Where do we stand? (Smyths Toys)

Melion

Right...

I was working in Software Zone of Smyths, we had no Wii's but i found out we would be taking 20 deposits last monday. I rang my aunt as she had been looking for one for my little cousin. She gave me the €50 to bring in and put deposit on which i did last Sunday, i was the first person to have the deposit down. Everything was rosy.

Something came up and i had to leave the job on Tuesday, my aunt rang them today to see what was happening with the Wii. She was told by the Software manager that they had sold her Wii because i had left the store.

How the hell can a store get away with this? Now she faces the possibility of my cousing not having a Wii on christmas morning after me promising her that it was all sorted for her.

I still have the receipt which shows the deposit was paid.

Jimbo

You worked there at the time the deposit was taken. I cant see how they can justify selling it

Melion

Yeah i was working there up until Tuesday, deposit was paid on Sunday.

Is there any comeback on this?

AdrianII

do you have proof of paying deposit and being on a waiting list - (receipt or something)
if so then go into the shop and state your intensions

Melion

I have still got the receipt showing the exact time it was paid.

She rang them today and was told they might be getting more in, nothing definite.

AdrianII

next thing is how do you prove that they sold her one already, they could come back and say that x was on the list since 10/10/07 etc - do you have acces to the list of deposits taken and times etc

Melion

I dont have access to it but all the names and details were saved in an MS Access file on the pc. The manager said straight out that they sold it because i didnt come into work

Cabaal

Melion wrote: »

I dont have access to it but all the names and details were saved in an MS Access file on the pc. The manager said straight out that they sold it because i didnt come into work

was it in your name or your aunty's name?

jor el

I think the fact you did work there then, and don't now, has nothing to with it. They took a deposit for an item and then sold that item without contacting the deposit payer. Paying a deposit on something does give you a contract to the seller. They could be in a lot of trouble for doing this. National consumer agency should be able to advise. Joe Duffy after that!

As Cabal says though, was the Wii down in your name or your Aunt's name? It shouldn't make a difference.

Melion

It was in my name, but i gave her phone number.

She asked why she wasnt called to let her know it was in, the manager told her they didnt have a number for her, they only have mine. She said that they didnt have my number, because she knew i had given hers to them.

podge018

so what did they reply back to that?

Tipsy Mac

Perhaps you as an employee were getting it at a discounted rate and because your employment ceased the deal was no longer valid as time of final payment was when you would no longer be an employee?

Melion

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

Perhaps you as an employee were getting it at a discounted rate and because your employment ceased the deal was no longer valid as time of final payment was when you would no longer be an employee?

No, the deposit was €50, that was what i paid.

Attol

But the console would have been at a discount. I'm getting the impression that your employment ended on bad terms. Did it?

Zaph

Not prying here, it's none of my business, but in my experience it's unusual for a person to be working somewhere and everything's rosy one day and all of a sudden not working there the next. Is there anything we're not being told about your sudden departure that might make the store look less favourably upon you and more inclined not to honour your deposit?

Apologies if this question is offensive in any way or suggests that you did something wrong or illegal, that's not the intention.

Melion

I already had 2 jobs(Airline security and bouncer). I decided to go back there(worked there before) to get some money for xmas but working till 12 at night and having to be in the airport for 5.30 was getting on top of me so i left.

Thats what happened.

tvnutz

Doesn't matter how the OP left or why,doesn't matter if he worked there or not. €50 deposit was paid and they had no right to sell that console. Get onto the head office and threaten to report them. Get in contact with the consumer affairs.

I wouldn't let this go mainly because they seemed to sell the Wii out of spite because you left. That is an unacceptable thing to do. I would be seriously annoyed. Don't let it rest mate!

Melion

Well i know someone from the head office does post on here(i seen it in another thread about pink DS' but i cant remember his name on here) so im hoping he sees this and does something about it

traceybere

Regardless of why you left you are still entitled to that DS, approach the manager and ask him for it - bring your reciept of document - whatever you had with tha ammount time and date, if he refuses DO NOT accept a refund! Contact head office as a customer NOT as an employee, if you get no joy report them - they are clearly in breach of there deal

eth0_

Wait a minute!
The OP says the deposit was in HIS name and they had HIS phone number to contact when his Wii was available, NOT his aunts contact details.

I get the impression he decided not to go back to his job in Smyths and left without giving any notice. Presumably he ignored phone calls when he saw Smyths number displayed on his phone, thinking it was his manager ringing to give him a piece of his mind.

Now, don't Smyths tell you they will only hold your Wii for X amount of days? Could it be that you didn't collect your console in time and it was re-sold, as is their policy?

Because that is what it sounds like to me!

JohnC.

eth0_ wrote: »

Wait a minute!
The OP says the deposit was in HIS name and they had HIS phone number to contact when his Wii was available, NOT his aunts contact details.

Er, no, he gave his aunts phone number.

wyndham

Is there that much of a demand for Wii's this Christmas? I would have thought they would be readily available?

Saruman

Yes there is. Ray foley and his radio crew queued to get them. He said the people who were ahead of them who they had talked to and had a laugh with before the shop opened, on the way out refused to look or talk to anyone and almost rand from the shop in case someone tried to get their Wii... its mad, its not even a next gen console. About as good as a PS2... lots of fun for kids though so all the kids want one.

