Beware - Simply Electronics Scam? advice plz

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  • Well the above site don't exist anymore
  • My advice is DO NOT USE SIMPLY ELECTRONICS. I ordered an 'in stock' lens that was quoted as having a '2-4 business days' dispatch time. 16 days later, and after numerous ridiculous account status changes (such as 'we have formerly accepted your offer' etc) the lens still wasn't dispatched. I subsequently cancelled my oder but am now continually receiving 'your refund will be forthcoming' with no apparent actual attempt at refund. It appears to be a lottery as to whether the company actually supplies the goods you order. They survive on 'free loans' from unsuspecting customers. I will now have to chase via my credit card company.
  • peter_the_piper
    peter_the_piper Posts: 30,268
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    Its surprising the site is still there, especially as they do not seem to have a physical address on there site. Rule of thumb, no address-no order.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • I ordered a phone and after two weeks of not hearing anything cancelled it. 4 Weeks after that still no refund. Off to get a charge back now.

    Do not use them!!!
  • I'm new to this so please bear with me but I feel I must add my voice to the long running discussions about Simply Electronics.



    Seduced by the low price and for some reason neglecting my usual careful web research, I ordered a Samsung Galaxy S3 on 19th June 2013. At the time of order the website showed that there was product in stock so I expected that the quoted delivery of 7 to 14 working days was probably pessimistic. How wrong I was... Then I found all the negative feedback on the web, oh no!

    Simply Electronics took payment on 24th June, although my order was still showing 'Awaiting Despatch' . I waited for the full 14 working days and still no change in status - 'Awaiting Despatch'. I was told that there were logistics problems and my order was being elevated to 'Expedited Delivery'. Throughout all this time their website has shown that they had phones in stock. If there are phones in stock, why not deliver them!?

    So, on 9th July I asked to cancel my order and receive a refund. They tried to persuade me not to cancel but eventually got the message and said they would initiate my refund which according to them could take up to 2 weeks. Well, 2 weeks came and went as did several increasingly irate e-mails and phone calls to SE Customer Services until - yesterday, almost unbelievably, on 31st July I finally received my refund.

    I don't believe that SE ever had the phone in stock. Maybe their strategy is to take customer's money and hang on to it as long as possible in order to profit from investment? Yeah right, maybe.

    After reading other reports I consider myself lucky to have got my money back, however - this has been an experience I will never repeat.


    Avoid Simply Electronics like the plague.
  • Beware of Simply Electronics!!

    I've been buying goods regularly over the net for about 15 years, from many sources. Simply Electronics is, by a MILE, the worst company I've ever dealt with, and I bitterly regret ever getting involved with them.

    I ordered a Canon 60D camera and EF-S 18-135mm IS lens on 24 April, because there was £100 saving on offerings from other sellers (there's a reason for that ...). My credit card was debited the same day and I was assured that the camera was "expected to be delivered within 7-14 working days".

    The package finally turned up (via Hong Kong -- another alarm bell should have rung in my head) over 3 weeks later. The battery charger was the wrong type for the UK; there was no printed guide to the camera; and the wrong set of software/software-guide CD-ROMS was included.

    It took many weeks, phone calls, photographs and messages to them via their website before they acknowledged that I had the wrong battery charger. They have never even commented on the guide & CD-ROMs issue. From time to time, after I've made yet another "ticket-raising" visit to their website, they have assured me that the matter is getting urgent attention -- the "ticket" that they raise has often been automatically raised over time to Critical level, but then the next day is simply marked as Done. Nearly three months after receiving an incorrect package, I am still no further forward with them.

    My purchase was made during a period when Canon was offering a £65 rebate on the 60D, so I'd sent in my claim form to Canon UK. They replied a few weeks later to say that although I did indeed have a genuine Canon camera in my hand, it was a 'grey import' -- one that should not legally be sold to anyone in the UK. Not only did they politely (and understandably) decline my claim for the rebate, they also told me that the warranty would be invalid. Simply Electronics is on Canon's (lengthy) list of rogue sellers who are evading the rules.

