23 April 2005
Gadget Shop have gone bust, see http://toynewsmag.com/newsitem.php?id=61.
Below I present the email correspondence between myself and The Gadget Shop, relating to a citrus juicer that was purchased for me as a Christmas present by my partner Eva.
The handle of the product snapped in two after only a short period of normal usage.
Gadget Shop refused to supply a replacement, or make a refund. Whatever happened to the principle of "the customer is always right"?
I have edited out individual’s names, and arranged the emails to show the latest first. To go to the first one click here.
14 July 2003
Extract of letter to the Trading Standards Office:
"...Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to register a formal complaint against The Gadget Shop (144 Whitgift Centre), with regard to a citrus juicer sold to my partner just before Christmas.
The handle snapped in two after only a short period of normal domestic usage.
We promptly attempted to return the product and packaging (the latter clearly states that the product was purchased from Gadget Shop); but the shop would not provide a refund or replacement without the receipt, which we have unfortunately lost.
I have engaged in lengthy correspondence with the company (see attached), which has been detailed on the “Worse Than Worthless” section of my website www.kenfrost.com, but to no avail.
Please note that we still have the product and all its packaging.
I believe that consumer law entitles me to a refund with, or without, a receipt. Please can you help?
Thank you in advance...."
To The Gadget Shop
From Ken Frost
12 March 2003
Thank you for your note.
As the product cost £5 it was paid for in cash, therefore no cheque stub can be produced.
FYI, I will forward the emails to Watchdog for their opinion on this.
Regards,
Ken Frost
From: The Gadget Shop
To: Ken Frost
Subject: FW: Citrus Juicer 15903
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 15:17:09 -0000
Dear Mr Frost
Further to your email message here below, I have now spoken to, who is not prepared to offer any form of compensation for this item, without proof of purchase.
The branding on the box is not proof of purchase.
In order to make way for new items, the Juicer is now discontinued with The Gadget Shop. However, we were very happy with the quality and performance of these juicers, and likewise thousands of our customers who purchased the same item, have had no reason to complain.
We are aware that your girlfriend no longer has the receipt, however if she has a bank statement showing the transaction or a cheque stub, we will review the matter.
We can only apologise that without any proof of purchase we cannot help you.
Yours sincerely
Customer Services Manager
From: Ken Frost
Sent: 06 March 2003 12:39
To: Shop@thegadgetshop.co.uk
Subject: RE: Citrus Juicer 15903
Dear,
Thank you for your note.
In light of the delayed response from your Operations Director (owing to his absence); I will give him the chance to write to me by 5pm Thursday 13 March, before I forward details to the parties mentioned in my earlier email.
He can also address these issues in his response:
With regards to quality; I trust, and assume, that you will be withdrawing this product from your catalogue as it is clearly not "fit for purpose".
May I also enquire, since you appear unwilling to believe that we purchased this from your store, where you believe that I purchased it from?
With your company's name so clearly marked on the box, if it was not purchased from a Gadget Shop, it must be trademark infringement by another retailer?
Regards,
Ken Frost
http://www.kenfrost.com
From: The Gadget Shop
To: 'Ken Frost'
Subject: RE: Citrus Juicer 15903
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 11:46:11 -0000
Dear Mr Frost
We are sorry to read that you are not happy with our response.
We regret, we do have strict returns procedures in place, and cannot override these.
The supplier details are for quality purposes only, this is not proof of purchase.
However, we appreciate your comments, therefore we have passed your email to our Operations Director, for his remarks.
Mr is away from the office until next Wednesday, therefore we will contact you again on his return.
We are sorry that this matter cannot be resolved sooner.
Yours sincerely
Customer Services Manager
From: Ken Frost
Sent: 05/03/03 18:51
To: The Gadget Shop
Subject: Re: Citrus Juicer 15903
Dear,
Thank you for your reply, I note the contents.
However, I am afraid I do not accept your reasoning, viz:
1 The product has been clearly listed on your website as being supplied by you.
2 The box of the product clearly states:
"15903 Product supplied by The Gadget Shop Limited East Yorks HU13 OLH Please retain this information for future reference".
3 I would, by definition, return a faulty product to the vendor that sold it; why bother with a company that did not sell it?
4 The product is faulty and of poor design, it breaches the sale of goods act as it is not "fit for purpose" or of "merchantable quality".
To this end please be advised that, over the coming weekend, I will be taking the following actions:
1 I will copy all correspondence relating this matter to the BCC's "Watchdog".
2 I will copy all correspondence to The Times.
3 I will post all details of this correspondence to a special page, dedicated to poor customer service, on my website http://www.kenfrost.com
You have until 5pm Friday 7th March to comply with my request for compensation.
Thank you.
regards,
Ken Frost
http://www.kenfrost.com
From: The gadget Shop
To: Ken Frost
Subject: Citrus Juicer 15903
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:51:12 -0000
Dear Mr Frost
We thank you for your e-mail message.
After consulting with a supervisor regarding your faulty product.
Unfortunately, with no proof of purchase we are unable to offer a refund on this item. We do require adequate proof that a contract was made with The Gadget Shop regarding this sale.
We are sorry that we could not help you further on this occasion.
Once again, we apologise for any disappointment and inconvenience caused.
Yours sincerely
The Gadget Shop Customer Services
The Gadgetshop Ltd
Dear Mr Frost
We thank you for your email message.
Your previous email was opened and referred to our Supervisor for advice on the matter. I have taken the liberty of copying this further email for the same purpose.
You shall be contacted again shortly.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
Yours sincerely
The Gadget Shop Customer Services
From: Ken Frost]
Sent: 01 March 2003 14:17
To: Shop@thegadgetshop.co.uk
Subject: RE: Citrus juicer product 15903
I would appreciate an answer to this note sent to you, and opened by you, on 24 Feb.
regards,
Ken Frost http://www.kenfrost.com
To The Gadget Shop Customer Services
From Ken Frost
Date 24 Feb 2003
Dear ,
Thank you for your note.
Please note, as already stated, we do not have the receipt.
However, the box clearly states that the product was supplied by the gadget shop.
Regarding date of purchase, you will have to exercise some trust and take our word for it that it was bought this Christmas.
I reiterate my view that the article is not fit for purpose.
In light of the above I expect a full refund.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Ken Frost
From The Gadget Shop
To: 'Ken Frost
Subject: RE: Citrus juicer product 15903
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:59:25 -0000
Dear Mr Frost
We thank you for your e-mail message.
We are sorry you have not received a reply sooner, we have been inundated with email messages, and unable to reply in good time.
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer an exchange or gift vouchers without a valid proof of purchase. We require this proof to confirm this was purchased from The Gadget Shop and is within its 12 month guarantee.
However, we can confirm you are able to return this to us along with your receipt or a bank statement as your proof of purchase.
We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your interest in The Gadget Shop.
Kind Regards
From: Ken Frost
Sent to The Gadget Shop 22 February 2003
Subject: Citrus juicer product 15903
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please be advised that my girlfriend purchased the above, as a Christmas present for me, from your Croydon branch.
After one month of normal use, the handle snapped in two.
She took it back to the shop to get her money back, and was told that as she did not have the receipt neither a refund or replacement would be possible. She was told that she should contact customer service.
The store was not prepared to help her.
I have the following observations:
1 The product is clearly of poor quality and will not stand up to normal domestic usage, ie it is not fit for purpose.
2 The store's policy wrt to returns is not satisfactory. The product and the box were returned, there is no reason why the store could not have provided a refund on the spot.
Please advise me as to what you intend to do to redress this situation.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Ken Frost