Zavvi Sent Free Vitas By Mistake, Threatens Legal Action

[Lieju]

I'm surprised they don't do this the secure and subtle way, you charge their credit cards for the price of the Vita and then wait if anything comes back, in that case even if it doesn't everything got covered.

I highly doubt that's legal. If it was, you could send random junk to people and then charge their card for it. Or send them other more expensive products and charge them.

Stuff like the distance selling regulations exist to avoid that sort of stuff.

 

[Chad Brumfield]

If your bank makes an error and deposits a hundred thousand dollars into your account, you're held liable if you go on a wild spending spree with that money and then someone discovers the error later. This kind of thing has occurred several times in the U.S. and I imagine the laws in the UK aren't much different. You only get away with something like this if you don't get caught. Well, they've been caught.

 

[Vivi22]

Zaavi is right but like Trivun said gamers are self-entitled pricks where depending on wich side benefits the most it goes from "Deal with it" to "We demand to be pleased" with no inbetween

Give me a break. People not sending them back or feeling entitled to them has nothing to do with gamers being self-entitled pricks and everything to do with the entire human race being a bunch of greedy, self-entitled pricks.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Well people should send them back - and to the posters who thought not sending the back was some type of justice for companies apparently having the upper hand in so many other regards? fix that problem, don't make another one to combat it, that's a terrible road we're already on thanks.

However, if I were in the PR department of this Zavvi place I'd have suggested a softer approach before moving straight to the looming, half-veiled threats. Maybe a nice discount card on a future purchase in exchange for speedy cooperation. Possibly a subscription to some publication (usually a low cost move) as an incentive, whatever. Hell - a contest raffle: turn in between X and X dates and receive 25 entries into a raffle for one of the Vitas, turn in between Y and Y dates and receive 15 entries, have a draw at the end and one person who complied gets rewarded with a Vita legitimately, maybe have runner up prizes, whatever.

Anything where they get their merchandise back (or a bulk of it) without alienating customers before moving to the hard line for the stragglers.

 

[Genocidicles]

Fuck them. If a regular person cocked up and sent something by mistake, they'd be fucked. I don't see why Zavvi think's they're so fucking special.

 

[Psychobabble]

First off I'm on Zavvis side sympathetically, but not from a legal or business stand point. None of these customers asked for or expected to receive this merchandise. The problem was an internal one and the fault lies directly at the feet of whomever inside Zavvi made this balls up. These customers just made a purchase in good faith and were given more than they asked for.

Now I see nothing wrong with Zavvi asking these people to send the Vitas back out of the kindness of their hearts. But threatening legal action against what were until Zavvi's own fuck up, quite honest and happy customers is not only foolish, but is public relations suicide. It makes Zavvi look doubly incompetent. Not only are they stupid enough to just accidentally give people an expensive item they never asked for, but now they are deflecting the blame to innocent customers who didn't cause this mess in the first place. And if they actually do try to sue these customers to get the Vitas back, they are just throwing good money after bad, with no guarantee they will reap any benefit, as I'm sure good legal solicitation is going to run way more per case that the price of a fucking Vita. With I might add the added benefit of shooting customer good will in the foot. As would you ever buy something from these clowns again if you found yourself in this predicament? Hell, would ever buy something from them at all knowing they were this incompetent?

Oh well. I'd say their best move would have been to win positive PR by eating the loss, letting the customers keep the Vitas, announcing their generosity publicly, and riding the wave of positive PR to victory during the Xmas sales season.

Oh and firing the shit out of whatever bozo just cost them thousands of dollars.

 

[Greg Tito]

Seems like the Zavvis and the guy who bought an Xbox One picture need to get together and have an Idiot's Party.

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

Some people in this thread clearly didn't read the news post as they think they just threatened them immediately.
They didn't, they asked for them back the moment they noticed the mistake.
Which means the people that didn't send it back pretty much said, fuck you I'm keeping it.

According to the post the law is on Zavvi's side, so I'm inclined to follow the law.

 

[Simalacrum]

While Zavvi are certainly correct in this argument, both morally and legally, I do still feel like they're missing out on a great PR opportunity here by letting the customers keep the devices.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Zavvi are idiots, the people who aren't giving the Vitas back deserve to be sued for everything they own, and the internet still keeps a spinnin'.

And they all lived happily every after.

