play.com - terrible customer service

sebtomato

Volvic wrote: »

As I stated in one of my FIRST posts above, my CS experiences have always been fine, which is why I recommended the 020 number I used.

The 020 number you used is just a way to avoid calling through their 0845 number. It does not change anything about the quality of CS, unless you believe you have a special VIP number to call an English speaking, highly competent team...

sebtomato

turkleton wrote: »

I've never had any problems with Play and probably 95% of my internet shopping is with them. I did get Modern Warfare 2 on the release date and the one time I had to contact their customer service dept (admittedly going back a few years) I had a replacement sent to me very quickly.

I had the same feeling about Play until last week, when I had to call their CS for the first time in a while, and resolve an issue on an expensive, heavy item.

AMC1979

I've never had any problems with Play in the past until now. So far it's a minor thing, but I ordered the Wii Console with Balance Board, Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. It was out of stock on Saturday when I ordered it so the status of the order the next day was just 'Order taken'. Fair enough, I thought, but then I had an email this morning saying they needed to verify my account details and to call them. I rang them up and, after nearly 10 mins on hold, spoke to a lady with an accent who seemed to be reading from a script. She told me that my credit/debit card address and billing address weren't the same and that's why they needed to verify my details. On the contrary, I said, they are the same. She then changed her tune and said it was because the order was for a large amount (over £200) but now there was no problem and the order could proceed. I asked her if she would send an email confirming this and she said she would.

12 hours later and I've had no email, and the order still has the same status. I'm thinking of cancelling based on what I've read here - perhaps I should before they take the money. The Wii bundle seems like a good offer but considering their customer service is dodgy (and you can't get an email response anymore) I am having second thoughts.

sebtomato

AMC1979 wrote: »

I rang them up and, after nearly 10 mins on hold, spoke to a lady with an accent who seemed to be reading from a script. She told me that my credit/debit card address and billing address weren't the same and that's why they needed to verify my details. On the contrary, I said, they are the same. She then changed her tune and said it was because the order was for a large amount (over £200) but now there was no problem and the order could proceed.

They are just making it up as they go along.

AMC1979 wrote: »

12 hours later and I've had no email, and the order still has the same status. I'm thinking of cancelling based on what I've read here - perhaps I should before they take the money. The Wii bundle seems like a good offer but considering their customer service is dodgy (and you can't get an email response anymore) I am having second thoughts.

My advice is: cancel while you can. If they send you the wrong bundle like me, you will be regretting it.

I ordered the same bundle again from Toys r Us on Friday, received everything today with DHL: no missing parts, perfect packing in a large cardboard box, not just a large loose plastic bag like Play (damaging the packaging of my Wii Fit board)

Even better, the Toys r Us package is cheaper! Better customer service, ability to return to store, faster delivery through a proper courier, better packing, choice of delivery dates, what else to ask?

See http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Toys-R-Us/Video-Games/Bundles-and-Consoles/Wii-White-Sports-Resort-Pack-and-Wii-Fit-Plus%280073590%29

(Also available in black, for the same price)

realised

I've always had quite a good experience with play.. the most recent being I purchased a phone for my brother more than a year ago and it developed a fault

After spending months with Samsung trying to get it fixed unsuccesfully, i gave up and contacted play

They asked for the phone back (he had really battered it - chips, scratches the lot) and Play refunded me the full amount no questions asked!

One happy customer :T

AMC1979

Just wanted to say thank you Seb for the link, I had browsed the internet for a cheaper alternative, including Wii comparison websites, but as Toys R Us wasn't listed, I never would have thought of going there - however, at the moment it does seem to be the cheapest (at the time of posting) at £219.99.

I have now cancelled my Play.com order and will order the Wii Bundle via the link you posted. Cheers for the info!

sebtomato

AMC1979 wrote: »

Just wanted to say thank you Seb for the link, I had browsed the internet for a cheaper alternative, including Wii comparison websites, but as Toys R Us wasn't listed, I never would have thought of going there - however, at the moment it does seem to be the cheapest (at the time of posting) at £219.99.

I am glad I could help. When I searched for a replacement bundle on Friday, I am pretty sure Toys r Us were the cheapest in the UK for a bundle including Wii Fit plus. Today, I don't know if there are better promotions, but I am very happy with my purchase with them.

AMC1979

Well when I last looked they were the cheapest for what I want. I've just ordered the black Wii console etc from them - but had to do it via phone as there is a glitch on the Toys R Us website, meaning that if you want to enter a different delivery address, it then makes the address your billing address! I'm happy to say though that when I rang up customer services, I got through straightaway, spoke to a lovely Geordie girl who was very helpful and placed my order with no problems. Take note, Play.com!

I've asked Toys R Us to look into the website glitch so hopefully they'll resolve it soon.

catz747

maxtweenie wrote: »

Seems like you're not alone. Play's reputation went downhill fast with the COD MW2 release (or non release in their case.)

Looks like theyr'e still at it.

http://www.bitterwallet.com/play-coms-customer-service-hits-new-low-screws-up-its-own-exclusive/21784

Yep! Ours didn't turn up - something dodgy went on there - the website said dispatched 6th Nov and then changed to 9th Nov - it didn't arrive. Filled in the online missing item form a few times with no response, rang them (could barely hear the lady let alone understand her, bit embarrassing having to ask her continually to repeat herself). They sent me a form to get me a replacement even though I'd asked for a REFUND! Had to phone them again - same audio problem.

Anyway, money should be back in our account 3-5 working days - fingers crossed!
Really gone downhill in our estimation

Roger_Derby

play.com ? .................. absolute nightmare.com. something over there is seriously wrong as they used to be OK. So far ......

Ordered goods. Sent wrong items. No response to the returns. Tried to cancel orders. Options to cancel iems out of stock gone from website. Phone service appaling, massive waits, unable to hear them, promises to sort out unfulfilled. Emails bouncing except 'Transact@notifications.play.com', which now isn't getting a response either.

No what do I do? Any suggestions welcome.

I won't be using them again as I they are showing all the classic symtoms of going bust.