Beware - Simply Electronics Scam? advice plz

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  • johanka
    johanka Posts: 7 Forumite
    edited 13 August 2012 at 10:54PM
    Really feel a deep sense of gratitude to the many victims of simply electronics that have taken the time to share their experiences and offer advise to those of us still going through the nightmare. If it weren't for forums such as this, the majority of consumers would probably be unaware they'd been ripped off until it was too late!
    Simply electronics pose as a UK company, their website is so deceptive unfortunately I fell for it, thinking I was getting a legit product with a manufacturers warranty. If I'd known they were actually Hong Kong based would never have touched them with a bargepole!
    Have just had an email from them after waiting 6 days. Just more useless information re refund. They have sent an urgent message to their returns department, who will contact me when my return is processed. They ask for my continued patience!! I'm sure this line is familiar to someone!!
  • Arghhhhh ! , I am such an idiot, I saw an Ipad 3 which was available for £369 and went for it. I found this website through Pricerunner or Amazon (cannot remember which one). I am horrified to see all these reviews , seriously I am very worried. Has anyone actually recieved an item from them ?

    Luckily I have internet purchase protection through my bank.
  • johanka
    johanka Posts: 7 Forumite
    Hash89, hope all works out for you with SE.
    I ordered a camera with SE on 12th july and RECEIVED it 5 days later, problem was I had cancelled the order with them within hours of placing it, I also discovered it was grey market and had no UK manufacturers warranty This was confirmed by the manufacturer! See my post yesterday..
    Amazon really are letting their customers down by allowing this company to sell through their site, as they are well aware of the serious customer service issues Simply Electronics have had over the years.
    Wish I could be more positive but I can only judge from my own experience with this company and the fact is they took my money almost 5 weeks ago for an order I had cancelled and although I have proof that the parcel I returned to them was received and signed for, they are now fobbing me off with the excuse "Once they receive the parcel from the courier they will process a refund"
    Someone posted a suggestion on 'Amazon discussions of Simply Electronics'. The signing of an online petition to present to 'Watchdog'. Maybe an idea! Nothing to lose!
  • dubble00
    dubble00 Posts: 2 Newbie
    edited 4 September 2012 at 5:22PM
    I ordered a mobile phone from Simply Electronics on the evening of August 15th. It was priced about 10% lower than the average market retail price.

    I used the website messaging 'service' to contact the company 2 days later requesting an update as a matter of course. At this point I had foolishly not researched the company in order to find the highly mixed reviews. I received no response.

    I attempted to contact them the next day, August 18th, again no response.

    Over that weekend I did my due diligence, somewhat too late, and found to my horror the many negative reviews online.

    I subsequently tried their phone line and went through their 'system' of queuing which the first time told me the wait would be 18 minutes. Not realising that this was in fact a short wait by their standards I chose their option of noting the PIN number they provided and calling back to regain that place in the queue, which I assumed would be much shorter. I called back 15mins later, entered the PIN, and was told my wait was now 31 minutes!?

    The next day, Monday 20th August, I compiled several messages politely warning them of the sequential actions I would take if I did not hear from them or receive my order in good time. This included Trading Standards, Office of Fair Trading and contacting the police (not that this would have necessarily helped but I was just attempting to build a picture for them to see I would be extremely persistent - I had read in the reviews that you need to be persistent in order to increase your chances of receiving your order in good time, if at all).

    I tried their phone system and sent 7 messages in total. No response to messages, no luck getting through.

    Around 11pm on Wednesday 22nd August, 1 week, or 5 working days after my order was placed, my account on the website still simply stated my order had been received but nothing had changed. I called at this time hoping they'd be a little quieter seeing it was late evening. The wait time was 13mins so I decided to wait it out this time (I had not received such a 'short' wait time previously and had not waited it out before this call). In total I waited around 20mins but got through to this guy. He told me my order would be dispatched the following Friday, 24th August, or the Monday after for certain, and that it would take 2 to 3 days to arrive. I didn't dispute the fact that the order had not been dispatched within the guideline 2 to 4 days because if what he said was true there was still a chance to receive it within the total guide time for delivery of 3-8 working days, clearly by now the upper end of that bracket. I asked why the messages had not been responded to and was told they had many and that there was just a delay in responding. I asked his name, 'Jimmy', and then i asked for his 'Chinese name'. He chuckled and told me he was not permitted to give this to me. So now i was pretty certain I was talking to a guy in Hong Kong. I questioned him about the UK manufacturer guarantee on the phone and he would not be drawn on this, only replying that they offer a 12 month guarantee as retailer. He told me I could return it to an address in Surrey if there was any fault.

    I ended that phone call, called my credit card company to warn them. They were aware of Simply Electronics and warned me there was a strong chance i'd not receive anything, but that i may be 'lucky'. If I was unlucky they would initiate a claim and refund me after a 28 day wait period. They pointed out that Monday was a bank holiday so it might be odd if it was posted to me then, unless it was posted from outside of the UK.

