D.I.D. Scam

vincenzo1975

PG4000 wrote: »

It just showed me another side to DID that I was unaware of and it really has left a sour taste in my mouth regarding them.

eh??? I think every buisness would act like this if they could. Basically he said they would meet the competitions prices, I bet if you asked him to knock another €20 off to beat them he would have done it.

In light of this NOT being a DID scam, maybe you shopuld ask the moderator to change the title of the thread and stop running DID's good name down?

jdivision

OP, complain to the National Consumer Agency. Ranting here will get you nowhere to be honest.

PG4000

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

here are the terms and conditions of that offer from the did website.
http://www.didstore.com/terms.asp

DOUBLE THE DIFFERENCE OFFER
If you purchase a product from D.I.D Electrical and find the exact same product (brand, model, colour and size) cheaper in any other retail store anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland within seven days of purchase from D.I.D. Electrical, we will be happy to refund you a D.I.D Electrical voucher not for the difference but for double the difference.
In the unlikely event that you spot a lower price within seven days of your purchase, D.I.D Electrical will ‘double the difference’ between our shelf edge price and the shelf edge price at which the competitor displays the item for sale to customers but not a negotiated or special price for particular stock.
Simply bring your D.I.D Electrical receipt and a written competitor quote of the stock item for sale to us within seven days of purchase. All goods must be new, available ex stock, boxed and in perfect condition. This guarantee does not apply to ex-display stock. Excludes Internet offers. A price check must be verified by the D.I.D Electrical store manager on duty. The guarantee does not apply to special order stock. D.I.D Electrical reserves the right to cancel any voucher should the competitor’s price be found to be not a genuine offer for sale.


If you wanted to get the offer, you should have purchased the Set, gone to powercity, fot the quote, then gone back to get your vouchers, instead of having an argument without actually laying any money down. This offer is about a refund of vouchers to the value of twice the difference. if he knocked €200 off for you, then they would lose that €200 sale. geddit????

That information was not relayed to us. We were told to get them the quote, and we did. If we were told to buy the TV then get the quote (in line with their T&C's) obviously we would have. We were told one thing, and their T&C's state another. Its poor form if you ask me.

vincenzo1975

It may be poor customer relations, but is it a scam???

you need to revise your understanding of making allegations.

PG4000

jdivision wrote: »

OP, complain to the National Consumer Agency. Ranting here will get you nowhere to be honest.

I'm not going to complain. I just wanted to get a point across on a public forum and hope that somebody reads this and will remember it if they ever come across a chance where they can get the double the difference, at least they'll know how to go about it.

vincenzo1975

PG4000 wrote: »

I'm not going to complain. I just wanted to get a point across on a public forum and hope that somebody reads this and will remember it if they ever come across a chance where they can get the double the difference, at least they'll know how to go about it.

actually, the intention of you original post was to blacken the name of DID on a public forum, its only when people pointed out you were wrong that you reverted to the'let other people know' bit.

poor form.

vincenzo1975

PG4000 wrote: »

Hi all,

Don't think i'll be doing any business again with them in a hurry and i'll make sure I tell anyone I know to try and tarnish there image

heres what I meant by 'blacken'

PG4000

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

actually, the intention of you original post was to blacken the name of DID on a public forum, its only when people pointed out you were wrong that you reverted to the'let other people know' bit.

poor form.

I do want to tarnish it, because they tarnished their image to me personally and I want people to know it in case they have a similar run in. Hopefully they can go about it the correct way as stated in their T&C's, and not by a misinforming employee.

I still don't believe that we are in the wrong. The salesperson in DID was in the wrong when informing us of the offer. We got what he wanted and then changed their story.

If you think its poor form, then so be it. I'm standing by what I believe was poor service.

kev_s88

PG4000 wrote: »

I do want to tarnish it, because they tarnished their image to me personally and I want people to know it in case they have a similar run in. Hopefully they can go about it the correct way as stated in their T&C's, and not by a misinforming employee.

I still don't believe that we are in the wrong. The salesperson in DID was in the wrong when informing us of the offer. We got what he wanted and then changed their story.

If you think its poor form, then so be it. I'm standing by what I believe was poor service.

