Hi all,

Long story, which I will try to keep short for you!

I purchased a Humax Freeview recorder for £199 in Jan 2016 on my debit card.

Over time it developed lots of faults,

such as random crashes,

missed programs,

freezing and even not turning on.

After researching the product online,

I decided to take it for a refund - Lots of similar stories from other users.

This was within a year of purchasing it.

The girl on the till wouldn't refund to my debit card as the card I used to purchase it had been reported lost/stolen.

I was made to take a refund onto a gift card, which I reluctantly accepted, thinking I'd buy another freeview box from them anyway. After reviewing the options, I decided on a £400 TV instead.

Bought the TV and the picture quality was awful, with vertical banding (dark black lines) particularly on one side of the screen and generally poor quality image quality when compared to the 10 year old TV it was replacing!

I took this TV back and swapped for another of the same

- this one also produced a poor quality image,

I got in touch with Argos via their live chat feature on their website today.

The girl I was chatting to called the store that I got the TV from (FastTrack) originally and she came back saying they would refund £200 cash and £200 to my new debit card as long as I could provide the long card number and expiry date.

I printed the chat transcript, called my bank to get these details and took the card number, the transcript and all my receipts into the store for my refund.

They denied ever saying this to the girl at the customer service centre and said that they cannot refund to my card without the card, which I explained was impossible as it was reported lost/stolen!

They wouldn't do it with a printed bank statement showing the original transaction either.

They also said the store has final say on the matter and gave me an 0345 number for head office, which I called tonight only to be told I have to email head office as they were "only customer service, so we don't have the authority to override the store's decision".

No phone number for head office apparently?!

Has this happened to anyone here and where do I stand?

I don't want to keep buying "blind" at Argos and would prefer to take my money elsewhere - somewhere I can actually see the TV in action before purchasing.

Thanks very much in advance for any advice you're able to give before I write to Argos Head Office tomorrow

Looking at their returns and refunds policy suggests the following can be used as a proof of purchase. All of which I can produce.

WHAT COUNTS AS PROOF OF PURCHASE?

Any of these:

• Till/kiosk receipt
  
• confirmation email
  
• e-receipt
  
• your order number
  

If you can’t find one of the above, don’t worry. We should be able to sort everything out if you have:

• your card/bank statement
  
• the email address used to buy your item
  

Hmm. Surely, as I can provide all the above (bar the stolen/lost payment card) proves I am the person who purchased the Freeview box to start with, so why are they not prepared to refund me?

Hi Vulpine and Welcome to CAG

If you could expand a little with regards to the following...and what you have done since to clarify with your bank ?

" The girl on the till wouldn't refund to my debit card as the card I used to purchase it had been reported lost/stolen. "

Regards

Andy