Currys "whatever happens" insurance is rubbish

pinktrainers

pinktrainers

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When I bought my D60 about a year and a half ago, I agreed to the £3.50 per month charge for what I now know is a Coverplan agreement, on the basis that the salesman told me if I have any issues I can bring my camera in and get an instant replacement.

About a year later, I dropped my D60 (woops) and broke the flash, so I rang the number on my agreement and they said because of the value of the camera, it would have to be repaired, not replaced. Fine, I sent it for repair. A week and a half later it came back with the flash fixed, but the eye sensor broken.

I was pretty miffed that they'd made such a glaring error when repairing it, but figured the eye sensor wasn't that important and left it for a little while. Eventually, I got round to sending it off again to have the sensor fixed. A week later it has come back with the sensor fixed, and the LCD screen completely ruined - the colours are off and the display is fuzzy - and the controls on the back are not working at all.

Now pretty irate I rang up again to ask for a replacement, since I don't want to send it off to these apparently amateur repairmen (Johnsons Photopia - I'm sure a few of you will be familiar) who have twice damaged my camera. Turns out the insurance company (who I'm still not certain are any particular company - I've been turfed from Currys to the Tech Guys to Mastercare) only use this one company and cannot do anything about a replacement without them.

In the end I was forced to organise another goddamn pickup and am currently waiting on a call back from the technician who worked on my camera last following a complaint direct to the company.

In summary:

- no replacements, in fact no "in-store" service at all.
- poor repairs, severe damage upon return.
- confusing and unclear structure of services.

I would definitely advise against taking out this insurance (which I will be promptly canceling as soon as my camera is back to me). In fact, I would advise against shopping with Currys at all, since their salesmen seem to have no idea about their product insurance.

I guess this is obvious to a lot of you guys - stick to photography specialist retailers.
 
pinktrainers I think if you don't get satisfaction this time you should go to trading standards or your local CAB, I'm sure you could make a case for forcing them to send the camera back to the manufacturer at least to get the repair done properly, if not refunding you completely.

------

I was a salesman for many years, I quit because I could not stomach the lies I was expected to tell.

Golden rules when buying "anything"

1 Do your own research before you ever go near a shop, know what you want and set a price you will not go over.

2 Don't believe a word a salesperson tells you about anything, the salespersons job is to take as much of your money as they can, not to sell you what you want to buy.

3 Never Never Never buy the "Extended warranty/Insurance" packages, you are already most likely covered by your own household insurance for any accidental damage so why pay twice?

4 Read the fine print BEFORE you sign the paper not after, even if it means keeping a dozen other people waiting, know what you are getting into.
 
Mastercare and The TechGuys are both part of DSG who also own Currys. Johnsons Photopia are Nikon's official refurbisher - I've had the misfortune to own two cameras they had "reconditioned"- judging by the state of them I'd doubt this actually entailed more than a quick run over with a duster and a can of Mr Sheen....
 
Steep said:
3 Never Never Never buy the "Extended warranty/Insurance" packages, you are already most likely covered by your own household insurance for any accidental damage so why pay twice?
Click to expand...

Tee-hee. Several years ago I was looking to buy a new, cheap, TV. I'd decided what model I wanted and it was available in three local stores at the same price.

I went to Currys, found a free assistant and told him that I wanted this model of TV, but that I'd be walking out of the shop if he mentioned the phrase "Extended Warranty". So he went up to the warehouse and came back wheeling the box. He was doing fine until he asked for my credit card at the till - "And would you like the extended warranty with that sir? Sir? Er, where are you going sir?"

The assistant at the second shop was either more intelligent or hadn't finished her indoctrination.
 
Steep said:
I was a salesman for many years, I quit because I could not stomach the lies I was expected to tell.
Click to expand...

+1

Many years ago I worked for DSG for 6 years and resigned when Sir Stanley Kalms (the then CEO of said company) told me personally to box up a returned, second hand Sega Megadrive and sell it as new.

Of course, he would deny he said it, but it happened and was the final nail in the coffin for me.

I haven't bought anything other than consumables (blank DVDs, batteries etc) from them since.

When I worked there, DSGs annual profit was almost exactly the same as the amount taken in Coverplan premiums :naughty:
 
amnesia said:
+1

Many years ago I worked for DSG for 6 years and resigned when Sir Stanley Kalms (the then CEO of said company) told me personally to box up a returned, second hand Sega Megadrive and sell it as new.

Of course, he would deny he said it, but it happened and was the final nail in the coffin for me.

