3XS system - refunds not possible?

[YaoNg]

Hi there,

I made an enquiry this morning with regards to costs for returning my system within the first 7 days and was told that no refunds are available at all for custom build systems. Is this true? Even though they are custom built and packaged as shown on webpage no refund is possible at all?

How does this get round the Sales of Goods act? Can someone explain this to me and where I stand?

Thanks,

Yao

[Jonj1611]

Yeah I think they are right in this case mate sorry. Anything custom made is exempt from the sale of goods act.

What the law says :-

The law also applies to goods sold online, by telephone or by mail order. This includes goods sold by television, text message and fax or through a newspaper or magazine order form.

The goods must

match their description
be of satisfactory quality
be fit for purpose.

Additional rights

Customers who buy goods online, by telephone or by mail order have important additional rights. Customers can cancel their order

any time from the moment they place it, up to seven working days from the day after they receive the goods - even if the goods are not faulty*
any time from the moment they place it, up to seven working days from the day after they agree the contract with you for services bought online
and claim a full refund if the goods or services that they ordered are not delivered or provided within 30 days.

However, some items bought online or by mail order cannot be returned simply because the customer changes their mind. Examples include

CDs, DVDs or software if the seal is broken on the wrapping
perishable items such as food and flowers
tailor-made or personalised goods
newspapers, periodicals, magazines
betting, gaming, lottery services.

* It is important for retailers to know that the seven-day cancellation period may be extended if the retailer has not given the customer information about the right to cancel.

Regards

[YaoNg]

Funnily enough, I've just found this for myself as well so it's a pain. I was hoping it would be a grey area as the systems are 'Ready to ship' on the webpage.

It's a pain as my system gave me a blue screen of death on yesterday and then it wouldn't boot up at all. It would whir and a few lights come on, but then stop, but it would do this in a continuous loop. Eventually after about half an hour it began to boot up again, but claimed the bios had changed due to either overlocking or a voltage change.

Since I don't get home from work until around 9pm most nights I'm not sure how or when I'm going to get time to troubleshoot this. Not that I should since it's only 3 days into the purchase. I'd rather they just take the machine back or replace it with a brand new one that works.

Yao

[Jonj1611]

If its faulty you could probably send it back to them and if it is faulty get a refund or a fix, sounds like the overclock wasn't stable if it was overclocked.

[YaoNg]

You're probably right.

Maybe I should push for a replacement then instead of refund. Previously, I was just annoyed at their poor after-sales support, whilst now I just would rather it works. Having said that, I may just lose my rag if they keep this up. I hate the silent treatment - I think it shows a lack of respect for customers.

[Chris P]

YaoNg

We are replying to you via the query open with system support..

06/10/11 - 12:10 - System delivered
06/10/11 - 12:23:41 - Courtesy e-mail sent to ensure that your system was delivered in good condition
06/10/11 - 14:13:34 - Customer reply, no system issues reported and setup issue reported.
06/10/11 - 14:36:18 - ( 23 minute response time) - confirmation of what the courier informed us of that setup was offered.

06/10/11 - 14:47:19 - Customer reply to say the courier did not offer setup as an option.

We have received the signed POD confirming setup was offered upon delivery... We do appreciate your feedback and we are still looking into this with the courier..

10/10/11 - 10:50:37 - This is the earliest point I can see from when actual issues with the system were reported via the OLQ system where correspondence was being made.

From looking through the query and the times listed above I can't personally see any response times large enough to say you are receiving any silent treatment, to the contrary it certainly looks as if responses provided were provided promptly.

Our system support team will continue to work with you to resolve any system issues you are experiencing. I can confirm we are not dismissing your comments about the courier and we have already started to investigate this with them.

Best Regards

[YaoNg]

Chris,

Firstly, I asked for an update on the Friday as it went quiet after my last response. It doesn't take much to say, 'Yes, we are looking into this.' but I got nothing.

As to using QLQ - I'm a new Scan customer so I've no idea what this is, but I'm guessing it's your call management system. If my queries are being moved to this then someone should have said so.

Regardless, it doesn't take much to respond to customers and let them know you are at least looking into this. Especially, since the correspondence WAS good to start with - my expectations were now set so when I send a chaser the next day it's not surprising if a customer is disgruntled at getting nothing back.

So, in effect, it's taken a forum posting and a query about a refund to get anything from you at all. I'm guessing my blue screen of death is a blessing in disguise.

Yao

[Chris P]

YaoNg

The OLQ system is where your e-mail replies are sent to, this system allows everyone with access to it to view the notes and e-mails.

