Watch the video on this page: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/digital-life/computers/exposed-new-dick-smith-hard-drive-full-of-pirated-movies-20111222-1p6eh.html

Sydneysider Darryl Mason bought a "new" portable hard drive from Dick Smith only to find that it was filled with pirated movies and potentially contained malware that has ruined crucial footage for his documentary.

The retailer has since admitted that it sells second hand hard drives as new, but in this instance forgot to wipe it clean.

Additionally the drive only shows up as 30GB not 1.5TB, which suggest the customer that returned it either swapped out the drive in the caddy, or there is a hidden volume with more s***.

Really dodgy Dick, I hope they get shafted.

So be warned when buying electronics from Dick Smith, they could have malware or illegal material on them, and the hardware inside the device may not be what you paid for.

wut?

that is highly illegal.

fair trading hotline?

Edit: so someone bought a 1.5TB drive, put in a 30GB s***ter, and returned it? Pictures of disk management please.

...and potentially contained malware that has ruined crucial footage for his documentary

Wait, it did or didn't

last edited by scuzzy at 13:07:50 22/Dec/11

Policy ..

1) All returned goods that are to be returned are supposed to be marked with a 'not new sticker' which has room to write why it is not new on it.

2) All media like the one in the article are supposed to be wiped clean by staff.

3) There are signs up at the front counter most of the time and on the receipt explaining dick smith offer a change of mind on products which is of an advantage to the customer. Other companies don't do this and will not allow a customer to swap out a product due to change of mind.

I believe point (3) has changed now and they have removed that policy. I used to work for Dick Smith 2 years ago for 5 years even contributing to some policies and the way the paperwork is organised in stores now is my doing. I'm just telling you my history - i actually send friends and family to JB Hi Fi these days because of the prices.

I'm not defending the article - i'm just pointing out some facts. The store should be held responsible for not following procedure.

Wasn't there a story ages ago of someone buying a fone from Dick Smith and it had naked pictures on it.

Wait, it did or didn't

The customer suspects it did, but he is not saavy enough to determine that. He's getting his mate to come over tomorrow :P

This story reeks of bulls***.

2 weeks ago My father went in to buy a 3DS (when they had that $189 special) from dick smith, on the way to the car he decides to double check the box and BAM "REFURBISHED" sticker on the box, the sales dude grabed a box from behind the new one. He went back and they gave him such a hard time trying to get it swapped for the new one, eventually they did, but its pretty bulls*** that Dick smith are pushing there returns onto people first, or at the same prices as the new items. The sales guy argued that the 3DS had been repaired and was good as new..

I returned a broken HP printer (aren't they all?) to officeworks milton, and they told me to grab another off the shelf (after about half an hour of making me stand in the corner like I was in trouble). When I went to get it, the box that I'd just returned was sitting there on the shelf already ready to be sold again... I mean that thing was f***ing BROKEN there is no way they'd have set it up and checked it in that time. Plus there was another box there of the same printer that looks like it had gone through hell - probably another return.

Additionally the drive only shows up as 30GB not 1.5TB, which suggest the customer that returned it either swapped out the drive in the caddy, or there is a hidden volume with more s***.

Yeah I don't think they would have found an ancient 30GB HDD somehow.

This isn't something unique to Dick Smiths either, in fact I'd say most major chains have stores that do this. I know Bunnings certainly do as half the time I buy something from there it is missing parts.

I've noticed customer service has become woeful as well in most stores now days, if you do buy something that doesn't work or is missing parts they pretty much tell you to just bring it back on your own time for a refund or to replace it with another previously returned item that has the same problem. If they don't have stock they don't offer to ring around to other stores and try and get it in for you, they just say tough s***, take back the faulty item and put it back on the shelf.

i have a few 30gb if you want

Dick Smith - "You've got questions, We've got blank stares"

Yeah I don't think they would have found an ancient 30GB HDD somehow.

I've got 2 40GB HDD sitting on my desk right now?

Dick Smith - "You've got questions, You've got used goods, f*** you"

Fixed

There's a followup article, with ex-employee whistleblowers and quotes from more customers that have had this happen.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/digital-life/computers/complaints-mount-over-dick-smiths-dodgy-drives-20111222-1p6qx.html

The retailer has since admitted that it sells second hand hard drives as new, but in this instance forgot to wipe it clean.

I don't mind buying 2nd hand goods, but to sell them as brand new is a joke and should be punished.

Did my time working for Tandy/Dick Smiths for 3 years about 5 years 8 years ago, would never buy anything from there evar.

how does a virus mess up videos? don't they all try to infect other exe files? don't tell me there's virusses that can infect movies now too :(

*wraps house in tinfoil*

Darryl Mason bought a "new" portable hard drive from Dick Smith only to find that it was filled with pirated movies

What an ungrateful bastard. Dick Smith saving yo bandwidth up in hurr.

