I have decided to finally start writing reviews again, after having yet another run in with Comet. I'd say that was about my fifth this year (separate occasions!).

In the past I have bought the following items from Comet, all at very low prices:

laptop
washing machine
vacuum cleaner
mini disc player

Three out of four of those items have caused me hassle. Below I tell you why.

In 2002, before going out to France to study, my parents kindly bought me a laptop. It was a cheap one, the last one in the store actually, but everything was working and so we took it. The discs couldn't be found that evening, so they assured that they would be sent on during the next few days. We waited for weeks and then gave them a call about it, explaining that I would be going away and needed them in case I needed to do a system restart. Unfortunately, despite all of their sweet talk, the discs never materialised. I am still waiting for them to this day and also waiting for my laptop to be fixed - "we can't do it until you've done a system restart" "how can I do a system restart when you didn't send me the discs?" "I'm afraid we can't do anything until you get them!" "well, how do I get them?" "they should have sent you them. If they don't send them now, the only way is to buy them from Sony"...and so the conversation continued. It looks as though if the store doesn't find them and can't send me any that I will have to PAY for something that should have been sent on years ago. Surely this isn't on?!?

The next incident involved a mini disc player. Comet let us buy now and pay later...what a mistake that turned out to be. We checked the date for the payment to be taken with the date our student loans got paid in, and all seemed fine. Comet decided to take the money out a couple of days early, so we got charged! After much complaining we realised that we were wasting more money by calling them and let them off on this one...rah! Very annoying situation though.

The next incident was related to our lovely washing machine. The "friendly" salesman told us all about it and persuaded us to buy it. The delivery cost a little, but it also included installation (or so he said), so we didn't mind. The washing machine was finally delivered, about a week after initially promised, and the men asked who was going to install it. "You are!" was my reply, but they insisted that they could not do so as they would get into trouble, blah blah blah. So, we had to do it ourselves. We wouldn't have minded, had we not been told that this was included in the delivery charge and we had also sent my dad away earlier, adament that we would be ok without his help!

Eventually, after much complaining, they gave us our delivery charge back. That was nice of them actually...but I was still very irate.

The washing machine started to crack on the top, so we arranged for someone from Hotpoint (as instructed on a piece of paper included with the washing machine) and they arrived. "Yes, it needs replacing. If it continues cracking, the water could get into the electrics. Can I see your receipt please?"...he then went on to explain that Comet has such low prices because they buy the service agreements from the manufacturers and do them themselves. So, the Hotpoint man couldn't fix it!

So, Comet came out (after two months of waiting!) - do they not realise that teachers cannot leave work early!?! "Oh, I don't think that we'll be able to fix it, as it is just cosmetic damage!" was the response "but I'll see what we can do. I'll log it and be in touch". He just didn't want to know what Hotpoint had said and dismissed their engineer as a "cowboy"!?!

So, after two months of waiting for a reply, I phoned up Comet to ask if they were going to be fixing the machine. "We have it on our records that you already knew we weren't going to fix it!". And so the lies continued. The crack is now even bigger and has split into two. The washing machine not only looks horrible, but I am scared in case the water does get in! The woman on the phone had the cheek to say that nothing would be done until smoke started coming out! "So, I have to almost die before anyone fixes it?" was my response - no laugh, nothing.

Above are my experiences with Comet, now I will tell you a bit about the company.

Anyway, what is Comet then? It is an electric superstore that sells everything for Kitchen and Home, Home Entertainment, Portable Technology, Computing and Gifts and Gadgets.

Where can it be found? Generally (in my experience) they are to be found in the out-of-town shopping areas. They are in all major towns and cities.

What's the website like? It's very informative. The research centre lets you find out more about all of the products before committing to buying something. The layout is a little bright for my taste, but the stores are exactly the same, so I guess they have to follow that theme through.

There is a store finder on the website too, which allows you to enter either your postcode or place name and it comes up with a list of nearby stores.

The website also gives you the chance to either buy online or buy over the phone (number provided).

What are the stores like? As I said before, they are generally very bright. They are set out well, everything being labelled and very easy to find. There is adequate space between aisles, which is good, as I don't like to feel claustrophobic in huge stores like this one.

There are always people on hand to help, although the majority of the staff I have spoken to have been friendly, most have also been a little "lacking" in the brain department i.e. they say one thing, but then say something else that contradicts it. They need to have a lot more product knowledge, rather than just wanting a Saturday or summer job.

So, what else is there to say about Comet?

I would avoid it like the plague!

I hope this has been useful for you. Let me know if you have been in a similar situation with them!

Thanks for reading

xx