 

[Signa]

I know when thieves stole my credit card number and sent me a $500 vacuum cleaner, I was perfectly willing to return it... on the company's time. The nearest Best Buy is no less than a 30 minute journey from my house, and I would have received zero compensation for being the nice guy, as opposed to a $500 cleaner for keeping quiet. Had they contacted me, I would have told them to send one of their underpaid workers to come pick it up.

I don't know how "the opportunity to return this item to us (at our cost and at no inconvenience to yourself)" took shape, but the moment you step into your car with the box in hand to take it to the post office is already more effort than you asked or will be rewarded for. It's none of our jobs to watch their bottom line. In the case of the vacuum, I gladly would have returned it if they gave me $100 store credit for the effort, but the corporate world does not reward altruism, and sees fit to stomp on it when convenient.

 

[nathan-dts]

Legally? Yes, Zavvi is within their right. No arguing that, really.

Personally? Bad business. Straight up, bad business. You made a mistake. Now, at the very least you're inconveniencing your customers by making them send it back. Not something that looks good on you. Then you make it worse by threatening litigation because YOU screwed up? Ouch, expect your PR to be in the toilet.

My recommendation would have been to suck it up and say "Hey! We done fucked up! Keep the Vita as a gift." This would have been lauded as great customer service. Instead, you have egg all over your face, and massive PR dump to boot.

Is it moral? Maybe, maybe not. But you have to understand how consumers think. You don't inconvenience your customers by your mistakes, and you sure as hell don't litigate because of it.

Small internet retailer. If it was Game then I would think they could just let the customers keep them, but not really the case for Zavvi.

 

[Chaos James]

Zavvi screwed up, both by sending the Vitas and then throwing a fit when they realized it and blaming their customers. They could of handled it a number of betters ways:

1- Don't send the Vitas. Triple-Check what you are mailing to people and to the right address, avoid screw-ups.
2- Label it an "Early Christmas Gift" to prompt shopping during the holiday season.
3- Call it a "Free Gift", like those Wii U's given to the passengers of a randomly-chosen Plane flight.
4- Request it's return and that you'd send someone to pick it up along with a gift card or something to make up for all the hassle.
5- Just keep quiet and let everyone go on with their life.

Point is, they made a mistake and now want to take it out on everyone. At the very least, maybe they will think twice about trying to be "nice" when it's shown they really aren't.

 

[Feintingfox]

Here's the deal, they got sent by mistake. Plain and simple, and for those who are decent enough to give them back, good on ya, but the rest that didn't go back, there shouldn't be any legal action. If I accidentally ship something to the wrong address with my business, I am out that component, and I still have to ship another one to the correct address, there is no legal loop hole for small businesses to get their shit back, so why should large corporations get theirs back?

To make it a bit more on topic: The same can be said if I accidentally let a disk or component slip into a box that I ship to a customer, I'm not going to get that back, unless that customer just happens to be one of the few honest people left and decides to let me know.

I'm pretty sure that even small businesses have the right to recover property that is accidentally sent to the wrong person. I'm not a lawyer, only just finished one business law class, but that is pretty much the exact situation they use as an example of Quasi Contracts and Unjust Enrichment. The beneficiary is obligated by law to return it and if they refuse, you have a legal remedy to recover it or be compensated for its value. At least in the US, but I get the feeling the situation is basically the same here.

If it is something small than it wouldn't be worth the effort, but in this case a lot of the people are outright refusing to return the Vitas and being jerks in general. They're kinda asking for it

 

[Bluestorm83]

If I were the retailer, I would eat the cost of the loss, BUT I'd send a letter to everyone who got a Vita that said, "Well, we goofed and sent you a Vita for free. We're not going to ask for it back, but if you want to thank us for this accidental gift, come down and buy a couple games for it? This week, (list of vita games) were released, and (list of other vita games) are on sale. Or pick up copies of (list of used vita games) that were pre-owned for some nice savings."

It wouldn't recoup the entire cost, but it would generate consumer good will and raise publicity that DOESN'T piss people off.

 

[Tanis]

Regardless if they're in the right or not...

This is a REALLY HUGE bad PR moment for them.
They're probably gonna lose more money because of the bad PR than they ever would have because of the Vitas.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

While I do agree with Zavvi if I were the company, I would also offer the option of purchasing the Vitas at a discount, and wouldn't be such dicks about it in my correspondence.