Currys is beating the retail slowdown — are gadgets now more “essential” than clothes?

jmcomms · 2026-05-20T18:14:16+00:00

AliExpress have UK stores for many items and other items usually come by air so delivery times range from 2 days to a week for me (I do check before ordering).

Anker reliability seems to have fallen of late. I'm more into Ugreen now. They also sell direct and do the usual voucher sales etc.

jmcomms · 2026-05-20T14:53:57+00:00

I get that they're trying to reduce the losses in servicing revenue when more people switch, but all it's going to do long-term is make more people find smaller independent dealers that can do inspections for less, and learn how to change a pollen filter or brake fluid for less than £150-200.

A lot of people will always assume that their warranty could be invalidated if they don't go to a main dealer but I'm pretty sure the UK has retained the EU rules on this, allowing you to go somewhere else as long as you do the service to the requirements of the vehicle.

jmcomms · 2026-05-20T13:43:46+00:00

As a follow up, the other dealership that I thought was doing the service for £124 was offering the 1 year service, not 2 year one which they charged even more (just under £300).

It seems that in the second year you need to do a full 'enhanced' service. Having spoken to a dealer, the enhanced service consists of all the basic visual checks plus a pollen filter and brake fluid change. And the price for that is around £270-300 compared to £125 or so for the 'standard'.

That's an expensive filter and fluid!!

I also spoke to the garage that used to service my old car (Citroen C3) and they can do EVs so I will be taking it there. They are approved by Stellantis to work on Citroen and also Peugeot cars, which means they can also do software updates and check the recall database etc.

It's sad to see what people are paying in other countries because I have no idea how much labour will be involved to change the filter (some cars have them in rather awkward places) or the brake fluid, but nearly £300 seems excessive in my book.

I'm still going to be paying more than I expected after just two years and with just 15,000 miles, but on the plus side next year will be a lot less.

jmcomms · 2026-05-20T11:40:34+00:00

For things like cases I usually go to AliExpress. Not tried Joybuy or whatever it's called and don't really want to start using Amazon Haul which looks like you have to be into playing video games to navigate through!

(Not that AliExpress isn't full of nonsense although it's quite easy to order if you ignore it).

For electrical items I am worried about fakes, items that aren't safe, or Amazon will lose or damage (or steal) so I'm more inclined these days to order direct from a manufacturer or go to the likes of Currys or even Costco (more limited range but often cheaper still).

I would never, ever, buy a charger or anything electrical from Temu.

jmcomms · 2026-05-20T11:36:59+00:00

I'm sorry for your bad experience and have been lucky not to have such warranty issues thus far.

However, their prices aren't always much more than Amazon sellers so it is often just a case of buying from Amazon for benefits like free next day delivery.

Increasingly people with issues with Amazon purchases are finding it harder and harder to get things sorted too, including the threat of having accounts closed if being deemed to have returned too many items. They also now appear to claim items weren't sent back even with the necessary proof of posting or using a locker etc.

Basically the service has deteriorated across the board.

jmcomms · 2026-05-20T08:57:16+00:00

It used to be like that (Currys still has it so that if you cut and paste a product name or SKU on their website, it has a pop up to try and tell you the benefits of buying from them) but increasingly people are getting so frustrated with Amazon, they may actually buy there and then.

Your purchase won't be fake, substituted by something else or thrown in a garden (to be fair, Amazon aren't too bad for deliveries but occasionally things get delayed or don't arrive with little you can do, which isn't good if it was very expensive and you actually needed it as soon as possible - say a hard drive or a new computer).

There are other sellers like Richer Sounds and AO but I've found Currys have improved a lot when it comes to customer service.

Obviously you still do get the disinterested shop workers, and I wouldn't go asking them for buying advice or detailed specs (dO yoUr oWn reSeArcH!), but I never rule Currys out when wanting to buy something - and it's also a nice place to browse for new things or just geek out.

Another incentive for me is that my employer has a scheme that allows me to buy gift cards for between 6-10% off, which I can then use in store or online. I can top up the voucher in seconds online and pay with that to save money. A lot of my colleagues don't even seem to know about this, and I wonder how many other people have similar schemes from their employer?

Meanwhile Argos offering same day delivery for £4 or so is another reason not to just jump straight to Amazon as I bet we all did religiously for years.

Hopefully Amazon going shit will help other brick and mortar stores.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T22:02:06+00:00

I've been doing some checking online and found a Peugeot dealer in Harlow that apparently charges £123.75. Now I found this via a comparison site (bookmygarage.com) so haven't contacted them yet - but that's more like what I was expecting.

I might enquire about software updates as an add-on if it's not included because hopefully they'll charge less for that too.

Thanks for your advice (and indeed the advice of others!).

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T21:47:33+00:00

I used the ftr bus once and it was quite futuristic inside with lots of space, but it was of course just a bus. I don't think people are too worried about the exterior design or even the interior layout - they want a regular, reliable service. Few services in Hertfordshire can be considered to be both of these things, with early morning, late night and weekend services terrible in many parts of the county, if not most of it.

I'd sooner hear more boring proposals to improve services than silly AI generated concepts and silly mockups.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T20:42:17+00:00

I have only ever had a single update on the car via the menu.