Salesperson was definitely stupid to tell you what he did. and the fact that you were not given the chance to purchase the TV at the 499 price and then get your money back is annoying. im sure that most other businesses would do the same but its very sly of D.I.D to do it the way they did (telling you you could have it with proof and then discounting your proof and trying to fob you off with a reduced price)

i used to enjoy shopping in D.I.D but now im always going to have this episode in the back of my mind. its gonna make it harder to shop there from now on...

EKRIUQ

kev_s88 wrote: »

i used to enjoy shopping in D.I.D but now im always going to have this episode in the back of my mind. its gonna make it harder to shop there from now on...

I suppose we all have crosses to bear:rolleyes:

LiamD

Seems to me that the retailer offered this to give people more confidence when purchasing. If they buy a product in DID and find it cheaper elsewhere afterwards the double the difference vouchers will offset the bad feeling that you could have got your purchase cheaper elsewhere. It's not for people to try and exploit for vouchers.

If you really did want to milk them for the vouchers you should have bought the TV and then told them you wanted to avail of their vouchers in line with their terms and conditions. Have seen people throw tantrums like this in stores before and I don't usually think it's a reflection on the store.

BaconZombie

Best option is to ask for a printed quote from DID first and then leave the store and then re-enter {this may sound stupid but the printed quote can be changed/cancelled by the store until you leave the store}.

Now go up to any of the sales guys and say that you have seen the TV been sold for cheaper else where. You have a printed quote from them for the display price so they can say the displayed price is a mistake.

colly10

Welease wrote: »

From my perspective, he was offerred a price match by DID.. which they were under no obligation to do.

They wern't doing him a favor, if they didn't price match then they would have owed him 200

vincenzo1975

BOFH_139 wrote: »

Best option is to ask for a printed quote from DID first and then leave the store and then re-enter {this may sound stupid but the printed quote can be changed/cancelled by the store until you leave the store}.

Now go up to any of the sales guys and say that you have seen the TV been sold for cheaper else where. You have a printed quote from them for the display price so they can say the displayed price is a mistake.

but you dont get it. the promotion is only for items that have already been bought in DID.

Anything prior to a sale agreement is not a contract and therefore can be negotiated, changed.

What DID did in effect was a price drop by 25% or €100 on the spot. but still, a sale or contract had not taken place, so they were not held to any kind of agreement.

snappieT

T&Cs wrote:

A price check must be verified by the D.I.D Electrical store manager on duty

I'd love to know what timeframe this has to be done in. That power city deal was only on for one day. If the manager knew this, he could easily say "i'll check that up for you tomorrow", and you'd never see your vouchers.

OP: you probably should have read the small print about how to claim your vouchers first, and realised you needed to purchase the TV beforehand. Once the higher price is on the receipt, you're set.

I certainly would not have thrown an in-store tantrum. Walk calmly out, go do something else for a half hour, and return to a different salesperson, who will sell at the higher price, and then you can avail of your "double the difference"

Welease

snappieT wrote: »

I'd love to know what timeframe this has to be done in. That power city deal was only on for one day. If the manager knew this, he could easily say "i'll check that up for you tomorrow", and you'd never see your vouchers.

When i have seen these types of offers before, there are generally clauses which apply. i.e. Competitors price must have been available for 28 days etc. (as it's not fair to expect them to refund double the difference against a one day sale price), Competitor must have a store within 20 miles (so you can't compare online vs. bricks and mortar etc).. etc etc.. It's not generally just as simple as finding a cheaper price and getting a payout

Emerald Lass

just a point on this regarding the vouchers - even if they had agreed to give you the vouchers I seriously doubt they would have allowed you to use them against the TV purchase. The vouchers are a 'compensation' if you will for having 'overpaid' for an item in DID. If you had gotten the vouchers they prob would have applied to a different sale - not the one you were making. like when they say that this offer cannot be used in conjuntion with another offer - you were getting the TV at a discounted price so you would not have been allowed to use the vouchers as well. So, what I am saying is that you wouldn't have got the TV any cheaper than €399, but you might have got vouchers to use another time (and again these vouchers may have strict terms and conditions as to what they can be used against and when, such as not being redeemable during sale promotions or on already dicounted items).