I haven't bought anything other than consumables (blank DVDs, batteries etc) from them since.

When I worked there, DSGs annual profit was almost exactly the same as the amount taken in Coverplan premiums :naughty:
Click to expand...

Stanley Kalms was in your store?

Oh, and he was Chairman, not CEO. ;)
 
just read your agreement carefully - if will usually say that if it needs to be repaired a certain number of times or if it takes longer than 28 days they will either replace or give you a voucher.

if they don't you can take them to court for breach of contract. we had this happen with our tv which we purchased when we first bought our house - it was a cheapy brand tv (although at the time it cost about 1500 when flat screens were first becoming affordable).

the tv had a fault where there were sparkles on the tft panel, the they attepted to repair it in the home, ****ed it up and we were without a tv for a month because they trying to order a part for a 3 year old tv which probably didn't exist.

in the end, after a dozen or so phone calls (and threats to take them to court for beach of contract) they gave us the vouchers.

moral of the story: read the small print, the contact will actually usually work out in your favour and if they don't stick to their end of the bargain, take them to the small claims court (obviously write to them first give them a few days to sort it etc etc).
 
I's advise anyone against even stepping through the door at curry's or any other subsiduary of dsg retail, i had a 6 month battle with them after a tv i bought from them went kapput 5 weeks into ownership.

Wont go into all the details but to say they dont give a damn about the customer as soon as they've taken your money is a gross understatement.

Their loss though i'm sure between myself and family and friends etc that knew about it have spent tens of thousands of pounds elsewhere on electrical items since.
 
On the positive side, I bought a D3 recently from TechFurb (The TechGuys) and as detailed in another post here, it turned out to be damaged/incorrectly assembled.
They responded with an immediate partial refund (the choice having been full refund and they would undertake to collect the camera from me at no cost, or I keep the camera and repair under Nikon UK warranty and accept partial refund as a measure of goodwill).

Throughout the procedure, communications with TechFurb have been timely and helpful.
 
I have bought 3 Canon's from Dixons (albeit Heathrow T4) and had no trouble with any of them.

I never touch the extended warrantees as I believe they are money for nothing. In general, they are run by insurance companies who make profits. That means that on average, you pay more in premiums than they pay in repairs. Therefore, if you are reasonably gentle with your equipment, then on average you'll save money by NEVER buying an extended warrantee. Once in a while, you'll buy a lemon and you take the rough with the smooth.
 
My sister-in-law had a similar thing with a laptop from currys.

She sent it in for repair and was told that the repair would be chargeable. The reason given was that it had been dropped (it hadn't) and that USB ports were a consumable item :eek: I explained very carefully that her guarantee was with the store not the repair company and that it was the stores responsibilty. The manager was sympathetic but couldn't budge on mastercares descision.

When we got home I emailed the MD of DSG directly and CC'd customer services. I explained the issues and the sale of goods act legislation, gave some rubbish about noramlly being happy at Currys but now not so sure about spending money there again. I also pointed out a customer service promise that he had put his name to on all of the leaflets and failed to keep :lol: A week later she got vouchers worth £400 through the post to buy a new laptop :thumbs:

If I have any issues with any company at all I always go straight to the top. Be polite, explain the issue carefully and tell them that you are normally happy and a loyal customer. Most of the time it works like a charm.

Andy
 
DSG, based in Hemel Hempstead, home of Dick Turpin. perhaps they are the modern version....
 
Made a little bit of progress, the camera is now not going to JP, but 'DKAvs', anyone have any experience with them?

I'll be happy to cancel this insurance as soon as the working camera is returned to me, but I am now hoping the damage JP caused will be too much to repair and I'll get some vouchers for a replacement. It may still all end well...
 
So. The saga is finally over. Three and a half weeks after the third and final repair trip, the D60 is back to me, working in perfect order, and they were graceful enough to include a free EN-EL9a battery (may have been a mistake, since the sheet says no batteries included, but I would like to think it is compensation).

I will now be cancelling my insurance, naturally.
 
All's well that ends well. Glad to hear you got it sorted, now just never go back to Currys :D
 
Excellent news!
 
i can only speak positively about curry's "whatever happens" extended insurance policy.we took out the policy when we purchased our first flat screen TV,which developed a fault after approx 18 months of owning(out of warranty),so we contacted them and explained the problem.within 2 days,the TV was collected,and we were told we would hear from them within 3 weeks.after 2 weeks,we recieved a voucher to purchase a new TV,but only for £450,when our first one cost us £1,000...so i rang them to explain this,and was told to just go to our local store and pick a like for like set,and if it cost more they would pay the extra.

we ended up with a bigger and better TV which we were very happy with.needless to say we have taken out the same policy on the replacement set....

glad the outcome was a positive one for you
 
I've got mixed feelings about Currys to be honest, bit of a long post I'm afraid, but its worth it........

