Anger as Argos hikes toy prices in Xmas promotion

PARENTS have accused Argos of fiddling the price of ‘bargain’ toys for Christmas.

The retail giant, which is now owned by Sainsbury’s, has launched a three-for-two promotion on toys.

It is part of a wider price war across the high street and internet designed to attract early Christmas shoppers.

But angry customers say Argos hiked the price of many of the most popular toys included in the deal. As a result, parents buying a collection of items to put under the tree could end up paying more.

For example, on the day before the promotion began, the price of a Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn chair was £26.99; a Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Cookie Shape Surprise was £10.99 and a FisherPrice Laugh & Learn Counting With Puppy book was £10.99. Together this came to £48.97.

once the three-for-two deal went live, the price of the chair went up to £39.99 and the shape surprise toy to £19.99. The puppy book remained at £10.99 but was included for free.

The net effect of these changes was to put up the price of these three toys to £59.98, which is £11.01 more than before the promotion launched.

Furious customers took to the Argos Facebook page to complain and post details of many similar examples. one pointed out how the price of a FisherPrice Imaginext Batcave, originally advertised at £44.99, went up to £ 69.99. Another complained how a disney ride-along toy styled on the hit film Frozen went up from £19.99 to £39.99.

one customer complained: ‘It’s a massive con!’ Another wrote: ‘I will not be spending one penny of my money in Argos for Christmas.’

Argos said: ‘ We ran a promotion on a limited number of toys which we didn’t clearly mark as a promotion due to a technical issue. These toys have now returned to their standard price and are included in our “3 for 2” promotion. We’re sorry for any confusion this has caused.’