It could be seen as sneaky I can see that, but when you step back and look at it they gave you €100 in cash off the price rather than give you €200 in vouchers for a later sale. I know it appears that they said that you could get both - but I think that is more to do with the staff not really knowing the offer. Personally I would prefer €100 in cash off there and then rather than pay €100 over the odds and get €100 of vouchers for a place that overcharged me!

If you had gone and bought the TV at €499 from DID, then showed that it is available at €399 elsewhere you would have got €200 in vouchers from DID to spend in DID - they still get your money really. They keep your custom by way of the vouchers and they still got €100 over for your TV.

Really we are not talking about €200 in vouchers, because to have got that you would have had to pay €100 more for the TV - so you really are only loosing out on €100 of vouchers which as I say would probably only have limited use anyway.

It is a bit sneaky I agree, but not technically wrong. I don't think they had a 'return' on the special offer at €399, more likely the manager had the discretion to sell another TV (an 11th) at the special offer price rather than loose a customer to Powercity.

Maybe it would have been a better option not to throw a fit, but remain calm, ask the manager to knock another €20 or so quid off the power city price - he might have agreed as it is still cheaper than €200 in vouchers. But from experience when I worked in retail, when a customer goes nutso on you and starts being a pain you are more likely to stick to your guns than negotiate - the manager can't loose face in front of a shop full of customers otherwise they will all be looking for free vouchers!

You could always go back the next day, buy it at €499, and then show proof of a cheaper price elsewhere and get €200 in vouchers, but remember that you would have paid €100 over and by accepting the vouchers are in effect promising to return your custom to the shop that overcharged you.

who007

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

here are the terms and conditions of that offer from the did website.
http://www.didstore.com/terms.asp

DOUBLE THE DIFFERENCE OFFER
If you purchase a product from D.I.D Electrical and find the exact same product (brand, model, colour and size) cheaper in any other retail store anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland within seven days of purchase from D.I.D. Electrical, we will be happy to refund you a D.I.D Electrical voucher not for the difference but for double the difference.
In the unlikely event that you spot a lower price within seven days of your purchase, D.I.D Electrical will ‘double the difference’ between our shelf edge price and the shelf edge price at which the competitor displays the item for sale to customers but not a negotiated or special price for particular stock.
Simply bring your D.I.D Electrical receipt and a written competitor quote of the stock item for sale to us within seven days of purchase. All goods must be new, available ex stock, boxed and in perfect condition. This guarantee does not apply to ex-display stock. Excludes Internet offers. A price check must be verified by the D.I.D Electrical store manager on duty. The guarantee does not apply to special order stock. D.I.D Electrical reserves the right to cancel any voucher should the competitor’s price be found to be not a genuine offer for sale.


If you wanted to get the offer, you should have purchased the Set, gone to powercity, fot the quote, then gone back to get your vouchers, instead of having an argument without actually laying any money down. This offer is about a refund of vouchers to the value of twice the difference. if he knocked €200 off for you, then they would lose that €200 sale. geddit????

"double the difference’ between our shelf edge price and the shelf edge price at which the competitor displays the item for"


and DID's shelf egde price waqs €499 - so indeed they were pulling a sly one, albeit granted that the OP was incorrect in that he needed to have bought the item first to qualify for the double the difference. Still think it's DID using public perception of their offer to shift TV's and is questionable as a marketing gimmick.

darc

Maybe it not a scam, but i find DID obver priced and have totally misleading advertising & rrps.

Yesterday was looking around for a compact camera.

Peats was 169 sale 155
Health express was 169 now 159
Fuji film was 169 now 159

DID was 199 now 169. - saleperson claimed it was cheapest he could do it for. - i explained it was 155 in peats, he claims its a different model. (it was identical including identical case). I was purchasing a double fridge at the same time for 899.

Should have seen his face when I said I'd purchase both items eslwhere due to dishonesty.

Same fridge in Carlow (Swan's) was €100 cheaper.

Moral - DID are expensive & their advertising cannot be believed.

Freddie Cork

Karlie Uninterested U-turn wrote: »

Tesco do this - if it scans though at a higher price you are entitled to it for free. That's a company policy rather than a legal entitlement.

Superquinn used to have a list of "goofs" years ago, and if you spotted any you got extra Superclub points. I used to work there when I was 16 so I knew all of them, so when I stopped working there it's safe to say I had plenty of extra Superclub points from every visit! if an item DIDN'T scan, you got it for free + 100 Superclub points.

