A vacuum cleaner deal that sucked
The dust had barely settled on a vacuum cleaner sale when things got messy.
Dunedin father and daughter Richard and Olivia Knights have taken on vacuum cleaner company Godfreys over a deal they say sucks. The company says the matter is successfully resolved.
‘‘Whilst they could argue that it was resolved satisfactorily … it was only because I fought tooth and nail,’’ Richard Knights said.
Earlier this month his daughter went to the Dunedin store to buy a Hoover similar to what her parents used. So far so good.
When she asked about the $50 trade-in offer, the salesman took her old Sonixx vacuum off her.
As she eyed up a $699 bagless cleaner, he told her it was already marked down by $200.
She was told the trade-in would not apply because of the $200 discount, yet the store kept the old vacuum. She paid $699.
Richard Knights was not happy when he checked the company’s website and with Godfreys’ customer service, to clarify the chosen model had no discount applied as $699 was its recommended retail price.
After that call, the store’s manager phoned and offered a $50 trade-in discount and some parts for the new Hoover.
He received another call from an area manager who said he was legally entitled to the promised $200 discount.
The pair were advised to either take the $200 discount or return the vacuum cleaner they bought.
On Friday he visited the store to get his $200 discount – and his daughter’s old vacuum. ‘‘The salesman looked me straight in the eye and said: ‘Do you want to upgrade your old Hoover?’’’
Knights said he told the salesman he would never spend another dollar at the store.
Asked to respond, the company’s marketing manager, David Campbell, said: ‘‘The matter has been satisfactorily resolved with the customer by the local [New Zealand] Godfreys team.’’
Last year Godfreys pleaded guilty to Commerce Commission charges relating to selling more than 3000 extended warranties that breached the Fair Trading Act.