Many congratulations to Currys PC World for being the first to feature in my new series of ‘customer experience reviews’ that will become a staple on my blog going forward. As regular readers of my blog are all too aware, I often use real life stories to bring the subject of customer experience to life – so what better way to do this than to produce a critical, independent review of the organisations I interact with.
The reviews will follow a standard format, looking at 5 experience ‘areas’. I will be scoring each ‘area’ on a scale from 1 to 10, enabling each organisation I review to achieve a total of 50 points. For every ten points scored, I will award a star – get 50 points, and you will be awarded 5 stars – easy!!
The review principle is exactly the same as a review conducted by a restaurant critic – it is my opinion – whether you agree or disagree is completely up to you! I will be applying my specialist critique and using my considerable experience in making my judgement!! So let’s get going – what did I think of Currys PC World?
| Date Review Conducted | 6th April 2014 |
| Store Visited | Chester, Sealand Road and Online |
| CX Review Total Score | 30/50 |
| Stars Awarded | 3/5 |
I am unfortunate to be writing this review on a laptop that has seen better days. Continually mocked by my colleagues and peers, it has become mildly embarrassing to remove it from my bag in public! The Golding family is not blessed in the laptop department – Naomi has been working on a different laptop without an operable letter ‘e’ for the last twelve months. On Sunday we decided enough is enough – we needed to purchase not one, but two new laptops!!
Our ‘customer journey’ started with us having the need to make a purchase. The next stage was for us to decide where to go to make that purchase. Naomi’s parents recently bought a new laptop from John Lewis. Interestingly, they were not over awed by the experience and felt that Currys PC World had greater choice. No other retailers were mentioned – the desire to want to see, feel and touch the technology was paramount, and these two were foremost in our minds. The power of feedback and recommendation genuinely has an effect on the decision making process – we decided to visit Currys PC World and not John Lewis.
Accessibility – CX Review Score 8/10
Living in Chester, we have very easy access to Currys PC World. Located on a retail park in Sealand Road, the store is very easy to find, and ample parking is available. The store is located near supermarkets and restaurants, so you can combine your visit with other activities – something we did ourselves on Sunday. The website is easy enough to find on a laptop or mobile, and the site is mobile enabled. All in all, Currys PC World scores pretty well on the subject of accessibility.
Range/Choice – CX Review Score 8/10
Currys PC World score well on range and choice. On entering the cavernous store, it was pretty easy to locate the computing ‘department’. Banks of tables were laid out with all sorts of device on show – from touchscreen laptops, to tablets to multi functional things where the screen detaches from the keyboard. It is great to be able to see, feel and touch the product – one of the things that is important to me is to get a sense of the weight and size of the machine. There was a good range of different manufacturers, and only a couple of displays were empty. If nothing else, I would strongly recommend visiting a Currys PC World to ‘check out’ what you might want to buy – whether or not you end up buying it from them is another matter.
People – CX Review Score 3/10
Sadly, this is where our experience started to go wrong. Purchasing one laptop (let alone two) is not a regular occurrence. Most people will require help and assistance in making the decision as to what might be right for them. Despite the fact the store was not very busy (even on a Sunday), there were only a handful of staff visible. We were pleased that eventually a lady approached us and asked if we required help. This would have been agreeable…..if the lady were actually capable of fulfilling that request. When you are enquiring about a technical purchase, it is a basic necessity for the staff serving you to have knowledge of the technology you are interested in. This lady regrettably did not. Whilst she was pleasant, she could not answer a single question posed to her, and was even not open to going to find out. We ended up trying to research the answers to questions on our smartphones whilst she stood watching us. Eventually she disappeared to ‘serve’ another customer – I guess she got bored with the Golding’s. This lady is not the only cause of the low score for people. I did ask another member a staff a technical question about a particular laptop. Whilst not bothering to look up from what he was doing, his response was negative and dismissive – not in the slightest bit helpful. This store needs to focus on its people – the customer experience is being detrimentally affected by them.
Value – CX Review Score 6/10
On the value front, we were quite impressed by Currys PC World. With products to suit all sizes of pocket, they certainly had the type of product we would be interested in buying. However, when making a purchase of this nature, we always look online to see if we can get a better deal. We did find a couple of better value products with other retailers. However, in the main, Currys PC World are pretty well priced. The reason why I have awarded a 6 for value, is that today (one day later) I have noticed that they are running a Big Easter deal price matching offer – no one in the store had the courtesy to mention this. I did not notice if the offer was advertised in the store. I feel slightly duped – I might have purchased something that I could have found cheaper elsewhere and might never have known – that I do not perceive to be great value.
How did it make me feel? CX Review Score 5/10
So how did I feel at the end of the experience. Well with the little assistance offered by the unknowledgeable and slightly ignorant staff, I certainly did not feel great. I did not feel awful either though. I had achieved part of what I wanted – I had been able to see a variety of laptops that will help us to make a purchase. The key is that it will help me to make my purchase elsewhere. The majority of the experience is good – yet the most important element provided by people is very poor. All in all, this leads me to give Currys PC World a score of 5 on the ‘feelings’ front – very middle of the road. Just remember, we tend to remember the very good or the very bad experiences – this one will very shortly be forgotten altogether (once I have finished writing this review).
Would I use them again? No
So the big decision – will I return to Currys PC World? My answer is slightly confusing – because I would not hesitate to go there again……to have a look. But based on my experience yesterday, I will not be handing over my hard earned cash to an organisation whose people do not know what they are doing, or do not care enough to provide customers with the help they really need. My experience tells me that whilst the organisation has largely got its product offer right, it MUST start to invest in its people – they need to understand and empathise with the customers that cross the threshold – whether that be online, in store or both.
