Auchan, We want our money back

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Kathy
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Post by Kathy »

Is this any use Thumbelina? Came across it somewhere else.


http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... %2Fb15.htm
thumbelina
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Post by thumbelina »

Thank you SO much for that Kathy - I really appreciate your help!

Looks like it might be helpful - will read it properly when I get home from work!

Once again, many thanks - I really AM at my wits end!! :?
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Puddles
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Post by Puddles »

Sorry to hear this bad news.
It is Saturday tommorrow so go make their day & take your computor & find one of their advisors & stick it where the sun does not shine.
Wont solve your problem but it would be fun & you will feel a lot better knowning they wont be able to sit down all day Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just a suggestion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
thumbelina
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Post by thumbelina »

And here we go again.................................

Bloody Acer laptop, bought in Auchan last September has now packed up again FOR THE THIRD TIME WITH THE SAME PROBLEM!!!!

Same story - Acer say, return the laptop and we will repair it (for the third time), Auchan say not our problem......... !!!!!!!!!!!!

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:


Now - officially - at WITS END AND TOTALLY PISSED OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Roger O
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Post by Roger O »

That's precisely why I always buy such things in Darty - with the extended guarantee - 5 years of peace!
I deal in Logic!
"Magic" is applied science far in advance of our current technology.
thumbelina
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Post by thumbelina »

Thanks for that Roger! :(

You already told me that when saga 2 was happening. Didn't really help then, doesn't really help now!
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polremy
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Post by polremy »

You have my heartfelt sympathy, Thumbers.
Do you have two computers then? At least you are still on line.
We lost our internet connection the other day - 36 hours without internet and I felt cut off from the outside world. Some wiring problem apparently.

If you get a refund then buy a Mac next time.
Ours is over 10 years old, never gone wrong, never had a virus.
Still working.
We have now bought a MacBook pro (laptop) cos it seemed to be pushing our luck for it to last much longer - but still the oldie is going strong, like me!!!
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Post by thumbelina »

Thanks Pol!

It's the one we bought for our daughter when she went off to Uni! :?
Serge

Post by Serge »

Thumbers, is it a hardware problem or just the software?
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Post by thumbelina »

Hardware - screen, Serge.

The screen starts flickering and then eventually flickers so much it just stops working. They have supposedly 'repaired' it twice.

When we spoke to Auchan again yesterday they said it's nothing to do with them.

When we spoke to Acer they said that they would repair it free of charge. The problem is that, in less than two months the damn thing is out of warranty, it's already been 'repaired' twice and now - potentially - a third time.

We've asked for a replacement but they said they only issue a replacement if it goes wrong within a month!! (the first time it went wrong it was ten weeks old!!!)

Another problem is that she is without the computer for between two and three weeks at a time!!!

I take on board what everyone says about 'supermarkets sell food etc etc' and, up to a point, I agree with them. Unfortunately, I fell into the trap of believing that the 'grand surfaces' would look after their customers in a way similar to that of John Lewis, Tesco, M&S etc. Fatal mistake! :?

I had forgotten that customer service in France is similar to that of the UK twenty five years ago!!! :? :(
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Kate
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Post by Kate »

I take on board what everyone says about 'supermarkets sell food etc etc'
I don't agree. I think that if somebody is selling you something they should take on the responsibility of ensuring it works properly, whether it's a computer from a supermarket or a lamb chop from an electrical shop!
I recently had a discussion with Xavier at Expert electrical shop in Le Boulou. I didn't want to buy the extended warranty on a telly, at 140€ (telly cost 500) and he said that it was interesting that in general the French always buy the warranty but the Brits never! For me, I dont see why I should have to pay 140€ extra to guarantee that my telly works for more than a year! The damn thing should be expected to work for more than a year surely? If not, it makes sense to buy the cheapest possible and expect it to break down after a year, rather than to buy 'quality' and then be disappointed when it packs up. They would be better to charge 640 for the telly in the first place!
Can imagine how pissed off you are Thumbs - hope it works out.
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Roger O
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Post by Roger O »

Kate wrote:I don't agree. I think that if somebody is selling you something they should take on the responsibility of ensuring it works properly, whether it's a computer from a supermarket or a lamb chop from an electrical shop!
Kate, I agree - theoretically about the standards of service - if only they were applied!

I thought about Auchan, Leclerc, Carrefoure and even Conforama, etc.
A good exercise is to hang about first in the IT section and listen carefully to the salespeople (quite often very young, improperly trained and "condescendingly know-it-all") hard-selling PCs to people (like parents/grandparents) who know practically nothing about them and are buying for their children/grandchildren.
(Of course, to do that you do need pretty good French!)

The amount of rubbish that I heard - and the manner - convinced me to go upmarket after getting comparative advice from well qualified Darty salespeople (though not all are good! Be choosy!) - plus - extensive use of the net on PC forums for the specific models you have "narrowed down" to.

Sure, you pay more, but I have never once - going through about 15 items from microwave, fridge, TV, recorder, CD player, etc. had any problem with either repair or replacement. That pays too, in the end!

