What Constitutes A Blatant Lie Scan?

[Neilsson]

i order an item you show as in stock...

you debit my card...

you make me wait two days, then - 2 mins before you close on Friday, you tell me you don't actually have the item in stock that you booked for a Monday delivery!

what kind of service is that then?

EDIT: Should really have followed this up looking back.

So what if I had been to the pub - bragging to my mates about the new graphics card I'd just ordered!

Even so, anyone reading this should be aware that some respondents here aren't aware of distance selling regulations!

[Steve B]

that you booked for a Monday delivery!

Delivery times are estimates only, its stated on the website when you order.

Could you possibly supply some evidence to your claim that Scan are in breach of contract?

[Funkstar]

you make me wait two days, then - 2 mins before you close on Friday, you tell me you don't actually have the item in stock that you booked for a Monday delivery!

What was the message you got? Was it "the item is out of stock" or was it "due to high volumes in the warehouse"?

The latter means that they have th item, but the packing team didn't have time to pack it for dispatch due to the number of orders.

I'm sure someone from Scan will look into this when they are available.

[Chris P]

Neilsson

I can assure you we do not lie to our customers, but obviously something has gone wrong somewhere... Until I have the details I cannot comment any further

Please can you PM me the invoice number so I can look into this for you

Best Regards

[staffsMike]

I think this care forum is one of the most useful things a retailer (etailer) can offer.

If they didn't have it you would be none the wiser to the other problems you mention afterall...

The fact that more often than not you can get your problems dealt with in the middle of the night if you have one is very comendable and shows that the staff and very enthusiastic and that customer service is a highest priority.

All retailers have stock issues now again.. but they don't all have a forum to let you sort it out.

[Mossy]

I sure we don't Lie though? I feel sometimes though rather than come here for help new members sign up just to vent their frustration in hope of discouraging people to shop with Scan as a kind of punishment.

When I have shopped with a company and something has gone wrong I approach it in a calm mannor and see how they deal with it as I understand things go wrong from time to time, if they show interest and sort it then I am as happy as if it went smooth in the 1st place if they dont then I will start asking questions.

To flame someone without giving anyone time to explain is wrong and no way of getting help even though we still help. what do you think guys?

[staffsMike]

To flame someone without giving anyone time to explain is wrong and no way of getting help even though we still help. what do you think guys?

Absolutely

[sawyen]

Yes I have also noticed these rants recently.. Where the first post they include is not about trying to solve a problem, but trying to make the situation a complete mess by telling bad things about the retailer as such..

A far more appropriate, ordering issues : delayed - URGENT, would have suffice..

And the thread context should be addressing the problems you have rather than throwing in flames about how you feel IN CONJUNCTION to poorly describing the problem.. If you want to do that, I feel you should just do it in another section of Hexus..

Explain your problems accordingly, and the ppl here READ posts, so there is no need to make your thread stand out by putting negative things like these.. I'm a terrible person, so if I was working with Scan and I read things like these, you will get no pardon off me, but Scan's ppl have been great and have the patience of the world to deal with ppl like you.. So do appreciate it..

Most ppl here are posting to solve problems, not all about ranting and flaming..

You are also most entitled to flame HERE, should in a situation, even when you've put all your patience in handling the manner and Scan DID NOT react correctly..

But until then, I think ppl here should keep their acts together as an adult. Flaming as a first post should only come as a last resort if you've gone through all legitimate methods of getting the matter sorted.

People have to understand that issues arise, and if anyone has gone into a proper business should know this.. People who doesn't are either too young to understand, or just blatantly dumb IMHO..

Even companies rated very high will have low times, You can expect things to get better and entitled to your say, but please do it in an assuring and thought-over fashion

And honestly Neilsson, not that I'm blatantly judging you, but what you said makes you sound like a kid.. no offence..

[Adywebb]

I agree that if folks have a gripe, then it should be stated clearly and calmly and give Scan a chance to explain and sort it out - posting in an enraged manner along with veiled threats is not really going to get you a faster response.

In this case I would imagine the problem lies in that when he ordered the item it was indeed in stock, but when it came to be picked 2 days later it was then out of stock - this is clearly something that needs to be addressed.

[Dreaming]

I sure we don't Lie though? I feel sometimes though rather than come here for help new members sign up just to vent their frustration in hope of discouraging people to shop with Scan as a kind of punishment.

When I have shopped with a company and something has gone wrong I approach it in a calm mannor and see how they deal with it as I understand things go wrong from time to time, if they show interest and sort it then I am as happy as if it went smooth in the 1st place if they dont then I will start asking questions.

To flame someone without giving anyone time to explain is wrong and no way of getting help even though we still help. what do you think guys?