What an ungrateful bastard. Dick Smith saving yo bandwidth up in hurr.

I think it's fair to take it back and complain if the drive has a POS movie like 'The Reef' on it though.

I won't be surprised if the MPAA gets all up in this bitch screaming the Dick Smith is heading a National piracy ring.

Yeah I don't think they would have found an ancient 30GB HDD somehow.

Largest Pata was 500GB and smallest SATA was 80GB so it is impossible there is a 30GB SAT in there.

could be an OCZ vertex 30GB

Dick Smith shall be now known as "Dodgy Dick".

Maybe we can call Dodgy Dick -- Richard Head?

I went into the store a while ago and the place had totally changed since 2005. Less TV antennas more upmarket. You couldn't get all the obscure electronics components anymore.

^ that's what Jaycar is for

This makes sense. Big retailers are trying to cut corners because they have massive overheads and can't compete with all the dodgy s*** you can buy off of eBay or Amazon. No wonder their quality is dropping.

They are doing it wrong. They need to do the opposite and boost up the quality. Ditch the cheap s*** because they can't compete and only carry great quality items and offer superior service. Make it worth paying the extra $'s.

This story reeks of bulls***.

this.... sounds like he's trying to cash on a lawsuit for his ruined documentary... which was probably s*** to begin with.

They are doing it wrong. They need to do the opposite and boost up the quality. Ditch the cheap s*** because they can't compete and only carry great quality items and offer superior service. Make it worth paying the extra $'s.

Having sales people blatantly lie to your face to get a sale, its pathetic. I can get better advice at home on the net. If they offered 'expert advice' (which most places advertise but don't actually have) I'd be more keen to actually talk to them.

Then again, I've heard of shop owners complaining about customers trying on clothes or trying out products only go go home and order it off the net for the cheaps.

They are doing it wrong. They need to do the opposite and boost up the quality. Ditch the cheap s*** because they can't compete and only carry great quality items and offer superior service. Make it worth paying the extra $'s.

Yeah they should take a note out of Apples book, refuse to talk to you unless you've made an appointment and then call their "why am I wasting time with you when I could be on facebook" customer service people something ironic like "Geniuses". Then when they have a problem they can't fix they blame it on you for not properly understanding their products, on an emotional level.

I reckon that'd work out well for them.

It did for Apple.

Hard to maintain the high quality of service and support that customers demand, when they are also demanding crazy low prices.

The doors don't stay open for free.

Just saying...

Dick Smith used to be THE place to go to buy a resistor or a wire or a book about electronics, now it's just another f***ing cheap appliances outlet. They chose to switch into that market, where there was already plenty of choice and wasn't hard to get the products, so f*** them.

You go in in to DSE and its a Mobile Phone Store
No wait its a TV store
No wait its a Games store
No wait Its a Computer Store
No wait its an Electronics Store

When i need electronic parts i just go to Jaycar at Aspley.

When i need electronic parts i just go to Jaycar at Aspley.

if you went to dick smiths for any kind of electrical componentry, I'd suggest that a soldering iron was not for you.

Ive never heard of malware destroying video files? Ive never had an anti virus on my pc, its been 10 years still no virus or missing files.

I've heard of malware destroying files and corrupting file systems, but wheres the profit in that?

Unless it's symantec, norton, or ksasperspsky doing it - then there's profit. My brother's first job was for a window repairer, his job was to smash random windows in the area.

last edited by thermite at 19:25:04 23/Dec/11

The 30gb issue is easily fixed. The drive has obviously been formatted to FAT32. (The idiot that returned the product without formatting it was obviously trying to wacth his pirated vids on his tv or maybe a set-top box). FAT32 format only allow 30gb access regardless of the actual drive size, but many TV's that have media playback will only recognise this format. All that needs to be done is a drive reformat to NTFS (PC) or ExFat (Mac). This will erase any info on the drive, including viruses.

As for the malware destroying the guys documentary. I find it highly unlikely. What's more likely was Norton was having a hissy fit over a Crack file or some such and quarantined some files.

As for Dick Smith, and other retailers. I've got a lot of sympathy for them. They're forced to sell their big ticket items (PCs, Laptops, TVs etc) either at cost price or below. There is no profit for them. And even then customers complain about the price! Add that to the fact that many consumers demand to be able to return products for no better reason than they don't want it or don't know how to use it and can't be bothered learning, and it's no wonder incidents like this occur. Obviously retailers shouldn't pass off used goods as new, but if the item in question is without fault and has simply been returned, retailers have every right to charge full price for it.