Currys PC World Response – Received 7th April 2014
“Having read the review, I am pleased to see that we have scored highly in a couple of areas, but not so good int the main areas. This is certainly food for thought and we will be certainly be passing this back to the store and area manager as feedback. We thank you for taking the time and trouble for highlighting the strengths and weakness of the store.”
What do you think of Currys PC World? Does my experience reflect your own? Do you think I am being overly critical? Your views are as important as mine, and would be gratefully received.
tonight I visited a Curry’s PC World at Telford Forge Retail Park Colliers way Telford and the assistant was so friendly her name was Georgia I am waiting for a fridge to be repaired but could not wait 48 hours for a fridge to be repaired ,she apologised and checked the product I was looking for was in stock it was not but she offered me an alternative product which I purchased and left the store happy that I had a fridge a least to tide me over until the one I had at home was going to be repaired thank you Georgia you made my day some people need to get a life do you know everything about everything if you do you are smarter than anyone anyone has ever met and probably never will
I am delighted you had such a positive experience Trevor. I would strongly recommend you Tweet Currys PC World to let them know about Georgia’s actions – from the sounds of it, she very much deserves recognition.
Bought a microwave for cash 10 months ago. lost reciept, last night it blew up and almost started a fire in the kitchen.
Took it back to store today (Hanworth – Manager is Hitesh) and explained only 10 months old but they always take my name and address details when I buy something and as only 10 months old and obviously a Currys product, thought it would be no problem to get a replacement.
firstly tried to tell me to call customer services as I had no receipt. Asked what customer services could do for me and they said nothing without a receipt. So why tell me to call customer services then, other than to get me out of the store?
I said they took my details when I purchased it and they said they didnt for low value items (it was £40). The assistant checked the computer whilst checking his text messages (how blinking rude is that???) They did however have my purchase of £23 for ink cartridges, so that doesnt stack up.
I asked for the manager who gave every spurious excuse imaginable. Saying I could have stolen it in a burglary and now trying to get a refund – why would I steal a broken microwave? I could have bought 1000 of them and sold them on, so the person I sold them to wouldnt be entitiled to a refund as they didnt have the receipt? I said so If I had bought it as a gift (it was a gift for my girlfriend) and it broke after a month, then the warranty is invalid? I said I knew the serial number was recorded at sale (as had a vacuum breakdown and they checked the serial number) so they could check that and he said they didnt record the serial numbers at sale. I said so why are they on the product and on the box? He said it was for the customers convenience. Really?
Frankly, I have been given the biggest load of old rubbish for excuses on what was clearly a currys product that under the sale of goods act was guaranteed for 3 years and even longer under EU regulations.
I swore previously I would never buy from Currys again but as a spur of the moment purchase, I needed it quickly.
Having previously spent in excess of £2000 in the last 4 years with them, I will never use them again and deter anyone from buying there too. The worst customer service I have ever received and for the sake of a £40 microwave (probably costs them £20) I aim to do their business a great deal of harm and that it costs them a lot of lost revenue. I hope the internet shuts them down and the idiot staff have to get another job.
I bought a laptop from pc world last November. At barely six months old, the case has split. The customer service you received is just the tip of the iceberg – if something goes wrong, Pc world go out of their way to.be difficult. 16 days after returning it to the store, I have no laptop, no refund, no replacement, and no idea when it will be resolved. Pc world are denying all responsibility. I’ve been told to phone the manufacturer myself. The staff are rude.and unhelpful and their response to everything is ‘there’s nothing I can do
.’ Awful, awful company.
Quote the Sale of Goods Act. This is a faulty item, developing faults prior to 6 months and therefore you are legally entitled to a full refund. Request this and say you will go to the Small Claims Court if they do not refund. If they still don’t (but I think you will find that they will as hearing so often from people that Currys don’t refund until the Law is quoted) then simply take them to court because you will win. You do not have to accept a repair.
Many thanks for providing your considerable expertise Helen.
Jane – Helen is one of the UKs experts in customer complaints – hopefully her advice will be of use to you.
[…] reading the Customer Experience Review I wrote about Currys PC World recently – you can do so here. We can all learn from what you are about to read – I hope you enjoy it as much as I […]
I have found that the PC World staff are helpful until there is a problem. Like Jane my laptop is faulty, the internet only working when it feels like it, and even then slowly…not exactly ” fit for it’s purpose” as my work laptop. I tried to explain this to the staff at PC World who bamboozled me with IT jargon and told me there was nothing wrong with it and then proceeded to shout at me in a very busy shop. I had already asked an IT professional to look at who confirmed to me that it is faulty.
Today I have spent all day trying to fix the issue firstly via @CurrysPCWorld twitter, then via email (4 hours response time). I have not been able to work at all.
Did I mention that my laptop is 7 weeks old!!!!! PC World emailed me a fix that I believe Mark Zuckerberg himself would have struggled with. No mention of my requested refund.
I have asked them again about my refund and if I do not get a response I will be taking Helen’s advice and taking them to the Small Claims Court.
What a stressful, horrible experience with PC World when I was so excited to get my brand new laptop.
Many thanks for sharing your story Jasmine. Like many others, your treatment is just not acceptable. The key question is how long can the business survive treating customers like this? We can only hope that in time they change their behaviours – I will not hold my breath though.
Thank you Ian. I am so frustrated with PC World as this is not only costing me time and effort to solve this but also as a small business owner it is damaging to my business. This morning again they have said that they will not refund my money as it is after the 28 days. I quoted the law, as Helen said, but they are refusing to budge.
I agree with you about not holding my breath, it is a pity because the salespeople were lovely when I was buying the laptop. It is obviously PC World’s bad customer service policy that is causing them to be so unreasonable.
