Zavvi item damaged in post - *refunded*

[mickrick]

Ok, this is a bit long-winded but I think it makes for an interesting read...

 

I ordered an item from Zavvi when it was at a special price. It was ordered through PlayTrade, part of Play.com.

 

When the item arrived, it was clearly damaged, not in transit, but at the manufacturing stage. I contacted Play, who passed the matter on to Zavvi to deal with.

 

I was told by a member of Zavvi Customer Services, Chris (his real name, and I make no apology for naming and shaming him), that I would get a replacement when the item was returned to them. I asked him to guarantee this and he replied

 

"I can confirm that when the item is received back into our warehouse there will be a replacement put on for you as soon as we get confirmation."

 

I sent the item back the following day and waited. And waited. In the meantime, the item had gone up in price by almost £15.

 

I then received an email from another member of CS staff (Lizzie, again, no apology) to say I would be getting a refund. I emailed back to say I didn't want a refund, I wanted the replacement I was promised. I waited and got no reply. So I rang Zavvi on November 5th and actually spoke to Chris. He told me that the item was now out of stock and would be back in again on Nov 8th and if I hadn't had confirmation of it by the 9th, to contact him again.

 

Then I got an email from him the following day to say:

"I have checked our system and your item has been replaced, this is in warehouse awaiting dispatch. This should take from 3-5 working days."

So, again, I waited. When no replacement had been received by 15th November, I emailed Zavvi asking where it was. I got a reply from Chris again to say:

"I am sorry for the problems you have had with this order. Due to the high demand of this item we have had to source more from our supplier and are waiting for this to arrive in our warehouse. All orders are manually marked as shipped and your order has been marked in error. Can you advise how you wish to proceed with this order?"

I replied that I was very angry at this and that my replacement should have been given priority and that I wanted the matter escalated to a manager as I believed Chris was making the story up as he went along. Instead, I got another email from Chris this morning to say:

"I am sorry that this item has not arrived with you. As this was sent out shortly after you placed your order it should have been delivered some time ago and so we can only assume that this has gone astray in the post. The majority of the time our goods are delivered efficiently, unfortunately the occasional item does go missing and so we are sorry that you seem to have lost out on this occasion.

Normally at this stage we would send a replacement item out to you, however, we currently have no further stock of this item and so I have cancelled your order in our systems in order to issue you with a full refund. This will be credited back to your account and should show up in your account within the next couple of days.

I am sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment that this may have caused."

I checked Zavvi's website and the item is still available there, at a much higher price, so I ordered it and they took the money from my bank account immediately. So I sent another email to Chris to say:

"Chris

You promised me a replacement and that is what I expect. I do not believe a replacement was issued.

 

The item is still available and in stock on Zavvi's website at the much higher price of £32.95 and I believe it has not been replaced because of this substantial price increase.

 

I have reordered it at the higher price of £29.66 (£32.95 -10% code) and instead of issuing me a refund of £19.99 you can refund me the £29.66 instead. You suggested I do as much in our telephone conversation on November 6th anyway. The new order number is xxxxxxxx. I expect to get a reply confirming this at the earliest opportunity.

 

If the item is not supplied to me at the original price of £19.99 I will have no option but to take a small claims court action against Zavvi, using the misinformation given by your colleagues and yourself as supporting evidence. I will also be making a complaint to both trading standars and the Office of Fair Trading."

As Zavvi still have the item advertised for sale and have taken my money, although I have been advised by Chris that they do not have it and will not be getting any further stock, I believe they are breaking the law by taking money under false pretences.

So what else can or should I do?

[citizenB]

Crikey, that isnt good news is it. I will flag your thread for input from the site team.

[dx100uk]

how did you pay?

 

dx

[citizenB]

Advice is, if you have all the evidence, then you should take it further.

[Ajmulholland]

Ok, this is a bit long-winded but I think it makes for an interesting read...

 

I ordered an item from Zavvi when it was at a special price. It was ordered through PlayTrade, part of Play.com.

 

When the item arrived, it was clearly damaged, not in transit, but at the manufacturing stage. I contacted Play, who passed the matter on to Zavvi to deal with.

