Godffreys scam

W

woohoo

I bought a new carpet washing machine at Godffreys Chadstone shopping centre 2 months ago. During purchase, the salesman tried to sell me 7 vouchers for machine cleaning and maintenance. Each voucher would entitle me to 1 clean up by Godffreys. I paid $60 for those 7 vouchers.

THen a few weeks later I sent my old vacuum machine for that free clean up. I asked them why is my old machine so weak, the suction is not strong. He said they will inspect the machine WHILE cleaning up the machine. And if they found out the problem, they will give me a repair quote. I specifically told him I dont want to spend anymore money, and just give me a quote to consider. He said fine.

1 week later they called, saying the machine needs a circuit board change, it will cost $550 for that repair. I said I don't want to repair it. Then he tried to persuade me to buy a NEW MACHINE, and trade in the old one. I said I will consider it.

Today, I called them asking them to send the machine back to their shop (from the service centre), and I said I will pick up the machine. He said, "do you want to trade in and buy a new machine?". I said "No". Then he said he will check with the service centre and call me back. He calls back in 5 minutes, saying, if I want to pick up the machine without repairing it or buying a new one, I will have to pay $89.90 for their labour to open up the machine for the inspection and quote.

I had an argument with him because before this he told me the quote will be free and I didnt have to pay a cent more.

What can I do now? They have hold me hostage, if I buy a new machine, you know they are going to rip me off with a higher price since I have no choice but to trade in and buy from them. If I want to take the old machine back, they hit me with $89.90 inspection charge (which they didnt tell me before). If I choose to repair, they will hit me with $550 repair cost.

Please help!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
woohoo said:
I bought a new carpet washing machine at Godffreys Chadstone shopping centre 2 months ago. During purchase, the indian salesman tried to sell me 7 vouchers for machine cleaning and maintenance. Each voucher would entitle me to 1 clean up by Godffreys. I paid $60 for those 7 vouchers.

THen a few weeks later I sent my old vacuum machine for that free clean up. I asked them why is my old machine so weak, the suction is not strong. He said they will inspect the machine WHILE cleaning up the machine. And if they found out the problem, they will give me a repair quote. I specifically told him I dont want to spend anymore money, and just give me a quote to consider. He said fine.

1 week later they called, saying the machine needs a circuit board change, it will cost $550 for that repair. I said I don't want to repair it. Then he tried to persuade me to buy a NEW MACHINE, and trade in the old one. I said I will consider it.

Today, I called them asking them to send the machine back to their shop (from the service centre), and I said I will pick up the machine. He said, "do you want to trade in and buy a new machine?". I said "No". Then he said he will check with the service centre and call me back. He calls back in 5 minutes, saying, if I want to pick up the machine without repairing it or buying a new one, I will have to pay $89.90 for their labour to open up the machine for the inspection and quote.

I had an argument with him because before this he told me the quote will be free and I didnt have to pay a cent more.

What can I do now? They have hold me hostage, if I buy a new machine, you know they are going to rip me off with a higher price since I have no choice but to trade in and buy from them. If I want to take the old machine back, they hit me with $89.90 inspection charge (which they didnt tell me before). If I choose to repair, they will hit me with $550 repair cost.

Please help!
Click to expand...

Contact the Consumer and Fair Trading authority in your state first before further interaction with the retailer. A new machine has a product warranty and you should check the terms of the warranty and receipt to make sure that your warranty has not expired.
 
Good answer and i've found its worth calling them twice as the various consultants at consumer affairs some can help more than others.

i had another friend recently also told me how they were put under such pressure by a vaccuum place and did get talked into buying a carpet steam cleaner.
Its horrible when they tell you they will look at something and make it sound like its free but then will hit you with a cost for that. Its not very honest and it makes us kick ourselves that we have to be on the ball and always ask is there a cost for that.
Salesmen have some very well rehearsed tactics to put us under pressure.
 
or those "bull" places that offer $14.95 inspections then tell you your 2 year old car that went there originally for a wheel alignment needs $2K worth of suspension repairs even though its under new car warranty then only the to find out that at the dealer that nothing is really wrong. Made me mad...........
 
I suggest speaking with the manager and letting them know you will be taking the matter further to department of fair trading/consumer affairs etc.

Usually they will relent at this stage (they call it a goodwill gesture despite having no doubt ******** you off by this point) as it is far more inconvenient and costly for them to field an inquiry from the authority than it is to let you retrieve your vacuum (this goes for refunds etc as well where businesses try to deny your rights/rip you off).

Best of luck.
 
woohoo said:
I bought a new carpet washing machine at Godffreys Chadstone shopping centre 2 months ago.

THen a few weeks later I sent my old vacuum machine for that free clean up. I asked them why is my old machine so weak, the suction is not strong.

Then he tried to persuade me to buy a NEW MACHINE, and trade in the old one. I said I will consider it.
Click to expand...

Am I misreading something, or a your trying to actually scam Godfreys, woohoo.

"I bought a new carpet washing machine at Godffreys Chadstone shopping centre 2 months ago. " THen a few weeks later I sent my old vacuum machine for that free clean up.

So are you saying that you have 2 machines.:confused: The NEW one you bought, and the OLD one you had before. Now your trying to use the free clean meant for the NEW machine, to try and get free service for the OLD machine.
Have I got this right. Why should Godfrey's be responsible for free service for a machine you may have bought somewhere else.
 