Bought a Printer and Symentec Anti Virus in June 14 from P.C World in Chester. I told the Sales Assistant that my computer was a 2003 model but the sale went ahead and he never informed me that my P.C would need updating to accept the new printer.
After taking it home, I tried to load the disc with the printer onto my P.C and it kept rejecting it.
I took the printer back to P.C World Chester and asked for a refund and I also handed them back the Symentec which I had not used.
I asked for a refund which I was entitled to under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Amended Version.
I was passed on by the Sales Assistant to a person whom was supposed to be the Manager, (I recently found out he was not the Store Manager but could have been a Floor Manager for just the P.C World division of Currys Chester.). I tried to discuss the matter with him but before I could finish my first sentence he passed me to another person whom was very arrogant and kept repeating himself that he would not refund as I had opened the box for the printer. When I told him the printer had been mis sold to me, he said I should have read the information on the box top.
I asked for the Symentec to be returned to me but he kept on saying I have got it.
Tried to explain that I would need to open the box in order to use the printer but he just would not have it. He said if the printer had been left unopened he would refund me if it was within 21 days of purchase.
His attitude was very unprofessional as he conducted this conversation within earshot of a group of customers.
Eventually I gave up trying to communicate with this character and went home and sent the first of three letters to Customer Service Dept, the first letter being sent 20th June, the second one on 25th July.
Customer Services never replied and I finally booked a session with a Legal Advisor via Citizens Advice Service, this was based on information from Trading Standards Website and I had already reported P.C World , Chester to them
She said that I need to send a letter to Customer Services and also one to the store giving them a deadline which if not adhered to would have included commencing proceedings against Currys/P.C World.
The next thing “Hey Presto”, I was contacted by the Store Manager from P.C World, Chester apologising for the inappropriate attitude of the staff member and I was offered a refund which I did take in exchange for returning the printer.
Issues identified were staff attitude when dealing with customers, staff lacking knowledge of trading standards legislation, poor communication between staff and the Floor Manager not taking time to handle a complaint and delegating it to a member of the sales staff.
Secondly, Currys and P.C World Customer Services Dept had not responded to the letters I had sent, two having been sent by Recorded Delivery and it took almost nine weeks to get a resolution to the matter and this was only when legal action was about to be taken.
Would I shop again at P.C world –NO.
Would I recommend the company to a friend–NO.
If any of you have difficulties with Currys and P.C World, Chester or any other store in the chain, get some legal advice and when you send letters, post them to Customer Services and also to the Store involved by Recorded Delivery. Dont hold your breath and trying to get through to the Store via Customer Services, it was harder than trying to contact aliens.
Dave
Many thanks for sharing your story Dave. I am so sorry you have suffered in the same way as many others. In the case of this particular organisation, voting with our feet is the only sensible option!
Thanks for your reply Ian.
Your comments are spot on . Voting with our feet is exactly the answer.
I am hoping that Currys/P.C World will write to me and apologise, but all I have had is an apology from the Store Manager via message left on my mobile .
He asked me to bring the goods back for refund and said the Customer Advisor should have dealt with it on the day I brought the items back. He added he would give me another call which I am still awaiting.
There was no mention of why Customer Services had not replied to the letters I sent them over a period of almost nine weeks and no offer of discretionary compensation.
It appears that this organisation only respond when legal action is about to be taken .
Dave
I bought a fridge freezer from currys.it was faulty from the start & an engineer wrote it off. I wanted to upgrade to a better more reliable brand which they said I could.. It was £50 more than what I’d paid for the 1st fridge freezer.. On trying to do this I was told I could only swap it for same price model or up to £25 more, nothing was suitable so they said I’d have to have it collected & wait for it to get back to the depot before a refund would be issued so I could buy what I wanted which would mean being without a fridge freezer for over a week possibly close to 2 weeks (counting working days only) couple of days for refund to be processed…couple more days for money to go back into bank…few more days(working ones) to wait for delivery of new fridge freezer. Other alternative was to spend a further £300 for another fridge freezer & then wait for refund ! Do they think people are made of money ? I needed a refund to pay for another fridge freezer as I had no money & certainly not £300 ! All I wanted was a swap & to pay the extra £50 ! But no ! Customer service at currys when you have a problem is non existent but they are more than happy to take your money off you !
They will never get another penny off me for anything ever again !
I’m an unemployed career with children & my poor parents had to buy me a fridge freezer from AO.com so I wasn’t without one until I get a refund !
hi I am having on going issues due to a faulty key on my lap top … 6 months after original approach and faithful promise of a repair of the lap top it is now out of warranty .. 3 managers promised the problem would be fixed … the most recent a week ago and then a follow up call to chase had the hours of phone calls the recent staff member concerned flip flopping so after yet another 30 minute phone call to customer service I still awaiting to see if they will honour the price of the key. Basically in the last 5 months or so I have been promised help and a solution and then a complete turn around. The staff in the Exeter Branch were lovely when I bought the item as a business customer but since purchase I have been told so many conflicting things that do not have confidence in them as a company and feel have been repeatedly lied to and fobbed off.
sorry don’t think i would use again .. value wise pretty good, unless something goes wrong and then pretty much useless
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment Heather. If you need any help with your specific issue, it is worth contacting Helen Dewdney (see a previous comment in this thread) – she is a complaints expert who is well worth hooking up with,. You can tweet her @complainingcow or visit her website http://www.thecomplainingcow.co.uk/
Hi Yesterday was offered a £10 goodwill payment .. but have to email the chase team as the chap that said this was possible needs them to confirm it! have replied to them asked for confirmation and explanation of what has happened yesterday … i will see if they reply .. thanks for the link i think i will head for the CEO before I go to Watchdog or trading standards.
Thanks
Keep going Heather – if you need the CEO’s email address, ceoemail.com is the website to find it!
