VICTORIAPLUMB.COM - any experience with this company?

mike.hadley

Despite the many negative reviews, I purchased a bathroom suite for my son's house about 6 months ago. Very pleased with the items received and had no need to contact Seller.

SO,

Wanted to refurbish MY bathroom and ordered from Victoria Plumb. AFTER payment taken was advised "Out of Stock" on 2 items but that if I wished split delivery, just call them. What a laugh. As soon as calls to the only number on the website sent through they were "blipped" (answered and disconnected immediately). Obtained a real number from "Say No to 0870" and got through 4 times in the next 3 days.

Hopeless - The people you speak to could not do anything other than pass your message to customer services who will phone you "shortly" - but my phone never rang.

Eventually I decided I would have to go elsewhere as I could not wait the month for the complete delivery. Phoned them, and after asking for my name and postcode, told them I was considering cancelling, was immediately told that my order was cancelled and that my money would be refunded in 14 days! No enquiry as to why, no argument, no concern that they were loosing a (large) order.

In brief - Excellent products and good prices BUT if there are ANY problems, customer "service" would be better if it did not exist at all.

PS Did e-mail them asking them to confirm the phone cancellation - no response

Just ordered from elsewhere and received 4 emails from this new company in the next hour, confirming order, confirming payment, advising order passed to packing and 20% off token. Service !!!!!

Doozergirl

I still use them a lot and they are normally really good with their customer service, but there is one woman on the end of the phone who thinks it's more than her jobsworth to be nice to people. Last time I spoke to her, I remembered the name of the person I'd spoken to a couple of days before and
asked her to put me through to her. She was totally miffed and refused initially (of course, why be nice and do as a customer asks?) but did eventually and I got what I needed from the original lady.

lrose_4

We bought a good looking freestanding bath, wc, sink taps and bath pedestal tap back in 2008 at a comparatively low price compared to the major High Street players. We were bowled over, in fact, by the price, as we couldn’t have afforded the good looking, high-end equivalent elsewhere.
We should have known better and remembered the old adage “you get what you pay for”. Instructions were poorly conveyed (lost in translation from Eastern Europe or China, not sure exactly) and it became obvious very quickly that the products were inferior despite their looks.
· Within 2 weeks of fitting, the sink tap waste lever (bad design as just a thin metal rod with nothing to get hold of) became totally immovable and we’ve never been able to plug the sink and fill it with water since.
· The bath is very light weight and if you sit on the edge of it whilst empty it tips up like a flimsy piece of moveable furniture!
· The bath pedestal tap (looks great!) is impossible to fit square and solidly and as a result wobbles around loosely at the slightest touch – matches the bath in that respect, I suppose. The flash-looking chrome waste pipe underneath the bath (partially viewable as bath is freestanding) has started to rust at a join and is becoming an eyesore.
· Finally, one half of the two-part toilet flush button gets stuck in the down position regularly and only after persistent twisting and prodding will it pop back up, only to get stuck down again soon after.
That’s it, in a nutshell. Great prices, good looks - yes, but rubbish quality together with inherently bad design spells FAIL. On top of that, we had trouble getting any joy whatsoever out of customer service and gave it up as a bad job in the end. Once bitten, twice shy – will not go there again despite the lure of fantastic looks and prices.

keystone

lrose wrote: »

Within 2 weeks of fitting, the sink tap waste lever (bad design as just a thin metal rod with nothing to get hold of) became totally immovable and we’ve never been able to plug the sink and fill it with water since.
· The bath is very light weight and if you sit on the edge of it whilst empty it tips up like a flimsy piece of moveable furniture!
· The bath pedestal tap (looks great!) is impossible to fit square and solidly and as a result wobbles around loosely at the slightest touch – matches the bath in that respect, I suppose. The flash-looking chrome waste pipe underneath the bath (partially viewable as bath is freestanding) has started to rust at a join and is becoming an eyesore.
· Finally, one half of the two-part toilet flush button gets stuck in the down position regularly and only after persistent twisting and prodding will it pop back up, only to get stuck down again soon after.

