Purchase of TV

[mickyh]

I am a newbie on this site, and am looking for some advice on how to deal with a peculiar consumer problem. I purchased a TV from Comet for £169.99 but on opening the box at home discovered that there was nothing in the box except a number of bricks and stones. I immediately rang Comet and they agreed to replace the item. On arrival at the store, the Sales Manager stated that she could not exchange the item and would not be able to give me a refund until the store had conducted an internal investigation into the matter. As you can imagine, 2 days before Christmas I was not satisfied with this answer, but am at a loss as to what my rights are. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Witch consumer]

What a toughie, I've heard of this happening with items from ebay but never a shop.

How was the TV packed? was it in one of those heave duty cardboard boxes with big staples in or a printed box with just a sticker to seal the lid? This should give them some clue where the item was tampered with.

A few years ago they demolished an old warehouse and the packaging that fell out of the cavity walls had to be seen to be believed, it must certainly have provided plenty of insulation!!!

What I'm saying is this could have happened at any time and it's quite possible they will not find out when it happened, doesn't mean they won't have to take it on the chin though unless they can prove it was in the box when you left the store, which they obviously can't.

 

[ALewis]

As has already been stated, they would have to prove the tv was within the packaging when you left with it..
But back to the very basics: Both parties have constituted a contract, however one party has failed to hold their end of the bargain. Resulting in breach of contract.
So theoretically they should supply you with a tv within a time reasonable to avoid any detriment to you.
With the Xmas season, it could be deemed unreasonable to leave you without a tv over the season.

 

[RussellMPowell]

Any idea about what happened with this problem? I know someone who is currently facing a similar dilemma.

 

[KathrynMBuchanan]

My sister had a similar problem and just like on this post, she was advised that a replacement could only be made once the internal investigation once done. She was extremely frustrated. I think she just let it go.