Melion

eth0_ wrote: »

Wait a minute!
The OP says the deposit was in HIS name and they had HIS phone number to contact when his Wii was available, NOT his aunts contact details.

I get the impression he decided not to go back to his job in Smyths and left without giving any notice. Presumably he ignored phone calls when he saw Smyths number displayed on his phone, thinking it was his manager ringing to give him a piece of his mind.

Now, don't Smyths tell you they will only hold your Wii for X amount of days? Could it be that you didn't collect your console in time and it was re-sold, as is their policy?

Because that is what it sounds like to me!

The deposit was in my name because i put the money on it and the fella that took it put my name on it without asking anything else. It was my aunts phone number.
I didnt go back to the job, i rang the shop and let them know this(took about 4 hours to get through). I wasn't called by any manager because i let them know i was leaving.

They hold it for 24 hours, but how was my aunt supposed to collect it when she never even got a phone call to tell her it was there.

chrislad

Wii's have been in short supply since December 2006.

I don't think you have a leg on to stand on though, as putting down a deposit is not a legal contract. They could have rang your Aunt and it could be any number of reasons, they could say, as to why she didn't get the call - poor coverage, faulty phone etc.

If I were you, I'd just cut my losses, as I don't see it going anywhere.

Melion

Melion wrote: »

I dont have access to it but all the names and details were saved in an MS Access file on the pc. The manager said straight out that they sold it because i didnt come into work

Smyths are at it again, what is the deal with this company at all

I have a friend that use to work for them and the horror stories she told me about the store she worked in is a joke. I was talking to her today and telling her about what happened to you and straight away she said that the MS Access file is more than likely deleted now. She was actually surprised to hear that a record was been kept, it was never done 9/10 in the store she was in and the amount of customers coming back in and been told they never paid a deposit was unreal.

zaph wrote: »

Not prying here, it's none of my business, but in my experience it's unusual for a person to be working somewhere and everything's rosy one day and all of a sudden not working there the next. Is there anything we're not being told about your sudden departure that might make the store look less favourably upon you and more inclined not to honour your deposit?

As Melion said he left because of working hours, regardless of that the store should of honoured the deposit.

Melion wrote: »

Well i know someone from the head office does post on here(i seen it in another thread about pink DS' but i cant remember his name on here) so im hoping he sees this and does something about it

You'll be lucky, he/she might want to take a look in the Console section on this forum and take note of prices (especially the PS3 deals) instead of sending emails out to stores and telling staff to go into Tescos and buy out their game stocks as there cheaper and then sell them back in their own store as there own at a higher price ! :mad:

Best of luck Melion

brav

One of my friends had put a deposit on a Wii in Symths in Cork about a month ago.
A week or two ago she got offerd one from someone up the country but said no because Smths said they were getting them soon.

She called in a few days ago and they said they called everyone on the list and everyone had got their Wii's and then said they must have given her one away. After speaking with the manager she said it seems that she was on the list but did not get a call, and said how some of her staff are useless.
They are supposed to be getting more in next week and she decided to leave her deposit, but if I was her there would be noway would I go back in to that shop.

The number she gave, you can check online every missed/received call so there defiantly was no call from them.

I'd say it's a safe bet to say that no one on that list got a call back, Smyths are useless. my cousin left a DS in one of their stores for repair near two months ago, he rang up the shop a few days ago to find out when he will get it back, turns out it's still in the shop and was never sent off for repair ! :mad:

brav

Ya, I think in the mean time Symths call her back to say say they had one on for her.
But when she went in one of staff said there were none in and it was an invalid receipt

But the manager or whoever said the staff made a mistake and brought one out from the back. I'd the staff are prob just temp for xmas and prob don't know much about how the system in there works, and I suppose you can't blame them as i'd doubt they get much training

brav

brav wrote: »

I'd the staff are prob just temp for xmas and prob don't know much about how the system in there works, and I suppose you can't blame them as i'd doubt they get much training

Could be that and the fact that the wages are crap, from what I've heard the training isn't that bad if you get it :rolleyes:, its more an issue of bad wages, working hours, bullying and crap management. The stories I have heard about how Smyths in general is run and certain stores would shock you and they're probably not the only company.

Anarking

Pretty sure that Deposits and such are at the discretion of the store and are not legally binding. Obviously you can get your money back but they can pretty much choose who to give wii's to.

grahamo

Anarking wrote: »

Pretty sure that Deposits and such are at the discretion of the store and are not legally binding. Obviously you can get your money back but they can pretty much choose who to give wii's to.

Sure there'd be no point in taking deposits if they give the Wii's out to whoever they choose.

A deposit is a payment made to a supplier of a product or a service by a consumer which indicates an intention to buy a product or a service. The amount of the deposit and the timing of payment of the balance are a matter between the consumer and the supplier. When you pay a deposit for goods a contract is created between you as a consumer, and the supplier of the product or service. You should be clear at the time of paying a deposit what your obligations are (e.g. when you need to pay the balance, how much each payment is etc). You should also be clear about the duties of the supplier (e.g. when the product will be available).