Gardening Express

zolabud123

I have just come across this post after Googling Garden Express and have seen many people who are as unhappy as I am with the state of the plants,delivery etc.

Is it worth getting in touch with someone about this as I happily bought from them,was unhappy and was told 'they will recover...'
Not good enough.

What can we do??

Davesnave

zolabud123 wrote: »

What can we do??

You Google mail order companies before you buy,

Threads like this exist to help, but obviously, you go back to GE if they do fail to thrive. Some people claim this has worked.

Further action may not be productive, so it's probably best put down to experience.

batman01

Awful company!

Been emailing for weeks about a poorly received xmas tree, response times were slow and We feel they used avoidance tactics to try and avoid giving a refund.

I informed the company I was prepared to leave bad reviews, share images of what we received and report them to trading standards and other governing bodies. I was dismissed and told it was my prerogative to do so! and that they do not repose to "treats or blackmail" Sp I left a bad review as expected!

I left a one star review on Trust Pilot,.. TO my amazement I received a call fro the Managing director who started the conversation with " Why are you treating our company like a complete C%%t!!! wow... He was then aggressive and rude and swore at me several time and called me a bully and using threatening behaviour!!

Avoid this company! you have been warned.

Davesnave

batman01 wrote: »

Avoid this company! you have been warned.

So were you.

The info is here. All anyone needs to do is Google before parting with money.

jhlamerton

Wish I had Googled this company before buying through a Groupon deal. Plant arrived very poorly packaged in a totally squashed box. Upon opening there was a sad-looking, straggly plant with just a few leaves clinging on for dear life. I wasn't expecting a plant in a big pot, just one that was healthy. When reported to this company with photos, just received a bog standard reply saying the plant is as expected and should thrive ... five year guarantee, etc ... I can return at my own expense for a refund ... bla bla. No comment about the inadequate packaging. Lesson learnt - just will never buy from Gardening Express ever again. Wish I had read previous reviews prior to my purchase. Much better to see what you are buying from your local garden centre.

sbid

JUST WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!

My order took so long that it went past the date needed and had to go to a local plant center for the items I needed. I have tried to ring to cancel my order many times and cant get through. I couldn't believe that they said to cancel an order you have to write in for security reason. I spoke to the fair trading standards and they said there was no need for that and that an email is proof enough and so this is what I have done and heard nothing. I want a full refund immediately for order 600033275

16/05/17I requested cancelled order and refund so what did they do they finally sent it out today against my request to cancel. This is the worst company I have ever dealt with DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!
Just seen another review on Gardeners corner where many others were complaining of the same problem , they are all having problems getting their money back if you dont believe me read them for your selves!!

SuperAl

Just a quick update on this thread for anyone thinking of using gardening express. Before you do have a quick look at them on trustpilot. Literally the worst online experience I have ever had. Cancelled after theee weeks of waiting. Never answer the phone. Ignore all e mails. Then a week later the plants turn up! Poorly packed and damaged. Still no proper response from GE. Eventually had to get my refund through chargeback via my bank. I reported them to trading standards as I just can't believe they are still trading.

Arnie91

hrough Groupon, Gardening Express were offering Japanese Maples, Peonies and Palms on offer. Out of 4 Maples, 3 exhibit nutrient burns on their tips, 2 of which have little to no foilage and the remaining few leaves are about to drop dead from necrosis. Out of 4 Peonies, 3 are virtually dead. None had any labeling as to the species of maple acer or peony. My palms were ordered on the 15th but have not been delivered. I can only assume that they are dead somewhere.

Truely disappointed. As an experienced gardener im hoping to try and keep them going, but as the summer is drawing to the end, it's likely that most of the stock will die off. I was essentially sent very expensive twigs.

I've sent a support message to GE via their website about the Palms, will give the Maples and Peonies a few more days to pick up otherwise I'll be chasing a refund through my bank and solicitors.

*UPDATE* 03/09/16

Gardening Express have replied back to my email regarding the missing palms. Hoping action is taken to either find or replace them.

In the meantime, I've had avid horticultural expert have a look at my peonies that arrived. They are 100% affected by Powdery Mildew, which is a fungal infection bourne from humid and wet conditions. The best thing to do is treat them with horticultural oil or neem oil, and soap. Cut back all affected leaves and also look into taking preventative action with any other plants you may have as Mildew spreads via spores.
See google for what Powdery Mildew looks like on the Paeonia variety of peonies

UPDATE 07/01/2017
Garden Express have tried to remove my review.
I have forwarded the relevent correspondence to TrustPilot as Gardening Express act in a completely negligent manner and trying to get bad reviews removed. All of the plants died due to infection. I have also contacted trading standards.

Security Code: 2F1F5710B3 Groupon code: 0050073P6W REF: 99364677 Garden Express customer service ticket #27480)

Update 04/08/2017

So my review was removed despite sending proof with screenshots of my account and order details. I can confirm that none of the plants ever made it over winter and most of them died of mould. Gardening Express will report your review and claim that you aren't a customer.
Edit

Davesnave

Long story short, don't trust Trustpilot.

Instead, trust MSE, which you should have reached by Googling the company you decided to trade with. That would probably have brought up this thread and the other Gardening Express one:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5460279

With all purchases of plants, my advice is don't buy by mail order from any 'nursery,' unless they have a physical presence which allows you to visit them, or in the case of small specialists, to pick up plants from the shows they attend.

The end.

VvrooomM

A very poor experience, made worse by appalling customer service. Over £180 spent on plants after carefully comparing websites and plant descriptions. Hebes advertised in 1 litre pot were sent as tiny plants in 500ml pots. A palm advertised as 1-1.5m arrived in poor condition with many dead leaves, viable plant around 70cm tall. Several grasses delivered in correct pot sizes were nothing more than the odd shoot of grass when compared to others delivered that were healthy. These show no signs of improvement despite the promises offered. I requested outstanding items were cancelled and refunded but these were delivered anyway and left outside insecure by Hermes. One of the four phatsias has shrivelled up and died.

Numerous emails to customer service have been met with stock and often repetitive replies that show no sign of addressing the matter, they are simply cutting and pasting replies from a template which is how the repetition occurs. There is no telephone number, neither does escalating the latter make any difference. The same stock answer is returned by email.

I have ended up with no option but to dispute the purchase with my credit card company and come to the internet to leave an honest review of my purchase.

Avoid this company and shop elsewhere, just look at the Trustpilot stats. Nearly 50% give one star, don’t be fooled by the recent good reviews.