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I doubt it...they seem fairly unperturbed about the whole thing.

Thanks for the update ixion, I'll persevere with my battered 11th for now.
To me, Chambers' attitude appears somewhat highhanded and if I had purchased the current 13th Edition my minimal expectations would be;
a) Chambers making a printed/printable addendum available as soon as practicable once they were aware of the omission and
b) an offer of a straight replacement at no extra cost (perhaps also with a discount voucher for any future volume to compensate inconvenience) should be available to anyone who wishes to "trade-in" their incomplete 13th Edition for the revised version when it becomes available.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, ginge - see my post on 10 - I shall look into the matter further.
I shall see what appears on their site on Monday re the revised list of words - any comments or stance taken - and will then write to them about it.
Maybe if enough people make it uncomfortable for them, they will take more appropriate remedial action.

Hi elle, I was typing as you posted. I'm far from being an expert on consumer law but surely your 13th can be deemed a "faulty good" and it might be worth contacting Chambers and asking for a full refund if you offer to return it. I'd be interested to hear their response if you do.

I'm surprised their (Chambers) aren't playing ball. I would have thought they would be on this like a rash to make it better, so as not to tarnish their extremely good reputation in crosswordland.

I feel it is a case of waiting for the revised copy and checking through it when it hits the bookshops.
Obviously, this is not good for the people who have already invested their money in a ersatz copy.

I feel that ginge could be right, you may get your money back if you press on with a strong enough complaint, you have the proof that it's not up to scratch elle. They may send you a voucher for the revised version pending release in 2015

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland/consumer_s/r/faulty_goods_e.htm

Hi again elle. Hopefully above is a link to the Citizens Advice page re "faulty goods" which might be worth quoting in sections if you decide to take this approach (this is the Scottish version but there is a link within it for England but nearly identical in this respect). Good luck

Thank you for your help and advice, ixion, ginge and Les.
I shall certainly look into this and take it further!
G'night!

^ ^

I have the 11th edition. It promised that I could have six months free subscription to their reference books by entering a code on the inside of the back cover. I have never been able to get on to the website they mention to enter the code. It always says "Our services are currently unavailable. Maintenance is in progress, please come back soon."

It's been like that for a couple of years or so. Does Chambers know the definition of "soon"?

Did anyone else manage to take up that offer?

A dictionary with a significant number of missing words is not fit for purpose. I imagine it would hardly be possible to include all words (because they might decide to drop the truly archaic or not have extremely rude words, for example and newly-minted ones have to last a while first), but the printing error of a significant number is another matter.
If I had bought one of the faulty books, I'd be writing a letter when the revised edition comes out requesting a free replacement and quoting the Consumer Acts if I didn't get a positive answer. Having said that, the book I just published has far more errors in than I find acceptable and I don't plan on giving replacements!