Intimidation to change Trustpilot review

AndyFairbairn

Just wondered if anyone has had any issues with PRC Direct recently?  I ordered an item which had a 5 to 7 working day delivery timescale, and after hearing nothing for five days I sent them an email for an update.  The response I got gave me no confidence that I would receive the itme in the time required, so I posted a review on Trustpilot with my experience.  Later that day I got an email from PRC Direct asking me to change my review or they would cancel the order.  I replied I would only update my review on safe receipt of the goods.  A couple of hours later I received an intimidating call "asking" if I was going to change my review.  I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.  To their credit, the refund arrived within two days, but surely this is a flagrant abuse of the Trustpilot mechanism?

Aylesbury_Duck

AndyFairbairn said:

Just wondered if anyone has had any issues with PRC Direct recently?  I ordered an item which had a 5 to 7 working day delivery timescale, and after hearing nothing for five days I sent them an email for an update.  The response I got gave me no confidence that I would receive the itme in the time required, so I posted a review on Trustpilot with my experience.  Later that day I got an email from PRC Direct asking me to change my review or they would cancel the order.  I replied I would only update my review on safe receipt of the goods.  A couple of hours later I received an intimidating call "asking" if I was going to change my review.  I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.  To their credit, the refund arrived within two days, but surely this is a flagrant abuse of the Trustpilot mechanism?

You did jump the gun, so I'm unsurprised they've done what they have.  Wasn't it you who abused the Trustpilot mechanism by posting a negative review before the delivery window had elapsed and you'd received your product, and then blackmailing them?  It seems you've been hasty and unfair and they've decided to call your bluff and that they don't want your custom.  That's their prerogative, and I don't blame them.

KatrinaWaves

Aylesbury_Duck said:

AndyFairbairn said:

Just wondered if anyone has had any issues with PRC Direct recently?  I ordered an item which had a 5 to 7 working day delivery timescale, and after hearing nothing for five days I sent them an email for an update.  The response I got gave me no confidence that I would receive the itme in the time required, so I posted a review on Trustpilot with my experience.  Later that day I got an email from PRC Direct asking me to change my review or they would cancel the order.  I replied I would only update my review on safe receipt of the goods.  A couple of hours later I received an intimidating call "asking" if I was going to change my review.  I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.  To their credit, the refund arrived within two days, but surely this is a flagrant abuse of the Trustpilot mechanism?

You did jump the gun, so I'm unsurprised they've done what they have.  Wasn't it you who abused the Trustpilot mechanism by posting a negative review before the delivery window had elapsed and you'd received your product, and then blackmailing them?  It seems you've been hasty and unfair and they've decided to call your bluff and that they don't want your custom.  That's their prerogative, and I don't blame them.

Seconded. The only person 'abusing' TP is you. A pandemic, Christmas, incredibly slow delivery times from RM (understandably) and youre flapping after the earlier of the windows goes by??

Pollycat

Thirded.

To contact a supplier because you hadn't received the goods after 5 days with 5-7 day delivery terms is wrong.

And to then do a negative review on TP just compounded that wrong.

Similar to people posting negative reviews on eBay without giving the seller the opportunity to sort things out.

dinglebert

When threads go wrong, part 25.

Undervalued

Pollycat said:

Thirded.

To contact a supplier because you hadn't received the goods after 5 days with 5-7 day delivery terms is wrong.

And to then do a negative review on TP just compounded that wrong.

Similar to people posting negative reviews on eBay without giving the seller the opportunity to sort things out.

Obviously it depends what the problem was and whether it was the seller's fault. However if they were to blame, then even if they later "sort things out", the buyer has still had a bad experience.

Undervalued

KatrinaWaves said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

AndyFairbairn said:

Just wondered if anyone has had any issues with PRC Direct recently?  I ordered an item which had a 5 to 7 working day delivery timescale, and after hearing nothing for five days I sent them an email for an update.  The response I got gave me no confidence that I would receive the itme in the time required, so I posted a review on Trustpilot with my experience.  Later that day I got an email from PRC Direct asking me to change my review or they would cancel the order.  I replied I would only update my review on safe receipt of the goods.  A couple of hours later I received an intimidating call "asking" if I was going to change my review.  I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.  To their credit, the refund arrived within two days, but surely this is a flagrant abuse of the Trustpilot mechanism?

You did jump the gun, so I'm unsurprised they've done what they have.  Wasn't it you who abused the Trustpilot mechanism by posting a negative review before the delivery window had elapsed and you'd received your product, and then blackmailing them?  It seems you've been hasty and unfair and they've decided to call your bluff and that they don't want your custom.  That's their prerogative, and I don't blame them.

Seconded. The only person 'abusing' TP is you. A pandemic, Christmas, incredibly slow delivery times from RM (understandably) and youre flapping after the earlier of the windows goes by??

Umm.

Yes and no. 

The OP said.....

I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.

Which rather implies that the seller had not even dispatched the item by day five? If so, given the well publicised postal delays, they are drastically reducing the chances of the item being delivered within the quoted 5 to 7 days. Surely they should either dispatch more promptly or, if they can't, quote a longer and more realistic delivery time?

Pollycat

Undervalued said:

Obviously it depends what the problem was and whether it was the seller's fault. However if they were to blame, then even if they later "sort things out", the buyer has still had a bad experience.

I ordered several items from eBay.