    I called HTC to ask about grey imports. They said Asian phones would have a 12 month warranty from them in the UK. If it was a European phone it would have a 24month warranty. They told me to call back if I did receive the phone and they would check out the place and date of manufacturer. They’d not be able to tell me if it was a refurb but they could have an indication by its manufacture date.

    The final step i took was to send an email to ‘ vanessa@simplyelectronic.net ‘ – I got this from a few reviews, she was supposedly the Customer Service manager. So, it all looks pretty bad at this point doesn’t it. Things then took a surprising turn...

    On Monday 27th September I received a DHL tracking number, Hong Kong to me. The very same morning I received a response from Vanessa to say the phone was on its way and should arrive shortly and to stay in contact to let her know. She duly answered some of my concerns, told be the phone was for the UK market with 3 pin adapter etc, and she said they had many happy customers but yes, it was only really the unhappy ones who had took to the internet to review them so there were many mixed reviews. I’m not saying I believe her but it is a reasonable response I suppose.

    The next day I received the phone! This was now 9 working days after the order, but to be fair the order was made in the evening, so it could easily be argued that it arrived within their guideline 3 to 8 working days. I was pretty dumbfounded.

    The phone checks out as having been manufactured in the Netherlands less than 2 months before. So it had the 24month guarantee. The box had been opened but HTC said many retailers to this to double check the phone works etc. Vanessa told me that sometimes they open the box and the phone isn’t there so they had to be sure themselves before dispatch.

    The only odd thing was that the phone didn’t offer English English as a language option, but among many others offered me ‘Netherlands English’, ‘German English’ and something else. No idea what that was about but HTC said it wasn’t really anything to be concerned about. This is the one question Vanessa omitted to answer. She did say that all phones are sourced all over Europe but that they are all intended for the UK market. I find this a bit fishy considering the language thing, but to be honest, on balance I am well happy I have a new phone, and that it arrived on time, that it arrived at all, and that its not an asian import (even though it was in fact sent to me from Asia!?).

    This company is a real misnomer, but I gave my word to Vanessa that I would review my experience honestly, so here it is. All I know is that I was polite and organised, but persistent and firm.

    I wish anybody who takes the plunge luck, and have to sign off by saying the company ultimately did right by me, although they gave me some worries along the way with their ineffective messaging system. Vanessa did her part so I thank her for her support (.. and if she is Chinese her written English is excellent).

    Would I order from them again? Hmm, I honestly can't say for certain. I guess if the price was again attractive and I could wait a couple weeks for delivery, I probably might do. If your order is not price sensitive but you ARE in a hurry, probably best walk into a shop. If I did use them again, I might email Vanessa in advance and request hand-holding throughout the order, making sure she was aware of it before I made it.

    Hope this helps.
  • kermitfrog
    kermitfrog Posts: 1,089 Forumite
    Long post.
  • err yeah sorry. the result of pronounced ocd and mild boredom )
  • I'm sure this will not be a popular post but I have used Simply Electronics twice and had no problems. 4 days ago I ordered a Panasonic TZ30 for my wife. It was promised within 8 days but it arrived today having left Hong Kong yesterday. As a footnote I am still waiting for a parcel which was collected 50 miles away by Royal Snail 8 days ago!
  • i odered a recoder from simply electronics as it was cheaper. on there website. they stated 4instock and shipping 2-4 days. Its been two weeks now and have not received any confirmation or anything.

    I tried calling customer services and was put on telephone line que for 52 minutes and the line cut off. i sent emails and never received any reply.

    To make things short do not dare buy anything from this company.

    I called the bank and reported fraud. they claim to be based in UK while they are based in Hong Kong . The bank did a charge back and within 2 days i got my money.

    I should have known this company is a scam. i am surprised they are still trading and scamming people.
    WARNING: DO NOT BUY FROM SIMPLY ELECTRONICS YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET IT.
  • Hello

    I like many of you on this thread have had huge issues with Simply Electronics, the difference though is that I am a SEO consultant and I have created a website for people to post and share their experiences of Simply Electronics.

    The website is: simplyelectronicsreview.com (as a new forum member I cannot post click-able links. I would appreciate it if an established user can re-post the live link in a post below. Please note it is review.com, not reviews.com in the URL)

    Here's the deal, you send me your reviews, complaints and dispute outcomes, and I'll make sure the website gets to the top of Google. My hope then is that so many people will see the reviews, that Simply Electronics will sort themselves out.

    The website is brand new and I need your help to get things moving, please take a few minutes to post your experiences, as when others see reviews on the site they will add theirs too. Currently there is just my review, I need yours too!

    If we all do our bit, I am sure we can make a difference!

    Please pass this on, on other forums and threads...
  • pmduk
    pmduk Posts: 10,655
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    The site mentioned above is simplyelectronicsreview.com
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