I called them 2 days ago and asked, "What is the trade in value of my old machine?". and he said "depends on which machine you want to buy. If you buy the top end machine, you can get $100 back."
I asked him how much is top end average, he says "$700"!

Then I asked if i buy a $300 machine, then he says the trade in value goes down to $40 - 60.

This is the trick they're playing. Why does a machine's trade in value differ depending on how much I spend?????
 
woohoo said:
This is the trick they're playing. Why does a machine's trade in value differ depending on how much I spend?????
Click to expand...

What value do you think your old crappy machine has. The "trade in", is not a trade in like a car. It's effectively a discount on another purchase. And they can offer a higher discount obviously on a $700 machine compared to a $300 machine.

No one is playing a trick. Your just clueless as to how things work. And trying to scam Godfrey's by saying they should repair your OLD machine for free.
 
i tell you what has driven me insane with Godfreys:

Put in a vacumm cleaner to get a service as i used my wifes pride and job to suck up some gyprock dust and the vacumm didnt like it..

since then i continually get sms messages from them.....t


i never asked for sms messages

to opt out i have to sms them...theres no way ill be wasting 22 cents doing that but next time i drive past ill be dropping in and doing it in person
 
woohoo said:
I called them 2 days ago and asked, "What is the trade in value of my old machine?". and he said "depends on which machine you want to buy. If you buy the top end machine, you can get $100 back."
I asked him how much is top end average, he says "$700"!

Then I asked if i buy a $300 machine, then he says the trade in value goes down to $40 - 60.

This is the trick they're playing. Why does a machine's trade in value differ depending on how much I spend?????
Click to expand...

Same reason one night costs $100 /night but 7 nights costs $85/night at a hotel I'd guess, not much you could probably do about that one.
 
Its a bit tricky, if you didn't sign anything tell them to shove it and get your vacume, if you did sign something them you have to argue a little harder basicaly state you where told one thing and now being told another. It always pays to read what you sign but it doesn't absolve the service person from telling lies if they tell you one thing then something else is burried in the fine print they are still bound by what was said.
 
csc2 said:
i tell you what has driven me insane with Godfreys:

Put in a vacumm cleaner to get a service as i used my wifes pride and job to suck up some gyprock dust and the vacumm didnt like it..

since then i continually get sms messages from them.....t


i never asked for sms messages

to opt out i have to sms them...theres no way ill be wasting 22 cents doing that but next time i drive past ill be dropping in and doing it in person
Click to expand...

You see I just don't understand this - I would far rather spend the 22 cents and 30 seconds than free and 15 minutes of my time. My time is worth way more than 22 cents.

Do agree that unasked for SMS advertising is annoying and damn rude.
 
bluestorm said:
What value do you think your old crappy machine has. The "trade in", is not a trade in like a car. It's effectively a discount on another purchase. And they can offer a higher discount obviously on a $700 machine compared to a $300 machine.

No one is playing a trick. Your just clueless as to how things work. And trying to scam Godfrey's by saying they should repair your OLD machine for free.
Click to expand...

Me trying to scam Godfreys? What the heck are you talking about? WHEN DID I ASK THEM TO REPAIR MY MACHINE FOR FREE ?????

Do you work for Godfreys? You got a problem? THe issue is that they have my machine hostage and demanding the $89 fee for quoting which they never tell me before when I sent it in. Also, it's either I pay the $89, or I have to buy a machine for at least $350. No matter what I do, they're going to get some money from me.
 
Last edited:
woohoo said:
THe issue is that they have my machine hostage and demanding the $89 fee for quoting which they never tell me before when I sent it in. Also, it's either I pay the $89, or I have to buy a machine for at least $350. No matter what I do, they're going to get some money from me.
Click to expand...

I for one think it's disgraceful that the Godfrey's ad bloke with the terrible combover has taken Woohoo's vaccuum cleaner hostage.
 
An update to this:

I wrote a letter of complaint to Godfreys Head Office 2 days ago.
Then today I got a call from some woman saying the repair centre had actually disposed of my old machine, because they assumed I will trade in to buy a new one.
She says she is very sorry for that mistake, and they will give me a new machine for free.

She also apologized for how the Chadstone store handled the issue.

I’m now satisfied how the head office resolved this matter.

Lesson: always put your complaint in writing to the manager or head office!
 
woohoo said:
An update to this:

I wrote a letter of complaint to Godfreys Head Office 2 days ago.
Then today I got a call from some woman saying the repair centre had actually disposed of my old machine, because they assumed I will trade in to buy a new one.
She says she is very sorry for that mistake, and they will give me a new machine for free.

She also apologized for how the Chadstone store handled the issue.

I’m now satisfied how the head office resolved this matter.

Lesson: always put your complaint in writing to the manager or head office!
Click to expand...


Me thinks we have the cause of their resistance - we've chucked it out oh crap um try a charge to get him to "trade" in the missing unit and he'll never need to know.
 
csc2 said:
i never asked for sms messages

to opt out i have to sms them...theres no way ill be wasting 22 cents doing that but next time i drive past ill be dropping in and doing it in person
Click to expand...

Just imagine all the things you could buy with 22cents! :rolleyes:
I'm assuming you're not spending 22cents on the principle that you never requested for SMSs (although I'd wager that some form that you signed had something in the terms and conditions about it) however your post makes you sound like a stingy, grumpy old man.
Just sayin'.
 
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