More off the top of my head:
* if they were 15 mins late doing their fridge/freezer temperature checks.
* if a staff member stood in the marked semicircle around the cust. service desk (it was for customers only - staff had to approach from the side only).
* if an item was out of stock, but the "out of stock" label wasn't flipped over & displayed.
* if there are 3 or more people in your queue for 1 min or more, and any tills not open.
* if they don't offer to pack your groceries in boxes.
* if they don't pack your bags.


...etc

Freddie Cork

I have found the opposite with D.I.D., TBH.

On 23rd April 2008, my Mam showed me a DID advert she pulled out of some magazine that was selling an Acer laptop for €400 - having bought 3 Acers directly from their website over the last few years, I was quite cynical, but looking at the specs it seemed like an amazing deal! Very high spec - and my Mam happened to be looking for a new laptop, and so was a mate of mine, so I rang him and told him, and he said he was gonna get one too.

So, I head out to D.I.D. in Airside, Swords that evening, and showed the clipping to a sales clerk, and asked if I could have one. He said "hmmm, where did you get this?" - I said "my Mam pulled it out of some magazine - don't know which one"... He asked me to wait a sec...
A few mins later he came back and said "this is actually a special offer for 1 weekend only, which was last weekend, that was only in our Dundalk store, as they were celebrating their 15th Birthday. But I had a word with the manager & we'll honour it here". Obviously, if my Mam had actually READ the whole page she ripped it from, she would have known that - but they honoured it, even though it was for 1 store only, and had already expired!! WTF? That's really sound... so I said "sweet - can you give me 2?" (realising the mate that I'd informed of said offer, would not be able to get his one now) - and they gave me 2 kick ass Acer laptops for €800!

So D.I.D. are sound, IMO.
I bought a new cooker & iron from them in August too, and the staff really know their stuff. The same guy was able to tell me all about their whole range of cookers & irons - I was very impressed at how much he knew their products!

Climate Expert

They were obviously still making a bit of a profit if they were willing to sell you two.

Freddie Cork

Climate Expert wrote: »

They were obviously still making a bit of a profit if they were willing to sell you two.

Not the point, mate. Not the point. They honoured a fantastic offer that they hadn't even made in the first place, FFS!

ttm

Climate Expert wrote: »

They were obviously still making a bit of a profit if they were willing to sell you two.

+1, does anyone think they were making a loss on the offer when it did apply?

Guy:Incognito

Freddie Cork wrote: »

Not the point, mate. Not the point. They honoured a fantastic offer that they hadn't even made in the first place, FFS!

Would you have bought one, never mind two, at the higher price?

Freddie Cork

Stekelly wrote: »

Would you have bought one, never mind two, at the higher price?

No.

Guy:Incognito

Freddie Cork wrote: »

No.

Exactly. They can make no profit by selling none, or make some by selling 2 cheap.

youcrazyjesus!

EKRIUQ wrote: »

Just to help you, a scam is obtaining money by means of deception, now can you point out to me where D.I.D took your money my means of deception. Can you point out where you were you were scamed.

+1 I have respect for Irish electrical retailers, always breezy to deal with which I like and you get some good deals. In terms of Irish retailers generally they are excellent imo.

wmpdd3

Freddie Cork wrote: »

Superquinn used to have a list of "goofs" years ago, and if you spotted any you got extra Superclub points. I used to work there when I was 16 so I knew all of them, so when I stopped working there it's safe to say I had plenty of extra Superclub points from every visit! if an item DIDN'T scan, you got it for free + 100 Superclub points.

More off the top of my head:
* if they were 15 mins late doing their fridge/freezer temperature checks.
* if a staff member stood in the marked semicircle around the cust. service desk (it was for customers only - staff had to approach from the side only).
* if an item was out of stock, but the "out of stock" label wasn't flipped over & displayed.
* if there are 3 or more people in your queue for 1 min or more, and any tills not open.
* if they don't offer to pack your groceries in boxes.
* if they don't pack your bags.


...etc

As with all great customer service ideas there will always be the sly buggers.
Last time I was in Super quinn, a customer was splitting mult ipacks so her items wouldn't scan and she'd get them for free.

She was so proud she was telling me how to do it!