Harvey Norman price match (not)

paska

I went to Currys today in Swords and saw a Fridge i liked. it was on offer from 2500 euro to 1100. I was also looking to get a dryer and under oven, turns out they didn't have the under oven we wanted so we went to Harvey Normal in the same retail park. The same fridge in HN had a sticker on it stating that they matched or beat competitors prices.
I asked the lady did they match prices. She said it depends! on what I asked. The lady asked me for the model number and I showed her a screen shot from Currys on my phone. She looked it up on Currys web site and said that they had no stock in Currys so they would not match it, she pointed to a random spot on the screen and claimed if they had stock it would be in that place. Utter rubbish.

I went back to Currys and bought the dryer and fridge 5 minutes later.
Are these "we match any price" claims legal as is gives the consumer the false security that they are competitive even when the price difference is over 1000 euro.

dudara

As long as they comply with the Ts&Cs, then there's nothing wrong. These kind of deals always have loads of fine print attached. At the end of the day, vote with your wallet.

Atari Jaguar

There is a few rules governing these price matches, the first and main one is if it isn't in stock online then they won't match the price. From what you say the salesperson checked the website and it wasn't available meaning no price match offered.

L1011

A requirement to be in stock is one of the normal rules of any price guarantee (to prevent a competitor listing items they will never sell at a huge discount to damage them). If you can demonstrate that it is actually in stock (a photo from the branch) and it is within whatever range of the store they require - contact their head office with this to complain.

It is possible they have no stock for online sales but do in store, this shouldn't affect their guarantee. Some stores with such policies even still refuse to match online prices and only work on in-store stock!

Atari Jaguar

L1011 wrote: »

A requirement to be in stock is one of the normal rules of any price guarantee (to prevent a competitor listing items they will never sell at a huge discount to damage them). If you can demonstrate that it is actually in stock (a photo from the branch) and it is within whatever range of the store they require - contact their head office with this to complain.

It is possible they have no stock for online sales but do in store, this shouldn't affect their guarantee. Some stores with such policies even still refuse to match online prices and only work on in-store stock!

Edit: here's the T&Cs for HN price match

Our price match guarantee is valid for 7 days from the date of purchase, and applies to advertised or online pricing for competitors with physical retail stores in the Republic of Ireland.
The competitor must have the item in stock, and it must be an identical model.
You must provide details of the competitor’s offer; a copy of the current advertisement or the URL of a web advertisement.
This policy does not apply to bundle offers, free items, limited quantities, negotiated prices or quotes, clearance items, or purchases made on consumer finance.
When matching online pricing, we will consider relevant delivery costs, additional taxes and charges, and extra costs of payment method.

Denny_Crane

Sorry OP, also in the camp of perfectly reasonable practice.

A couple of general points - sale prices on electronics are always nonsense, stuff with a single digit margin does not get marked down by double digits. Big retailers (DSG I'm looking at you) actually have slightly different models from some manufacturers so they don't have to price match.

paska

I got the fridge in currys for the sale price anyway 5 minutes later.
The model number I gave Harvys was the exact same as Currys.
Currys had in it stock, in fact 20 in stock.

Harvy Norman are using the T&Cs with a splash of jiggery pokery to renege on their price promise in my view.
I can post a copy of the receipt if you want to see it was in stock and purchased today
I am not out of pocket here, I got the goods at the price I wanted and I did vote with my wallet.
Thats not the issue. The issue is they don't match prices as claimed given the fact the same model was in stock a few doors down from them today. Because the sales assistant pointed to random spot on the screen to claim it was not means that they reneged on the sales message.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

paska wrote: »

I got the fridge in currys for the sale price anyway 5 minutes later.
The model number I gave Harvys was the exact same as Currys.
Currys had in it stock, in fact 20 in stock.

Harvy Norman are using the T&Cs with a splash of jiggery pokery to renege on their price promise in my view.
I can post a copy of the receipt if you want to see it was in stock and purchased today
I am not out of pocket here, I got the goods at the price I wanted and I did vote with my wallet.
Thats not the issue. The issue is they don't match prices as claimed given the fact the same model was in stock a few doors down from them today. Because the sales assistant pointed to random spot on the screen to claim it was not means that they reneged on the sales message.

Why buy from HN even if they are forced to price match? They should beat the price.

enricoh

Yeah I never got that way of thinking at all, I'd always go with whoever gave me the best price first. Was changing insurance company last year and my existing insurance crowd said they would match the offer the new crowd made. - eh, no thanks, I've just done an hour on the phone ringing crowds coz u tried to shaft me, good luck ! Tradesmen - I might do something on the price, grrrr!

Atari Jaguar

Miriam Deafening Sawmill wrote: »

Why but from HN even if they are forced to price match? They should beat the price.

