Buyer Beware

[dpile1]

Hi guys,

Just a heads up if you're ever thinking of placing an order with the 'Online Shopping Company' (http://www.the-online-shopping-company.co.uk).

I placed an order with them three weeks ago for two items that were showing as being 'in-stock'. A day later, one of the items went out of stock and I'm still waiting for my order to be delivered. They give an estimated dispatch date but that's been and gone half a dozen times now.

I've tried emailing, phoning and even sent a postal letter asking them to amend my order but there's been no contact or reply from them. I got another automated email from them this morning saying that the dispatch date is now the 1st of July but there's no way of contacting them for a refund. I put a thread on their forum an hour ago very politely asking for an alternative way of contacting them - but it got deleted.

I've placed a couple of orders with them in the past and it's been a similar story - I should have learnt my lesson.

Anyway, to sum up - don't trust their website's stock levels, be prepared to wait for ages and ages for your order to arrive even if it is in stock, and if you're thinking of contacting them after placing an order you might as well try shouting at the moon.

dpile1

[Cellar_Rat]

Good post thanks

[koomber]

Heard bad things about this crowd before on JBK. They also complained to Jim to get the posts taken down.

[dpile1]

In truth I thought twice about posting a whinge about a website on here, but they've been so outrageously bad that I thought I ought to share my experience with others so that they don't get the same treatment.

[robwrx]

I too have had trouble with this company. I ordered a "Better bottle" from them and when it finally arrived it was not an original Better bottle, just a generic plastic 5gal bottle. To be fair when I complained they gave me a £5 voucher and said they would look into it. They have now stopped advertising the bottles as Better Bottles.

[AquaCom]

Thanks for the tipoff.
I too had my fingers very badly burnt but another web company that shout loud about how good they are (and turn out to be VERY bad). When I telephoned said company they were very rude and slammed the phone down on my when I asked for a refund. I have never ordered wine making products online since. All my business goes to the HBS, where they actually "care" about the customer, not just taking money. Often, they will match web prices anyway if I ask, but as their overheads are higher, I don't mind paying a quid or two more to keep them going.