Hi there
PC World have given me a £50 goodwill payment to over phone calls etc. But the real amazing hero is Acer. They have been wonderful and are taking my computer in to replace the keyboard and do a full check and overhaul on it.
So thank you and the message is to persist politely and then you will get your problems sorted
Be warned either go to a younger team member or a manager but the older the employee the ruder they are.Hedge end being a prime example where certain members of staff will actually walk off and serve someone else if they are spending more mobey and then come back to you when they have finished also not telling you complete story or providing you with accurate time scale. Hedge end really is a bad store
Currys are appalling.
NEVER SHOP THERE.
Their after sales service is practically non existent.
They are rude.
I bought a tv there, a very expensive one and it had a 14 inch scratch on the base stand.
They were not interested.
Go to Currys to see the products
then note the model and price
then go to Tesco to buy click & collect.
In my experience Currys PC World are a sales machine but lack any follow up customer service. I purchased a Samsung laptop 10.5 months ago from Brentford, the sales person included a McAffee product free (by reducing the price of the laptop and adding in the McAffee product) despite me saying I did not want it or need it. Presumably the sales person was on an incentive scheme.
10.5 months on, the single hinge at the back of the laptop has separated totally from the screen exposing the electronics. There has been no damage to the machine and there is no breakage, just separation of the hinge. I took it into CPCW in Ealing 3 weeks ago, they took photographs and agreed it had no damage other than the hinge. They refused to do anything and having looked into it, emailed me several days later to tell Samsung said it was not covered under their warranty and I had to pay £90 for a company named by Samsung to assess it and produce a technical report to prove whether it was my fault or a design fault. I telephoned CPCW centrally to say that under SOGA my contract was with them not Samsung and they should help me. A techical support person raised a case and said I would hear back in a day or two. A week later nothing so I called again, this time a customer service agent said the store should have taken in to have it looked at by CPCW technical team. During both calls I offered photographic and video evidence for them to review however they wouId not take this. I went back to the store and saw the same person who was again unhelpful. I insisted he called central support with the call reference number from my last call. After this he said I had to pay £50 to have CPCW assess it. I have paid and today the laptop was taken by the store. They said 5 days until I hear back. Now I have to wait. I have a start up business of my own and rely on portable computing which I will not have had for a month. I requested a loan machine and was told no.
The whole process has involved me chasing, being told different things by the store, the technical team and customer services. All this with a 10.5 month old product. I am exasperated with CPWQ who seem to lack any care about the customer at all. Finally the machine has gone to be assessed. This could have been resolved so much more quickly and easily, however all I have now is a terrible experience to stop me ever wanting to spend money there again.
WE bought a Samsung Tab Pro tablet last August and took out a 5 year care plan as we were told that if any thing went wrong we would get a replacement while it was being repaired. So we agreed and paid £89 for this. Two weeks ago I found that the battery life was about three hours and it took a day to recharge. I took it to pcworld at Barnstaple. While there they assistant logged on to their system and informed me that the care plan had been cancelled by me. I assured them that I had not cancelled but was told that the system showed that I had . I had the receipt of the sale with me and asked them to show me proof that I had cancelled it. There only reply was to offer me a phone number for me to sort it out myself. They then took it in for repair under the normal 1 year guarantee , but that would mean that if the repair took more that 14 days I would not be eligible for a new tablet even though under the care plan I would have been, also I would not qualify for a temporary replacement while it was away anyway as the care plan only did this for televisions and computers.
When I arrived home I phoned Knowhow who had issued the care plan for the tablet and explained the situation, they checked and informed me that there had been a mistake on the original documentation which the sales assistant had filled in so he had cancelled that document and issued a new care plan. Had the staff at pc world taken the trouble to either check the system or phone them it would have been sorted out there and then.
I was appalled at the totally unhelpful attitude of the staff who seamed to believe it is up to the customer to sort out any problems, rather than take the time to give good customer service finding it easier to fob them off and expect them to sort it.
While this was going on there was another customer having similar problems but I didn’t have the time to get her name so it is obvious that this is normal for this shop.
Many thanks for sharing your story Janet – it is appreciated
I think you really need to redefine your idea of what “accessibility” is.
as a part-time wheelchair user my idea of accessibility (and this will be shared by anyone with mobility problems / disability) is – can I get into the store with my wheelchair (or crutches, depending on how well I’m feeling on the day), is there room to manoeuvre a wheelchair in the store, are there any steps, a lift, etc etc.
whereas your idea of accessibility is whether it has an easy road to get to it and if it’s near other shops.
kind of makes the rest of your review a bit pointless if you can’t get this simple concept right.
Many thanks for taking the time to respond to this review. As I have said to many readers of my reviews, the format is based entirely on my definition of what makes a great customer experience. There is absolutely no obligation for any reader to agree with my perspective – either the definitions of the conclusions! You are absolutely right in stating that accessibility should incorporate access for customers with mobility problems – I will ensure I factor that perspective into my analysis in future. However, for the majority of consumers, this is just one of many elements that comprise my definition of accessibility.
Had a visit to curry pc world today. First time I’ve ever been to pc world and came away happy and confident. Been using Harrogate for last few years. Not helpful at all.. was passing york Clifton Moor today so called in. If anybody wants to feel welcome and spoken to in plain English. Then see the member of staff called Ben !!!!!!! Couldn’t be more helpful. In my opinion. He should be a manager to restore faith back in pc world to customers.
Many thanks for sharing your experience Jenny – it is very much appreciated – there is hope for Currys PC World after all!! Please do make sure you share your feedback about Ben with them on Twitter and Facebook so he gets the recognition he deserves.
The customer service team at Curry’s need taking out and shooting, I don’t think they have one brain cell between them.
