- Aug 30, 2013
- 179
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Alternative title: CEX Crimes.
God I am stupid sometimes. I'd forgotten about my previous experiences of CEX and so I bought a second hand graphics card from one of their stores. I took the card back the next day because it doesn't fit in my PC, and expected an immediate refund.
No. First they ask me "is it faulty" and I say "no, it's fine" - first mistake.
They then tell me they will have to test the card before they will issue a refund, which will take about three-quarters of an hour. I say okay - second mistake.
An hour later, I come back and they issue me a voucher. I ask for a cash refund. They say, sorry no, we can only give credit. Mod Edit for vulgar language.
This really bother me, because when I purchased the graphics card I made a point of expressly asking the assistant "can you tell me what your returns policy is please?".
"You can bring it back for any reason within 48 hours so long as it is in the same condition or within 30 days if there is a fault."
That's not quite word for word, but close enough. At no point was I told, NO CASH REFUND.
They could put up a nice big sign at the counter displaying their returns policy, but no, this is something you find out only after you've bought an item and want to return it.
Now, I know that lot of people would defend CEX here because it's quite common for shops selling secondhand items to not give a cash refund. But I was not told that there are no cash refunds and I think CEX make a point of not displaying a returns policy in their stores. I think it is a deliberate lie by omission.
If I had deliberately damaged the graphics card and marched into the shop and and demanded "'ere, what's this piece of crap? It's broken, I wants me money back!" I think I would have got an instant refund. But because I said was fine (I hadn't even installed it in the PC) they made me wait and then told me I was only entitled to store credit. Broken card = cash refund, working card = voucher.
I don't believe they actually test returned products, I think they just stick them under the counter and make you wait for an hour for no reason other than to make the customer give up.
Fortunately the card was only £20, but that's not the point; if I had purchased a high-end graphics card for £200 or £300, they would have pulled the exact same stunt, and some of the secondhand items they are selling are over £1000. Would you trust CEX with a grand of your money?
The refund policy on the CEX website states:
Now where in that statement does it mention they don't give cash refunds? I know CEX is a franchise and they might tell me "well, it's not down to us, it's down to the individual store" (JT Retailing in this case) but from what I've seen in other branches of CEX, this is a franchise-wide policy handed down from CEX.
I've had trouble with CEX before; I once bought a phone from a different store and when I took it home, it was locked-out. It was only a cheap secondhand phone - £15 - but I wanted a refund. I took it back to the store in my town, but they told me I would have to return it to the store where I bought it from.
So I did, and I got the old "we have to test it first" line, which would not be until the next day. So, I went back a second time (and the store is a 10 mile drive away), and was told that they didn't believe that they had sold me a bad phone - impossible the guy claimed, he tested all the phones. They told methey have to ask the manager who would not be in until later that day.
Third trip. After standing my ground in the shop and demanding my money back, they gave me... a store credit voucher.
Well, I ended up buying another secondhand phone from them for £20 that did work, but the time and date wouldn't update and were not changeable manually. At this point it was either a case of giving them what-for or giving up and cutting my losses. The phone worked apart from not telling the date or time, so I made do with it.
I'd forgotten about that experience.
Alternative title: CEX Crimes.
God I am stupid sometimes. I'd forgotten about my previous experiences of CEX and so I bought a second hand graphics card from one of their stores. I took the card back the next day because it doesn't fit in my PC, and expected an immediate refund.
No. First they ask me "is it faulty" and I say "no, it's fine" - first mistake.
They then tell me they will have to test the card before they will issue a refund, which will take about three-quarters of an hour. I say okay - second mistake.
An hour later, I come back and they issue me a voucher. I ask for a cash refund. They say, sorry no, we can only give credit. Mod Edit for vulgar language.
This really bother me, because when I purchased the graphics card I made a point of expressly asking the assistant "can you tell me what your returns policy is please?".
"You can bring it back for any reason within 48 hours so long as it is in the same condition or within 30 days if there is a fault."
That's not quite word for word, but close enough. At no point was I told, NO CASH REFUND.
They could put up a nice big sign at the counter displaying their returns policy, but no, this is something you find out only after you've bought an item and want to return it.
Now, I know that lot of people would defend CEX here because it's quite common for shops selling secondhand items to not give a cash refund. But I was not told that there are no cash refunds and I think CEX make a point of not displaying a returns policy in their stores. I think it is a deliberate lie by omission.
If I had deliberately damaged the graphics card and marched into the shop and and demanded "'ere, what's this piece of crap? It's broken, I wants me money back!" I think I would have got an instant refund. But because I said was fine (I hadn't even installed it in the PC) they made me wait and then told me I was only entitled to store credit. Broken card = cash refund, working card = voucher.
I don't believe they actually test returned products, I think they just stick them under the counter and make you wait for an hour for no reason other than to make the customer give up.
Fortunately the card was only £20, but that's not the point; if I had purchased a high-end graphics card for £200 or £300, they would have pulled the exact same stunt, and some of the secondhand items they are selling are over £1000. Would you trust CEX with a grand of your money?
The refund policy on the CEX website states:
Now where in that statement does it mention they don't give cash refunds? I know CEX is a franchise and they might tell me "well, it's not down to us, it's down to the individual store" (JT Retailing in this case) but from what I've seen in other branches of CEX, this is a franchise-wide policy handed down from CEX.
I've had trouble with CEX before; I once bought a phone from a different store and when I took it home, it was locked-out. It was only a cheap secondhand phone - £15 - but I wanted a refund. I took it back to the store in my town, but they told me I would have to return it to the store where I bought it from.
So I did, and I got the old "we have to test it first" line, which would not be until the next day. So, I went back a second time (and the store is a 10 mile drive away), and was told that they didn't believe that they had sold me a bad phone - impossible the guy claimed, he tested all the phones. They told methey have to ask the manager who would not be in until later that day.
Third trip. After standing my ground in the shop and demanding my money back, they gave me... a store credit voucher.
Well, I ended up buying another secondhand phone from them for £20 that did work, but the time and date wouldn't update and were not changeable manually. At this point it was either a case of giving them what-for or giving up and cutting my losses. The phone worked apart from not telling the date or time, so I made do with it.
I'd forgotten about that experience.
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