BEWARE - MyCityDeal £5 for £50 evoucher at watchesshop.com

Former_MSE_Dan

HI folks,

This deal was NOT in the weekly email, or publicised in ANY MSE editorial copy, yet Archna and other members of the team have constantly checked this thread, liased with MCD and watches shop, and carried on sorting solutions for you all regardless!

I cannot think of any other website or indeed company who would do this.

Sorry to come across quite harshly in this post, but we have now had two solid weeks of a small minority of forummers telling us we are 'shoddy' or losing reputation, while all the time we have been sorting solutions to make sure no one loses a penny - even for deals that we weren't even aware about until problems arose!

Dan

busybee100

I suggest we stay quiet until everyone has their money back etc. Then every new mycitydeal we trash with the SPAM button:D

MaxSF

Hi folks,
I am completely shocked by the responses of my original post for many reasons.

1: At the time of writing this particular message, the thread has had 3320 views, for me, thats staggering.

2: The reason I created the thread, was to simply tell people about the seemingly underhand tactics used by watchesshop.com and hopefully get some advice from others. Thankfully, I've recieved some good advice & many people have taken heed of this company, thank you.

3: I've never used forums before and this MSE site appears to be the right place to start because they seem to genuinly care about saving us money & helping out when there are money problems out there.
For quite a while now MSE have saved me thousands of pounds & pointed me to many companies offering great deals. They DID NOT point me to this deal on MCD.
Sadly, im completely disgusted at some of the responses made on this thread giving MSE a hard time.

(Apologies for the next capital letters part, but I feel this lot needs shouting because some people in here seem to be hard of hearing)

- MSE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS DEAL AND DIDN'T ADVERTISE IT.

- MSE HAVE SIMPLY GIVEN ME A FORUM TO TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT A COMPANY'S BAD SELLING PRACTICE & THATS ALL. THANK YOU MSE.

- SEVERAL MSE BODS HAVE SPOKEN TO THE COMPANIES IN QUESTION & GOT RESPONSES FOR ME. THANK YOU MSE PEOPLE, THAT WAS APPRECIATED.

- AFTER THE CONVERSATION WITH THE MD OF WATCHESSHOP.COM, IT IS APPARENT THAT THE ONLY PERSON TO BLAME FOR THIS DEAL FIASCO IS THE MD. IT SEEMS HIS LEFT HAND HAS NO IDEA WHAT HIS RIGHT HAND IS DOING.

Here's a question for you..... Is MCD to blame for Watchesshop.com playing silly beggars?

Once again, from the chat I had with Mr Toffel, I firmly believe MCD were NOT to blame.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, MCD seem to be getting some good deals from companies for us. Its just a shame the companies then decide to take advantage of MCD (and us). Im just VERY THANKFUL there is a website out there called MSE who helps us out.

THANK YOU MSE.

trumpton

Apologies, Dan, it was the sunglasses deal with My City Deals that was in the email.

busybee100

MaxSF wrote: »

Once again, from the chat I had with Mr Toffel, I firmly believe MCD were NOT to blame.

Hi MaxSF

Welcome to MSE and thank you for the information regarding Mr Toffel. Can I suggest you read the other mycitydeal threads. Three companies hiked their prices this week when featured on MCD. And there are things to take into consideration with other deals; the £6 meal voucher sold as an £18 meal, postage and packaging, limited availabilty......lets hope people get refunds.

MSE_Martin

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Thanks for that.

I really think if you have to try and attempt to justify it the problem runs much, much deeper than I previously thought.

Whilst I appreciate all your efforts as an entity, a team & as a business, MSE is, whether you like it or not, "Brand Martin". Even more so in the last 12 months.

My own personal thoughts on the matter of MCD & Sunglasses Shop (& others) are indeed unprintable. Not that anyone could ever sue me or MSE because there is factual evidence to back it up. However, these thoughts would last 2 minutes on here, they would be erased by yourselves.

I suggest you & the team & Martin stay well away from this type of 4th Party Contract.

Please also keep in mind I know exactly how that pot of money that "funded MSE" came about.................. & so does Martin.......