28.12.2012, I brought a Belling cooker from Curry’s GT Yarmouth. No problems buying the cooker and the warranty, that was straight forward. It is all the problems I have had since. In April 2013 had my first call out due to one of the rings not lighting, then a few months late another call out because of a carbon poisoning problem. The manufacturers – Glendimplex. sent letters out about the problem and that was another call out. Then I had to call them out a few months later because the cheap chrome plated on and off buttons were melting because I didn’t notice the oven wasn’t fitted correctly. (Well that is what the engineer said). The 18 months later after purchasing the cooker I noticed that were the glass lid opens and closes on the hinges was going rusty. Spoke to the Know how team who said speak to Glendimple. I sent a letter to glendimple, who said it was my fault because I as using the wrong cleaning products. The on/off button came away from the cooker and on close inspection, inside this button it is cheap plastic with a silver coating, which had split because when the oven is on the heat has melted them. After a eight week wait for an engineer to turn up today the 5th May on a all day callout, he never showed.
After I had spoken to three idiots and spending over half an hour on the phone, I was told the appointment had been cancelled and that they were sending me some new buttons so I can fix the problem. This is now in the hands of my solicitor as the cooker was £800 and the worth warranty was £149.
My message is do not buy from Curry’s, unless you like wasting your money and phone calls dealing with idiots………..
I had a terrible Sony Vayo which was breaking every month. I sent it many times to the repair center but one week ago I met in store in Canterbury Richard Ninnim who help me to check how much was spent by the repair center in order to fix it 6 times. He discovered the amount of 655 pounds in only 6 months. I have asked other team members to help me somehow to get another laptop but they were telling that the device has to com back to them 4 times with the same problem. I just could not convince them that the laptop is useless. After being sent by Richard Ninnim, I received a text from KnowHow saying that I can use a £599 voucher in order to replace the laptop. I recommend him as the best team member, because of his professionalism and respect he showed the day he solved my problem. I also have to mention Chris Keen who helped us choose the best laptops and provided us with information about these devices. I think that it really matters who deals with your problem. You cannot say PC WORLD has a terrible team just because one person did not solve your problem or because he/she was not nice on the phone. There are team members as the ones mentioned above who make the difference and deserve praise and more.
Hi Elena – thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience. I do agree with you – and I am delighted that Chris looked after you in the way that he did. If you have not done so already, I would encourage you to give feedback to Currys PC World about his behaviour directly so that he receives credit for his actions.
I can only tell everybody: avoid Currys & PC World shops! I purchased a lap top from Ruislip shop in London in July 2015, then had a problem with the space button, brought it to the shop and they sent it to repair. The problem was in software, this is what they stated. Repaired. OK, I brought it home – the mouse pad didn’t work properly. Back to repairs. Received it yesterday, but as soon as tried to start installing the program – the mouse pad collapsed on one side. Back to repairs today! On my request to give me a brand new PC or my money back the shop of course said NO! Kicked me to Customer Service, they said big NO and kicked me to the Repair Company, the latter kicked me to the Manufacturer (HP), the latter kicked me back to the shop! And I’m running this circle for 3 months now! In the shop they were very attentive while I was looking for the computer and was ready to give them money. After I received the faulty unit (I even suspect they knew that it was a faulty one!) the attitude of the shop changed – they built a wall between a customer (myself) and themselves. Very ignorant manager made me feel as a beggar asking him – the king – for a piece of bread!
I still don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t believe that I’ll get a well repaired PC back, I want the brand new machine or the money back. While sending this unit back and forth to the repair company I noticed that it became scratched all over! The shop manager blamed me for that (!). I’m 60 year old and I’ve never ever experienced anything like that with any purchase. Thought before I purchased PCs from John Lewis – great store, great service. Just this Ruislip shop was closer to me this time. I’d better spend on petrol and drive to John Lewis! Please, advise from your experience where shall I apply to now? The shop sold me a faulty item, I didn’t break it, it’s 3 months since the purchase, so it’s still has warranty, but nobody is going to replace it and I can’t use the unit I purchased and paid money for! Thank you guys for reading this, I am just so frustrated and can’t understand why do I have to experience all this suffering?
Many thanks for sharing your experiences. The best advice I can offer is for you to speak to a lady who is as good as it gets when you are in a situation like yours – have a look at this link – http://www.thecomplainingcow.co.uk/contact/ – Helen is BRILLIANT, but you will need to ask her very nicely to help you – she gets inundated with requests for help!!
Staff in Chester Knowhow, Stendall Road are very rude especially Phil the manager.
It was in October when we went to Knowhow to have our laptop repaired. Sam said we need to pay £80 for data recovery and if we want to have our data saved in a hard drive we need to pay another £50 which we did. We were also asked to pay another £50 for the repair which we also did. We paid £180 in total (as per receipt).
After a month we still did not hear anything from them so I phoned Knowhow and they said they will inform us for any update. When we received a text telling us to go to store to collect, we found that it’s only the USB 16GB that we are told to collect. We then asked why is it that our data was saved in a 16GB USB only whereas we paid £50 for a hard drive which we agreed to pay to Sam but now they are only giving us the USB which only costs £4.00 on ebay or £6 in other stores.
How could I be given 16GB usb only if I paid £50 for a hard drive. Sam went to see his manager Phil, Phil came to see us but Phil immediately didn’t want to listen to what we are saying. He insisted he always listens to his staff and that what we were saying is not what has been said that day when we went to the store; how can he say that he always listens to his staff when Phil wasn’t even there at that time. He was Very unhelpful, don’t wanna listen and shoved us away. Very RUDE. He stayed away and no one wants to entertain us anymore. They did not even offer help or say that they will inquire to their data recovery team…It is very clear in the receipt we paid for these amounts.
