All Argos Sonic Colours pre-orders please read

[Badnik Mechanic]

Since this affects quite a lot of people on here I thought I should give this it's own topic, especially since those who pre-ordered are most likely going to ring up Argos the moment I tell them about the conversation I just had.

As you know, Argos had a pre-order offer for Sonic Colours, that being, "Pre-order Sonic colours, get a Sonic figure free." An offer which was not only talked about in the forums, but also put up on TSS' main website and a number of others.

As you also know, everybody got the game, but no pre-order figure... so whats going on?

Well... We're not getting it.

I just got off the phone with the Argos people and least to say I'm far from happy at all with what I was told. Argos used every excuse in the book to try and explain why there was no figure with my pre-order. They included but where not limited to.

* Did you enter the offer code when you went into the final purchase?

* The offer is no longer on the website.

Now... correct me if I'm wrong, but a pre-order offer typically ends after the game is released, and as reported on TSS Argos pulled down their listing shortly before the game came out, yet did not notify any of those who had pre-ordered that this had changed.

There was also no offer code to enter, it said in the description that the figure was included in the order, no additional code had to be entered.

Then we moved onto the issue of the game in question....

DId you open the game from the packaging? If yes, no refund or figure.

So anyone that opened their game, and was told that it would be sent out later, you're not getting a figure anymore.

This is despite explaining to the lady, that I had screen prints of my orders, including the offer itself, and several reports from other people who had pre-ordered (you guys) that they had no recieved their figure. It was then that she claimed that there had been no other reports or complaints about missing figures, or that there was even an offer on this particular item.

Because there is no listing on the argos website it means that it didn't exist... again... despite the fact that many people print screened this image!

The bottom line.

The free figure pre-order offer.... was a lie![/portal/sonic cross over]

No figures are being sent out, and if you opened the game, no refund.

I am going to be writing to them with the above, and BBC watchdog as well as trading standards will be CC in the letters, if you guys are a bit pissed at this I suggest you do the same.

Edit: Owww my 3000 post... and what a jolly hocky stick of a post it is...

Edited November 15, 2010 by Gnasher

[Vertekins]

Man that's bad. No doubt this is false advertising. Now i'm thankful I didn't buy from Argos as I planned to (I got my Wii version from Sainsbury's for £29.99 because, get this, my local Gamestation went out of stock on the morning of release) because I know I would've paid Argos' £31.99 under the sole pretense that i'm getting figures too considering some other places were £2 cheaper.

I'm very sure their logic concerning opened games is rubbish as the law states that things that are sold are to be fit for purpose i.e they're supposed to work the way they're expected to. So if the games was defective, they are legally obliged to refund it. I wonder if this applies to purchases that were made under the pretense that they come with a free extra and if people are within their legal right for a refund because the game was not sold as advertised. It'd be a major injustice if this isn't the case.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'm very sure their logic concerning opened games is rubbish as the law states that things that are sold are to be fit for purpose i.e they're supposed to work the way they're expected to. So if the games was defective, they are legally obliged to refund it. I wonder if this applies to purchases that were made under the pretense that they come with a free extra and if people are within their legal right for a refund because the game was not sold as advertised. It'd be a major injustice if this isn't the case.

If the game is defective, then they do have a different stance on it, not sure if it's a refund or exchange. However, the problem is if you open it and it's fine, then you have no rights to return under Argos' rules (it's the same with Tesco).

However, the issue here is that they blatently advertised that you would recieve a free figure, then didn't warn or notify anyone that the offer had changed, so you couldn't cancel your order. I am under the impression that if they offer something and nobody gets it, then that would be an illegal sale, as under the Sales of Goods act, any 'get this free' offer must be available and be as described... so your free gift of 'nothing' would break this rule.

Why I'm quite mad about this, is not so much that I'm not getting a figure, but had I known this wasn't happening, I would not have bought it from them, I would have gone to Game or Play.com, and would have waited since I didn't really want it as day 1... but given how great this offer was, I decided it was a great deal to not take advantage of.

[Core]

Didn't you get a confirmation e-mail or something when you pre-ordered? Even if the offer is no longer on the website, you should have a proof that you pre-ordered the figure... And I think not delivering what you paid for is rather illegal.

Don't let them get away with it, people.

[FTA]

Those sneaky bastards. Last time I shop with them.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Didn't you get a confirmation e-mail or something when you pre-ordered? Even if the offer is no longer on the website, you should have a proof that you pre-ordered the figure... And I think not delivering what you paid for is rather illegal.

Don't let them get away with it, people.

You do, but it doesn't say in the title, it just says in the main description area that theres the free figure. In the confirmation email it just says the title of the game, and no description.

[Tiller]

Isn't that like, false advertising? Excuse my knowledge of European law, but is that a big no no? Is there any other sort of evidence behind screen prints that you guys have like the email or an offer confirmation that you can use?