To expand upon the e-mail sent on the 6th October, we confirmed to you that the installation sheet was to be e-mailed to us, which I have attached for you to view, the email is also pasted below.

"

MR YAO SONG NG 6/10/2011 : 14-36

The Blue Cable needs to be plugged into a rear blue USB port as it powers the front panel USB3 port

I have spoken to the engineer and he has advised that he offered a setup and is going to email me a copy of the installation sheet that you signed as I have advised I want confirmation of this

Regards

"




I can assure you your feedback via any medium is appreciated, but not required in the context of a requirement to receive a response, as you have said. The time logs show the dates and times, which are prior to your forums posts here, so these responses where not made just based on the fact you have posted on a forum, they could be considered, to be if we sent correspondence only after a period of delay and forum posts but they were not.

Moving forward at this stage we have confirmed the POD with your signature confirming setup was offered. and Ben is currently providing technical support via your query.

Regards

[YaoNg]

Chris,

This proves nothing more than what we already know. What you're actually saying is that it takes a few days for the POD to arrive by email.

The only reason I pointed out that the technician didn't offer setup (which he did not) was that some poor customer needing setup will be left standing on the doorstep like I was. I signed the form not realising it was confirming that I had been offered setup - I thought it was just for acknowledging receipt of goods. Yes, I know I should have read it in greater detail, but who does?

The fact is, I wasn't even asking for anything when I mentioned this. I was merely pointing this out as constructive feedback, but instead have been effectively been made to look like a liar. I had nothing to gain from this, but instead I'm left very angry with Nick from NetSolve and now yourselves, who I'm in good mind to call up and have a few choice words with now. It may seem minor to you, but it's the principle that matters.

[Chris P]

YaoNg

I agree that we already know that the forum posts were not a catalyst to getting responses from our support team, but it needed to be confirmed for the user's reading this who may have the impression this was the case, in addition that we have also not given you the " silent treatment ", the timeline of responses show the support, which has been provided to you so far..

I can assure you we do not believe you to be a "liar" at all, I respect your principles and we have responded to your feedback by investigating the issue and providing the POD, which is the information we have been provided.

We have taken all of your feedback on board and we are providing this feedback to the courier to see where if required we can improve in the future.

Moving forward Ben is providing Technical support via our query to resolve the system issues reported to us today and this is what we are concentrating on from this point forward.

Regards

[YaoNg]

Chris,

I'm not going to pursue this anymore and I'll put this one to bed. I really hope something comes out of your investigation as I think this has really blighted my experience with Scan. The worst part is that I can clearly remember Nick saying, 'No, I wasn't told anything about installation or setup.' before running off. I wasted a day of my leave for that.

If you need a reference for how to deal with customers, then I suggest you speak to Lee Pennington who was exemplary throughout the sale and order. Even when I first highlighted Nick's disappearing act, he called me up abruptly to apologise. That would have been enough for me if it hadn't been reported back that I had turned down installation. I know Lee is a sales guy, but he is the sort of person that your post-sales staff should take note of.

Regards,

Yao

[Ben @ Scan]

Hi Consumer_Rights

The Terms of Conditions you refer to are for components only and do not apply to a 3XS System as this is a custom built machine

Under the sales of goods act you will find that as the system is made to order you are not entitled to a refund, if the system is found faulty we have the right to repair this and send the system back out to you

The retailer’s obligations

If there is an obvious fault with the item at any time within the first 6 months and it has not been caused by wear and tear or misuse, your first port of call must be the shop you bought it from. They have the responsibility to put the matter right, and should not evade this responsibility by referring you to the manufacturer in the context of a guarantee or warranty.

In the first instance and if considered appropriate, the seller must offer to at least repair the goods.

If a repair is impossible or unfeasible, you must then be offered a replacement.

Due to the emphasis on proportionality in this legislation, you must give the seller reasonable time to repair or replace before demanding your money back and you should be aware that any refund given may well take account of any use you have had of the goods since you took possession of them. If you do not want the seller to repair or replace, or they have told you they are unable to, you can then request they reduce the purchase price to an appropriate amount, although this does not affect your ability to take return the item if something else goes wrong

The cooling-off period and your right to cancel

If you buy something without face-to-face contact, you will usually have a ‘cooling off period’ of seven working days. It means you can cancel the order for any reason and get your money back.

If you decide to cancel your order within the cooling off period, you must tell the trader in writing.

When you don’t have this cancellation right:

If the item is personalised or made to order - This applies to our 3XS Systems as they are built from components to order for each customer and not ready built off the shelf systems

Regards

Ben