Sam sold us the hard drive that’s why we agreed to pay for it otherwise we would have said NO if we knew it will only be saved in usb. What we were told was that the cost of data rec was £80 plus £50 for the hard drive plus another £50 for fault and repair. You are mis selling your products to your customers! Horrible! OUR LAPTOP WAS NOT EVEN REPAIRED BECAUSE KNOWHOW WANTED US TOO PAY extra £201 FOR THE PARTS WHICH IS RIDICULOUS. We said it’s not worth for us to pay that ridiculous amount of money.THAT IS TOO MUCH! USB16GB COSTS £4 ONLY. This is a Proper RIP OFF. We are very disappointed, felt undermined and cheated!
On Nov 18th went to Curry’s PC world with a friend located in Uxbridge road, Hayes to use the instant replacement on her iron. Everything was fine, no problems with the actual warranty whatsoever. We kept walking around the store, as she was looking for something else (Christmas is coming, so I didn’t bother asking). Because the store was closing in 5min or so we rushed to cashier. Happy with the replacement iron, we were walking towards the exit when I heard some sounds of struggle. Once I turned around, I noticed a member of the staff trying to stop a person from leaving the store, carrying something in his hand. He failed to do so, despite the fact another employee coming to his aid. Once he closed in near me, out of some stupid need to do a good deed, I decided to step in. I managed to hold him in his place, while more staff pinned him down to the floor and attempted to recover the item. I didn’t come out of this without a scratch, as my letter jacket was torn. Long story short, the thing that really frustrated me wasn’t the fact I didn’t receive a simple thanks (not that I need to be praised), nor that my 300 pound jacket was torn (asking for compensation is just silly). No the most infuriating thing was, that the shoplifter actually left the store faster than I did (after staff recovered the item, letting him go immediately). I mean not to mention that it’s clearly breaking the law not reporting a felony, if they don’t bother calling the police, what’s stopping him from attempting the same thing? Maybe it’s my fault for involving, but honestly, I will be more vigilant from now on, because apparently you “shop at your own risk” at Curry’s PC World.
I’m fed up of this company, they messed me around with others and left me in tears I ordered a neff gas hob in black colour off them I waited 33 days,to which in between I’ve been ringing them they sent a box that had black on box and a WHITE hob inside…..guess what? You would think it’s Neff Company s fault only??…..but what about the same item numbers on white and black hobs from curry’s website. I’ve had to buy another one and try and get refund off the white one as I can’t end up paying more telephone bills to scumbags, only the staff were nice. I had sold my old gas thinking I would get new one in time…but was let down by this company by a long wait, and phonecalls that you had to wait FOR THEM TO SORT THINGS OUT in other words make your phone bill larger than expected, and NOTHING done about THERE mistakes.
For me at the moment, Curry’s/PC World in the UK is not worth the effort. You pay £20 GBP extra to get a TV delivered and mounted on a wall within a time slot, are assured that (because the Curry’s time slots are 4 hours long?)they will deliver in the last 2 hours of that time slot (ie, I’m not in before then) – making sure they realised they only got the sale because of this stipulation…
They arrive an hour early. There was someone in – a workman doing some work for me – who phoned me. I spoke to the Curry’s people, basically they couldn’t/wouldn’t wait until I got there, left the TV and went.
Got home half an hour later, phoned their delivery dept. On hold for 15-20 minutes, guy there said sorry a few times but wouldn’t call his people back – would throw out their schedule – admitted their instructions had specified the time then tried to fob me off by saying the store should have made it clear that paying the extra was just a request and didn’t guarantee delivery in that time. I pointed out that contracts go two ways and that the sale had been conditional on this – that was my condition that they had agreed to, not theirs.
This near Christmas no way I was going to tie up another valuable 4 hour slot so I cancelled. Except that they were just the delivery side, I had to do that from the store… another period on hold (actually far less)…
The girl I spoke too wasn’t very helpful as I told her I was cancelling the order, gave the reason and tried to get her to put me in touch with a manager – she wanted to put me in touch with delivery… finally she unilaterally said ‘I#, transferring you now’ and I had another long period on hold before speaking to delivery! – Who did then say, yes, the order was now cancelled but – for the refund I would have to physically go to the store…
I have complained via their complaints department. Two days so far without a reply.
I think the thing that I found most annoying was that no-one was interested in saving the sale or keeping a customer. The impression was that they just couldn’t care less.
Morale? Never use Curry’s/PC World delivery/installation service, in my case I will never buy from them again. It isn’t worth it.
Ordered a cooker for delivery within 48 hours.
Three days later received an e mail CLAIMING to have rung us saying could not be delivered for a week. When they did not.
Refused to offer compensation for delays, at first refused to make a refund then told me the time it would take for a refund to come through would be no quicker than waiting for the late delivery, if the supplier might have it available then.
paid and ordered online in-store for a microwave with next day delivery last Sunday 20th of march, free delivery . on the day of delivery i received four texts from the delivery company saying they had received my order, processing my order ,3rd text said due delivery date 21st march ,4th text said parcel delayed not received from Currys.
so i visited store on Tuesday only to be informed after the staff phoned trying to chase up microwave that i would have to wait 4 to 5 days for delivery . on Friday i again visited the store to chase up what was happening with order and staff again phoned and were informed that microwave was missing and they would launch an investigation to try and find it. i stated that i was not happy and would bring my sister back in on the following day to get her money back as sh payed with her card and had been away all week but i kept her informed. on Saturday morning we went back to Currys in Bridgend and again they phoned the delivery online company who spoke to my sister and insisting that we would have to wait a further 5 days for investigation to be completed. my sister was stating that she interested in the investigation and wanted her money back this took over an hour of our time plus the staff at the store requested to speak to a manager with no result except that we could’nt have our money back . they three in store but would’nt release one they said because it was ordered online . but a member of their staffed ordered it online not us, we just gave him card no.