With regards to the whole extended warranty thing, years ago I bought a mini disk player in one of their stores and the sales person was very pushey about selling the warranty. She even told me that if it was damaged I would get an instant replacement - in store. Her pitch was if in a year or so's time I was to "accidentally" drop and break it I could pop in and get a replacement of the same value - she told me the advantage to me would be that after a year I would be able to replace it with a much better, version as prices would drop...

Needless to say I didnt believe her, and didnt bother with the warranty.

On the other hand when I bought my first house (some 6 or 7 years ago) I went into currys and bought a 32" sony TV - ex display model. It was supposed to have a built in digital tuner but when I got it home and tried to set it up the digital didnt work.

I called the customer services people and the next day an 'engineer' was sent out.

He confirmed the fault and said I would get a replacement, and asked to see the receipt - when I gave him it he said 'ah - its ex display so we cant replace it all we can do is offer you a refund'

At the time I thought 'fair enough' and he went on his way saying I would need to sort it out with the store I bought it from.

I then read the terms and conditions on the paperwork which came from currys. No where did it mention anything specific about 'ex-display' models but it did say "We will ALWAYS offer a replacement or refund if goods are faulty" and this was the customers choice.

Now I didnt want a refund I wanted a replacement TV. Cue several calls to the store and customers services. In the end the store told me that they didnt have any of those specific models on display anymore, but I could choose one of the others.

Fine I thought and loaded the TV in the car and went to the store.

When I got there (early evening) it must have been shift change over as the lady on the customer services desk was just putting on her coat - I explained that I was here for a replacement and showed her my receipt.

Now at this point I should explain - at the top of the receipt it showed the full retail price of the TV if it was brand new £749.99 - further down the receipt were the 'managers discount' of something like £250 because it was ex-display.

The customer services lady didnt seem to take this all in and told me I was to choose another TV for the same value......£749.99 (not the price I paid)

I had a look around the store and basically chose the same TV I brought back for £749.99 - it was a newer model.

By the time I got back to the customer service desk the staff had changed, I told the new guy what had happened, told him the TV I chose and handed him my receipt. He took it and said 'ok the outstanding balance is £250 and how would I like to pay. I explained that the previous member of staff told me I had £749.99 to spend......'oh, said he - I'll have to get the manager'

Manager comes down and after a short discussion I here him tell the the guy 'well if thats what they've been told, we'll have to do it'

So in the end I got a £500 ex display TV replaced with a £750 brand new one!!

Oh and the real kicker was when I was at the till and the guy told me the TV I chose was on promotion and came with a free Sony VHS and Sony DVD player!!!!

Result!!!!

Then they brought it all out of the warehouse and kindly brought it outside the front of the store for me to load up and said goodbye.......I had to then ask them if they actually wanted the damaged TV back as it was still in my car and there was no way I could fit 2 boxed 32" TV's in the back of my Fiesta!!!!

Moral of the story for me is try your luck, you never know what you might end up with!!

Regards

Neil
 
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Currently work in currys and yeh sometimes I see customer who feel they get "done over" by the service, however in the OP's comments he got a nikon d60 to be fair if I'd have spent £500 (or whatever) and paid £3.50 to cover it yeh - the 3 weeks is a bit of a pain but better than spending £500 pounds instantly. The cover "instant replacement" is items less than £150, so yeh you were told wrong...
It depends on the costs of things. Just a point though if the item has the same fault 3 times you are entitled to a replacement or if it cant be fixed within 28 days.

I'm halfway items I've bought like my 9yr old cousins DSI straight away get covered.
I got a laptop for myself didn't bother.

We do get rated on them I like to think I stress it's optional and that one of two things will happen "You'll pay £X amount a month, never need and feel a little regret you you have spent money on nothing except piece of mind" "Or you don't pay for it you drop it and feel regret about not having it and have to go without your new nikon d60" Usually that steers them into purchasing it, but I've seen much worse pressuring by other sales staff....
 
I hate insurance cover on individual items, better off using your home contents insurance for small items, i could have bought a new washing machine with the cost of cover for my existing one and plans for an oven, fridge, PC, LCD TV. my monthly outgoings just on those would be something stupid like £60 ! :nono:
Save that over quite a few months and buy a new whatever :lol:
 
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