Melanie V.

We have been customers of CEX in Warrington Cheshire for a few years. My husband is an avid gamer and we both like our gadgets. I bought my iPad from CEX after trading an old one in around 18 months ago and couldn't be happier with the service of the staff and the quality of the item purchased. The same goes for any games we've purchased after trading items in.
A year ago before our wedding we looked into buying a GoPro camera to use while we were away (we got married abroad and do a lot of watersports), so when one popped up in the shop window of CEX we snapped it up. We couldn't be happier with the product and ended up getting awesome videos and pictures, so much so we created our own wedding video; thus saving a fortune on a videographer.
We went to NYC for our honeymoon, and again captured the best moments on the GoPro. When we booked our holiday to Mexico for 2016 we decided that because we had used the GoPro Hero 2 to such an extent, it was maybe time to get another GoPro.
We read into it and decided the GoPro Hero 4 Silver was the best suited product for our needs. We were once again wanting to use it for water sports therefore the LCD screen would come in handy. Also, we would have a camera each, capture double the shots whilst diving.
My husband had just upgraded his iPhone, so took his old one into CEX Warrington. The staff were very helpful (as always) and tested the item. Whilst they were testing the item the advisor asked my husband whether he wanted store credit or cash. They'd had a long conversation about GoPro's and how we'd thought we would upgrade before going to Mexico. She looked online and said that a Grade A GoPro 4 Silver was in stock and that if he traded the phone for credit he would receive £145. He decided to go for the store credit with the idea of when he got home to order the item. When he got home, he ordered the item.
After waiting several days for the item to arrive, we received what I can only describe as a bundle of foul smelling bubble wrap which looked like it had been screwed up and taped together for someone to throw into the bin. We opened the item, it was a Grade B GoPro 4 Black Edition. It also smelt, and had no accessories with it. The casing was extremely scratched and the memory card door was completely missing - exposing the memory card slot.
The item was poorly presented, smelt foul; and was the wrong item. We were annoyed, but also upset that the item we had looked forward to taking on a walk up Snowdon that weekend did not arrive. Jack decided to email the after sales team to advise them. However, we are still yet to receive a reply - it has been 5 days since we received the item.
We decided that as we have always received great service from the Warrington branch of CEX we would visit with the item and ask if they could exchange it for the correct item.
We spoke to an Advisor who was extremely helpful and very honest about the state of the company. He said that items being sent out without parts and in poorer condition than expected was a regular occurrence - also, the norm for CEX.
He said that he would refund the item and repay my husbands CEX account with the store credit he'd gotten from his phone trade in. He advised that we would have to wait until the item came back into stock to reorder it. He looked on the CEX website and found one store which had the item in stock. He tried to call the store, however he could not find a valid phone number on the system. He then found a different number for someone that worked at that branch and called them - they advised that someone else had already purchased the product.
At this point we realised that CEX had over £100 of our cash tied up in their company with no way of getting it back. I asked if we could have the cash value of the phone originally traded in - to be told this cannot be done.
He also tried to contact the online team who answer the incoming emails to try and trigger a response about our order. He said that the team were 'overwhelmed' with emails and rarely give a response to customers. Whilst waiting he explained the way in which CEX runs its online business. He said that CEX head office use a different till system to the rest of the shops therefore communications are sometimes 'lost'.
He managed to finally get through to someone who answers the emails and said that he was 'writing a reply as we speak' to my husband. We are still yet to receive the email; or any written confirmation or correspondence from CEX.
Now, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place with no camera, and no cash to put towards a camera sold by a different company. I stated all of this to the advisor in the Warrington branch, who said that there's no way of us getting our money back and also no way of forward ordering the item, so that when it eventually did by chance come into stock into one of the stores; we could have it. Oh no, no help for us. No camera for our holiday in Mexico next month.
The company is a joke. As is the way in which it operates. We want our money back to shop elsewhere.