Major retailers’ online chat functions give dodgy faulty goods advice

The online chat functions of seven major retailers - including both live agents and automated chatbots - are giving customers inconsistent and often incorrect advice on faulty goods, our research has found.  

In March and April 2023, we contacted Amazon, AO, Apple, Argos, Currys, John Lewis and Very using their online chat facilities - chatbots and live chat - over a number of weeks to ask them for help with faulty electrical products including printers, speakers and fridge-freezers. 

Shoppers’ consumer rights vary according to when and how they bought a product but if a product develops a fault before it would reasonably be expected to do, the retailer has a responsibility to remedy the issue, even beyond the warranty period. Despite this, we were repeatedly instructed to contact the manufacturer.

What did the virtual agents tell us?

Long call-waiting times are often a top frustration when it comes to customer service, so shoppers are exploring other ways to contact companies. A 2021 Which? survey revealed 65% of people found live chat an efficient communication method. 

No matter which method you choose to contact a retailer, they should give you the correct information. But our research has revealed that’s not always happening - even if you get through to a real person.

For the retailers where we managed to communicate with a human, we contacted them at least five times (three for Apple) and asked them about products bought at different times – less than 30 days, two to six months and more than six months ago.

Amazon

The first time we contacted Amazon was for a smartphone that was just over a year old. We were pleased when the customer service agent advised us that we could return the phone for a full refund and order a new one as it was within the warranty period. 

But for an older item – a speaker that was just over three years old – the advice was a little less clear. At first, the agent told us to contact the seller, before changing the advice to contact the manufacturer. We were told we had no rights with Amazon as the warranty period had expired, which wasn’t the case.

Amazon said we didn’t suggest the items were faulty on receipt, so its advice was correct.

Apple 

As both the retailer and manufacturer of its products, Apple’s setup is slightly different – but we’d still expect accurate information from staff regarding consumer rights. 

When we contacted it about a faulty MacBook Pro, bought more than six months earlier, the agent helpfully informed us how to arrange a repair and confirmed it wouldn’t cost us anything to fix. 

But we were a bit confused when asking about an iPhone that was less than 30 days old. A repair was offered but, when we asked about a refund, the agent said we had 14 days to return it from the date we received it. This is incorrect even for non-faulty goods. 

Apple said it takes its obligations under consumer law very seriously, and will often go beyond requirements.

Argos

When we asked an Argos live chat agent about a faulty electric blanket that was less than six months old, they helpfully suggested that the in-store staff would inspect it before offering a repair, return or replacement. 

But in another instance, we asked about a cooker hood that had stopped working and was less than 30 days old. The agent told us that an engineer would need to visit as the item had been used. When we asked if we would have to pay for the engineer to visit, we were told ‘generally no’, and that once the visit had happened they’d need to discuss the fault further and make a decision at that point. They failed to mention that we had a right to reject the cooker hood as it was less than 30 days old. 

Argos told us that colleagues receive regular training to ensure they comply with the law.

Currys

One Currys agent told us  we were eligible for a replacement for a fridge that had stopped working after four months, but that we had to call the manufacturer to get an ‘uplift number’. This isn’t wrong, but we’d always recommend contacting the retailer first. 

We contacted a second agent about the fridge – they shared the laundry repairs service information with us. It states that ‘if the repair to your product is not covered by our guarantee or your service agreement, you will have to pay for the repair’, adding that we’d need to pay a fixed non-refundable fee when the repair was booked. When we queried this, we were told it depended on the product’s warranty. This isn’t correct – within the first six months the retailer has a legal obligation to cover any costs associated with getting the fault checked.

For all the retailers in the investigation, we also checked the numbers listed for manufacturers. Currys was the only one to list 084 numbers for some manufacturers, which charge consumers extra to make their call - and could cost up to 74p per minute to contact depending on their provider and plan. All the others provided freephone numbers, which do not have any extra charges.

Currys said that customers might still come across teething issues with the service they get via online chat support as it transitions a number of services to digital channels, and will always look at opportunities for improvement.

John Lewis

We tried using John Lewis’ live chat service nine times over a month, but it was unavailable for six of those attempts. We asked John Lewis why its chat function was so frequently unavailable and it told us it hadn’t had any issues reported in the last month (May) and was looking into it. 

When we got through to a live chat agent, we asked about our rights for a fridge that had stopped working after eight months. They told us the guarantee is supplied and maintained by the manufacturer so we’d need to contact it. They also said that even if a fault was found, the repair or replacement would be directly with the manufacturer. We were left with the impression that we had no rights with John Lewis directly, which isn’t true. 

With a washer-dryer that was less than 30 days old, the agent said we’d need to contact the manufacturer, and then ‘if the product is confirmed faulty and is still within the first 30 days’, John Lewis would look at offering a solution. The 30-day right to reject was never mentioned.

• Find out more: find out how to get a refund, repair or replacement for a faulty product 

AO and Very's automated chat bots 

We managed to speak to real people via online chat support in the majority of cases, except with AO and Very. 

At the time of the research, AO stated on its 'contact us' page that it was experiencing a high volume of calls but that the chatbot may be able to resolve queries more quickly. However, the options with the chatbot were limited –  at no point was there an option to say how quickly the fault had developed. If it is within 30 days of purchase, consumers have a right to reject the product and receive a refund from the retailer. For a large appliance, the AO chatbot was insistent that we needed to contact the manufacturer. 

AO said that it disputes our findings into how customers can get answers to their queries.

The Very Assistant chat put us in a spin, sending us in circles to the exact same response every time: ‘before I hand you over to customer care, why not give me a try?’ And try we did, but with little success. 

You have to log in to your account to even access the Very Assistant and typically it just sent us the information for the product support hub to find the appliance’s manual – there was no option to ask specifically about faulty products. 

Very said the assistant provides phone details for the customer care team for further help.

• Find out more: when can I use a manufacturer's warranty or guarantee? 

What retailers should be doing

Investing in live online chat could provide even greater convenience for shoppers – eliminating the delays associated with resolving issues via call centres and email. 

The first step is to make the contact options easy to find, flagging them in a sensible place and ensuring chat is available when needed. You should also be able to speak to a real person online, without going in frustrating circles with an automated bot. 

Most importantly, retailers need to ensure online support agents are giving out the correct advice, so you don’t end up short-changed.

Lisa Webb, Which? Consumer Law Expert, said: 'It’s outrageous that so many online retailers are giving inconsistent - and often incorrect - advice about their customers’ consumer rights if they receive a faulty product. 

'Retailers need to up their game and make sure their automated chatbots are properly designed and online support agents are fully trained to give out the correct advice. Any retailer failing to comply with a consumer’s statutory rights would be in breach of the law.'

• Find out more: the best and worst retailers rated by customers