One of the items was marked as 'picked' but wasn't in the package.

A simple message to the seller resulted in the missing item being shipped the same day.

Was it the seller's fault? Yes, it was.

Do I think it would have been unfair to the seller to leave negative feedback without giving them the chance to rectify the situation? Of course I do.

Did I feel I had a bad experience? No. It took me a couple of minutes to contact the seller.

From eBay:

Tip
If you've had an issue with your order, we recommend contacting the seller before you leave negative Feedback. Positive reviews and Feedback help sellers do more business, so they're usually happy to work with you to resolve your issue.

DiddyDavies

Undervalued said:

Umm.

Yes and no. 

The OP said.....

Which rather implies that the seller had not even dispatched the item by day five? If so, given the well publicised postal delays, they are drastically reducing the chances of the item being delivered within the quoted 5 to 7 days. Surely they should either dispatch more promptly or, if they can't, quote a longer and more realistic delivery time?

It doesn't matter that they hadn't dispatched the goods with 5 days or that there wouldn't have been much chance of delivery within 7 days as this isn't what is quoted by the company concerned.
They clearly state that it's a 5 to 7 day dispatch time and not 5 to 7 days delivery:

PRC Direct UK Electrical Retailer . TV, Television, LCD TV, Plasma TV, HD 1080P, HD Ready, Blu ray, DVD, Home Cinema | PRC Direct Delivery Terms

The OP wrote their review 2 days before the goods even had to be sent out so I'm not surprised that PRC direct weren't happy.

Standard Delivery - Varies but most single items are offered with FREE delivery.
Dispatched within 5 to 7 working days (excluding Saturday & Bank Holidays) 1 man delivery service

unholyangel

Undervalued said:

KatrinaWaves said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

AndyFairbairn said:

Just wondered if anyone has had any issues with PRC Direct recently?  I ordered an item which had a 5 to 7 working day delivery timescale, and after hearing nothing for five days I sent them an email for an update.  The response I got gave me no confidence that I would receive the itme in the time required, so I posted a review on Trustpilot with my experience.  Later that day I got an email from PRC Direct asking me to change my review or they would cancel the order.  I replied I would only update my review on safe receipt of the goods.  A couple of hours later I received an intimidating call "asking" if I was going to change my review.  I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.  To their credit, the refund arrived within two days, but surely this is a flagrant abuse of the Trustpilot mechanism?

You did jump the gun, so I'm unsurprised they've done what they have.  Wasn't it you who abused the Trustpilot mechanism by posting a negative review before the delivery window had elapsed and you'd received your product, and then blackmailing them?  It seems you've been hasty and unfair and they've decided to call your bluff and that they don't want your custom.  That's their prerogative, and I don't blame them.

Seconded. The only person 'abusing' TP is you. A pandemic, Christmas, incredibly slow delivery times from RM (understandably) and youre flapping after the earlier of the windows goes by??

Umm.

Yes and no. 

The OP said.....

I said I would when I got the item, the caller then told me my order was being cancelled and the payment refunded.

Which rather implies that the seller had not even dispatched the item by day five? If so, given the well publicised postal delays, they are drastically reducing the chances of the item being delivered within the quoted 5 to 7 days. Surely they should either dispatch more promptly or, if they can't, quote a longer and more realistic delivery time?

Playing devil's advocate...the op said 5-7 working days was given as timescale and "5 days passed". There could still be up to 6 days left of that timescale.

Plus, the delivery timescale may not start from when the order is placed. 

I can understand the OP contacting them to check it was definitely going to arrive within the quoted timescale, if it was required for a certain date (birthday present perhaps), but not leaving a bad review before the date had passed.  

Undervalued

DiddyDavies said:

Undervalued said:

Umm.

Yes and no. 

The OP said.....

Which rather implies that the seller had not even dispatched the item by day five? If so, given the well publicised postal delays, they are drastically reducing the chances of the item being delivered within the quoted 5 to 7 days. Surely they should either dispatch more promptly or, if they can't, quote a longer and more realistic delivery time?

It doesn't matter that they hadn't dispatched the goods with 5 days or that there wouldn't have been much chance of delivery within 7 days as this isn't what is quoted by the company concerned.
They clearly state that it's a 5 to 7 day dispatch time and not 5 to 7 days delivery:

PRC Direct UK Electrical Retailer . TV, Television, LCD TV, Plasma TV, HD 1080P, HD Ready, Blu ray, DVD, Home Cinema | PRC Direct Delivery Terms

The OP wrote their review 2 days before the goods even had to be sent out so I'm not surprised that PRC direct weren't happy.

Standard Delivery - Varies but most single items are offered with FREE delivery.
Dispatched within 5 to 7 working days (excluding Saturday & Bank Holidays) 1 man delivery service

OK, I missed that bit but quite frankly I am amazed that they get any custom at all with such a vague dispatch and delivery terms! Particularly as they state they won't leave the item with a neighbour etc. How many people are able (or willing) to hang around for days on end waiting for the doorbell to ring? The don't offer timed delivery at all but say "in most cases" the courier will make contact with an AM or PM option.

So many firms manage much better than this so unless this outfit are exceptionally cheap I wonder they survive.

Yes, this is what the OP signed up to so I agree he shouldn't leave a review claiming that the firm have broken the terms (yet!) but in my opinion he would be quite entitled to criticise the level of service offered.