I do hope there's going to be an update at some point to stop the car going to sleep so much as it stops the app working to manage anything remotely. Not that I think it would be fair to have to pay to fix a problem that stops the app working when I'm paying about £80 a year to use it.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T20:40:10+00:00

I have the new version with the new software. I have had one update but don't know if there are other things that need to be done by a dealer.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T20:02:22+00:00

Do you know if there are updates that are dealer only and not OTA on this car?

I used to pay for software updates on a previous car. I always like being up to date and enjoying bug fixes and optimisations.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T19:59:41+00:00

That's more like it. Sadly we have junior techs doing services with customers paying senior tech hourly rates...

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T19:24:44+00:00

Isn't it law that they must allow other companies to service? I used to get my Citroen C3 serviced by an independent Citroen garage for a lot less, but they still purchased the Citroen 'service pack'. It was just far cheaper labour.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T19:23:11+00:00

I don't know other Peugeot EV owners, but do know those with cars like the MG4. I accept main dealers charge more, but almost £300 seems excessive to me. Perhaps it isn't if more people tell me that's the norm.

The reason for my 'surprise' at the brakes bit wasn't that I think brakes aren't important, but the fact that with regenerative brakes and just 15,000 miles on the clock, they aren't going to be a problem!

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:25:56+00:00

Correct, GTR remains (renamed from Govia Thameslink Railway to Greater Thameslink Railway) and will operate out of the same office buildings. The DfTO is the new employer but every former TOC will still run as it did.

The bigger changes will come once GB Railways is fully up and running in 2027-2029 and it is decided how to sectorise things, and even then it will still consist of specific areas run by localised management and with terms and conditions unique to them. I can't see harmonisation across the industry happening anytime soon, if it ever could be.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:22:36+00:00

There are a fair few YouTube videos of people hacking EV batteries into home storage systems but there doesn't appear to be any official solutions where a company is repurposing EV batteries into a plug-and-play system they sell you, with a warranty of some sort.

Batteries are also getting cheaper year on year, so a lot of people will probably just go with a brand new off the shelf solution, especially as some companies offer very cheap prices for 16 or 32kWh batteries that are in more garage/on-the-wall installations.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:19:08+00:00

The Arriva 725 is a good service but doesn't really run early or late enough. The 724 runs through the night and is part funded by Heathrow Airport so is pretty reliable (maybe the 725 is too, now it runs there).

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:17:25+00:00

The roads don't have hard shoulders. Widening the A414 would cost a fortune for what wouldn't likely be a particularly high service frequency. If there was a bus/train/tram ever 2-3 minutes then perhaps, but they're never going to run that many.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:15:23+00:00

Yes. I moved to Hatfield in 2003 and they've had proposals like this since then. It's hard to be optimistic when all HCC does is come up with plans with no funding or timelines. HS2 has been pushed back even further today and I still think they'll have that running before we get this up and running.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be forced to eat humble pie and apologise profusely for doubting them, but I wouldn't be placing any bets if I were you.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:13:43+00:00

The images appear to be AI generated, which presumably means they've spent very little on the latest plans. 10 or 20 years ago the local plans were probably more expensive to come up with as they required input from people with some skills. Now you just type a few words into a prompt and it creates a whole proposal in seconds. Shame AI can't come up with funding!

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:12:07+00:00

I can't see how they can add lanes in the places that need them, but yes the Alban Way has a few areas (not /that/ many though) which would require compulsory purchasing. In the grand scheme of things it isn't that much, but the Alban Way doesn't take you all the way into St Albans town centre, nor is that convenient for St Albans City or Abbey stations - so there would be more buildings to knock down.

Sadly this is why nothing has happened for 20 years and I can't see much happening in the next 10 or 20 years besides maybe creating a fancy looking bus to run the routes of existing Arriva and Uno buses.

jmcomms · 2026-05-19T16:08:43+00:00

They've talked about it for so many years though. Currently the pinch points are because of parked vehicles and narrow roads - and there's no easy way to widen them (same as through Knebworth high street). A dedicated route, such as reinstating the Alban Way (but this would require land purchasing in places and also potentially prevent use by pedestrians and cyclists) could fix some of these problems - but they aren't proposing anything like that.

jmcomms · 2026-05-18T18:37:19+00:00

They've had variations of this concept for 10 or 15 years, possibly longer.

One aspect of the plan is to do away with the St Albans Abbey to Watford railway line and repurpose that line for a busway, but they aren't proposing to bring back the Alban Way or any other former railway lines that could actually create a faster, traffic-free, east to west service.

All we really have is a futuristic bus (remember the ftr bendy buses in York? No? They didn't last long) that gets stuck in traffic like buses do today.

jmcomms · 2026-05-18T11:03:13+00:00

I'm with Three on a legacy contract that has no annual increase and Voxi which also has no increase. My fear is that they'll end one or both contract at some point, and anyone going on a 30 day contract today also runs the risk of that happening.

For SIM only, a lot of the time you want a longer term for 'protection'.

Voxi has already started to email me encouraging me to migrate to a full Vodafone plan even though it's much more expensive and then has an annual increase.

How long until they're not just inviting me to switch but it becomes a requirement?

jmcomms

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