Whilst I'm not exactly a fan of Vicplumb this post isn't fair. From where I'm sitting all of the points you complain about are purely and simply down to bad or incompetant installation.

That’s it, in a nutshell. Great prices, good looks - yes, but rubbish quality together with inherently bad design spells FAIL.

You cannot translate poor installation into poor quality products. A good fitter can make a cheap bathroom look a million dolars. A bad fitter can make an expensve one look pants.

On top of that, we had trouble getting any joy whatsoever out of customer service and gave it up as a bad job in the end.

VicPlumb do not by any means have a monopoly on carp customer service after the product has been delivered (or not). Most of the big boys (and almost without exception all of the internet shopfronts) are no better.

Cheers

lrose_4

keystone wrote: »

Whilst I'm not exactly a fan of Vicplumb this post isn't fair. From where I'm sitting all of the points you complain about are purely and simply down to bad or incompetant installation.

VicPlumb do not by any means have a monopoly on carp customer service after the product has been delivered (or not). Most of the big boys (and almost without exception all of the internet shopfronts) are no better.

I take it that as a "Fantastically Fervent MoneySaving Super Fan" with an impressive MSE curriculum vitae you feel you can judge the fairness of others' posts or perhaps as a "FFMSSF", saving money has upstaged your ability to recognise good/bad quality when you see it.

Oh, and why do you think that other suppliers' bad customer service should justify Victoria Plumb's woefully bad customer service? - you're serving to give them the rubber stamp of approval with your mighty MSE credentials............!!

Why can you not accept that the points I have raised could actually be down to bad quality and design? Maybe your cause for reply is more to do with an affiliation in some way with the aforementioned bathroom supplier?

keystone

I take it that as a "Fantastically Fervent MoneySaving Super Fan" with an impressive MSE curriculum vitae you feel you can judge the fairness of others' posts or perhaps as a "FFMSSF", saving money has upstaged your ability to recognise good/bad quality when you see it.

Well you seem so busy trying to put on a badly fitting sarcasm coat that you have actually missed the points raised in my post entirely.

I would not recommend any of my customers (actual or potential) to buy from VicPlumb. That my personal preference but I can't dictate. If they want to buy from there then I'll fit it.

My ability to recognise good/bad quality has nothing to do with it. I repeat "from where I'm sitting" every single one of the matters you complain about point to poor or incompetant installation irrespective of the quality of the items concerned.

Oh, and why do you think that other suppliers' bad customer service should justify Victoria Plumb's woefully bad customer service?

I don't.

- you're serving to give them the rubber stamp of approval with your mighty MSE credentials............!!

Don't be childish. I have to deal with companies like this on a weekly basis - those are my credentials not my membership of MSE. Most of them are as bad as one another. One day one of them might just get it right.

Why can you not accept that the points I have raised could actually be down to bad quality and design?

Because in my professional judgement from the way you have described them every single one is down to bad installation thats why. If I'm right and I'm confident that I am thats why your post alleging poor quality soley based on these issues is unfair in my opinion. Perhaps your reaction is because it was a DIY install and therefore more convenient to blame the supplier for the problems? Do you want me to analyse each "fault" for you individually?

Maybe your cause for reply is more to do with an affiliation in some way with the aforementioned bathroom supplier?

Oh do grow up. I said in my earlier post that I'm not a fan.

Cheers

noelphobic

I ordered a basin/vanity unit, tap and wall cabinet on Saturday. I was charged for large item delivery rather than small/medium which was a lot cheaper. I also paid £15 extra for next day delivery, so paid £50 in total.

As I ordered on a Saturday I didn't expect delivery until Tuesday (today) which is what I got. However, when the items turned up none of them were heavy and/or large and didn't need a 2 man delivery team. The boxes looked fine but when my builder unpacked the items the cupboard of the vanity unit was badly damaged.

