Raw Deal: Couple struggle for refund after £1,200 TV starts powering down for no reason

Donald Banks will have a new big-screen TV in time for Christmas, thanks to Raw Deal.

The 60-year-old welder feared he would miss out on his favourite programmes over the festive period after his 55-inch TV went on the blink. He then he ran into a dispute with retail giant Currys over a replacement.

Donald bought the Samsung QLEDi model in 2018. It cost £1,239 and came with a five-year warranty.

However, two months ago the TV developed a fault. It started randomly switching itself on and off, so Donald reported the issue to Currys.

“As it was under warranty, I was told it would be collected in days and the repair would take a week,” he said.

The faulty TV was uplifted from his home in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

“I contacted the repair centre and was told it required a new mains board,” he said. “I was also told the screen had been damaged in transit and would also need replaced.

“I complained to Currys and asked for a refund but I was told company policy was to repair it.

“I was in touch with them on numerous occasions, writing to head office and phoning the customer service team.”

Donald then received a number of texts informing him the television was being worked on. However, when he contacted the repair centre three weeks later, he was told his TV was unrepairable and had been written off.

Donald said Currys offered him a gift voucher to choose a new set but it was for an amount less than he had originally paid for his old TV.

“I contacted the company again and was told that the figure had been based on similar models to my previous set and that this was their final decision.

“I was unhappy about this as the television was broken through no fault of my own and I had already been without a set for two months while all this had been going on.

“I didn’t even get an apology for the damage done to the TV while it had been taken away to get fixed.”

Fed up, the dad-of-three wrote to Raw Deal.

We took up his case and asked the retail giant to look into the issue. As a result, Currys moved swiftly to give Donald £1,300 back.

Currys said: “We are sorry that Mr Banks encountered an issue with his product. We’ve contacted him to apologise, have offered him a gesture of goodwill in return and he is pleased with the resolution.”

Donald said he has now ordered a new TV and will have it in time for Christmas.

He added: “My wife and I will now be able to enjoy Christmas Day in front of the TV with the family.”