#


Many of your posts both here and on other theads are offensive, insulting and close to defamatory. You've asked for a response from me (even though one of my senior team has already responded) so let's put a rest to this here.

MSE try to be at the forefront of MoneySaving both in fighting for financial justice and finding best deals. There is a new industry of Group Buying - it follows a massive US trend. We are trying to bring people the best of it. Yet as with everything - we have to learn some of the pitfalls as we go along.

You accuse us of taking kick-backs I find that language out of order. We are and have always been upfront about how the site is financed - its linked on every page - the only reason you know there's a link is because we're transparent and we tell you with a star.

It does not impact whether we think something is a good deal or not - it never has on any deal - if it ain't good we won't tell you about it. It only makes the grade if we think the deal's a cracker.

We have listed three Group Buying deals on the site so far (from memory)

1 x £1 cinema with MyCity deals - barring some technical problems it worked well (affiliated)
1 x £1 cinema with another group buying company owned by 118118 - barring some technical problems it worked well (not affiliated)
1 x £17 sunglasses voucher for £50 - which has been a bit of a nightmare (affiliated)

Now if you're telling me these weren't good deals - then I don't think much of your judgement. Sadly there have been very minor issues with two - and more substantive problems with one, we had no way of knowing that before hand but when there are issues we step in to ensure that what we said and told people matches up.

This thread is about watches - something we haven't mentioned anywhere on the site and has nothing to do with MSE, yet as we were able to and saw it and as we could help we did we have stepped in to help people and sadly some feel the need to berate us over it.

We don't have any special relationship with MCD, just that because of the sunglasses issue they now understand how we work and how influential the site and forum are which gives us some credence when asking them to sort things. The same way any journalists can push their readers/users/viewers side. Plus MCD are web savvy so when they read threads like this they want to respond.

Yet I don't have resources to check out every group buying deal - and intervene - as consumer scams going its not the biggest.

Thanks to max for this post which I think is on a decent perspecitive.

Hi folks,
I am completely shocked by the responses of my original post for many reasons.

1: At the time of writing this particular message, the thread has had 3320 views, for me, thats staggering.

2: The reason I created the thread, was to simply tell people about the seemingly underhand tactics used by watchesshop.com and hopefully get some advice from others. Thankfully, I've recieved some good advice & many people have taken heed of this company, thank you.

3: I've never used forums before and this MSE site appears to be the right place to start because they seem to genuinly care about saving us money & helping out when there are money problems out there.
For quite a while now MSE have saved me thousands of pounds & pointed me to many companies offering great deals. They DID NOT point me to this deal on MCD.
Sadly, im completely disgusted at some of the responses made on this thread giving MSE a hard time.

(Apologies for the next capital letters part, but I feel this lot needs shouting because some people in here seem to be hard of hearing)

- MSE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS DEAL AND DIDN'T ADVERTISE IT.

- MSE HAVE SIMPLY GIVEN ME A FORUM TO TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT A COMPANY'S BAD SELLING PRACTICE & THATS ALL. THANK YOU MSE.

- SEVERAL MSE BODS HAVE SPOKEN TO THE COMPANIES IN QUESTION & GOT RESPONSES FOR ME. THANK YOU MSE PEOPLE, THAT WAS APPRECIATED.

- AFTER THE CONVERSATION WITH THE MD OF WATCHESSHOP.COM, IT IS APPARENT THAT THE ONLY PERSON TO BLAME FOR THIS DEAL FIASCO IS THE MD. IT SEEMS HIS LEFT HAND HAS NO IDEA WHAT HIS RIGHT HAND IS DOING.

Here's a question for you..... Is MCD to blame for Watchesshop.com playing silly beggars?

Once again, from the chat I had with Mr Toffel, I firmly believe MCD were NOT to blame.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, MCD seem to be getting some good deals from companies for us. Its just a shame the companies then decide to take advantage of MCD (and us). Im just VERY THANKFUL there is a website out there called MSE who helps us out.

THANK YOU MSE.

There are many other far more pressing issues for consumers than this and I have to balance the sites limited resources.

