DUMB DEALS
Black Friday sale duds that shoppers should avoid, say Which?
SHOPPERS are being warned to steer clear of “dud” products being sold at discount prices this Black Friday.
Which? found several products deemed by the consumer champion to be poor quality being sold on big-name retailers, including Argos, AO.com and Currys PC World.
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Which? slaps a “don’t buy” label on a product when its experts find it doesn’t meet standards.
However, the consumer site advises shoppers to make their own mind up, to decide if the price and quality makes a product the right deal for them.
Although Black Friday doesn’t officially start until today, hundreds of retailers have already started their sales bonanza.
Here are the products Which? is advising customers to avoid during the sales:
Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15IWL
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Which? experts slammed this laptop as having“bad speakers” and “poor screen”.
The same product is available for £199.99 on Argos - promoted as “was £299.99”.
Graco Logico L Highback Booster
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When Which? carried out its own independent crash tests, the results with the back fitted meant this child seat would have exposed the child to a risk of serious injury.
This car seat is available from Halfords for £39.99 - a saving of £10 - with an additional “Black Friday Deal” of 10 per cent extra off.
Marshall Major III
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These headphones were deemed as having “poor sound quality and comfort” by Which?
Consumer experts spotted them on Currys PC World for £79.00, down from £129.00.
Russell Hobbs Sabre Plus 22.2V
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Which? experts described this cordless vacuum as “terrible” at cleaning up pet hair and “awful at carpets.”
It was being sold by AO.com for £89 - a saving of £10 in the retailer’s “Biggest Ever Black Friday”.
Beko VCS5125AB
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A corded vacuum that Which? deemed was “inconvenient on stairs and high places” and “bad at negotiating uneven surfaces”.
It was being sold by AppliancesDirect for £54 - a £31 saving.
ElectriQ EAP120HC
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This air purifier was available for £39.97 in the sale at AppliancesDirect - less than half price as a “Black Friday Deal”.
Which? found this device did not meet standards.
Halfords told us it takes the safety of its products very seriously and said the car seat mentioned in this article is not exclusive to the retailer.
A spokesperson said: ";It has been tested to strict, independent safety standards, adheres to R44/04 testing and meets European safety legislation.
"Which? has not shared details of its own, non regulated testing with us, and as such, we rely on trusted legal regulation."
A Currys PC World spokesperson said: "Our customers tell us that they appreciate the increased choice during Black Friday where we have the most deals on at once.
"When we launched our Black Friday event last year 40% of those products were the lowest price they had ever been."
AO.com said the Russell Hobbs hoover mentioned is one out of over 1,000 Black Friday deals currently offered by the retailer.
A spokesperson added: "Our customers rate it as four out of five but Which? is entitled to its opinion."
Argos did not respond when we tried to contact them.
We also did not hear back from Lenovo or Newell Brands, parent company of Graco.
Marshall, Russell Hobbs, ElectriQ and Koc Holding, owner of Beko, also didn't reply to us.
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