Edited November 15, 2010 by Tiller

[Guest Jordan4K6]

They can suck my furball.

[Detective Shadzter]

This is so getting news'd. I'm glad I screencap'd it now Everyone who pre-ordered with them totally needs to take Gnasher's advice and complain or take it to trading standards and Watchdog. I'm glad I didn't order from them now and went with Sainsburys, but they shouldn't be able to geta way with ripping everyone off like this.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Shadz if anything people who pre-ordered need to start ringing up Argos and putting pressure on them so they know that everyone who pre-ordered is very well aware that theres a BIG problem here with what they advertised and whats actually being told by their sales reps.

I intend to ring them back tomorrow once I've calmed down (as their service centres are shut for the night). Also hoping that I might speak to someone who will give me a better responce than the lady I spoke with earlier. I just can't understand how it went from "We'll post them out later" to "We know nothing about it."

It would also be an idea for people (even if you've already done so) to ring up and ask whats going on. I'd be very interested in what you get told too. It also helps the rest of us with ammunition to fire at them if we start to get messed around by their customer service teams.

Edited November 15, 2010 by Gnasher

[Scott]

I said yesterday in the SSMB status box that they wouldn't get them in, you all saw it....

I knew I was right!!!!

[Turbo]

I knew it was a good idea not to go for that offer and just get my copy of the games at work. Still it's quite a serious issue this being a big breech of advertisement guidelines I mean sure at my work we advertise free stuff and most of the time we stay true to our word but on odd occasions we might not have the free stuff available on release day cause of poor delivery companies (damn UPS) but we do get them in for the customers. However this is Argos saying they did no such offer to begin with which is an absolute bunch of bull and a ploy for them to get more money plus get customers away from the competition i.e. GAME, Gamestation, HMV and supermarkets.

[Detective Shadzter]

Well hopefully my news article I'm writing will get some folks who pre-ordered with them to speak out in the comments, which can be used as ammunition against this.

[FTA]

Dear Argos, I don't like what you've been doing to my friends and I who pre-ordered. It's messed up, so now I'm gonna mess you up.

[Blue Blood]

I'll phone them tomorrow. Better still, I had two separate orders. I bought the DS version and my Mum bought the Wii one, so that's twice they fucked this house over. AAUK is aware of this by the way. He's going to look into it best he can. Bloody terrific fellow, right?

[Stasis]

I was going to preorder mine and then saw the offer in the christmas catalogue. The offer states that you get the figure free when you purchase it along with Sonic Colours Wii/DS and Sonic Free Riders. So, it was a simple case of doing just that. Purchased it in store, no problems what so ever.

Companies are covered by this type of thing. When Sonic Rush Adventure was advertised in Tesco at £10, a month before it was even released, I saved the advert so I could show them the offer had they changed it. They basically told me to go **** myself, and so I demanded to see the manager. The manager was polite enough to show and explain the details involving current and past offers. Companies such as these have the right to remove offers at any time. Lucky for me, I'd been down there 3 times throughout the morning to get the game, and so they took pity on me and let me have it.

Keep pushing with the emails, mention the current offer, and see if you can arrange a local pick up of the figure, providing you kept your receipt to show you purchased the game.

[Detective Shadzter]

My article's up:

http://www.sonicstadium.org/news/2010/11/fury-as-argos-doesnt-deliver-on-sonic-colours-pre-order-offer/

I added quotes from everyone here who's posted about not receiving their figure. If any of you want your quote removed, then let me know and I'll get rid of it. Hopefully we'll see some reports in the comments section.

[Doctor Sοnic]

Argos was actually featured on Watchdog a couple of weeks back for misleading people about items on their website. So I think Watchdog will be very interested to hear that they're still doing it.

[empires]

This is stupid. The only reason I preordered from Argos was for the free figure. I could have gotten the game for much cheaper from several shops. I don't think I'll be shopping with Argos again any time soon.

First off, I didn't receive a confirmation e-mail for my order. I sent them an email telling them about it and 4 days later I got a rude e-mail telling me I didn't even order the game. I phoned the customer services line to put in a complaint and to sort out my order and eventually after 5 days my order was confirmed.

Thankfully when my game arrived and there wasn't a figure, I decided not to open it. My mum phoned the customer services line to tell them that there wasn't a figure and she ended up getting a bitchy employee on the other end of the phone. In the end she just gave up, hung up the phone and sent them an e-mail (which they didn't even reply too).

After phoning the customer services line again today, we got told we'd be phoned back later and that we shouldn't worry about not getting the figure. We didn't get a phonecall and it looks like none of us are getting figures. I'll be looking into their returns policy tomorrow morning.

Who'd have thought a game preorder could cause so much stress...

Edited November 15, 2010 by empires

[JonoD]

This is stupid. The only reason I preordered from Argos was for the free figure. I could have gotten the game for much cheaper from several shops. I don't think I'll be shopping with Argos again any time soon.

