Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Information and Services in Turkey Section => Good (or Bad) Shop Guide => Topic started by: mel binks on January 24, 2015, 15:11:16 PM
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Please be aware - Last August we purchased a new tv from Vatan for 1100tl to use with our internet set top box. At the counter I asked the sales assistant if they would take the box to our car but this was declined. I also asked about the guarantee and was told that the receipt would suffice. At no time did Vatan staff open up the box, show us the guarantee or stamp it, tell us that we had to contact LG to come and install the tv at our house or that we had to keep the empty box in order to validate the guarantee. Once home my husband opened up the box and threw it out but unfortunately our friend who sets up tvs to the internet was unable to come and set us up until two days later.
Two days later when our friend came to install the tv to the internet he plugged it in and straight away told us the tv was broken. He told us to go back to Vatan which we did the next day. Even though the tv still had the sticker on the front of the screen, we had all the bits and pieces and the instruction booklet they asked where the box was. We explained that we did not have the box (typically, when you don’t want them to be, the dustbins had been emptied!) but that we had the guarantee card (even though it had not been stamped) and our sales receipt. They then told us it was an LG problem and told us to contact them. When LG was contacted, again it was asked about where was the box and they said it was a Vatan problem, no one seemed to be willing to do anything.
I thought about trying to claim on our house insurance and rang them telling them that we had purchased a new tv which was broken and that neither Vatan or LG were willing to do anything about it and that I wanted to make a claim. I was told that I could not claim because this was a new tv. If it had been dropped or broken accidentally it would have been covered. I then said that if I were to say the man who had come to install it knocked it over and broke it only to be told that this was not possible because I had already told them that this was a new tv so they would not accept a claim!
We then went to the consumer rights in Fethiye who took all the details and said this matter would go to court. They told us that we had to have a report from LG and we duly paid for LG to come out and look at the tv. When LG came to our house they said that it was obvious that the tv had been damaged in transit and that it should be a Vatan problem and yet again asked we were asked where the box was. We spoke to someone at the LG main office who said he would try to get us another box but then this was not acceptable because the bar code on the tv did not match that of the one on the box.
With the report, our statement and receipt the case went to court. In December we had a notification from the court. We went back to the Consumer Rights who told us to go back to Vatan as it had been awarded in our favour saying that Vatan should either give us a new tv or our money back. We are led to believe that Vatan were in the wrong for not having opened the box, telling us that LG should have come and installed our tv or the fact that it is an unwritten rule in Turkey that you have to keep all empty boxes in order for guarantees to be valid.
Thinking this was the end of the matter we went again to Vatan with the court decision only to be told that their solicitor had appealed to get the court decision reversed. We have 15 days in which to appeal and it will go to court again. We are told that Vatan are saying that it is the responsibility of LG and that if we loose the court case we have to pay all legal costs. All of this for the sake of an empty box! We are contacting our solicitor for advice but please take this as a warning that not everything is as it seems. Even if you can speak/read Turkish there are many unwritten rules that you may not know about.
I’ve asked a Turkish neighbour whether this is the case and normal practice and she told me that it is. I asked again at Vatan how long would we have been expected to keep an empty box and if it was for the duration of the guarantee. The man at the customer services counter said that it would only have to be six months. On another occasion my neighbour was told to keep the box three months, so what is the rule or do they make them up as they go along?!!!!
So what do we do next? At the expense of a solicitor do we go to court again with the off chance that we will lose and all the legal costs will be appointed against us (which could in essence amount to more than what the tv was worth). Or, do we just forget it, put it down to a costly experience and loose the money we paid for the tv?
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Sorry to hear your story :-[
Where abouts is this shop?
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I think you''re on a hiding to nothing. Swallow your pride. Mark it down to experience.
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Where abouts is this shop?
Its in the new Erasta Shopping Centre.
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It will cost them a lot more than they think. We have a lot of readers who have properties there who certainly won't support shops who fail to deliver what was promised.
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Is there any way of letting the store know we are discussing their shortcomings.?
It might help Mel, you never know. Or a collection of Emails.! ;)
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Ugh. Another electrical place bites the dust.
Teknosa, next to the Otogar and just down from Erasta, are awful. Their customer service is of the 'oh alright, I will deign to serve you this item then. However, I will keep communication to an absolute minimum including eye contact' kind.
The store that used to be on the same side as Eren Spot going towards the town centre and just before the high bridge, offered lovely customer service, in my experience. Unfortunately they closed sometime in November.
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Teknosa have been dreadful for years - and just in case you wondered if it is because you are a foreigner...
I bought a HP printer from Teknosa. Eventhough Teknosa's prices are higher than other shops, I used to prefer them, as they are a big chain company and was thinking they will support me in case of a problem. I was wrong !!!
HP printer started not to print, only after a month i bought it. Took it back to teknosa shop, and was told they have to send it to service. I know it will take time, and asked for a spare printer that i can use during my printer is in service. They refused it, and told me to wait till they hear from service. 1 week passed and I even couldnt get a proper answer, when i ask when my printer will be back to me. They said i have to wait for 1-5 days first. Now they say nothing about progress of repairing, and that 1-5 days became up to 30 days now. Decided to buy a new printer [:(!] , as I can't do without a printer in office. So, I have to spend extra money because I chosed the wrong companies both HP and Teknosa.
By the way I bought 2 electronics from Teknosa recently, and both have problems. One is printer and other one is LCD's remote doesnt work properly (bought it only 3 months ago). I think I will have to buy a new remote control as I dont want to face same situation and dont want to be without TV for a month.
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I have had excellent service from Technosa. I bought a laptop from them in December 2013( 2 year garauntee). Took it back this January with a problem. I had lost the receipt. A bit of research on their system and the details of my purchase were retrieved and the repair was carried out. No problem.