When Australian retailers are dust one day, and they will be, you just watch the Gov tax the hell out of the suddenly cheap and nasty imports. Oh and you can forget about consumer rights when that happens too.

"Who forgets to wipe, Dick Does"

Wonder where Threewiseman works..

And fat32 can easily be applied to more than 30gb how else have i got my 2tb drive running thru my xbox

FAT32 format only allow 30gb access regardless of the actual drive size, but many TV's that have media playback will only recognise this format.

Wrong, FAT32 supports up to 16TB with 4K sector size. Microsoft's format tool just has a bunch of stupid restrictions on it. Here's a proper FAT32 format tool: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm

Cool thread dig

Dick smith are a bunch of f***in idiots.

I had a customer who brought in a "Mobile Pre-paid Wifi" box with all the contents on it.

On the top of the box it said "repaired".

Ok so, I am guessing someone else had previously bought it, they must of had some form of issue with it and returned it to the dick smith store.

Theyve sent it away and had it replaced.

So this guy has a device right, you get given a card with the "wifi password" on it etc. - which did not work because the replacement device also has a replacement wifi password. so he could not connect. (pulling apart device the password is under the battery) so there was that issue sorted.

The next issue was that the internet did not work. Why?

Because the sim card that came in the box (sim wasnt even inserted in the device), was a $2 Telstra sim which only gives you the service id.

Upon purchasing a $99 telstra wifi prepaid mobile broadband you get 5gb for 60/90 days.

SO 1) he had a device he could not connect to.
2) got none of the included data
3) no one had advised him of any of this.

I sent him back to dicksmith and told him to tell them to jam it up their arse.

http://www.members.optushome.com.au/gpahl/arnold.jpg

Yeah I bought a cable from dick smith today, $19 it said on the shelf, $22 at the checkouts. I pointed it out and the was like "oh lol they always get it wrong on the shelves".
Aren't there like f***ing laws about this?

oh lol they always get it wrong on the shelves

Heh, how convenient. I think Big W gives you the item free if this occurs or something, had it happen before I think?

Pricing Single pricing A business must not advertise goods with more than one price attached. This includes a price: • written, printed or located on the goods • displayed or mounted on a stand for the goods • published in any catalogue available to the public (unless the catalogue can reasonably be regarded as out of date). It is an offence for a business to sell an item at the higher price of two attached prices. However, if the business has made an honest mistake in advertising or labelling a product, it does not have to sell the product at the lower price and can withdraw it from sale

The Goods

Yeah thought so. I got into an argument with a BP attendant over the price of a packet of chips, I went back to the stand to double check the price and everything and he was just like "nup".

pretty sure they don't have to sell it at the incorrect price if they don't want to. they do have to change it to the correct price though.

Lols 3wise. Awesome revive and nothing suss. At all.

However, if the business has made an honest mistake in advertising or labelling a product, it does not have to sell the product at the lower price and can withdraw it from sale

Happens all the time at work and people need to get over s*** like this. Most of the time, its an honest mistake and the some poor employee f***ed up and legally I dont think the store has to sell the item for the incorrect price. Sure, if they are doing a dodgy and purposefully doing ads with $100 for a $1000 TV thats f***ed, but its normally just a wrong key or some simple overlooked s***. Big companies like coles i think give you the first incorrectly priced item for free but the number of people that expect the same s*** at a small business is f***ing nuts. GTFO.

I'd be in Dick Smith's raging it, like never before.
King Kong style.

... raging it, like never before.
King Kong style.

I have never seen this work... in MY experience, if I treat the salesperson/manager as a human being (going for 'the attitude test' angle) I've never had an issue.

That being said, it helps to know what you're up against. If the product is faulty, play those cards. If the store has some sort of 'change of mind' policy, make yourself aware BEFORE purchasing something unknown etc.



And yeah Dav0, the number of people who instantly assume the whole 'isn't the first one free' thing is amazing...

The retailer can honour the (incorrect) price, or 'withdraw the item from sale' (and correct the price, then put it back on shelf 10 seconds later)


@ Murderer

SO 1) he had a device he could not connect to.
2) got none of the included data
3) no one had advised him of any of this.

I sent him back to dicksmith and told him to tell them to jam it up their arse.

There's TONNES missing from this story (and I'm not gonna ask for the specifics... I could care less).
People should understand what they are getting themselves into when buying something like that tho... If a telephony service is required, and not setup in-store, it sounds as though the problem lies with your mate, and not so much the sales staff.

If it is simply 'not the product as advertised' go get a refund, wash your hands of it instead of raging...

