I bought an Advent 3020 PC from PC World on 6/12/99 for £1,083,
which included three CoverPlan agreements on the printer (£65),
the monitor (£74) and PC itself (£139). The CoverPlan
reference number for the PC is 0777XXXXXX.
On or around 18/03 the PC started locking up and after several
calls to the National Rate Helpline, they finally agreed there
was a hardware fault and on 25/2 they gave me a reference number
of 819xxx and agreed to send an engineer out. This itself was
no mean feat.
From there, the story goes like this:
Thu 27/02 Engineer visit #1 (home). PC failing
POST (Power-On Self-Test). Probably needs a new motherboard. The
one the engineer had with him was dead on arrival (DOA). Re-booked
for Mon 03/03. Suggested I take the PC to my local PC World (Aintree)
for the engineer to work on it there.
Mon 03/03. Engineer visit #2 (PC World Aintree).
Still failing POST. Motherboard engineer brought was DOA again.
Promised to rebook for Wed and make sure the motherboard was tested
beforehand.
Wed 05/03. Engineer visit #3 (PC World Aintree).
This time, instead of bringing a fully tested motherboard, the
engineer did not bring one at all! Re-booked for Friday and promised
again to bring a tested motherboard.
Fri 07/03. Engineer visit #4 (PC World Aintree).
Still failing POST, despite trying several new components including
a new motherboard. Suggested the best option is to take the PC
into the workshop in Newton Aycliff for further testing. Engineer
books the couriers to collect the PC from PC World Aintree.
Thu 13/03. Contacted support line again to check
on progress. PC still has not arrived at Newton Aycliffe! Asked
to contact them again on Monday as it may take a few days to get
there. How - by carrier pigeon?
Mon 17/07. Contacted support line again to check
on progress. PC still has not arrived at Newton Aycliffe! They
conatcted their couruers (Burnham's) - it is apparently still
in transit. No-one knows where it is or when it will arrive.
All I get when I complain is useless platitudes. there is no escalation
procedure to raise the visibility of my problems. I need the PC
for my work, and my daughter has all her GCSE course work on the
PC and has her exams in June. My only recourse, according to everyone
in the support number and the Dixon group complaint line, is to
write a formal complaint; no-one is empowered to help me get my
PC fixed. After 6 weeks has elapsed I will be entitled to a replacement,
but all I want is my PC back working so my daughter can get her
work done.
Please help. And please, anyone who reads this I would strongly
recommend never to use PC World or CoverPlan again, for anything.
The level of service is diabolical, appalling. I am going to tell
everyone I know, and everyone I meet about how bad this service
is. I am going to write to every watchdog and newspaper that I
can. I hope somehow, somewhere, there is some-one who can make
these people listen and take action.
Link to Other Dixon Group Company
Complaints