Multibuy discount. Large stores generally knock a few pound off the price if you buy a few things, OP was also buying a cooker and dryer.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Atari Jaguar wrote: »

Multibuy discount. Large stores generally knock a few pound off the price if you buy a few things, OP was also buying a cooker and dryer.

That's not what I was saying. If shop A has a product for €1000 and Harvey Norman says €1500 but will match the price after you prove it's €1000 elsewhere, I expect HN to beat the €1000 or I'd just buy in the first store who were straight about the price.

Staplor

They price matched furniture for me a few years back. The item was apparently exclusive to them, it wasn't and they price matched to the competitor minus an extra 10 euro.

Berberis

I'v got them to price match a couple of times for a washing machine once and bed.
But both times I got them them to provide free delivery which their competitor wasn't doing.

Advbrd

Denny_Crane wrote: »

Sorry OP, also in the camp of perfectly reasonable practice.

A couple of general points - sale prices on electronics are always nonsense, stuff with a single digit margin does not get marked down by double digits. Big retailers (DSG I'm looking at you) actually have slightly different models from some manufacturers so they don't have to price match.

Years ago, while looking at TVs in Currys (possibly Dixons at the time) I was told by one of the floor staff not to buy the model I was looking at as the price displayed was only there to allow them offer a "huge" discount after it was on display for the required period.

RobbingBandit

Should have told the sales rep to call currys swords as the price match request was with that branch rather than the online site, live and learn.

Denny_Crane

Advbrd wrote: »

Years ago, while looking at TVs in Currys (possibly Dixons at the time) I was told by one of the floor staff not to buy the model I was looking at as the price displayed was only there to allow them offer a "huge" discount after it was on display for the required period.

I used to sell electrical, we used to have a '+ option' that was advertised at the back for £1000 more. Come sale time, the '+ option' was put front and centre with WAS £2999 NOW £1999 wow!!! People fell for it every time.

It amazes me the amount of people that don't know the basics of shopping. Know the product by doing your research and know the price across a number of retailers and over a bit of time. There are some genuine discounts to be had on multi-buys and the odd one off event but if it's more than 10% or widely available it's not a discount.

paska

So my fridge which is retailing in Harvey Norman for 2500 euro arrived today from Currys,
I paid 1100 euro in the sale. It arrived two days after I bought it and HN refused me a price match due to the fact they imagined it was out of stock in Currys.

Its no wonder they get away with this judging from one or two comments on this forum.

Denny_Crane

paska wrote: »

<SNIP>


So my fridge which is retailing in Harvey Norman for 2500 euro arrived today from Currys,
I paid 1100 euro in the sale. It arrived two days after I bought it and HN refused me a price match due to the fact they imagined it was out of stock in Currys.

Its no wonder they get away with this judging from one or two comments on this forum.

Nice Fridge!

rubadub

paska wrote: »

I went to Currys today in Swords and saw a Fridge i liked. it was on offer from 2500 euro to 1100.

Can you give a link to it on currys? i.e. what the people in HN might actually have seen, and if it complies with their quite detailed T&Cs.

I get suspicious when people leave out links which are very easy to post, especially when you then later bother to even post a photo of it.

I briefly tried to find it on currys with no luck, so wonder what the people in HN found. Probably all above board but I hope/presume you can see why I would question it, many neglect to supply links without realising it is a massive help to the discussion.

Miriam Deafening Sawmill wrote: »

I expect HN to beat the €1000 or I'd just buy in the first store who were straight about the price.

They make no promise to beat it, just in case anybody thought it was the claim. The OP wanted several things, many would prefer to have a single delivery of all 3, or just 1 transaction for their own reasons (e.g. preferring HN's return/repair service or dealing with accountants).

enricoh wrote: »

Yeah I never got that way of thinking at all, I'd always go with whoever gave me the best price first. Was changing insurance company last year...

well speaking of insurance, I treat shops as supplying inherent insurance. I would far sooner buy an item like a fridge from argos than "anto's here this week, maybe not next week" shop if they are the same price. Same with online sales, I will often pay a little more and buy from amazon than www.dodgy.xyx -especially with items which I might have to claim warranty/returns on.

Denny_Crane wrote: »

I used to sell electrical, we used to have a '+ option' that was advertised at the back for £1000 more. Come sale time, the '+ option' was put front and centre with WAS £2999 NOW £1999 wow!!! .

not 100% sure what your place was doing, but there are laws in place nowadays to prevent bogus sale prices, stuff has to be listed on sale for X days before declaring a discount. Of course some put them up for high prices for X days and then reduce. And of course some simply break the law -usually smaller shops though.

FanadMan

paska wrote: »

<SNIP>

So my fridge which is retailing in Harvey Norman for 2500 euro arrived today from Currys,
I paid 1100 euro in the sale. It arrived two days after I bought it and HN refused me a price match due to the fact they imagined it was out of stock in Currys.