@Rev
I read 'Wrong!' in Arnie's voice from that exact scene... f***ing LOL

Haha. :) It's this thing I was thinking of, relating to supermarkets it would seem - it was at Woolworths, I remember now.

Scanning Code of Practice - The Goods

The Item Free Policy If the price displayed at the checkout or on the customer receipt is higher than the shelf price, the customer is entitled to receive that item free of charge. The Shelf Price is the price of an individual item that appears on a shelf label or shelf price label. The Shelf Label or Shelf Price Label means the sign or label showing the price of individual items at the place where the product is displayed for sale to the customer. The item free policy does NOT cover goods that are “item priced”. The item free policy does NOT cover goods where the shelf price is $50 or greater.


Woolworths Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets
Bi-Lo Supermarkets
Franklins

The retailer can honour the (incorrect) price, or 'withdraw the item from sale' (and correct the price, then put it back on shelf 10 seconds later)

Exactly. I love dealing with customers who expect the product @ the incorrect price and say its their legal right / they will complain to today tonight / call office of fair trading / start jumping up and down etc. Sometimes we honour the incorrect price if its not a big deal but i remember a time a $50 item was somehow incorrectly priced at approx $20 (well below wholesale) and she went f***ing ballistic when we refused to honour the $20 price.

Damnit Davo, I was in your store the other day and you sold me a pack of multi-vitamins at 3 cents over the counter price - I demand free goods! (And some waxy maize from your stash at a reasonable price)* ;)

*Half-truth post.

Damnit Davo, I was in your store the other day

Thought you were telling the truth the for a moment then and i was starting to get worried.

... raging it, like never before.
King Kong style.

...

I have never seen this work...

I can guarantee this will work at DSE. I've seen customers get ridiculously hooked up just cause the manager wants to get them out of the store. IE: Keep your "broken" device and have this new one and here's money for your "cab ride" here and home.

I don't think its possible for it to work and not look like a tool, though.

Yeah I bought a cable from dick smith today, $19 it said on the shelf, $22 at the checkouts.

.
That's the 'handsome discount', maybe show some leg next time.

IMO remaining calm will achieve more, more often. Going bananas runs the risk of security being called and you being asked to leave.

The more a customer loses it at work, the less i care and the closer i get to calling security and telling them to GTFO.

What company is that DeadlyDavo?

I don't think its possible for it to work and not look like be a tool, though.

What company is that DeadlyDavo?

Where i work? A pharmacy in a shopping centre. We get druggos raging for all sorts of reasons and sometimes the only answer is calling security and having them kicked out of the centre.

Woolworths is dropping about 100 DSE stores.

http://www.news.com.au/business/woolworths-divests-its-dick-smith-business/story-e6frfm1i-1226258127352

Dick's outta here. Must have been all those dodgy drives heh?

Or the over pricing for the last 15 years. Also just heard thermites article on the radio

Thanks scooter, my thoughts exactly!

Woolworths is dropping about 100 DSE stores.

Not surprising since they culled pretty much all the electronic components side of things from the business years ago causing the usual patrons to go to Jaycar.

It's just another place to buy overpriced tv's, sterios and pc's now...

Woolworths is dropping about 100 DSE stores.

http://www.news.com.au/business/woolworths-divests-its-dick-smith-business/story-e6frfm1i-1226258127352

Not just closing a 100 dickstores but putting it up for sale.

Woolworths announced today it is putting its Dick Smith electronics chain up for sale, three decades after buying the business.

Yeah and DIck is furious as it will most likely go to an overseas company.

Yeah and DIck is furious as it will most likely go to an overseas company.

Tell him to buy it back if he is so worried about it.

Woolworths is reselling used DSE stores

Woolworths is reselling used DSE stores

Bazinga!

In 1968, Dick Smith founded electronics retailer Dick Smith Electronics. In 1982, he sold the business to Woolworths for $20 million,[2] and the business still retained his name in the business title.
Dick Smith Electronics entered the United States with stores in Northern California and Los Angeles, but were closed in the late 1980s.

so wollies has been in charge for the last 30 years, not dick

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Smith_(entrepreneur)

as a side, pretty sure dick smith provided me with my first computer (pre microbee)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Smith_Wizzard

In 1968, Dick Smith founded electronics retailer Dick Smith Electronics. In 1982, he sold the business to Woolworths for $20 million,[2] and the business still retained his name in the business title.
Dick Smith Electronics entered the United States with stores in Northern California and Los Angeles, but were closed in the late 1980s.

I'm pretty sure he's a c*** for selling it.

as a side, pretty sure dick smith provided me with my first computer (pre microbee)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Smith_Wizzard

I think I have one of those lying about that you can have if you want.