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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Miles Brignall

Boots money-back guarantee on £3,100 hearing aid is a lost cause

The pair of hearing aids were bought from Boots Hearingcare.
The pair of hearing aids were bought from Boots Hearingcare. Photograph: Keenretail/Alamy

My hearing has been deteriorating for quite some time now and, on the recommendation of a friend, I arranged to visit Boots Hearingcare. After several cancelled appointments (by them) I eventually got a pair of Phonak Virto aids to try out, paying a total of £3,100.

For various reasons I found them difficult to adjust to and, because of staffing issues at my local Hitchin branch, which is temporarily closed, had a lot of problems trying to get help. Staff at the Boots in Solihull were able to assist and suggested returning the aids under the 60-day money-back guarantee.

Unfortunately, a few days before I was due to return them, I lost one of them. To my horror, Boots wants to charge me £2,415 for the missing aid, refunding only £685 rather than half of the £3,100 I paid. It would seem their marketing strategy is to quote a very high price for an individual unit, with a big discount if you buy two. This feels rather unfair – what do you think?

JK, Herts

Over the past few years, hearing aids have gone seriously hi-tech, and become seriously expensive.

I can understand your horror when you lost one. Ultimately, this case comes down to whether it is fair for Boots to deduct such a high amount for the first, lost aid. It told me that its pricing is very clearly set out and, upon the return of only one, the full cost of a single unit is exercised.

A quick web search suggests that many other retailers don’t charge in the same way as Boots – for example, you might pay £1,795 for one or £3,195 for a pair – suggesting you may have a point.

I asked Boots to take a second look and, after a bit of negotiation, it has now agreed to charge you £775 for the lost aid – a much fairer outcome.

You are also much happier with the replacement aids it suggested, although you may want to think about how you insure them.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions

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