I guess it's a case of "when in Rome"?
Last edited by Roger O on Wed 08 Jul 2009 09:20, edited 1 time in total.
I deal in Logic!
"Magic" is applied science far in advance of our current technology.
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john
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Post by john »

In the main,I tend to buy stuff from a place that specialises in that sort of thing (I am a bear of little brain),but I guess it's not that relevant in this case.

We've been over the poor standard of SAV in French grands surfaces before,so there's no point harping on about it,but I'd say ACER are as culpable,if not more so.

That said,I've had an ACER laptop for 5 yrs now,and "touche bois",it's not been a problem at all. Equally I know people who've had horrendous probs with a Mac,Pol,so ,you speak as you find.
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sue and paul
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Post by sue and paul »

That's funny - we bought a new tv last week from Expert, and didn't cough up for the extended warranty. I think Xavier was genuinely puzzled. He tried very hard to lay out all the reasoning for his case, but we didn't buy.

We agree with you Kate....in our case the mftrs warranty (Philips) was for 2 years, and then the extended warranty covered call-outs as well as parts and labour, for a further 3 years. We had taken our old tv in ourselves (so no call-out required there), and it's being repaired for a lot less than the extended warranty on the new one, so we felt that we didn't need cover for a call-out, and we'd rather take the chance on paying for a repair out of the guarantee period ourselves.

Fingers crossed.
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Roger O
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Post by Roger O »

Having posted the above, I must admit that the first PC I bought was a handbuilt-put-together job made up
specially by a hi-tech shop in Sophia Antipolis http://www.sbcfrance.fr/ which specialises in business machines,
LAN installations and suchlike.

That, however, was long before I retired when I could easily afford such luxuries!!
I still have that machine - but to bring it up to date would mean a complete tear apart
and rebuild.. probably something like minimum 3,000 euros! Forget it!
Hard time, anyway, to find a comparable shop round here!
SBC is really the tops in that field
http://www.sbcfrance.fr/diagnostic.html
part of what's lacking in much of the lower LR region!
I deal in Logic!
"Magic" is applied science far in advance of our current technology.
Serge

Post by Serge »

There's one or two cases doing the rounds in the UK where, irrespective of the manufacturers warranty period, the goods should be expected to last for a 'reasonable amount of time' i.e. if for whatever reason you only used your new washing machine twice in the first 12 months and it went faulty after say 15 months then that would be unreasonable and the manufacturer should repair or replace it FOC ..........

Might be worth pursuing .................
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Roger O
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Post by Roger O »

Serge wrote:Might be worth pursuing .................
In France - only if it's an EU directive currently in force, though?
I deal in Logic!
"Magic" is applied science far in advance of our current technology.
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john
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Post by john »

Sounds an interesting development Serge. Please tell more.

From a legal point of view it sounds a bit of a minefield to me...eg have the courts ruled on what constitutes a "reasonable time" ?
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Sav
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Post by Sav »

john wrote:
We've been over the poor standard of SAV in French grands surfaces before,so there's no point harping on about it,but I'd say ACER are as culpable,if not more so.
Just for the record, i think i'm quality :lol:
Sorry to thread stray thumbers :oops:

Cheers Sav :)
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Post by thumbelina »

we think you're quality too, SAV Its the French SAV that's not!!!

Truthfully, Kate, my logic is the same as yours - if somewhere sells something it should be FIT FOR PURPOSE! This clearly isn't. As I said earlier in the thread, had I purchased a crappy make at a knock down price then, as we've all said, you get what your pay for. But we bought an Acer because we know its a good brand - and my dad has two of them and hasn't had a minutes problem with either!

We're pursuing Acer now - Auchan just aren't worth wasting time over.

I don't need a salesboy or girl to tell me anything when I'm looking to buy a computer. I am quite capable of doing my research, deciding what I want and then buying it, so for me the question of ineptitudes of the sales force is irrelevant. For me what is important is that one of the largest retailers in France has sold something and is not prepared to help the customer when problems arise afterwards.

That is unacceptable but, unfortunately, not surprising.

And I don't see what Darty or any specialist IT provider could have done differently, frankly, because Auchan are saying that they don't have the right to repair Acer hardware.

Will keep everyone posted - would be interested in receiving more info on your posting please, Serge!
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Roger O
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Post by Roger O »

thumbelina wrote:we think you're quality too, SAV Its the French SAV that's not!!!

And I don't see what Darty or any specialist IT provider could have done differently, frankly, because Auchan are saying that they don't have the right to repair Acer hardware.
A bit exaggerated to condemn SAV in the whole of France for one Auchan instance?
I would say Auchan Perpignan SAV (and Castorama Perpignan SAV for that matter!).
Depends a lot on the store director!

Darty is very very strict about their SAV.
We did have one case - when our extra big fridge was delivered in Le Soler.
The two men dumped it outside in the rain (still packed) and left
because it had to be carried though a ground floor window - being too
wide for the doors. Fortunately neighbours helped us bring it in.
We complained to Darty local management.
We received a letter of apology plus an assurance that the two men had
been severely repremanded plus a bon d'achat for 100 euros!

