Report discovers electrical chains ignore legal advice

A recent report by Which? has discovered that some assistants working at UK electrical chains do not understand legal advice surrounding consumer rights.

The undercover investigation found that stores such as Curry's, Richer Sounds, John Lewis and Comet misled shoppers by ignoring basic consumer rights or offering sub-standard advice.

"Unfortunately, big retailers are letting their customers down, offering wrong or misleading advice that could leave people shelling out more money for features or products they just don't need," Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said.

Some staff at the shops mixed up full HD televisions with HD ready ones, while others over exaggerated the usefulness of products and a number convinced consumers to purchase products that they did not require.

In addition, the report found that some Comet and Curry's workers did not comprehend consumer laws that meant shoppers could return damaged goods up to two years after they were purchased.

Similarly, a survey carried out by Trading Standards found that over 15 per cent of shoppers did not take items back to a store as they were unsure about what rights they had.

Published by Tessa Jones