After my sister had a migraine from talking to the delivery company who constantly repeated himself about investigation and telling her to listen,but was’nt listening to our request for refund we left the store and got home only to receive a text refunding the money after all . displeased with way we where treated on the phone, even staff in-store were frustrated. and eventually just ended conversation because he was getting nowhere. will never shop again in currys and advise everyone never to shop online even instore because their staff on the ends of the phone are MORONS and would not get a manager for us to try and resolve the situation
CURRYS IS SXXT ONLINE AND WE ARE STILL SEETHING EVEN AFTER PAYMENT RETURN FOR THE WAY WE WHERE TREATED ON THE PHONE
My new PC has a Uk key board with the @ button situated somewhere to the right on the board but on pressing the correct button I got a : as opposed to the @ and went back to the shop and explained the problem. I was told this was because the PC was operating on a US key board setting ? I pointed out that in setting up the Pc I was given options about language settings but not about the key board and queried if American users do not have the @ symbol on the button they have to press? My point being that if the physical key board has a uk set up then why is the key board operating on a US system, and getting frustrated at the assistants lack of comprehension I commented on having paid a lot of money for a crap item. She then turned on me saying not to use language like that and not to swear at her. I said I only called the PC set up crap, considering the money it cost me and I have not sworn at you and nor is crap a swear word _ and I am frustrated because I have spend a lot of time this morning setting up this Pc with it’s wrong setting. She then, rather arrogantly threw a comment at me that the problem would not have occurred if I had set the Pc up correctly in the first place, yet she herself did not know how to solve the problem ) Maybe Curry’s should teach all their staff something about not treating customers as if they are the cause of a faulty computer setting
I would like to tell everyone not buy things from currys , go for Argos which is million times better , here is my story :
I bought a tab last week , it doesnt compatible with apps I want , and mutitask view only for some default apps which doesn’t say in description , took it back exchange for iPad , Better deal for them , but been refused three times , when I spoke to manager , he started check the condition , and the a lady stood by site kept pointing the problem originally in the tab ( like rough site, even two white point on it , poor quality product ) , this make me fell I’m the person who just changed my mind ,and fell been treated difference because I’m foreigner , i only like it because the specification is as good as iPad .
They kept telling me their policy doesn’t accept return if you buy thing in store and opened it , buy online you can return even you opened it. I don’t get the difference , unfair policy , also poor customer service in store , told me they will loss money if they take it back , how funny is this ! ! Still got care plan for my washing machine from here , how siilly am I . Would cancel it and remind people again , don’t buy thing from here , because they refuse you for return or exchange .
I have been to PC World several times now for the same problem. Faulty Internet Connection. This started with my first computer (HP)I bought from there, It was working fine until it said the internet was not working. I asked around my house to see if anyone else was having a problem but i was the only one. After the a couple of months, I went to PC World 6 times for the same problem, but all they could do is a “factory reset”. I hated those words. I then bought a new computer with my refund money. It was working fine… until the same problem happened again. That took another few months and I went to the store 7 times. I then thought that it was the problem with HP computers so i bought an ASUS computer. Sorry I don’t know the exact model but they were all new models. This computer is having the same problem right now. Im lucky I can even write this. Any help, or any other places to buy computers in Hertfordshire. Mainly around Watford. Oh and there staff are just rude and apauling. I DONT WANT MORE FACTORY RESETS. THEY DO NOTHING!
PROBABLY THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER
I brought a washing machine at my local Curry’s… A simple, painless and quick transaction! I paid an extra £20 for a guaranteed 4 hour delivery time between 9am-1pm – quite a considerable sum of money, when you consider what the supermarkets charge for home delivery. The machine was to be delivered to a flat I’m the landlord of, whilst my tenant was with his wife who was giving birth to their first child. I waited and waited the 4 hours came and went and NO DELIVERY!
I then spent over 45 minutes trying to get an answer from Curry’s call centre. The 1st time I managed to get through, the operator kept me waiting for appx. 10 minutes and then the phone went dead. The second time the operator Luke said there was considerable traffic in London and couldn’t give me an eta… I was not impressed as there’s always lots of traffic in London. I then lost reception as I was making the call from my mobile. After another 15 minutes trying to get through, I was told the engineer had not been picking his phone up for over two hours. I suggested they asked the delivery man to contact me in the next hour and give me eta or I would have to cancel the order.
Over five hours and nearly an hour on my mobile… I abandoned the wait and returned to Currys. It took over 30 minutes to get a refund; incredible as it took less than a minute to purchase the washing machine. I even had to wait whilst the team at the store phone through to their head office to get authorisation! A simple ‘sorry’ is all I received after nearly 6hrs of being inconvenienced. However, I would have lost my £20 if I hadn’t been at the address, if they had delivered… Why is it always the customer who pays.
Then to cap off a dreadful experience I received a phone call at 5.45pm from the delivery man to say he was 20 minutes away from my tenants flat. I asked him why he hadn’t 1. delivered in the specified time & 2. Why he hadn’t phoned to say he was running
late. I informed him I had to cancel the order. His response was to simply hung up the phone – unprofessional and rude.
THE END.
Just visited the Leeds, Birstall store purely because it is the easiest to drive to and with a rather nasty cold and chest infection, I could do with as little hassle as possible…
When I got to the store, I asked a member of staff who was wandering around aimlessly if he could point me in the direction of the chargers for an Apple Macbook Pro. His answer was ‘No, but he can’ pointing to another member of staff who was heavily engrossed in conversation with another customer, and promptly walked away.
I approached two further members of staff that walked off in the opposite direction when I greeted them with an ‘excuse me, can you…’ and at that point they walked off.
