Currys Review

Do not buy computers from Currys. I have just been though 6 months of the worst customer support service I have ever encountered. I purchased a Compaq Presario from them in September 2004. In December hard drive #1 died. At first I was forced to package it myself and send it to HP (the manufacturer) who considerately gave me second hand replacement parts instead of new ones. In february the hard drive #2 broke, this time I made the mistake of calling Dixon's customer "care" line.

They have no communication at all with HP over repairs to the machine previously & were not aware HP took machines away. This however pales in comparison to their internal communications issues. After calling for ages & getting cut off & queuing again I managed to book an engineer (naturally only available during office hours forcing you to take time off work). The engineer came and installed drive #3, but because all software comes pre-installed they left me with a box that did nothing. They wanted me to pay £26 for recovery CD's (even though the requirement to make your own is only recommended rather than required in their support guide) because all software including windows comes factory installed. I was informed I could copy software from other people onto my machine as I owned the license already - unfortunately this turned out to be a) illegal, and b) did not work because you need windows to get the CD drive to work anyway. After many calls of > 30 mins to their line, frequently getting cut off after queuing for ages I managed to convince them to send the recovery CD's free of charge. I was told they would take half a month to arrive - meanwhile the computer remained useless. When they arrived, hard drive #3 didn't work because it had been installed incorrectly by the engineer. I spent more time calling them and they arranged to send an engineer to replace the mother board & hard drive again. This time they sent him to the wrong address while I took time off work to wait for him. more calls & another engineer visit, more time off work. This time he replaced the motherboard & hard drive only to find the recovery CD's they sent were the wrong versions. He also found that the case for the computer was the wrong size for the system parts inside it. He ordered another one, telling me another engineer would come to take the entire computer from the original case & put it in the new case (this would apparently happen in 3 weeks as the parts were not in stock & required more time off work). Despite changing my address each time I called them their system constantly reverted to my original recorded address making communication problematic. I have been switched across departments on the phone many different times, without knowing where I am or who I am talking to. I have been transferred to a 'complaints' line only to find that there is no phone complaints line or indeed any method of complaining except in writing. I have been advised that the only way I can get a replacement machine is by driving 100miles+ to the store where I bought the computer rather than the shop down the road. I have been told that no-one can authorise replacement machines or refunds except the original store of purchase. Eventually I was forced to write a letter quoting the Sales of Goods Act, and physically carry the machine into the local store & demand to see the manager to get a replacement. At first he advised contacting the sales team or booking a further engineer before finally allowing me to choose another computer from the small store nearby. Despite many periods away from work talking to them & waiting for engineers etc they did not offer any compensation at all when they did arrange for a new computer. Words cannot describe the contempt I feel for the cretins on the other end of the telephone who appear to have completely lost any logical ability they once may have had. I can only suggest that you would have better customer service buying a computer from the local village idiot.