Rate Your Favourite Catalogue(s)

kezzy100

Hiya As a lot of us use catalogues (online and through using the catalogues themselves and posting/phoning orders in) I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread that pointed out the good ones - and also bad ones.

Personally I recomend:

Choice: I've had an account with them since I turned 18 - 5 years ago and I've had nothing but good stuff to say about them. Codes all accepted, discounts honoured and no problem with payments - and I have been late with a few when I was younger and didn't have the steady income I have now. In the 5 years I've had to return a few things too and haven't had any problems with them.

Studio: I've used them for the last three years and not had any issues with them. Having said that I never spend more than £100 a year with them - if that - and I pay everything off in one - or two payments. I've never had to send anything back either, but I am fully aware some people - mostly those who order clothes and other personalised things - have issues with them.

JD Williams: I've only used them to place a £50 order and I have no issues with them. A payment was delayed because I appear to have opened a JD williams account before and although I did make the payment and have the email reciept, it was to a cancelled account and wasn't taken from my bank. No late fee was applied and they helped work with me to pay the right account. Delivery was within 2 days too.

Crazy Clearance: I've ordered a lot from these and I'm impressed. Fast delivery (Usually 2 days upwards to about 10 days. Curiously it was christmas that the delivery times were shorter!) Pleasant staff, great customer service, easy returns and the courier is always happy to give further info in my experience.

Great Universal: Gave me a first order discount and when I had to send the broken items back I was £15 in credit so respent it ordering something else.

I don't recomend:

Littlewoods: They keep charging me admin fees I don't owe and they made me pay an excess for an item I returned cos it had broken. They lost the game I returned with the item I'd bought to a different account (credited onto my Great Universal Account) charged me admin and carriage fee to return the broken item (that was later removed) because they thought I had the game they'd misplaced and are rude when you ring up.

Additions Direct: They refused to give me a first order discount because I asked for it - it wasn't sent out to me, sent out the wrong phone to the one I'd ordered and couldn't come and pick it up for 6 days after. On top of that they wouldn't send out a replacement phone until the other was picked up and then tried to charge me the delivery fee on top. Delivery was arranged for the 17th - noone arrived. We rang up and sorted another delivery date up for the 19th and someone arrived both 18th and 19th.

pennyocs

i have been with littlewoods for about 7 years now and have never had any problems at all infact the call centre staff have always been the nicest people ive come across on the phone.
Additions and Next are ok but it annoys me that i have to pay delivery charge for a catalouge

happy2bhere

Love Empirestores. Some real bargins (70% - 80% off) to be found in sale. Easier to shop by keyword and then list items by price ascending. Use one of the many codes for £15 off £30 spend (often found in discount code threads & work on sale items). My recent purchases include a gorgeous fitted jacket for £3.50 after discounts (was £45).

Also, don't forget quidco! Could it get any better!!!

Avoid La REdoute if you want things quickly, delivery seems to take anything up to 3 weeks for instock items. :rolleyes:

frugallass

Can't stand Littlewoods - one day I receive a letter stating I have £1300 to spend with them, yeah shop till you drop and get into loads of debt.... the next day they call me demanding full payment of my account because I've missed a payment or have been late with a payment

The operators sound about 13 years old, with heavy scouse accents, and talk to me like I'm some kind of criminal - can't wait to pay them off and be rid of them :mad:

kezzy100

I think the same with Littlewoods has happened with me - though I haven't missed a payment, I just returned an item and left myself with a balance of just under £30 owing and now they want it all at once.

Fingers crossed you get it sorted

Maysie

I did miss one payment with littlewoods but i blagged and said i never received the statement ( i had just forgot to pay on time) and they took the charge of just this once. Been very careful careful since. I ordered a washing machine as it was actually a good buy on 18th feb i think it was but due for delivery on 3rd march. They changed the delivery date on-line so i queried it by phone and they said it was still coming on 3rd. Of course it never came. i rang back to complain and had the most annoying bloke very patronising and would not give me a straight answer. So i told him to cancel it i could not wait 2 month for a washing machine. Emailed my dissatisfaction and told them i was not happy and that sevice has gone down in last few years and i was a long standanding customer. A very nice lady rang me and they have offered to give me extra discount on my next order valid for a year! So any problems just complain. I always use quidco with littlewoods 6% excluding vat.

Empire i used to like but not ordered for over a year i just do not like the clothes anymore they are not my style without getting personal at anyone who does like their clothes. Agree the sales are good though.

pennyocs

The operators sound about 13 years old, with heavy scouse accents, and talk to me like I'm some kind of criminal - can't wait to pay them off and be rid of them :mad:[/quote]
As they are based in liverpool i would think that most operators have scouse accents.

unrich

Next: Bought some batrhoom furniture from them. Sink, tap and cabinet. When it arrived cabinet said "not suitable for moist environments" or words to that effect.

Apart from that. Its overpriced but acceptable quality. i.e. no worse than Ikea for furniture and slightly below M&S for clothes.

Reasonable service apart from having to repeat everything twice over the phone. And my accent is flat and my diction is perfect, darling.

6/10 could do better

frugallass

pennyocs wrote: »

As they are based in liverpool i would think that most operators have scouse accents.

I wasn't trying to offend (my extended family come from that area) I was just saying that the accents were quite strong - don't get on your high horse

ozvaldinho

I like http://www.knickerpicker.com/dressing-room.asp

But I don't know what they're like to actually buy from...;)

hawkwind

Empire stores have always been good with good offers to keep us coming back.

Freemans are simply the worst of the worse.
Statements are a joke as they hardly ever seem to get them right.
My wife got fed up at the end of last year after yet another charge for underpayment, despite being paid the correct amount well in advance, so i said let me take care of the payments as i would do it online and take screenshots of each transaction.

First payment great, the statement came back correct for the first time in 8 months. Second payment went through ok, but when we got the statement it was a mess. The first part was ok then there were readjustments, refunds payments etc and they were telling us to pay the whole lot in full.

Telephone call all sorted (so we thought) until the next statement when we had £24 charges for underpayments.

2 months later it has finally all been sorted and our account is clear and we were advised to not use the online payment as they could not guarantee the transaction to complete fully and correctly.
I said this must also apply to payments over the phone and at the bank and post office as they were hardly ever right.