play.com - total jokers

RowaN

Right, I wanted to order my mum an extra special present for Mothers Day this year, something she actually wanted: a digital camera to help with her eBaying. A fairly pricey one too, at £90. But unfortunately Play.com have given me one problem after the other so far...

1. Play.com would not let me ship to her address, only to my billing address.

2. To get round this limitation I ordered a gift certificate for her instead.. but rather than being e-mailed to me instantly as most other online retailers do, it took 48 hours (and a chasing phonecall to Play) to arrive, missing mothers day.:mad:

3. When it did arrive, my mother was unable to use it without entering HER credit card details, despite the fact that the voucher was for £90, and the camera was £90 including delivery. Not only a nuisance, but also a worry as my mum now has to worry about handing over her credit card details.

4. THREE WEEKS LATER a box has arrived containing a camera CASE only, and no camera. The product page says "Usually dispatched within 24 hours" .. a joke! No orders now show as outstanding when she logs in.

So now I'm left having to call Play to sort this mess out. When can I call them? Well, their website doesnt state opening times for their 0845 customer services number, let alone easter opening times, so I'm left guessing.

Meanwhile, poor mother still has no Mothers Day gift, 3 weeks+ after mothers day.:mad: :mad:

I need to scream so here goes, ARHGHGHHGHGHGHHGHGHG.

dazco

Play are a very good company, and it sounds like you have got a raw deal. Mind you, half the things you are whinging about are not really worth whinging about.

I am sure they will sort it out.

DaisyFlower

Firstly, they dont ship some electricals and high priced items to a different address for security reasons - its there to protect customers.

If you had to wait 48 hours for the voucher to come though, whether you had ordered the actual camera or the voucher either wouldnt have arrived in time for mothers day - you need to shop a lot earlier if you want it to arrive in time.

It quite clearly states in the T&C's on Play that a valid credit/debit card is needed to use the voucher.

As for the camera not being in the box, unless the packaging is damaged or had been tampered with and signed to this effect you may have a problem proving you never had it.

Play may look at the history of complaining and ask themselves if the story is genuine.

superscaper

Personally I'd only use play for lower end items. If you use them for higher end more expensive electrical goods you limit your rights considerably by using them as you have no real legal comeback and everything is at play's discretion. If you use a UK company then you at least have the use of the Sale of Goods Act and the Distance Seller Regulations.

chuckles1066

dazco wrote: »

Play are a very good company, and it sounds like you have got a raw deal. Mind you, half the things you are whinging about are not really worth whinging about.

I am sure they will sort it out.

Ditto; I've ordered over £2k worth of DVDs over the years and have never had a single problem.

They're actually a model example of how a company should be run.

superscaper

chuckles1066 wrote: »

Ditto; I've ordered over £2k worth of DVDs over the years and have never had a single problem.

They're actually a model example of how a company should be run.

Neither have I but then I've never ordered anything from them larger than a DVD boxset. But every single person I know personally who has ever ordered any individual significant thing (e.g. laptop) has had major problems. Besides which for the reasons I mentioned earlier I wouldn't risk it anyway just because there aren't really any consumer rights.

pinkshoes

RowaN wrote: »

1. Play.com would not let me ship to her address, only to my billing address.

This is for security and is a good idea. If your card is stolen, it prevents someone being able to use your card online and sent items to another address.

RowaN wrote: »

4. THREE WEEKS LATER a box has arrived containing a camera CASE only, and no camera. The product page says "Usually dispatched within 24 hours" .. a joke! No orders now show as outstanding when she logs in.

So now I'm left having to call Play to sort this mess out. When can I call them? Well, their website doesnt state opening times for their 0845 customer services number, let alone easter opening times, so I'm left guessing.

Play.com used to be a good company, but since 2008 they've had alot of bad reviews online. Maybe they're having some issues within the company??

Their landline number is 02890 921724 (https://www.saynoto0870.com)

darwin-rover

pinkshoes wrote: »

Play.com used to be a good company, but since 2008 they've had alot of bad reviews online. Maybe they're having some issues within the company??

Agreed .
I've been using them since 1998 with no problems until recently . Ordered a camera case from them , they sent the wrong one on 3 occasions . I had to phone several times to get another one sent out and to get my return postage fully refunded . Call centre staff didn't care one iota . Ended up buying it elsewhere and its doubtful I'll use them again .
Also you can leave reviews for products , and I left a few negative comments on a few things (not libelist or unjustified) and they were taken off .

looby75

I'm used play quite happily for a couple of years now with no problems, but I think that might be about to change. I ordered a SD HC memory card for my ds laptop just over 2 weeks ago and it hasn't arrived, despite it being in stock when I ordered it.

I've emailed them but as of yet I've had no reply. I realise it's Easter so I'm going to give them a bit longer but I've heard some no so good reports about them lately so I'm not very optimistic.

redrabbit29

dazco wrote: »

Play are a very good company, and it sounds like you have got a raw deal. Mind you, half the things you are whinging about are not really worth whinging about.

I am sure they will sort it out.

Agreed - good/sensible response. Play are a great company, don't let this bad experience make you think otherwise. Mistakes do happen, but so to do misunderstandings. Some of the things you mention are probably in the T&C's, e.g. about the gift voucher, and not shipping to another address, etc...

Tell play.com about the camera case thing, and I'm sure they'll sort it all out.

EDIT: no, I don't work for play.com

letsbehonest

hi Looby75
You said you emailed play.com, can you give me the email address as there is no facility on their website for this.
regards.