Having worked in customer service I also try to think the guy at the end of the phone is a person with a life etc. and you should treat him / her with respect. I've had people being nasty on the phone and it really is horrible and makes you go shaky for the rest of the day.

But on the other side, I don't think this is an isolated case - I don't know whether it's due to lack of manpower and the fact you're doing really successful, but a lot of the orders I place are often late now. If I need something, I'll phone up after I order it and ask one of the guys (who are all ultra friendly) to mark it as urgent if it's ok.

I'm not having a go at Scan though, they're still my etailer of choice. Good price - incredible customer service - the only problem is the logistics side of things. Again, I don't work at Scan, but I've had it happen to me on more than one occasion where you get notified it's not going to get delivered tomorrow, the evening before after Scan has shut.

I don't think Scan lies at all though. Although, you give an 'estimated dispatch date' and even though it's an estimate, most people will expect their bits then and if not will complain. And when they're unhappy saying it was only as estimate probably makes some customers feel like they're being fobbed off. Although I've seen time and time again through personal correspondence and the CS guys looking after these customers that they end up happy in the end.

I don't know how things are at Scan but it does appear that you seem to 'miss' a significant portion of your delivery targets (just my own personal experience, I think it's between 20% - 40%, not completely sure though), maybe this could be an area for improvement? But yea, I'm not ranting at anyone, just trying to give a balanced perspective of both sides.

[IAmATeaf]

I have to admit that it's interesting reading some of the gripe threads but the guys from Scan who frequent these forums should be commended as their approach and attitude with respect to replies and how quick they reply for me has always been very professional.

[grimpy]

i order an item you show as in stock...

you debit my card...

you make me wait two days, then - 2 mins before you close on Friday, you tell me you don't actually have the item in stock that you booked for a Monday delivery!

what kind of service is that then?

if this does nothing else, it should discourage at least some people from ordering from you, and judging by all the other complaints in this forum, you deserve all you get... or lose!

i'm calling my bank tomorrow and requesting a refund for what is, to me, a breach of contract!

"SCAN is arguably the UK's most customer focussed retailer of PC technology"

Exactly the same problem i`m going through now,it wasnt the BFG 512MB 8800GT you ordered was it?

[Saracen]

.....

i'm calling my bank tomorrow and requesting a refund for what is, to me, a breach of contract!

.....

Then perhaps you ought to read the contract.

a) Payment and Price


• We shall not be bound to deliver the goods until you have paid for them. Payment shall be due when the agreement is made between us. Time for payment shall be of the essence.

Note that bit about payment being "of the essence". That's legalese for making that clause fundamental to the contract. If it's breached, it's grounds for nullifying the contract. In other words, you agreed to payment being taken when the agreement is reached, i.e. the order accepted. In fact, either exchange of value or the promise of exchange of value is required for there to be a contract at all. That clause makes it clear that payment is needed, not promise of payment.

Also

b) Delivery


• We will try to deliver the goods to you within the time estimated for delivery.
• If we are unable to do so, we reserve the right to deliver them within 30 days beginning with the day after the day of the agreement between us.

...

It then goes on to specify what'll happen if goods aren't supplied within 30 days.

When you buy something from a shop, you're entering into a contract, the terms of which will be agreed to by your making the offer, unless either a statute somewhere makes a clause unforceable as unfair, or some other law (like the Sale of Goods Acts) embeds a mandatory condition that overrides it.

So you agreed to those conditions when you ordered, including the 30 days bit.



You could, if you wished, have made the delivery date "of the essence" yourself in your offer. In the absence of an accepted order with such a stipulation, the delivery date is not grounds for breach of contract. I rather doubt, however, that many retailers would accept such an order, and certainly not as part of an automated process. They'd be laying themselves open to all sorts of problems if they did.

Neilsson, Scan aren't in breach of contract and, in my view, your attitude in this thread was wholly unjustified, and accusations about lies totally out of order. As a HEXUS admin, the ONLY thing that stopped me deleting the thread was that I'm extremely reluctant to step in in a forum moderated by Scan staff, and would only do so if the issue was overtly unacceptable to HEXUS (such as illegal activities).


Having said that, you do, however, have a right to be a bit miffed that your expectations weren't met. I would be too. You also have a right to cancel the contract and get your money back. Scan's T&Cs give you that right, and even if they didn't, the Distance Selling regs do. All you have to do is notify them, in a permanent form (i.e. not by phone) of your wish to cancel, in a way that complies with the Distance Selling regs.

As for the problem, that being that goods that were supposed to be in stock proved not to be after the order was accepted, that may simply reflect that stock control systems aren't perfect. In my Chartered Accountancy days, I did enough audits of stock checks, and I can't think of a single case where the records and the physical stock fully tallied. Not a one!

And that applies whether you're talking about a corner shop or a multinational.