First off, I didn't receive a confirmation e-mail for my order. I sent them an email telling them about it and 4 days later I got a rude e-mail telling me I didn't even order the game. I phoned the customer services line to put in a complaint and to sort out my order and eventually after 5 days my order was confirmed.

Thankfully when my game arrived and there wasn't a figure, I decided not to open it. My mum phoned the customer services line to tell them that there wasn't a figure and she ended up getting a bitchy employee on the other end of the phone. In the end she just gave up, hung up the phone and sent them an e-mail (which they didn't even reply too).

After phoning the customer services line again today, we got told we'd be phoned back later and that we shouldn't worry about not getting the figure. We didn't get a phonecall and it looks like none of us are getting figures. I'll be looking into their returns policy tomorrow morning.

Who'd have thought a game preorder could cause so much stress...

And that's not all. Upon hearing this and now knowing that my figure preorder is as good as gone I also feel lied to. When I called up, the game was still sealed up. After the call, they gave me the assurance that the figures were on the way so I opened the game and started. There goes any hope of me returning it now.

I've already sent a complaint on to Watchdog.

Edited November 15, 2010 by CobraRoll

[empires]

And that's not all. Upon hearing this and now knowing that my figure preorder is as good as gone I also feel lied to. When I called up, the game was still sealed up. After the call, they gave me the assurance that the figures were on the way so I opened the game and started. There goes any hope of me returning it now.

Yeah, I agree. On the phone this morning I was told not to worry about having to return the game and that I should just open it up because we would all be receiving figures but I decided to wait and now I'm glad I did.

[jennytablina]

Eek, when I heard on the forum the figures were likely separate I figured that was true. Sigh

I thought Argos would be fine, its not like they don't do offers in store or online usually. But I thought I'd give them a chance, because hey freebies! (and if the Yanks are gonna get the cool hat and Aussies all of em plus a classic controller, I want something too...)

But eh, I'll try calling them tomorrow and see if I get any other word, if all else fails I'll take my issue to BBC Watchdog too. Regardless if it's free or not, a free item offer should be honored unless they run out of stock (though considering they are offering the figures for a stupid premium price they clearly are not). I think thats what bugs me more than anything, the figures clearly ARE in stock and were available before Colours was released! I might be more understanding if it was simply I missed the offer because demand was too high

In any case, lesson learned, pre-order bonuses should be ignored unless a reputable retailer with plenty experience is doing it. Hopefully next time Sega will do a deal with someone who wont use the freebie to fleece the fans of more money!

[-Mark-]

Whilst I certainly don't agree with what Argos are doing, and certainly believe them to be in the wrong (they are), from a legal standpoint we as the fans don't have much of a leg to stand on, sadly.

Yes, Watchdog should still take the case as it's valid, but at the same it's not like they're not giving you something that you paid for. Yes, they charge more than other places and people wouldn't have bought from them were it not for the figure, but the figure isn't what you bought- it's the game.

Actually, I take back my point about saying fans have no leg to stand on: it'd be different if they didn't get or ran out of the figures, but backing out of the offer is just plain wrong.

Edited November 15, 2010 by Mahzes

[Tomnomnom0607]

Long time lurker here. I created this account specifically so that I could say what happened to me about this whole Argos mess.

I got the game on Saturday morning without the figure, so I called them straight away to complain. First I had to go through all the usual automated stuff, which was annoying but fair enough. When I eventually got ahold of someone, they had no idea what I was talking about. After a couple of minutes, they said they would put me through to someone higher up so that I could explain the situtation. Instead, she put me through the automated stuff again...She probably didnt mean to do that, but mistake or not, it was very annoying having to go through all that again.

Luckily I got through to the same person and she eventually put me through to the higher up. He told me that the figure was subject to availability. I can understand that, but i remember placing an order on the day it went up on the site. He then went on to say that he couldnt send me one in the post when they eventually do get them in stock either as they were limited. I was annoyed but figured that everyone on here managed to order before me and claim all the figures or something. By the looks of things though, they didnt get them in to begin with!

Ive also been going to my local Argos whenever ive gone to town since Friday when the game came out. Ive checked the availablity of the figure by itself and every day that I have checked, the estimated date has been pushed back by a few days.

It seems to me that Argos never got them in the first place and are hiding behind all sorts of rules/terms and conditions to claim that nothing can be done. Needless to say, im very angry!

[jennytablina]

I called Argos today and asked about this. The attendant said the call center got an internal email about this today and checked, it said Argos had a system error and EVERYONE who preordered Colours did not get a figure (computers eh?). They apparently were trying to reach customers yesterday via email and phone. Though I had no call or email in my inbox.

The official word seems to be that everyone WILL get their figure delivered separate in the post in the next few days, currently waiting on the assistant to call back with details about my own delivery (she was having trouble getting the entertainment side to respond)

Edited November 16, 2010 by jennytablina