Annaïck my wife recently chose a hairdryer in Darty Carcassonne.
It went wrong.
They replaced it immediately.
That one went wrong.
She chose another brand - which works - they took back the defect.
No trouble or fuss either time - plus Darty returned the rest of their stock of
the defective model to their depot to advise not to sell it any more in their shops.

If what Serge says applies to the EU, we should get hold of a copy of the directive
then check that France applies it. In practice, that means keeping a copy to reinforce
SAV demands with any store where necessary. If it is purely domestic UK, then there
is no point in expecting it to be applied in France (or any other EU country).
I deal in Logic!
"Magic" is applied science far in advance of our current technology.
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john
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Post by john »

thumbelina wrote:I don't need a salesboy or girl to tell me anything when I'm looking to buy a computer. I am quite capable of doing my research, deciding what I want and then buying it, so for me the question of ineptitudes of the sales force is irrelevant. !
Again,this may not have been relevant in this particular case,Thumbs,but that's why I DO try to buy stuff from people who specialise.

I'd expect the guy at St Maclou to know about carpets
The man at Leroy Merlin to know about DIY
The girl at Darty to know about electricals
The lady at Internity about Computers

etc etc

Like you,I like to do my own research,and not be "sold to",but it is nice,just once in a while to have someone competent to answer your queries.

THAT's what you dont get at Auchan,Carrefour etc.
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Post by thumbelina »

I've just spoken to the management at Auchan in Perpignan and, apparently, Acer, in common with several other manufacturers, have now withdrawn the possibility for ANY supplier to repair their computers.

So even had I gone to Darty, or Internity or Expert, we would still have been obliged to return it to Acer for repair.

This apparently, is something that has come into being within the last twelve months. Unfortunately, I didn't think to ask the other makes that are affected.

I also didn't think to ask why this wasn't made clear at the point of purchase! :?

My beef is not with the competencies or otherwise of the staff. My complaint is that once you buy something, Auchan - or any other supplier - appear to have no legal obligation to help you if you have a problem thereafter. This would not happen in the UK.

And if I wish to buy something where I need specialist advice (such as my digital camera, for example) then I go to a specialist shop. For a laptop computer I do not have the need of either counsel or advice.
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Post by mpprh »

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polremy
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Post by polremy »

I think that Auchan should have taken back your computer, reimbursed you the full purchase price or given you a bon d'achat, and than sorted things out themselves with Acer.
They would have much more clout with Acer than you, a humble one- computer purchaser.
Now that would have been decent SAV.
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Post by thumbelina »

thats what I think too, Pol, thanks :D
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Roger O
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Post by Roger O »

thumbelina wrote:So even had I gone to Darty, or Internity or Expert, we would still have been obliged to return it to Acer for repair.
No, they, as retailer would have to send it back to the Acer repair service!
Auchan (and other big retail stores) used to repair various makes in their own workshops.
Now, they are required (as point of sale) to accept the machine and forward it to the maker's
repair service - probably because their own repair shop was not up to the manufacturer's standard -
which meant the manufacturer was getting the flak for inferior repairs.

The final answer is, as usual, money.
Supermarkets can't make any profit out of this kind of SAV so they refuse and pass the buck back to the consumer!
I deal in Logic!
"Magic" is applied science far in advance of our current technology.
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polremy
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Post by polremy »


Last autumn we bought some glue from Leroy Merlin (the new one near Carrefour, Claira)
When Mr. PR used it it was totally useless - it wouldn't stick anything to anything.
Now, he is a glue expert so we decided that the glue must have been wrongly stored or something.
I was pretty brave taking it back I thought.
Mr. PR stayed at home - probably using some other glue on some other gluing job.
At the store I was treated like a bit of an idiot at first but stood my ground.
Like the people in the link I had to wait while they found someone from the (glue?) department.
Then I had to argue my case again.
Eventually they took my sticky offering and gave me a credit voucher for the full amount. I was quite happy with this. Bought a nice venetian blind the next week!
And, no, we didn't glue it to the window frame.
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Post by thumbelina »

probably because their own repair shop was not up to the manufacturer's standard -
which meant the manufacturer was getting the flak for inferior repairs.

Well the Auchan repair shop would have to be pretty bloody dire not to meet the manufacturer's standard, because quite frankly the manufacturer's standard is appalling and seems to turn out only inferior repairs!

And that still doesn't explain why Acer allow NO-ONE to undertake their repairs nowadays.

Presumably, it's a question of money - it's cheaper for THEM to do the work than pay someone else.
Serge

Post by Serge »

I think the sellers will probably not be in a position to repair them as they will not have the technical know how or the parts, in instances like this the machines are much better off going back to the manufacturer for repair.
The only other way would be to try and purchase some 'on site' warranty, although at the time of buying the machine you would not be expecting it to fail.
People like Dell seem provide on site warranty as a matter of course - I think.


In relation to a 'reasonable amount of time' directive, there isn't one yet, it's something that consumer champions are trying to get in against car manufacturers - sorry if I misled some of you.
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