A ‘dismal’ vacuum cleaner and and a pram that failed safety tests are among some of this year’s Black Friday deals that consumers in Gedling borough are being urged to avoid.
Which? tests thousands of products every year to recommend the best products to buy and what to avoid.
These are some of the duds they found – with a better alternative.
Philips 43PUS8108/12 (sale price – £369)
Experts at Which? said this tv offers a smeared picture and shoddy sound. They said the 43-inch 4K TV has real issues with motion, as moving objects tend to streak across the screen. One wrote: “Even still images would look poor, as its shoddy contrast and unnatural colours leave every scene drab and grey. There’s also not enough bass in the sound, so everything sounds tinny and underwhelming. “
Which? experts described it as “one of the worst TVs of 2023, or any year for that matter”.
Better avoid then!
They advised bargain hunters to pick up the LG 43NANO766QA for £399 in the sales instead, which they said is the same size and has a much better picture.
Revamp Progloss Ultra X Shine Wide ST-2000-GB (sale price – £60)
Experts said the higher temperatures on these hair straightness risk damaging your hair and style retention is poor.
They wrote: “Although these hair straighteners did a good job of straightening hair, with strong results in terms of frizz control and providing shine, our panel of testers found their style retention wasn’t great. Frizz or curls re-emerged within a day of using them.
“The large plates make it tricky to get close to your roots, and the higher heat settings on this straightener could damage your hair.”
“The level of damage that our laboratory observed being caused by these hair straighteners when set to the highest temperature was twice as bad as the next-worse model.”
Those hoping to find hair straighteners at a bargain price were urged to pick up Beauty Works X Molly Mae Straightener Kit that cost about the same at full price, is easier to use and is significantly less likely to damage your hair.
Haier HW90-B14959S8U1 (sale price – £429)
Which? experts said that although it washes synthetics well, this freestanding washing machine did a terrible job at getting rid of dirt and stains from cottons.
They wrote: “Electricity running costs are about average for machines of a similar capacity, but it uses a lot more water than most. The programs are also incredibly short – too short perhaps, considering how poorly they clean.”
Bargain hunters were instead urged to buy the Zanussi ZWF942E3PW – which will cost you less – both upfront and over a lifetime – as it’s more efficient with both electricity and water. It’s of equal capacity and it’s better at washing cottons.
Hoover H-Free 100 HF122GH (sale price – £99)
The experts at Which? described this vac as ‘abysmal’.
The savagely wrote: “Five hours of charging time grants you 20 minutes of battery life with this vacuum, which may not sound like a lot, but it will be plenty of time to demonstrate its poor performance.
“It only sucked up a measly 34% of the dust in our test carpets, and it struggled to pick up debris from cracks and crevices.
“It’s nothing short of a failure.”
Consumers on the hunt for a bargain were urged to pick up the Tineco A10 Hero, which is also in the sales, and it cleans well on carpets and hard floors, as well as leaving crevices dirt-free.
Hisense RB327N4WB1 (sale price – £399)
Which? experts say this fridge-freezer has a terrible and inaccurate fridge that will also increase your energy bills.
They said: “The freezer part of this fridge-freezer is decent – it works quietly and it freezes quickly. But the fridge… the fridge is diabolical. It takes ages to chill foods, and its temperature will swing up and down with the temperature in your kitchen.
“It’s also very inefficient for its size, so won’t be doing your energy bills any favours either; not to mention the extra money you’ll have to spend on food when this unreliable fridge fails to keep things fresh.
“This is among the worst fridge-freezers we’ve seen.”
Experts told bargain hunters not to write off Hisense completely – its RB440N4WWF model can be found at a similar price in the sales, will chill and freeze your food without any issues, and it can cope with the temperature fluctuations in your kitchen.