Yet if MSE lists a deal though - as always we'll do our damnest to ensure it lives up to what was promised (as we have with the three above - at a cost of huge hours of many of the team including my own time)

If we cover a Group Buying Deal again - which I'm sure we will as many of them are far beyond what is available elsewhere and the overarching feedback we've had from most I have already discussed more checks to do with the team to prevent such problems again.

Yet there may well be something we've missed - it happens as you learn and gain experience of a new issue. We do our damnest not to.

Your posts trying to make this something sinister are frankly bonkers. For us NOT to tell people about £1 cinema tickets with big companies would be amiss - it'd be all over the forums, and others in seconds anyway. Our aim is to bring people the best deals

As for

Please also keep in mind I know exactly how that pot of money that "funded MSE" came about.................. & so does Martin.......

This is the most totally left field thing I've read. The pot of money that originally funded MSE was £100 whcih I paid from my own pocket. MSE is 100% owned and funded by me and without debt. It makes its income in the way described in the article linked above and is purely focused on editorial and tools that push and fight for consumers.

It is transparent - nothing dodgy - every penny this site has ever made has been transparent through the starred links, we have no other source of income. That money incidentally pays to protect you in the forum with our lawyer (and the countless threats madea against our users by big companies), helps pay for servers, and 30 members of the team including developers and researchers to find info, fight bank charges (and pay for barristers), write guides, work on the email and more.

It of course makes me a good living too, i never hide that, and has enabled over £600,000 to go to charity.

Im proud of what we've built and the ethical way we've managed to make the site work without ever compromising our stance.

Your assertion is completely out of order and erroneous. I don't know what you think you know - but your insuinuation feels nasty and I dont know where you are going with it.

While we have a general policy of not deleting criticism (though we will delete abuse) I will not take defamation on here that I would take action against elsewhere. So I would politely ask you to make sure that what you say is based on fact.

Now my team and I have far more important things to do to keep on with you churning this issue.

Martin

MaxSF

One last note from myself.....

The other thing i do like about MCD is that it was just a quick call to their customer service & they are refunding my £5 for the watchesshop.com deal.

Thank you MCD :T

MaxSF.......

photome

MaxSF wrote: »

One last note from myself.....

The other thing i do like about MCD is that it was just a quick call to their customer service & they are refunding my £5 for the watchesshop.com deal.

Thank you MCD :T

MaxSF.......

Thats a great result, shame i didnt get the same response when I called them for the sunglasses refund. they told me I had to email which of course i have done so heres hoping.

MSE_Martin

photome wrote: »

Thats a great result, shame i didnt get the same response when I called them for the sunglasses refund. they told me I had to email which of course i have done so heres hoping.

Let us know if it doesn't work out.

We will be starting a thread next week to mop up any recurrent problems on sunglasses and try and push for them to be sorted (as much as we can)

1984ReturnsForReal_2

MSE_Martin wrote: »

#


Many of your posts both here and on other theads are offensive, insulting and close to defamatory. - No Martin. You find them offensive, insulting and close to defamatory as do some others that do not get the point or have not read the thread.

By other threads I take it you mean the ones:
1) I gave someone a lesson in psychology with a few swear words thrown in after they said the could tell I was mentally unstable because of my username
2) The other occasion I gave some back to someone else who decided he was clever to.
3) The " I believe Cameron is a compulsive liar who will do anything to get hold of power" which was a micky take of someone posting another thread entitiled " I believe Brown is a compulsive liar who will do anything to get hold of power"
4) The "Fat Ugly Bully Biatch runs Bullying Helpline" about the hypocracy of the founder of a bullying helpline using a bullying tactic. In fact (& some people got it) I hate bullying.
You accuse us of taking kick-backs I find that language out of order. No Martin. Your words. Affiliate deals are kick-backs & there is nothing wrong with affiliate deals/kick-backs.

It does not impact whether we think something is a good deal or not - it never has on any deal - if it ain't good we won't tell you about it. It only makes the grade if we think the deal's a cracker. - Fair Point & I am not arguing with that.

