GARDENING EXPRESS

bornjoyful

snap.  I bought £120 of plants and although they arrived ok they were less than half the size of what you can get for same price in an average garden centre. Never again

slumberman

People were too generous to give them the benefit of the doubt because of Covid, and unfair to criticise OP and others who were perfectly entitled to be unhappy with the products and service.

It is now April 2021 so the Covid excuse no longer works and I have unfortunately ordered from them. Plants were of very poor quality. Contacting customer service is very difficult and once you succeed they try to make excuses (like, to paraphrase "It's normal for a palm's leaves to be rotten because we leave them outside in order for them to be cold hardy". Seriously...) then they claim that the "nursery manager" needs to look at the pictures, and then you don't hear from them again.

I also left reviews with pictures of the plants I received on their website and they are nowhere to be seen so far for some reason...

My advice is to avoid them.

two-for-one

I ordered from them as well.  Never again. Took ages for the plant to arrive, and when they did, they were in a very poor state. I emailed them about this but never heard back. 

I certainly would never buy from them again. 

missile

I am another disappointed customer. 

My order arrived late.
1 off Sarcococca, was in good condition 
6 off Hellibore, were in poor condition. 4 have died and two are on life support
6 off Peonys, I received some bare tubers, no idea what they are

No response to complaint and did not post my review on their web site

elaitham

I ordered from this company 3rd April 2021, website quotes 3 to 5 days, only consulting FAQ tells you longer.
I chased the order, the got an email saying despatched on next day delivery. They actually arrived 4 days later. Of the 4 orders, 1 I was happy with, 1 was missing, 1 was biotin bud or bloom as advertised and the other was half the size expected. 

Many complaints later, after reviewing them on Amazon (they sell on there too) they are replacing 1 plant and have refunded the missing plant.

elaitham

I got I received a replacement plant finally, the new one is on the right!

zsuzsa

I feel the need to vent, and also to warn other people, so I'll add to this thread. I first ordered from Gardening Express last year during the first lockdown when all the garden centres were closed.  I expected delays but I never expected them to sit on my order for almost two months with no way of cancelling! Buy the time they finally delivered, all the garden centres were fully open and I could have bought much better plants much cheaper! Against my better judgement, I gave them another chance this year as I wanted to buy a few specific plants that I couldn't find locally - this time it "only" took them 10 days to deliver my order, but I was bitterly disappointed with the quality of the plants they sent me. They are barely alive and I'm not even sure I can revive them. Nobody would ever buy these plants in a garden centre - they look like something that was chucked on the scrapheap and later retrieved as there was nothing else available for them to send out - I honestly feel like I was scammed. The plants look nothing like the pictures on the website - and the reason they don't show you the actual items is because then nobody in their right mind would buy them!  Isn't that false advertising|? I sent them a compliant but I don't expect a reply, let alone a refund. Now I'm on a crusade to warn people, otherwise they will continue to rip their customers off. I was stupid enough to give them another chance, but never again - lesson learned.  Learn from my mistake and do not buy from this company, unless you're happy to flush your cash down the toilet. You might as well do that right now - saves you the hassle and the disappointment and the end result is exactly the same. 

Becky_J

I'm really shocked by these posts. I came on Moneyforum to seek advice over how to reclaim money from Gardening Express when all communication channels are blocked. 

Those using Covid (a global pandemic) as a device by which to attack others or 'shame' them into silence should reflect on their own motivation. Katrinawaves, hollydays, cymruchris etc... I worked throughout the pandemic organising cross county accommodation for rough sleepers and have supported NHS staff with delivery of vaccines to homeless families. Sitting in my backyard and tending to my plants has been my respite from frontline work.

However, none of that should have any bearing on my ability to share experiences and seek advice from others who have encountered similar problems.   I would consider it shameful to use Covid as a prop to try and support my views.   

Similarly many people use on-line services as they are housebound or their working hours mean it is incredibly hard to visit a centre (opening times / life commitments). 

My experience if Gardening Express has been ordering 3 expensive plants that took 7wks 3 days to arrive. For those demanding a breakdown they arrived on a Thursday so I believe that's 38 working days? (the mathematician can correct me). On arrival 2 were dead & 1 unrecognisable - all but dead. They were so badly packaged that it took 2 of us and a stanley knife to remove the plastic taped all around them. The pots were broken, the plants squashed and dead. 

I have raised 5 tickets and 3 online requests all of which have been ignored. The first being sent almost 2wks ago. The online system on each occassion has told me to wait, then several hours later sends a message saying we are now closed and to try again the next day. I have had no response to tickets (raised on different days) other than a generic email signposting me back to the same complaint raising channels.

I attempted emailing the CEO but this also bounced back. I will be writing instead. 

I cannot afford to lose £120.  I came to Moneyforum to see if there was any advice on an Ombudsman or Trading Standards or a means to reclaim my money. 

Can anyone with advice on these queries please let me know. Many thanks. 

Davesnave

Becky_J said:

I'm really shocked by these posts. I came on Moneyforum to seek advice over how to reclaim money from Gardening Express when all communication channels are blocked. 

Can anyone with advice on these queries please let me know. Many thanks. 

There are parts of the main site that deal with how to complain and eventually file a claim against companies that don't deliver.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/?_ga=2.68757265.1445017790.1619343578-1314235170.1602091954

I believe you would assemble your evidence and claim via Moneyclaim online, but you can check that. If your action is undefended (as it often is) you win. However, that still might not mean you get your money without involving bailiffs etc.

Covid has altered many people's perspectives; mine more than most.  I agree some answers here were unhelpful, but it's symptomatic of a wider malaise. The government chose to engender fear in the population and scared people who feel personally embattled may be less sympathetic than usual.

Manchester12

These guys are a joke. The treatment I've received from them leaves me to doubt the reviews sticking up for them are actual customers but are garden express employees.  I ordered and assortment of succulents and waited about 20 days for delivery.  1, they was poorly packed and damaged. 2, every single one was the same type and colour. I've been gardening for many years an a fan of succulents. However once I got hold of them, which is almost impossible. They told me the plants will recover from the damage and that all are indeed associated.  I even provided pictures which shown i was right.  No mention of a sorry of offering replacement or refund.  The worse providers i have dealt with in a long time.