 

I was told by a member of Zavvi Customer Services, Chris (his real name, and I make no apology for naming and shaming him), that I would get a replacement when the item was returned to them. I asked him to guarantee this and he replied

 

"I can confirm that when the item is received back into our warehouse there will be a replacement put on for you as soon as we get confirmation."

 

I sent the item back the following day and waited. And waited. In the meantime, the item had gone up in price by almost £15.

 

I then received an email from another member of CS staff (Lizzie, again, no apology) to say I would be getting a refund. I emailed back to say I didn't want a refund, I wanted the replacement I was promised. I waited and got no reply. So I rang Zavvi on November 5th and actually spoke to Chris. He told me that the item was now out of stock and would be back in again on Nov 8th and if I hadn't had confirmation of it by the 9th, to contact him again.

 

Then I got an email from him the following day to say:

"I have checked our system and your item has been replaced, this is in warehouse awaiting dispatch. This should take from 3-5 working days."

So, again, I waited. When no replacement had been received by 15th November, I emailed Zavvi asking where it was. I got a reply from Chris again to say:

"I am sorry for the problems you have had with this order. Due to the high demand of this item we have had to source more from our supplier and are waiting for this to arrive in our warehouse. All orders are manually marked as shipped and your order has been marked in error. Can you advise how you wish to proceed with this order?"

I replied that I was very angry at this and that my replacement should have been given priority and that I wanted the matter escalated to a manager as I believed Chris was making the story up as he went along. Instead, I got another email from Chris this morning to say:

"I am sorry that this item has not arrived with you. As this was sent out shortly after you placed your order it should have been delivered some time ago and so we can only assume that this has gone astray in the post. The majority of the time our goods are delivered efficiently, unfortunately the occasional item does go missing and so we are sorry that you seem to have lost out on this occasion.

Normally at this stage we would send a replacement item out to you, however, we currently have no further stock of this item and so I have cancelled your order in our systems in order to issue you with a full refund. This will be credited back to your account and should show up in your account within the next couple of days.

I am sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment that this may have caused."

I checked Zavvi's website and the item is still available there, at a much higher price, so I ordered it and they took the money from my bank account immediately. So I sent another email to Chris to say:

"Chris

You promised me a replacement and that is what I expect. I do not believe a replacement was issued.

 

The item is still available and in stock on Zavvi's website at the much higher price of £32.95 and I believe it has not been replaced because of this substantial price increase.

 

I have reordered it at the higher price of £29.66 (£32.95 -10% code) and instead of issuing me a refund of £19.99 you can refund me the £29.66 instead. You suggested I do as much in our telephone conversation on November 6th anyway. The new order number is xxxxxxxx. I expect to get a reply confirming this at the earliest opportunity.

 

If the item is not supplied to me at the original price of £19.99 I will have no option but to take a small claims court action against Zavvi, using the misinformation given by your colleagues and yourself as supporting evidence. I will also be making a complaint to both trading standars and the Office of Fair Trading."

As Zavvi still have the item advertised for sale and have taken my money, although I have been advised by Chris that they do not have it and will not be getting any further stock, I believe they are breaking the law by taking money under false pretences.

So what else can or should I do?

 

This is absolutely ridiculous. What's worse is Im in a similar position.

 

A disc i received also had a manufacturer issue and i returned it and waited... Just phoned them a moment ago to be kept on hold at 5P a minute for 30 minutes... to finally get through to who else... but chris.

 

He explained that the disc must have gotten lost in the post, and Can I scan my proof of postage and email it to him..

 

He checked it out and explained that a new one would be dispatched by tomorrow, and I should have it within a week, two weeks at most..

 

When I asked about a full refund, if this dispatched disc does not arrive he explained I'd need to wait 14 days to declare the item lost during postage, for them to issue the refund.

 

Not happy at all..

[mickrick]

My reorder was still on their system until a couple of days ago. Then my "lost in the post" item arrived, so I cancelled the reorder. And I got my refund as well.

[Ajmulholland]

My reorder was still on their system until a couple of days ago. Then my "lost in the post" item arrived, so I cancelled the reorder. And I got my refund as well.

 

So you finally got your lost item and a refund.. after nearly a month is it?

 

I certainly won't be using them again..I just hope my game, or my refund is processed.

[mickrick]

A month? I wish, almost 2 months more like. Yeah I got the item and a refund. And I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt either.