Shoppers could be receiving misleading and even inaccurate legal advice from retailers about returning faulty goods, the consumer group Which? has warned, after a mystery shopping exercise revealed widespread problems.
Which? sent mystery shoppers to six of the UK’s major electrical retailers to find out what information and advice they gave out about returning products; the trips took place in September and October.
Shoppers made 72 visits to speak to shop-floor staff and 45 visits to talk to managers about a faulty product that was out of warranty. Its consumer rights lawyer then rated the information that was given from “excellent” where staff gave accurate advice, to “very poor”, where it was explicitly denied that they had consumer rights.
Argos fared worst, despite improving from 2013, with only three out of 12 visits rated fair or better and the advice from only five out of 10 managers ranking the same.
Richer Sounds also scored poorly, with only five out of 12 visits proving acceptable, while Amazon scored low for calls to managers.
Apple performed the best with nine out of 12 visits rated fair or better and a full 10 out of 10 for the managers they spoke to. John Lewis and Currys both scored four out of 12 for visits to their stores.
Since Which? revealed its results to the companies investigated, some firms, particularly Richer Sounds, have been taking active steps to improve. Richer Sounds said it was working closely with Which? to “give customers the best possible information about consumer rights”.
Which? said it had spoken to Argos about its findings and was told the company was “encouraged to see an improvement, but accept there is some way to go. Our new training programme includes a compulsory module on consumer law.”
Amazon issued a statement that said: “We take into consideration all facts and circumstances on a case-by-case basis to provide a fair solution for our customers. Amazon.co.uk will review the instances highlighted by Which? as they do not appear consistent with the typical Amazon.co.uk customer experience.”
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “While it’s clear major retailers have improved their consumer rights knowledge since our previous investigation, it is still unacceptable that customers could be left out of pocket by following incorrect advice. Stores must ensure the information staff are giving is correct.”
