I've gone to the ASA about Shop Extra already

[stratobuddy]

Ah fair enough then - maybe Shop Extra is justified in asking the OP to produce a recording to back up their complaint

No, they're not, they have their own recording

 

[Jazzydrury]

They aren’t justified, it’s them just not being believing there customers

 

[Hammy60]

Shop Extra are just being awkward in the hope that the person complaining will just give up their complaint.

 

[Polaris]

I got a reply from Shop Extra:



You couldn't make it up. So I replied:





I am not going to do the leg work for them. They need to honour their own promotions. Until I get the scissors they will not see a penny from me.

I got a similar reply from Shop Extra today asking me what time the show was that I saw the offer - I already said in my original email that it was the launch show at 6pm and the first Piranha show afterwards, so I'm not sure how much more specific I could be.

In order for us to look further into this for you, please may you confirm the date and time that you had seen this on the show?

Once this is confirmed, we will be able to assist you further.

For the record, I'm giving up with Shop Extra completely. I emailed Piranha directly and they sent out the missing free scissors by DHL the next day, with no arguments/no questions asked.

 

[haribo]

Piranha never responded to me when I contacted them directly.

 

[haribo]

I really like the piranha products but I am done with both of these companies now. They simply aren't trustworthy.

 

[haribo]

Shop Extra are just being awkward in the hope that the person complaining will just give up their complaint.

This is exactly it. But you would think they would play a slightly longer game and actually want me to buy more stuff. I paid for the £10 club thing with the intention of repeatedly buying but it seems they are happy to lose me over a pair of scissors. It is no wonder ideal world went bust and I can't wait for this latest incarnation to fail aswell.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Ah fair enough then - maybe Shop Extra is justified in asking the OP to produce a recording to back up their complaint

It's not justified at all.

If someone makes a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, the ASA tells the channel to provide a recording of the precise date and time of the show that they need to review in order to determine whether the complaint is valid or not. The channels HAVE to provide that footage - they cannot opt out or say "No, YOU send us a video of our alleged wrongdoing instead".

If channels can provide this information when the ASA orders them to, then there's no reason why channels can't review footage themselves when a customer raises a query.

If they throw it back to the customer by effectively saying "Prove we made a false claim by showing us a recording that YOU took", then that looks suspicious and gives out the impression that they know they are in the wrong - but they're hoping the customer will get bored and go away (and sadly, many do - hence why channels get away with all sorts of shady claims and tactics on a daily basis).

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

On the 28th August they were running a promotion where EVERY piranha order got a free pair of piranha scissors. Some of you may remember the offer. They actually said if you buy 10 items then you get 10 scissors. So I ordered a peeler and it came but no scissors. When I queried it they claimed it was a competition and I hadn't won!

Well they have lost a regular customer. I used to buy from Ideal world and I joined the create and craft club intending to buy from shop extra.

I have contacted the ASA as well because they are not honouring an offer they broadcast on national TV.

Did anyone here order and get their scissors?

I ordered a Whizzy Whisk and it came with a free pair of scissors. I found both the whisk and scissor very useful. Sorry to hear you've been diddled.

 

[haribo]

The ASA have now got back to me and are going to ask Create and Craft for an explanation.

 

[Deleted member 21838]

Create and Craft: "Well, Guv...It's like this...we put this free offer out, but we thought nobody was watching, and when we found out they were, we remembered we forgot we even made the offer in the first place and never honoured it...."

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Create and Craft: "Well, Guv...It's like this...we put this free offer out, but we thought nobody was watching, and when we found out they were, we remembered we forgot we even made the offer in the first place and never honoured it...."

Why did I just read that in the voice of Mike Mason?

 

[haribo]

Create and Craft: "Well, Guv...It's like this...we put this free offer out, but we thought nobody was watching, and when we found out they were, we remembered we forgot we even made the offer in the first place and never honoured it...."

That isn't far off their actual excuse.

How is this for a fobbing off from the ASA:

Thank you for your patience while we have been assessing your complaint.



We have received a response from the advertiser and understand that the issue with the promotion was due to a misunderstanding with the supplier regarding the details of the giveaway. As a result of this, there were not enough pairs of scissors available to give to every participant who had made a purchase during the show. We understand that the advertiser attempted to rectify this as soon as they became aware of the matter before we had contacted them, although it appears that unfortunately you were given misinformation by the customer service team.



As such, on this occasion, having taken our prioritisation principles into account, we have decided to resolve your complaint through the provision of advice. Therefore, we have explained your concerns to the advertiser and provided them with guidance on how to ensure that their advertising complies with the Codes.



Thank you once again for taking the time to raise your concerns with us. Comments such as yours help us to understand the issues that matter to consumers and we will keep a record of your complaint on file for use in future monitoring. If you would like more information about the work we’re currently involved with, please visit our website here.



Yours sincerely,

 

[JeepSwensonfan]

In other words, tough titty.

 

[Deleted member 21838]

The typical absolute cop out by them. And you wonder why the culture on shopping television in general remains as it is. Because the ASA chooses guidance time and time again over penalties. You and others should have got your free gift. They could have pressed the company to send some form of recompense to those who missed out. They walked away.

 

[Herring]

Urgh. What a weak tea response.

 

[Deleted member 21838]

They drink enough of it there..

 

[Jazzydrury]

Total cop out, You would have thought they would have had as many pairs of scissors as they had items

 

[TheManWithNoName]

The ASA are useless. Constant 'warnings' but I've yet to see anything harsher (penalties) handed out to these channels.

Did you report it to Trading Standards?

 

[Deleted member 21838]

The complaints mechanism is completely flawed. Other than try to go to trading standards, the ASA is the only other obvious route. I‘ve probably complianed about output from Shopping Channels maybe ten times in ten or fifteen years. Each time there has either been nothing back other than initial acknowledgement, or the ‘guidance’ routine response. I think this particular issue, however small in terms of actual financial loss, perfectly illustrates the chosen toothlessness of the ASA, and how these and similar issues will continue unchecked essentially by shopping channels in general. The only penalty that could wake them up would be broadcasting bans and/or financial penalties. Losing an hour’s broadcasting, say, with a compulsory ASA message displayed giving the reason, would surely have the desired effect. Obviously, though, that is never going to happen, and issues like the one raised here will continue to happen with impunity.