RobotII

August 29, 2006

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to complain about the appalling customer service I received at your store in Colliers Wood.

About two weeks ago (14/08/2006) I purchased a Creative Zen Vision:M (Catalog No. 513/3738) from your store in Marble Arch. Upon taking it home I found the unit to be unsatisfactory, having an acute design flaw which made the player unusable. I attempted to return this to your store in Colliers Wood on the 29^th of August 2006 at approximately 7pm.

After waiting for more than half an hour for your staff to attend to my complaint, I was met by the Duty Manager, who informed me that I would not be able to exchange the player as they had none in stock. I had checked the stock levels on entering the store using the stock checking device available to customers in the store, and no one had been served since I had checked the availability. I appreciate that the manager may have been mistaken, or that there was an error in the stock levels available to customers.

However, the manager then proceeded to insinuate that, because I was attempting to return the player to a different store than the one purchased from, I was was a liar and a thief. This was not a pleasant experience, and I found this unacceptable. I voiced this to the manager at the time, who claimed that the reason he was unable to process a refund was due to company policy. Notwithstanding, I find it totally unacceptable for any of your members of staff to accuse someone of lying or stealing with no evidence. I feel that at the very least I am due an apology for the manner in which I was treated.

I wish to point out that this was done in full view of other customers in the store.

Furthermore, I spent in excess of three hours in the process of trying to return this faulty merchandise, a price I was willing to absolve, due to the assumption I would be able to return it. Regrettably this was not the case, and I am now out of pocket for a faulty MP3 player, traveling expenses and, not to mention, my time.

I feel that if I am expected to refrain from abusing your staff, your staff should treat customers with the same courtesy that they expect from customers. At no time during the conversation did I treat any of your staff with any disrespect, despite the disrespect that was shown to me.

I sincerely hope that you will treat this complaint with the seriousness it deserves by not sending a standard reply letter, and addressing the concerns I have voiced. If the matter is not resolved to my satisfaction, I will be sending the aforementioned MP3 player, together with this letter, addressed to the CEO of Argos, explaining how I was treated, and why I will never buy from one of his stores again.

In short, I feel that I have been denied my statutory rights. Not only that, I was humiliated in front of other customers, and have wasted the time that I spent trying to get my money back. I would also wish to point out that the service in that particular store is appalling, as I mentioned in the subject. There were a number of customers in the store at the same time as myself, and they seemed as dissatisfied with the level of service as I was.

My expenses so far in this matter are as follows.

3 hours @ £25/h = £75

1 x MP3 player (Catalog No. 513/3738) = £219.99

Return Bus fare = £1.60

Total = £296.59

Not to mention the humiliation I underwent at the hands of your staff.

My telephone number is on the front of this letter, should you wish to contact me regarding this matter.

Sincerely