I went to a service desk with about five people standing about doing nothing and said in a very croaky, sore throat voice, ‘is there anybody here who is capable of helping me? Everyone I approach seem to be busy…’
A chap who was standing at the desk again said ‘no’ but walked me over to a guy who was meant to be an Apple expert, on a desk close to where the chargers were hidden. Eventually after explaining that I needed a charger for a 2009/10 13in Macbook pro this chap handed me a charger, then took a payment of £65.00 and then told me to go over to the other side of the store to queue again and have the security tag removed. Why couldn’t he do that?
Eventually, this was removed following waiting, again, to be served.
I then went to another member of staff to inquire about a laptop I was interested in purchasing and they said, ‘have you looked on the internet for one? ‘
I didn’t even reply, I just turned around and left the store feeling rather fed up because the experience, as always, was atrocious! Go look at the internet when I have travelled to the store? I ask you…
Then the bombshell landed… when I got home, the sales staff had supplied me with the wrong one!!
Why on earth are the staff so incompetent, in all of their stores? Everywhere I go, the staff would rather stand around and chat to each other than serve anyone!! And on the rare occasion you can get served, its the wrong part!!
I will be returning for a refund tomorrow and never enter one of their stores again!
hi i,am sam i have had bad experiance with currys pc world . i bought a 20 inch computer august 2015 and took out a care plan from the day i bought it i kept having a sort of cloud on the one corner of the screen but did.nt do any thing about it.well this happened on a number of occasions through the first 12 months so i decided to take it back to the store in evesham where they sent it away for repare it came back with in a week with a report on what they had done . took it home and with in a couple of days the same thing happened again so back to the store i went sent it away again came back with in a week this time they fitted a new screen took it home two days same thing happened again back to the store by this time i had just about had enough so i requested it to be replaced with a new one which i was told that they would ring knowhow repare centre i left it a few days went back in to the store and asked what the score was the assistant said he would ring and find out after he finnished on the phone he told me that it had not been looked at yet and then i had a phone call from the repare centre saying that it would be replaced with a new one which was on november 19 th how long will it be i asked a week he said so i went into the store on saturday the 26 th still no joy so iasked why was it taking so long he said that htey had no delivery beacause of black friday going on i was not at all happy then i had a call from the store saying it would be here on monday the 28 th i havent heared nothing from them i have totted up nearley 100 miles back and for to this store iam wondering weather to ask for some sort o compensation i hope people read this and make there own mind up ?
Hi , I have been reading through all these sad cases with Currys pcworld.
Can someone advise me on my issues, I will go through this briefly.
Bought a 65″ curved 4K 3D TV from curry pc world 30.11.2015.
TV developed a faulty on 01.12.2016, rang knowhow and their collection men collected the TV. They did not pack the TV adequately, they put one side in a empty tv box and covering the other half up with whatever they could find on the van. Anyway 5 days later they turned up with it. one setting up the TV again I noticed the fault on it again ( volume going up by itself and the TV would switch itself on) but thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
I had noticed the serial number was not stick on like it was wen they took the TV and thought Have they given me someone else repaired TV.
I rang knowhow and discussed this and they said the TV had been damaged in transit, and had to order a new back panel hence the loose serial number sticker. They also had a order a new main board.
on 16.12.16 I was woken by my TV as it had switched itself on and the volume was all the way up. The same fault as before. The TV switched itself on 4 times in the space of 20 minutes.
I rang knowhow again and expressed my disappointment. I wanted another TV when they take mine but they could not do that as I was 115 in line. It was Xmas what was I meant to do. She advised me to take it to store and under the consumer rights Act that they would refund me.
I took it into the store and explained all that had happened and eventually they agreed to it after the TV had been assessed by knowhow. After many phone calls they have now gone against there word and say the TV has now been fixed with a software update. I explained that this is not what was agreed but they wont budge. They have just lied and blamed each other. I have written to their CEO regarding this. Not sure if I will hear back from him.
Do I have to accept this TV back after they damaged my £1800 TV.
Can I take them to small claims court and win?
Please if anyone can offer any help I would appreciate it.
Thank You
Hi Vik – sorry to read your story. Helen Dewdney, also known as ‘The Complaining Cow’, is an expert at dealing with issues like yours – you can find out more about her here – http://www.thecomplainingcow.co.uk/ – I am sure she will be able to help you…
Hello
since everyone on here has had problems with Currys, i would like to bring up something from a purchase the other day in one of their stores. I wanted to pay cash for a £49.99 item but they put the money on a gift card and then used that to buy the actual product, despite being able to give me 1 pence change. I was told “keep hold of that gift card because if something goes wrong, the money will be refunded to it” this means my money is now locked with Currys. Is this legal? it seems rather fraudulent and backhand to me as they have effectively committed me to buying from them if they have to refund me.
Thanks for any help
Hi Matthew – this all seems rather strange to me. I would suggest contacting Helen Dewdney – also known as ‘The Complaining Cow’ – she will be able to advise if your consumer rights have been negatively affected. You can find out about her here – http://www.thecomplainingcow.co.uk/contact/
Currys PC world is one of the most dishonest, manipulative and corrupt business and organisations.
I noticed late yesterday at about 5.30 pm on 14 October 2020 and this morning at 8 am Currys PC World were advertising Microsoft Surface Pro7 i5 for £659. I took a print and went to the local Currys PC World to purchase this tablet . On my arrival there at 10 am, the price was £899 at the shop. I quiried it with the shop manager and I showed the print out to the him.
I simply asked how can they increase the price of a product by nearly 30% in a matter of 2 hours. His response was that the head office often do it to manipulate customers and this isn’t new to their stuff.
In my view this is a disgraceful, dishonest, manipulative and corrupt business. People should be aware and don’t buy anything from such a corrupt business and organisation.