The causes of stock discrepancies are numerous, ranging from inadequate procedures and physical control over stock so that staff can make genuine but unauthorised stock transfers, to pilferage, to faulty goods having to be returned to manufacturers and the stock system being slow to reflect this, to the mere fact that what is adequate for a small company can prove to be wholly inadequate when the company grows. I've seen otherwise successful companies go out of business mainly because they grew too fast and couldn't get a grip on issues like this.

Suppose, Neilsson, that when Scan came to pick your order, they discovered that a delivery that had been marked as received (and hence on their stock system) actually contained faulty goods? Suppose, for instance, they'd shipped several graphics cards and had them all returned with a fault. So they pull the whole batch rather than ship faulty goods? In the meantime, they've accepted your order. What would you have them do? Ship a duff card? After all, they didn't know they were duff when your order came in.

Or suppose someone typed the wrong number on the stock system when putting them in stock, and it turns out that 20 came in, not 200 as typed. Then what? Sure, a mistake was made, but a lie???

At the end of the day, whatever the reason for the problem, they can't ship what they don't have. And you can, if you wish, cancel your order and go elsewhere. Getting that message is annoying as hell, I'm sure, but your post attributes an element of deception and malice to their motivation and I can see absolutely no evidence whatsoever of that, or justification for the accusation.

Few companies have impressed me with their willingness to help customers as Scan have, and I have NO connection with them. Sure, there are problems, especially with warehousing and stock control and things don't always go as they should. Far too often, it seems to me, this problem crops up. But .... they have said they are taking steps to fix this. It does take a long time to either locate or build additional warehousing, and if you are going to change stock control systems, it is CRITICAL to get it right. That means extensive research into available software and company procedures and systems, and it may mean getting software either customised or written. If you do that in a hurry, you can end up making things far worse ... and it's one of the reasons for the company failures I mentioned.


As I see it, Neilsson, you have two choices :-

- cancel, get your money back and go elsewhere. There's no need for the accusations of lying to do that.

- ask Scan what happened, and when they can get goods to you. I have no doubt they'll do their best. But in that case, flinging accusations around isn't a productive way to seek their best efforts to help ... but they seem to be willing to do so anyway.

Either way, the choice is yours.

[Zak33]

Saracen is both right and moreover, correct to point out that accusations of lying is bang outta order.

THIS FORUM RAISES THE BAR OF CUSTOMER INTERACTION.

It should be COMMENDED and not slated.

[Ferral]

Scan are 100% excellent retailer. They took the time over the phone last time I ordered to see what was actually instock at their warehouse while I was on the line. Customer service was excellent then and is now.

If you are having trouble, give them a call and they will bend over backwards to help you out and resolve any issues you may feel you have.

I personally commend them for their efforts and dedication to what they sell. Not many online retailers are as dedicated and knowledgeable as these guys. If you are unsure whether something is compatible with your current hardware you can call them and they will have an answer for you or get one.

Give them a chance to get this sorted for you. You will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

[GSte]

I have to agree that 'blatant lie' is a bit strong. I highly doubt that Scan would pretend that they had stock just to get your money, otherwise there would never be items listed as 'out of stock' on their website, it's obviously just an issue with the stock monitoring system they use. There has been talk of remedying this for a while though and progress does seem slow for whatever reason, which is frustrating to a lot of people. The situation where you can pay at the counter and be told the item is out of stock a short time later seems pretty ludicrous, when the stock is physically not far from the till. If I were Scan, this would be something I would be giving priority to, but then I'm not in charge, and unlikely to be.

Nielsson being upset is quite understandable though.... most companies give you a delivery estimate but stick to it, and when they don't, people do feel let down, especially if they have taken a day off work to receive the delivery, or were buying something as a gift for someone, and now will not have it in time. It can also make you feel powerless as a consumer once the company has your money, and is frustrating if you have to wait a while to get a refund, when you wanted the goods at the time you were promised them, but are looking at a few days-weeks to get your money back and buy them elsewhere.

Scan's customer service in general is good.... I don't think it's phenomenal, as some people say. They certainly do help, but a lot of the time you have to request and actively pursue that help, rather than them offering it. I'm not suggesting that they can read minds, but the most excellent companies make the point of going the extra mile. I would also disagree that Scan are a 100% excellent retailer, I have had very good, but also very bad experiences with them, but their willingness to put things right, especially by the employees that staff these forums is very positive, probably the best around. Before I found these forums however, I didn't hold that opinion, and I do feel a bit sorry for those that don't have this means of resolving issues for whatever reason. You do need to steady on a bit though Neilsson and try and handle this in a more mature manner rather than flying off the handle, however annoyed you may be, but I know its difficult when your hard-earned is involved.