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Thanks for the comments. The ironic thing in this is that when we went back to Vatan with the court judgement we spoke to a women who led us to believe she was the assistant manager. When we showed her our court papers she said she had already seen them as they had been sent a copy. This was when she informed us that their solicitor was appealing the decision. When we asked on what grounds she said she did not know but then went on to tell us that at the time of us purchasing the tv, Vatan was a new shop and a lot of the staff were not fully trained. She admitted that it was their fault in neglecting to tell us about having to have LG come and install the tv or indeed that we should keep an empty box and that in future customer services would change! She said that the shop would have been quite prepared to give us a new tv or our money back happen the court had not written in the last two lines of the judgement which gave them the right of appeal. So they know they are in the wrong and are trying to pass the blame, and in the meantime who is going to make the most out of this - the solicitors!
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>:( Grrrr ......
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Unfortunately solicitors are often the winners in this type of situation. >:(
Who would keep a bloody big box from a tv in case it goes belly up?
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Well it would appear in Turkey that everyone should keep their boxes..haha!
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Is that why some houses are built with a "box room"? :D
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One of the few things I don't like about Turkey is their "legal" system
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Stress levels goıng up wont help. Waıt and see what the outcome of theır appeal ıs . If ıt goes agaınst you then ıf ıts easy and cheap to get the TV fıxed get ıt fıxed and sell ıt then buy a new TV.Messing about wıll only send your stress levels up hıgher and no one wıns.Put ıt down to experience.
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Spoke to our solicitor today and she more or less told us that this could be costly to us and was it worth it for the price of the TV. We decided it wasn't so she rang their solicitor and told them we weren't persueing this further (cost 250tl) only to be told their solicitor had already opened he case and it will cost us 750tl. So now we're already 1100tl for the TV and another 1000tl legal costs :( our solicitor is now saying that we should go to court and take our chances and she is going to talk tomorrow to both LG and Vatan. I feel like this is going to drag on...watch this space!
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Having had no response from either Vatan or any of their representatives we received a subpoena to go to court for the appeal case. Our case was to be heard at 10.25am and having sat around waiting until nearly lunch time when the court was due to close, our case was called. The judge asked confirmation of name, address etc and then asked why Vatan's solicitor had not turned up. We said we did not know and after a further discussion in Turkish we were informed that the case has now been put back until next month! We did ask what if the solicitor does not turn up next time, and was this a way of stalling, but was told that it would be sorted out between the solicitors.
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Eugh. What a bloody carry on!
Dragging it on forever but can't be arsed to turn up. Nice one, Vatan. Good Luck, Mel >:(
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Well the re-arranged date for the appeal case was this week, guess what....their solicitor didn't show up again! At least our translator told us before we got there and sat around for hours. We don't know what happens next, we may get another date or hopefully the judge will make a decision.
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Great attitude they have.
Hope it works out for you, Mel.
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I've never had a bad experience in Vatan & I have used them a lot, until today.
I went to buy two 16GB memory sticks, on the rack they were priced at 29.70tl each but when I went to the till I was told they were 32.50tl each.
I questioned this and took the assistant to the rack whereupon he informed me that the price on the rack was different because the USD exchange rate had changed since the price label was printed!
Whereupon I told him I was buying it in Turkey with Turkish Lira, not from the USA in Dollars, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said that was the price.
I politely to him where to put them.
I then went to TeknoSA and purchased exactly the same make 16GB sticks and (because they were on offer) at only 14.90tl each!
Thanks Vatan!! :o ;D 8)
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Well done Hamlet and thanks for the heads up. PS. why were you polite. ??? ;) ;)
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Pointless being too annoyed with the sales assistants, they can't do anything about the way these large companies are run, I did put my point over clearly though, maybe the management will listen when less sales are being made ???
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Just an update as we have just had our third court appearance over the new tv which we purchased which was broken. Vatan's solicitor did not turn up yet again! Way back in July we were told that the court would not accept any excuses from them for not turning up the next time. However, the courts broke up for summer recess and we were not given another date until September. Today we have just spent an hour and a half waiting around and when called in the judge because of yet another no show, gave us the choice of cancelling the case or if we wished to proceed being faced with all the court fees. We had been hopeful that even in the event of a no show that a judgement would be made in our favour, but were told that another date would be made and that if their solicitor were to come down from Istanbul we would face costs of flights and hotels etc. Although, it is a matter of principal and fairness we have cancelled the case and put it down to a costly experience. Even if we had decided to carry on, we could be faced with endless court appearances and no shows, or if it were to actually come to court Vatan would pay and would not have to worry about how much it would cost. As KKOB said back in January 'I think you''re on a hiding to nothing. Swallow your pride. Mark it down to experience.' It certainly makes you realise how things operate so differently in different countries.
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if we wished to proceed being faced with all the court fees. We had been hopeful that even in the event of a no show that a judgement would be made in our favour, but were told that another date would be made and that if their solicitor were to come down from Istanbul we would face costs of flights and hotels etc.
Surely that was only if you ultimately lost the case?
JF
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sorry to hear your story next time go to bekir at erin spot a real gent you would not have had any problems
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You cannot assume that things are the same as in the UK. We've already incurred costs and it's a chance to take as to whether you would ultimately win, and even then as to whether you would get all your costs back. We were advised as it was only the price of a TV to let it drop :(
On another note, way back we went to EvKur in Fethiye and bought a new TV. Our experience couldn't have been more different. They were so helpful, even phoning and arranging the installation from LG etc. I just wonder whether Vatan have changed their sales policy because we would be very reluctant to go back or advise anyone else to shop there.