A really close friend of mine is a manager in Asda Customer Services and has told me that is their policy, as it is in Tesco as well. It's called good customer service and it's the only way to get repeat custom.

Here in Oz the warranty laws are absolutely appalling. When you buy something from a store, as soon as that item leaves the store, the warranty comes into force, so even if the item arrives faulty, the store you bought it from are under no obligation to replace it.

When we first arrived in Oz, we bought a portable tv so our son could play his PS2 that we had carried with us as hand luggage. The darn tv hummed something awful, so we took it back the same day. The store manager would not replace it, even though he plugged it in and listened to it himself and could hear that it was faulty. Instead, we had to take it to a repairer with our receipt, then collect it when it was fixed, 5 weeks later. The part had to come from over east, as per usual. We have nothing but problems with most of the electrical good we've bought since living here and we've only found one store that will replace an item as part of their customer service, so now we won't buy anywhere else.

EDIT. Also, if the item has to be replaced, you will only have what ever warranty is left on the faulty item. So if you have an item replaced which was on a 12 month warranty after 11½ months, you will have no warranty on the replacement.

Oh I think I have kept the electrical industry going here in Aus....except for my washing machine and fridge freezer I have just given away (both from the U.K which we bought over with us) everything else we have bought here never lasts...it can be the first day out of "warranty" and they stop working....hairdryers, kettles, irons....it's all cr-p but the worst things is they are not cheap!!!! customer service here?...there is not any!!!!!

I've got one too! A friend bought a phone from Cr*zy J*hns for her daughter for Xmas, not cheap, had a camera etc, paid to have calls on it, as you do. The phone broke after 2 weeks! They took it back to the shop to ask for a replacement, which CJ refused. It had to be sent to Columbia for repair!!! She was given a cheap phone till it was repaired, with no credit on it and no camera. Eventually they were told that the phone was unrepairable (after out friend kept ringing them!) and was grudgingly told they would be sent another - all the way from Columbia They got it a month ago (yep, 4 months to decide a phone is broken), no credit on it, no thank yous, no apologies, no nothin Just an attitude of 'you should be grateful we did this much for you'...absolutely pathetic

Jo

I know "how are you and have a nice day" is all the customer service you mainly recieve in Aus........and that gets annoying!!!!!! glad your friends daughter got her mobile...my Dad bought us one each for this Christmas (he was over on his annual Christmas/New year holiday in Perth from the U.K) and he could not get over how expensive the mobile phones were here in Perth or the plans.....(my Dad is nearly 80 and is a technical wizard!!!) anyway he still bought the phones...bless.....but we are on pay as you go!!!!

p.s My Dad has an identical phone bought in the U.K and it cost him a lot less than the $199 the same phone here in Aus cost....and at all shops the phone was the same price......

Something along those lines happened to us when we bought our son a phone from '3'. He had a Nokia with Virgin Mobile before, same as myself and OH, but his girlfriend was on the '3' network and had 'free calls' after 7pm, so he wanted to go on the same network so they could talk to each other on the video calls. Never had one minute of trouble with Virgin, but the LG phone he opened on Xmas day 2 years ago now, had no sound. Straight after Xmas, back to the '3' store, phone had to be sent away for repair. I created abit, saying we had purchased the phone outright so the decent thing to do would be to replace it and they could send it away. Nope, they wouldn't have any of it. Not even a loan until we got his phone back. No replacement of the 3 $7 games he had purchased for each 'new' reconditioned phone either. Anyway, 7 phones later and 23 copies of pages of 18 recorded calls to '3' somewhere in India, they finally admitted that there was a long list of faults with that particular phone and we finally got a brand new phone delivered to us.

After being led to believe this was some kind of wonderland I'm really beginning to despair
Jo

Who told you it was a wonderland?

I never did find Alice

you talk absolute pants and are that clouded you have no clue.

I bought electrical items from aus 5 years ago, travelled around the world with me, and apart from a kettle and toaster, nothing has broken.

That means, the FF, tv, microwave, dvd, running machine, stereo systme etc etc, all still works fine, and has lasted,

you truely hate aus, and have nothing good to say or add to anything, ....

its fustrating reading your drivel...

Hey, have a glass of wine and calm down

The only problem i have with my electrical goods is that i can't have the washer and dryer on at the same time....blows the fuse box

Well don't and I would certainly not waste my wonderful time here in Perth reading drivel.....and I was just stating true facts....my electrical goods don't last here...I would "have a go" if it was the same in the U.K!!!!!..

Then don't read it.

You have been told more than once to moderate your tone and approach.

The MBTTUK forum exists to support those unhappy/wishing to move back home, if does not exist so that those who are happy in their new homes can ague and throw abuse.

This is your last warning; I suggest you stay out of the MBTTUK forum.

It was the White Rabbit I was after....

That's to do with the wiring in your house, I'd get it seen too if I were you.

Thank you, I hope I would never resort to anyone with a different opinion as "livinginwa" has just done.