A COUPLE say they were ‘humiliated and insulted’ after going an Argos store to return an Xbox.

The man known as Mr Dalvi, said he has complained to the chain store following the incident which stemmed from him wanting to return the goods which had only been purchased days earlier.

Argos have confirmed Mr Dalvi has been banned from the store and said they would ‘not tolerate any abusive behaviour towards staff’.

At the same time they said they had ‘apologised for the confusion surrounding the refund of their Xbox.’

Mr Dalvi said: “The whole experience was shocking and something we have not experienced before at the store. We are regular customers.”

Mr Dalvi denied being abusive and said simply wanted an explanation why his goods could not be returned.

The incident happened on October 5 at around 6pm when Mr Dalvi says his wife went into the store to return the Xbox. They had bought the goods on a special offer for £249.98. This included an Xbox a free game worth £69.99.

However, they were later told the game was not available and they would have to wait for it, so they decided to return the whole package.

They had bought two Xbox consoles from two different stores. The Accrington store gave them a refund and issues only arose when they arrived at the Blackburn branch.

He said: “We got the consoles from two different stores as they did not have another in stock in Blackburn.

“We then decided to go back to the stores some days later to return the products. There was no issue in Accrington.

“My wife went into the Blackburn store and returned back to the car really upset.

“She had gone in and presented a receipt. She was told that she must present an e-mail receipt which she later did. But was then still told that the goods could not be returned.”

Mr Dalvi then accused the staff member of not taking their request seriously enough.

“They kept telling us we could not return the items and one staff person’s attitude was very rude.

“We are well within our rights to return the product. What is point of selling something on offer if you do not have game to give with it?

“We waited and did not leave the store until 8pm.”

The police were called and he said they got told there was nothing they could do.

He added: “How are they treating the customers? This is very unprofessional and we have complained to Argos over the way we were treated.”

In a complaint letter to Argos the couple wrote how they felt the episode was ‘really humiliating and insulting’.

Mr Dalvi said: “I was told I would be banned from the store. I have no issue with the store and have been happy to visit it many a time. How can they ban me? For making a complaint?”

Argos contacted Mr Dalvi via e-mail and said he would ‘receive a letter of apology’ regarding this complaint within 5 to 7 days which they have now received.

A further e-mail to Mr Dalvi  from the exective team read: “I have investigated the reason the refund was declined, and the store have confirmed this was because the free game was not presented in store. We have reviewed this internally and have established there was a misunderstanding regarding the free game and for this I offer my sincere apologies.”

Argos confirmed in the e-mail that a ban from the Blackburn store remained in place.

In an earlier correspondence Argos said: “I have contacted the Accrington store and they have agreed to accept the Xbox from you, as long as it’s unused and in its original packaging. If you would like to go ahead with this, please advise and I will make the necessary arrangements.”

An Argos spokesperson said: “We’re in contact with this customer to apologise for the confusion surrounding the refund of their Xbox and we have reassured them we will arrange this. We have also explained that we do not tolerate abusive behaviour towards our colleagues and they will receive a letter confirming they are no longer able to shop at our Blackburn store.”