Don't Do As We Do, Do As We Say...

I mentioned I'd tell you about my experience with the Consumer's Association (aka Which?) when I could be bothered. Years ago I wanted to buy a personal stereo. Now I don't buy things without doing some research, and this being pre-internet days I decided that the best place to look was in Which?. So I took out their 3 Month Trial offer. And lo and behold they reviewed Personal Stereos. And on their recommendation I bought an Aiwa (G53 I think). Quality bit of kit and well worth the £45.

As I'd no further need for Which? I wrote them a nice letter telling them to cancel the three month trial (which they'd stated was all I needed to do). Imagine my shock when they sent me another copy. So I posted it back to them, with another letter saying "stop this please". But they weren't going to let a little thing like me cancelling my subscription to stop them, ohhh no. I got another one. So I wrote again, this time telling them that I didn't want their bloody magazine and was cancelling the direct debit.

Imagine my lack of surprise when another issue popped through the letter box. So I posted it back to them again. For about three weeks there was nothing. Then I got a letter from them. This one was threatening me with a debt collection agency as they'd been unable to take the payment from my bank account. So off I went to Belfast City Library to do a little bit of research on how to deal with this. One quick look later and I had what I needed, what steps I had to take to deal with people who don't pay a blind bit of attention to letters and then threaten court action. I copied it out of an edition of Which? pretty much word for word, and posted it off to them. I've never heard from them since.

So you'll understand my scepticism when I see them publish some article condemning others when they were just as guilty. As the old saying goes "People in glass houses shouldn't get dressed at the window..."

WTF?

Just in case anyone is wondering (which would be a miracle given that this blog hasn't been looked at by anyone other than me) where the DFS Sale thing came from. I'm just going to keep a tally of the number of times DFS are having a sale. Don't know what this will prove though, other that it's probably more difficult to buy one of their sofas when it's not on "Sale" than it would be for me to fly to the moon under my own power…
I'm also going to be noting when the Consumers Association (aka "Which") manage to get one of their surveys / product tests mentioned on the BBC site. I reckon that this will occur once a month when the new issue comes out. It always astonishes me that such a narrow interest group has the ability to set the news agenda one day a month…
At some point as well (when I can be bothered) I'll post my experiences with said organisation. They were the first (but not the last) bunch of Comanche's that applied the old adage "don't do as we do, do as we say" in their dealings with me.

DFS SALE Watch

It's SALE time at DFS. This time it's upto £300 off on the 07 collection.

Advertising Claims - Bottled Water now Pure, Natural and Organic

Water is made from Hydrogen and Oxygen. Anything that isn't either of these two elements is an impurity. How can they claim on the front label to be "pure" and yet at the same time list the impurities on the back (you know all that dry residue malarky)
It's "Natural" as well. Eh? Presumably water that doesn't have the word "natural" in it's description is somehow artifical.
And it's organic. Excuse me but how the fuck can water be organic? Is organic water made from free range rain or something?