Its no wonder they get away with this judging from one or two comments on this forum.

I had to double-take at the pic......there is a door within a door! So bloody cool. Many happy days refrigerating OP

A Dub in Glasgo

I usually ignore price matches as I normally buy from the retailer who has the testicles to actually reduce their prices and not rely on fooling people into thinking that they have already reduced their prices because they have a price matching policy.

Denny_Crane

rubadub wrote: »

not 100% sure what your place was doing, but there are laws in place nowadays to prevent bogus sale prices, stuff has to be listed on sale for X days before declaring a discount. Of course some put them up for high prices for X days and then reduce. And of course some simply break the law -usually smaller shops though.

It was in place even back then. They simply used to produce two models. One essentially with a load of bundles crap no one wanted, but technically it skirted the law.

Furniture is the big one these days that does exactly what you've described above.

paska

rubadub wrote: »

Can you give a link to it on currys? i.e. what the people in HN might actually have seen, and if it complies with their quite detailed T&Cs.

I get suspicious when people leave out links which are very easy to post, especially when you then later bother to even post a photo of it.

I briefly tried to find it on currys with no luck, so wonder what the people in HN found. Probably all above board but I hope/presume you can see why I would question it, many neglect to supply links without realising it is a massive help to the discussion.



They make no promise to beat it, just in case anybody thought it was the claim. The OP wanted several things, many would prefer to have a single delivery of all 3, or just 1 transaction for their own reasons (e.g. preferring HN's return/repair service or dealing with accountants).


well speaking of insurance, I treat shops as supplying inherent insurance. I would far sooner buy an item like a fridge from argos than "anto's here this week, maybe not next week" shop if they are the same price. Same with online sales, I will often pay a little more and buy from amazon than www.dodgy.xyx -especially with items which I might have to claim warranty/returns on.


not 100% sure what your place was doing, but there are laws in place nowadays to prevent bogus sale prices, stuff has to be listed on sale for X days before declaring a discount. Of course some put them up for high prices for X days and then reduce. And of course some simply break the law -usually smaller shops though.

On the way out but I will stick a copy of the receipt up later. Its gone up from the sale price today. But here is the link.

http://www.currys.ie/Product/samsung-food-showcase-rh56j6917sl-americanstyle-fridge-freezer-steel/333098/395.2.1

fryup

dudara wrote: »

As long as they comply with the Ts&Cs, then there's nothing wrong. These kind of deals always have loads of fine print attached. At the end of the day, vote with your wallet.

yep:cool:

its the same with Richer Sounds, they say they'll match any price out there.....but only if they offer the same 6 year guarantee that they do

rubadub

paska wrote: »

On the way out but I will stick a copy of the receipt up later. Its gone up from the sale price today. But here is the link.

http://www.currys.ie/Product/samsung-food-showcase-rh56j6917sl-americanstyle-fridge-freezer-steel/333098/395.2.1

Cheers, no need for the receipt, I wanted to see what the HN people would see.

The link you show now clearly shows its no in stock so would have expected HN not to honour it if that is what was shown when they looked it up.

I can see on "google cache" that it was going for a lot less on 24th dec in currys alright. it was a huge reduction you got, lucky to get it in either place.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6TnCaiKzgFUJ:www.currys.ie/product/samsung-food-showcase-rh56j6917sl-americanstyle-fridge-freezer-steel/333098/395.2.1+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie&client=ubuntu

paska

rubadub wrote: »

Cheers, no need for the receipt, I wanted to see what the HN people would see.

The link you show now clearly shows its no in stock so would have expected HN not to honour it if that is what was shown when they looked it up.

I can see on "google cache" that it was going for a lot less on 24th dec in currys alright. it was a huge reduction you got, lucky to get it in either place.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6TnCaiKzgFUJ:www.currys.ie/product/samsung-food-showcase-rh56j6917sl-americanstyle-fridge-freezer-steel/333098/395.2.1+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie&client=ubuntu

The link I posted was from today and not in stock, It was in stock three days ago when I bought it, as I said in fact 20 in stock. Stock levels on the 24th are not relevant as this happened on Tuesday

Just to be clear.
It was in stock in Currys. The dryer I wanted was in stock but they did not have an under oven to suit. I went to Harvey's to try and get all three there to cut down on delivery charges. As I have said the lady pointed at a random spot on the screen and claimed it was out of stock in Currrys. I walked a few yards back to Currys and bought the fridge and dryer. Why? because it was in stock.

Hence the thread title. Harvys did not refuse the sale under T&C or any other reason. The only reason they refused is because they don't really price match. They made up an out of stock reason which clearly was not true as i actually have the fridge.