I phoned Victoria Plumb immediately. Whilst the girl I spoke to wasn't rude, nor was she overly apologetic. She said I needed to speak to another department to arrange delivery of a replacement but that their lines were busy and she would email and ask someone to phone me back. I asked when I would get a call back and she said she couldn't tell me what time it would be. I asked if I would get a call back today and she said she couldn't guarantee it (this was at 2.40pm).

She did eventually put me through to the other department and again they weren't overly apologetic. They told me the earliest they could get a replacement to me would be Thursday as the cut off time for next day delivery was 2pm. I said I wanted my delivery charges refunded as I believed I had been overcharged and had been let down by receiving faulty goods. I was told that any requests for refund of delivery charges had to be put in writing - I got the impression it was a frequent request.

I now have to take the day off on Thursday, assuming I can get it - luckily my builder was here today. I am less than impressed and just hope the new item turns up on time and in good condition.

Incidentally, I asked if the driver who delivered the new item would take the old one away, and was told that they didn't require the faulty item to be returned and I should just dispose of it!

In contrast I ordered a shower last night around 6pm from Plumbworld and that arrived this morning. Standard delivery was £4.97 and I paid an extra £3 for express delivery and was very impressed that they managed next day delivery when I had ordered so late in the day - I think Victoria Plumb could learn a thing or two from them!

noelphobic

The replacement for the broken vanity unit was due to arrive today. I booked a day off work. The delivery men turned up with the package and I said I needed to check it to make sure it wasn't broken.

However, they hadn't sent a replacement for the broken vanity unit, they had sent another basin - there was nothing wrong with the original basin!

I refused delivery and phoned Victoria Plumb. They were just as disinterested as they were the last time I spoke to them. I told them I couldn't get a day off for another delivery and asked if they delivered at weekends - of course they don't! I asked if I could speak to a manager or supervisor and was told they don't speak to customers!

I've had to ask a neighbour to take the parcel in for me tomorrow and to check it is the right item and it isn't broken before she signs for and accepts it. I'm not optimistic about getting the right item in a good condition!

cddc

Whilst not in the slightest defending Vici Plumbs attitude to customer service or product quality may I just point out the folly of leaving the ordering of non stocked fragile bathroom products till the last minute from anyone and relying on courier/carrier type delivery services to deliver them in one piece and paying extra for this lottery of a service.

No matter how well wrapped or packaged they are there is a very good chance that what you are liable to receive is splinters or mosaic given that the word "fragile" on packaging is like a red rag to a bull (in a china shop) to these guys........

noelphobic

cddc wrote: »

Whilst not in the slightest defending Vici Plumbs attitude to customer service or product quality may I just point out the folly of leaving the ordering of non stocked fragile bathroom products till the last minute from anyone and relying on courier/carrier type delivery services to deliver them in one piece and paying extra for this lottery of a service.

No matter how well wrapped or packaged they are there is a very good chance that what you are liable to receive is splinters or mosaic given that the word "fragile" on packaging is like a red rag to a bull (in a china shop) to these guys........

Actually the delivery men have been the only decent human beings I have dealt with during this whole sorry saga. In the case of the first delivery, the boxes looked fine and it was only on unpacking them that we discovered the vanity unit was badly damaged.

I couldn't hold the courier company responsible for the fact that the wrong replacement product was delivered - they were asked to deliver a package and they did so, they weren't responsible for the choice of what was in that package.

Just to add to the sorry saga, the replacement vanity unit was delivered today and that is also badly damaged! Again the box looked fine on the outside and I do think that they must kick the products around the warehouse before they pack them.

When I phoned to advise of the latest disaster they were as disinterested and unhelpful as they have been all along. I am now supposedly getting yet another replacement delivered next Wednesday (paid for next day delivery last Saturday!) I have totally gone off this item, partly because of the problems I have experienced. I have seen a couple of possible replacements elsewhere. However, I am now worried about getting my money back from Victoria Plumb given the fact that their customer service is second to all!