WARNING Utopia Office Ltd consortium - cheap Dyson DC31 Animal - or not!

charliefarly

hi,i have just phoned the accountant at utopia and the lady said that they had been using the CC excuse for about a year,she gave me ensingers mob number but said that she could not get through to him,but she also said she DID NOT THINK IT WAS A SCAM,i am not holding my breath,

pod1977

After the promises on Friday that I mentioned in my last post I hadn’t received a tracking number over the weekend when I returned to work on Monday which left me feeling quite dejected. Anyway I started again with the e-mails and trying the mobile number on Monday all to no avail. Then yesterday morning I got a read receipt on one of my e-mails and Anthony replied half an hour later on e-mail with a FEDEX tracking number for my order !!!! GET IN THERE !!!!

Anthony also informed me that John had asked him to send it to me as he had been taken to hospital on Friday and only just returned home yesterday morning. I’m not sure what’s been wrong but wouldn’t be surprised at all if it is stress related given the position that Utopia have got themselves into. Either that or someone finally caught up with him !!! I now have the opinion that they are a genuine “small” company that has tried to push the boat out and didn't realised the magnitude of what they have done from a marketing point of view.

I think that the word “scam” should be used carefully as these people are not criminals, they just cannot cope with what they have taken on and are not set up to handle the magnitude of orders they’ve received. There’s a lot of drivel on here from some posters that doesn’t help the genuine people that are after advice on trying to resolve their problems. I’ve been following this thread for 6 weeks now and my head has been completely mixed up by some posts. It has become hard to know what to believe. Apologies to everyone who hasn’t received their order yet as I don’t mean to sound patronising but bide your time and continue with the gentle pressure and I have no doubt that you’ll get there in the end. Don’t give up.

Cue the conspiracy theorists and accusations but believe me, I’m not happy with everything that’s happened as it’s ended up costing me a lot more as I had to get the missus some other xmas presents aswell as this Dyson !!!

pod1977

For reference, this is my time-line for anyone interested (not including all the attempted phone calls and other e-mails to Utopia plus contacts with accountants, NFIB and Suffolk Police) …

30th Nov – Registered and ordered my unit
2nd Dec – Famous e-mail received saying my card couldn’t be processed
6th Dec – Unit paid for stupidly by BACS
8th Dec – MSE thread discovered by me !!!
14th Dec – E-mailed confirmation of receipt of payment from Utopia
22nd Dec – E-mail from Utopia confirming unit would not be guaranteed to be delivered before xmas
29th Dec – E-mail saying Dyson would be shipped the following week when warehouse re-opens
3rd Jan – Another e-mail from Utopia confirming Dyson would be shipped that week with tracking details to follow
13th Jan – Spoke to John on the phone for the first time and he promised to ring me back that night with details but didn’t
14th Jan – John phoned me to tell me my order was being processed and tracking details would follow by e-mail that night.
18th Jan – Received e-mail from Anthony with tracking reference as mentioned above.

I haven’t got my Dyson yet but according to my tracking reference it’s on a next day delivery and it has been collected so I should receive it today. I suppose there could be anything in the box but I’m confident that I’ve finally got what I wanted.

starkraving

I can't be bothered to read any more of the previous posts.

Still not got my Dyson. I have been passed mr Ensinger's mobile phone details by a reliable source, in case anyone is interested. I noticed his home address has been deleted from this site - I'll dig it out and post later. I presume that is not a problem as nobody from MSE has contacted me asking me not to do this. It's freely available to all the general public via Companies House. Made a complaint John?

[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

starkraving

Thanks, but the mobile number i've posted is good enough for me.

pod1977

My unit has just arrived all fully sealed. If I can do anything to prove this to anyone then please let me know.

robmar0se

pod1977 wrote: »

For reference, this is my time-line for anyone interested (not including all the attempted phone calls and other e-mails to Utopia plus contacts with accountants, NFIB and Suffolk Police) …

30th Nov – Registered and ordered my unit
2nd Dec – Famous e-mail received saying my card couldn’t be processed
6th Dec – Unit paid for stupidly by BACS
8th Dec – MSE thread discovered by me !!!
14th Dec – E-mailed confirmation of receipt of payment from Utopia
22nd Dec – E-mail from Utopia confirming unit would not be guaranteed to be delivered before xmas
29th Dec – E-mail saying Dyson would be shipped the following week when warehouse re-opens
3rd Jan – Another e-mail from Utopia confirming Dyson would be shipped that week with tracking details to follow
13th Jan – Spoke to John on the phone for the first time and he promised to ring me back that night with details but didn’t
14th Jan – John phoned me to tell me my order was being processed and tracking details would follow by e-mail that night.
18th Jan – Received e-mail from Anthony with tracking reference as mentioned above.

I haven’t got my Dyson yet but according to my tracking reference it’s on a next day delivery and it has been collected so I should receive it today. I suppose there could be anything in the box but I’m confident that I’ve finally got what I wanted.

Thays actually a helpful post. And I am glad that you eventually after 7 weeks or so got what you ordered.

However for others not so patient, it is contrary to long distance selling regs not to deliver goods within 30 days.

This a quote from Trading Standards....

Performance of the contract:
Unless otherwise agreed, the trader should supply the goods or perform the service within 30 days from the day after the day the consumer placed his/her order. An exception to this is when goods or services are not available - the trader is then required to inform you and reimburse any payment. The trader may, subject to fulfilling the necessary requirements on giving information, supply substitute goods and services..

.

So those not prepared to wait, Trading Standards also advises that you should cancel your order in writing, then the retailer has 30 days to refund you. Not to do so........ well there's enough on this blog to tell you what your options are.

Good luck.

pod1977

Completely agree robmar0se. I also wish every else the best of luck. It's been an interesting few weeks and I'm glad my ordeal is resolved. It was never losing the money that was the main thing to me, it was the thought that I'd been ripped off as I buy things on-line all the time but it's certainly taught me a lesson. Oh and I wouldn't say I've been patient, I've been trying everything possible to get my wife's xmas present for the last 5 weeks. She'll probably have a go at me now for buying her a hoover ....

Ash860

Ok I'm a newbie to this forum, but quite pleased to be reassured by some of you. I too did what everyone else has done and did a BACS transfer on 8 Dec and have still not received my Dyson Handheld Hoover. I've now called the mobile number and left a message with the hard pressed John. Hopefully he will call me back too and I can receive the item. If I do I'll wrap it up and give it to my partner as a birthday present instead of the christmas present she was expecting....

AndyBee_2

Just read this after thinking I might order from the Utopia brigade - glad to have seen this thread. The best way to save money is not to spend it - certainly not to waste it by risking it on some doubtful outfit.

So to me this is just what MSE is set up to do.

This thread shows that on balance there is a greater chance of losing money than there is of saving money.

As to the newbee points - of course time served matters! Its the reason why feedback on eBay has always been an important factor.

I may not contribute much - but I know who I would take advice from more readily......