Cube 247's wonderful reviews

Just_Caz

I have recently had a bad experience buying a computer from a company called Cube 247. I'll spare you all the detail but I have now resolved the issue (no thanks to Cube) and have fixed the computer myself at a cost of £20. This seemed an option preferable to being without a computer for 6 months whilst waiting for a refund - as other posters to this site have been, and to making my OH's dangerously high blood pressure even higher.
Mercifully I didn't spend a lot and I have managed to salvage something out of the situation. What is making me maddest of all and is turning me into a single issue obsessive is that I parted with my money without doing my research deeply enough. I am usually quite savvy when I buy on the Internet and did look at the reviews. Cube currently have a rating of good (8.2) on the consumer review site Trustpilot and at the time I paid for the computer all the top reviews were glowing. Since then more negative reviews have been posted but the company's score is still high. It wasn't until the computer I bought failed to start (2 days after receipt) that I looked at the reviews in more detail and the full horror of my mistake dawned. As I don't want this thread closed for anything that might be considered libellous, I can only encourage you to look at the reviews and judge for yourself. My favourite ones are from the kid who thinks the gaming computer his parents bought him is 'mint' and took all that time and trouble to join a website to post a favourable review - as kids who are interested in gaming would always do. Second comes the one that just lists the spec of the machine and says what a bargain it is. He hasn't even got his computer yet, but feels moved to post a review!

Perhaps I'm being dreadfully cynical but I really would appreciate other members here taking a look to see if you think that something stinks like a box of week old kippers left outside in the sun . Obviously as a newbie I can't post links yet but it would be nice if some kind soul could.

For the record I have contacted consumer direct about Cube 247's more interesting practices, which include asking their customers to open up their computers to fiddle with the connections to see if anything's loose without saying anything about making sure the computer isn't plugged in or taking precautions against static.:eek:

I have reported my concerns to Trustpilot (they've not replied yet) but haven't yet posted a review because I am not entirely sure of their practices and what details they might pass on to Cube. If anyone knows more about this please let me know

All I want to do is stop anyone else having an equally unpleasant experience. If anyone can offer advice or help me do this I'd be really grateful:)

Lip_Stick

Just had a look and I think you're probably right. Looking at the dates there are plenty of reviews all posted on the same day, and in succession. They got a bad review on the 29th November, then 9 good reviews on the 30th. All the reviewers have different reasons for buying, just about covering all the reasons to buy a comp.

Just_Caz

Ah - so glad you agree with me - Lip_stick. If you read the bad ones there are some awful stories too, I feel really sorry for the people who spent a lot of money:(

Lip_Stick

There must have been a lack of orders on the 13th November as someone at the company was bored, and created 38 reviews all giving 5 stars! I think they went a bit OTT there and made it obvious that they're faking their own reviews.

Just_Caz

What a shame they didn't put the same amount of energy into helping their customers!

Just_Caz

I think I might be getting a result here. Trustpilot have pulled one of the reviews - the one that was just a gratuitous plug, which I reported. I hope something happens and they do a thorough investigation of all the posts though - This can't be good for their credibility!

pinkichiban

Reviews have become unreliable. I tried to post a negative comment on a product bought from fragrance direct, in the past they have happily posted my positive reviews, but my negative one is nowhere to be seen. I have also been approached by a friend who was setting up a new business and wanted me to put up a positive review and I would be rewarded. I said I could not review something I had not tried. He sent me some samples and I gave an honest review, the product was as good as his claims. So reviews are to be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

Just_Caz

pinkichiban wrote: »

I have also been approached by a friend who was setting up a new business and wanted me to put up a positive review and I would be rewarded. I said I could not review something I had not tried. He sent me some samples and I gave an honest review, the product was as good as his claims.

.

Good for you Pinkichiban for being honest:). I don't think I'll ever buy anything again without reading every line very carefully. Sad to think that you need to research everything to such a degree though:(

If_it_can_go_wrong

Lip_Stick wrote: »

There must have been a lack of orders on the 13th November as someone at the company was bored, and created 38 reviews all giving 5 stars! I think they went a bit OTT there and made it obvious that they're faking their own reviews.

Just_Caz wrote: »

What a shame they didn't put the same amount of energy into helping their customers!

The reviews I find most amusing ( with the benefit of hindsight) are the ones specifically praising their customer service dept on CIAO.

I presume you have had the dubious pleasure of contacting the arrogant lady in their "customer service" dept Caz?

trumpton

Someone (Dogtanian1982) has just joined Hot Deals UK and within an hour has posted 3 Cube247 deals. Again, that looks a bit dodgy to me. Just checked - HDUK have removed them as spam. Haha.

I agree about the reviews - lots of crap ones and then a shed load of glowing ones all 30th Nov and 8/9th Dec. Must have been a couple of quiet days.

Just_Caz

Thank you for replying If it can go wrong and thank you for reporting the dreadful problems you had with this company on this site. They helped to inform the decisions I made when I read them. Unfortunately I didn't have the pleasure of meeting the dreaded CS lady because by then I'd read the reviews, decided that she was in serious need of heavy doses of lithium, and I wasn't prepared to risk that she hadn't taken her medication on the day I called.
I spared myself the heartache of arguing with them, cut my losses and ran. For the sake of a few quid it seemed the best course to take. Cowardly I know but we couldn't really afford to be without a working computer or our money back and it seemed the most sensible thing to do. From others experience I had no proper warranty and any repairs would probably do more damage than good - when it arrived there was no paperwork with it anyway! As I am reasonably technical I managed to sort it myself at minimal cost, but was bloody furious at dealing with such an unprofessional and unscrupulous company under what, IMHO, were false pretences. I am truly glad that you got your money back but can't imagine how awful it must have been in the process. Well done for toughing it out :T All I want to do here is to bring this to the attention of anyone who wants to buy a computer from this company so they can make an informed decision. Unfortunately they are a top Google hit for 'cheap computers.' My major concern is that folk that don't know where to get help may get hurt.