Be very careful in dealings with this security and locks company

Gazpablo

Be very careful in any dealings with Dilock Ltd, a locks and security company based in Islington London, trading online as www.directlocks.co.uk. I needed to get quickly UPVC lockable window handles (obvious security risk from a broken handle). A Google search threw up directlocks. I phoned them and was assured that the required handles were in stock, so I ordered online, choosing the 1-3 days delivery option. My credit card was debited immediately. After several days no package arrived so I contacted the company by email and the emailed reply was that the handles were not in stock and it would take up to 14 days for new stock to arrive. As I had made it crystal clear that “time was of the essence” I cancelled the order by email. Then the fun and games started.
After several days of waiting no refund appeared on the credit card and repeated telephone calls and emails (the only advertised number was an 0870 one, and continual answer machine message of “we are experiencing high call volumes but we will call you back” but of course, no one actually did call back) I managed to get an email from directlocks saying that refunds “took up to 21 working days”. Still nothing happened. After well over 30 working days I contacted my credit card company and after investigation they issued a charge-back on the company; and thankfully the credit card company credited my account. The credit card company says we must be careful when cancelling an online order because by doing so you are subject to the terms and conditions of the company, fair enough but I won’t tolerate being robbed, ignored by a company’s customer service and forcibly helping a company’s cash flow. A Pricegrabber user recently posted on a forum their similar experience with directlocks, so it seems there is a continual problem.

Thankfully I found a company -DG Supply Line Ltd trading as www.upvcdiystore.co.uk - who quickly supplied the window handles, and when the Royal Mail failed to deliver within 24 hours, the company refunded the £4.99 postal charge without a quibble – now that is real service!

Nile

Hello Gazpablo

I'll move your thread to the 'Praise, Vent & Warnings' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]!!!!!![/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile