, Bexhill-on-Sea

In your case, this all got unnecessarily complicated and you should not have been putting yourself at risk by going into stores so regularly. We got in touch with Currys which told us that as your laptop was written off, under the terms of your care plan agreement you were, indeed, eligible for a voucher to be used towards a replacement.

Currys PC World says: “We are sorry that AH didn’t receive the standard of customer service we normally expect. We have apologised for the confusion and inconvenience and transferred the value of the voucher to his card. We have also offered a gesture of goodwill, which AH has accepted and he is happy with the resolution.”

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*