We have listed three Group Buying deals on the site so far (from memory)

1 x £1 cinema with MyCity deals - barring some technical problems it worked well (affiliated)
1 x £1 cinema with another group buying company owned by 118118 - barring some technical problems it worked well (not affiliated)
1 x £17 sunglasses voucher for £50 - which has been a bit of a nightmare (affiliated)

Glad you mentioned them. Yes they will work & they won't work. 4th party deals are nothing new. The reason they have never taken off before is exactly the same reasons listed on these MCD threads. There were several major failures in the 80s.

Now if you're telling me these weren't good deals - then I don't think much of your judgement. I have no thoughts on those deals. Didn't know about them.

Sadly there have been very minor issues with two - and more substantive problems with one, we had no way of knowing that before hand but when there are issues we step in to ensure that what we said and told people matches up. There is also 1 major issue. The contract between MCD & Retailer is their contract. It has no bearing on the contract between retailer & consumer.


There are many other far more pressing issues for consumers than this and I have to balance the sites limited resources - Agreed. E.G. Like driving down elec & gas bills. Bad luck with the High Court loss on bank charges.

Yet if MSE lists a deal though - as always we'll do our damnest to ensure it lives up to what was promised (as we have with the three above - at a cost of huge hours of many of the team including my own time) - Agreed

If we cover a Group Buying Deal again - which I'm sure we will as many of them are far beyond what is available elsewhere and the overarching feedback we've had from most I have already discussed more checks to do with the team to prevent such problems again. - Good

Yet there may well be something we've missed - it happens as you learn and gain experience of a new issue. We do our damnest not to.

Your posts trying to make this something sinister are frankly bonkers. - See there you go. Bonkers? So your telling me that all these issues with MCD are due to admin/IT issues with the retailer? That is bonkers Martin. For us NOT to tell people about £1 cinema tickets with big companies would be amiss - it'd be all over the forums, and others in seconds anyway. Our aim is to bring people the best deals - Agreed & fair point.

As for



This is the most totally left field thing I've read. The pot of money that originally funded MSE was £100 whcih I paid from my own pocket. MSE is 100% owned and funded by me and without debt. Well done. Done the same thing twice myself & just about to start a 3rd. However I had to factor out at a point but got a very good deal. It makes its income in the way described in the article linked above and is purely focused on editorial and tools that push and fight for consumers. - Good

It is transparent - nothing dodgy - every penny this site has ever made has been transparent through the starred links, we have no other source of income. That money incidentally pays to protect you in the forum with our lawyer (and the countless threats madea against our users by big companies), helps pay for servers, and 30 members of the team including developers and researchers to find info, fight bank charges (and pay for barristers), write guides, work on the email and more. All armed then.

It of course makes me a good living too, i never hide that, and has enabled over £600,000 to go to charity. Wow. Did you get gift aid on that?

Im proud of what we've built and the ethical way we've managed to make the site work without ever compromising our stance. So you should be.

Your assertion is completely out of order and erroneous. I don't know what you think you know - but your insuinuation feels nasty and I dont know where you are going with it. - You Martin are a consumer champion. That is you. Until MCD & retailers sort their acts out what you have is a mishmash of money floating about some of which, as stated numerous times on MSE, has been obtained by the retailer inflating prices (at best). So something that will appear to be a good deal turns out in fact to be the opposite. Personally I would of thought that you would be the type of person that would of been against such a thing bearing in mind your above mentioned stance with Bank Charges. Totally legit but totally immoral & dare I say unethical without someone trying to threaten legal action on me for opinion & stating fact.

While we have a general policy of not deleting criticism (though we will delete abuse) I will not take defamation on here that I would take action against elsewhere. So I would politely ask you to make sure that what you say is based on fact. - Always is based on fact.

Now my team and I have far more important things to do to keep on with you churning this issue.

Martin

I had a read earlier & then had my dinner.

Personally I do think

offensive, insulting and close to defamatory

is a bit dramatic.

As for the other threads I think you will find my offensive, insulting and close to defamatory comments are only applied in threads directed to the original poster when they write things like "starve to death people on benefits because they are scum" etc & the only others are directed at those who are "offensive, insulting and close to defamatory" first & have set the level.