Thread: Help Please, Comet Taking Me For A Ride

Hi, I'll appologise now for the long post but I hope someone can help me with this matter.
On Boxing Day I had and unfortunate accident involving a Wii remote, my uncle and my 42" Plasma screen.
Luckily the I had taken out the Total Cover Protection costing £550 for my tv when I bought it in 2005. Anyway the day after the incident (27th December) I rang Comet up who arranged and engineer to come out on the 5th of Jan, this was the earliest they could get out but I was fine with that.
The engineer arrived saw the screen was cracked said there was nothing he could do and arranged for Comet to come and collect the TV from my house on the 10th of Jan.
On 9th I rang Comet to ask if they had any idea what time they would be coming to pick the TV up as I had to nip out the following day, they said they would ring me in the morning and give me an eta.
I waited until 11am and they hadn't rang so I rang them to ask what time they would arrive she said they weren't sure so I asked if they could ring 1hr before they arrive then I would have enough time to get home. They said that would not be a problem and they could do that. So I nipped out and at 12pm I get a phone call saying they are at my door. I said it would take me at least 20 mins to get back thats why I asked them to ring me and hour before they arrive to give me time to get home. They said they never got the message and I would have to ring up and arrange a collection another day.
I rang Comet back to arrange another collection for the following Thursday (15th January) which was the last day I could do it as I was going on holiday the day after.
Then on the 13th Tuesday I get a phone call from Comet asking me what day I would like my TV collecting on. I told them I had already rang and arranged a collection for the 15th. They said they don't have anything down for that day and it would be impossible as there is no one in the area. After much shouting the lady said they would send someone to pick it up the following day on the 14th and thats all they could do before I went on holiday otherwise it would have to wait until I got back.
So I managed to get my shift covered at work and waited in on the 14th. I rang Comet at 1pm to ask if they had any idea what time they would be coming to collect the TV. I was told that they couldn't give a time but they were coming. At 5.30 I rang them back to ask if they were still coming I was assured they were still on the way and they would arrive anytime between then and 7pm. I wasn't happy about this as I had a sneaky feeling they wouldn't turn up and if they didn't I knew that the call center shut at 6pm so I wouldn't have anyone to ring up if they didn't show. The lady assured me that they were on there way. At about 6pm I got a phone call from Comet saying that they wouldn't be able to pick it up that day and would next week be ok. I hit the roof and went mad at them as I was going on holiday on the 16th and I wanted the TV repaired or replaced by the time I got back. They eventually said the would send someone round to collect it the following morning on the 15th.
So again I had to get another day off work, it got to lunch time and still no one had showed even though they had promised to be there by 10am so I rang back and they said that someone was still on the way and they would be there at about 2pm so I waited and still no show I rang back at 3pm and was told that someone was on the way. 5.30pm someone finally showed up. The lads collecting it told me that they weren't even collection staff they just work in the warehouse and had got given some keys to a van and told to come to my house to pick up a TV. Anyway they brought out a box that was miles to small to fit the TV in. I told them it wouldn't fit but they said they would get it in. They then proceeded to turn the TV on its side and drop it into the box which made a loud crack. Then when they put it in the van which was empty the put it right in the middle with nothing to support it either side so the first corner they went around I imagine it would have fell straight over.
I rang Comet and made a complaint about the way they handled my TV and was thankful that I had a piece of paper that I had signed stating that the only damage to it before I gave it to them was the cracked screen.
Anyway I went on holiday then on the Tuesday while I was on holiday Comet rang me I explained straight away that I couldn't talk for long as I was abroad and the call would be costing me a fortune. They said ok I'll make it quick and then asked me if my TV had been collected. I said yes it has and why are you asking have you lost it? They said no they were just checking that was all which I thought was very strange. Anyways I had to leave it at that because it was expensive to stay on the phone.
On return from my holiday on the 25th I rang Comet again. They said the couldn't check the progress because the service center was shut on Sundays and to ring back on Monday.
I rang back on Monday and they said the are going to order me a replacement screen for my TV. I asked when it would be ready then and they said they didn't know as they hadn't ordered the screen yet. I was angry at this as they had the TV for a week and a half now and hadn't done anything. They said they would let me know as soon as they get an eta for when the replacement screen would arrive.
Heard nothing from them all week so I rang then today on th 29th and they said that they don't know how long it will take. The said the earliest the can get a screen is the 8th of Feb then it need fitting and delivering so at best it would be middle of Feb.
I was not happy at this and asked if they could just give me a new TV instead which I thought was what I paid £550 for the Total Cover Protection was for as it states they will give me a replacement or credit to spend in store for the value I paid for the TV which was £2500. The lady was sympathetic and said if I ring the insurers and ask them to right the TV off then I can have a new one or credit.
I am going to ring the insurers tomorrow so is there any advice for me before I talk to them to get them to right off this TV so I can get a new one and not have to wait ages paying my Sky HD bill and all that for nothing?
If I had known it was going to be this much hassel I would have gone through the house insurance as it would have been settled right away on the new for old policy.
Thanks for your help and again sorry for the long post.

Thanks for the help. I have rang the number Comet gave me for the insurance to write off the TV they said they would need the Comet Service Center to send them the write off so I rang Comet back up and they said they could not do anything until the 5th of Feb now as they have ordered a replacement part for it. So now I'm stuck until the 5th of Feb and if the part hasn't turned up by then then they can ask for a replacement TV.
Any ideas of where to go now or should I just wait until the 5th?

Ok I rang them up today as they told me that if my replacement screen had not arrived by the 5th then I could have a brand new TV. I left it until 5pm and then rang.

I asked what the situation was and was told that my screen had been dispatched today and they would receive it tomorrow. I said that it was supposed to arrive by the 5th at the latest and she just said it will arrive tomorrow that being the 6th. I informed her that I had been promised that if the replacement screen had not arrived by the 5th from LG then the workshop manager had promised me a new TV.

She put me on hold to go talk to him, then on return she said that the screen had arrived today so there was no problem. I informed her that she had already told me that it had not arrived as she said it had been confirmed it had been dispatched today (5th). She said it was there and must have arrived this afternoon. I said this sounded a bit fishy as it has magically turned up now that that they realise that if it hadn't arrived they had to give me a new TV and they had already told me it wasn't. She then denied saying that it wasn't there which was a lie as she had just told me she checked up on it and confirmed that it had been dispatched from LG and would be delivered to them on the 5th.

Nope they said the earliest they can deliver it is Wednesday because they aren't in my area ><

I wouldn't accept that no-one is in your area on Wednesday if they really had the replacement screen on time it would have been back with you by now I think it's a delaying tactic so as not to have to give you a replacement. I would ring on Monday and start speaking about compensation for your lost days of work, telephone calls inc abroad charges and wasted sky HD subscription.

Well they finally delivered my TV back today but they have lost the back off the remote and the power cable so I can't even switch it on to see if it works. They said they will order new ones and send them out to me but couldn't give me a eta as they didn't know how long it would take to get them.
Is there somewhere higher up I can complain to as whenever I phone up I get put through to Barnsley service center and they just keep fobbing me off.