    Also, Simply Electronics' website makes it look as if they're a UK company -- there is nothing there that would lead you to be suspicious of them. In fact they are a Hong Kong company, and I understand that UK citizens have no legal redress against them.

    I have now obtained the missing items from Canon's approved parts suppliers, at a cost of £50 or so. I still want to get redress from Simply Electronics, but since they don't act in a way that any decent company should, it's useless to keep sending them requests and pleading emails. Instead, I've decided to seek out as many relevant review sites as I can find, and put this story on each of them (which is why you may see this text on the web more than once!), emailing Simply Electronics each time I do so.

    Bottom line: find another retailer for what you need, and ALWAYS read other people's reviews before ordering ...
  • After 4 months and 8 empty apologies from SimplyElectronics that resulted in no benefit to me at all, and having posted the review above on 4 websites, I then received a phone call from the Customer Service Manager, which has resulted in a satisfactory resolution to the issues I had with the company.
  • Did you not initiate a chargeback then?
    How did you get a positive outcome from them?
  • Well like the vast majority of people on here, I failed to check reviews before purchasing, I would like to up until now, thought myself as a savvy online shopper. When I came across the site through a google sponsored ad - I thought It would be okay, the website looked professional and looked like it was a UK based site.

    Nope its only after digging quite hard through the site, I found out this was a company based in HK - then I found the online reviews, I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt, well I ordered, the charged my credit card very quickly and then the fun started. The status of the order kept changing from many different things from

    "Order Recieved" "Payment Taken" "Payment being Processed" "Payment being varified" "Order being verified" after two weeks of shoddy nonsical statuses I emailed them asking what was going on.

    Like many I get a generic, non committal email from them with anything from "Please bear with us, this is usual practise" to "Your order is in our system come back in 1 working day" The emails also seem to come from a different person, but judging by the same grammatical errors and same writing style, I would argue that these emails all come from the same person.

    I have asked them for a refund nearly 4 days ago now, they did try to offer me a free cheapo £2 case to come with the phone if I didn't cancel, I obviously declined. They then sent me more emails asking me if I wanted to confirm the cancelation - still trying to wiggle their way out of it. I replied saying yes, almost straight away the status of the item was "Order held" funny how quickly then can act when it suits them.

    Now I am still waiting for the refund, they say it can take up to two weeks - not on my watch it won't, they are quick enough to take my money and not quick or confident enough to give me an honest answer so I have done the following.

    1) I have contacted Action Fraud : you can google them

    2) I have contacted the payment company Skrill who takes the payments for them demanding that a refund take place - they contacted me back pretty quickly but have now gone just as quiet as the company

    3) I have contacted my card company who have started the process of a charge back on the card which they informed me would cost SE £200 on top of the refund.

    My advice to all of you who may be reading these comments, trust them, and do your research before buying from companies you may not have heard from or indeed where the price seems too good to be true. I know I have become a very wary shopper and now contemplating paying the same price for the 16gb from Amazon UK where I know I will get the product/warrenty/customer support that you should come to expect in the 21st century.
  • stoneman
    stoneman Posts: 4,517
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    I placed an order with simply electronics on the 18th of December. On the 20th I emailed them to cancel after reading reviews on other sites. I received an acknowledgment of the cancellation on the 21st December.
    Then there followed several emails from them keeping me informed of the processing of my order. I emailed back each time telling them that I had cancelled, and each time they replied not to worry. I did keep asking when my refund would be processed and they kept giving me lame excuses.
    Then on the 2nd. of January I got an email saying that my order had been shipped and would receive it in a few days.
    I emailed them saying that I had canceled the order back in December.
    They admitted there mistake and told me not accept the delivery, which is what happened on the 6th of January.
    Now they are saying that they have not received the package back and until this happens they will not refund me.
    I informed them that what happens to the parcel is no concern of mine, that is between them and DHL, but they seem hell bent on making me responsible for the loss, even though they know that I never handled the parcel. It is now 7 weeks since they took my money.
    Scam company, only thing to do is get my credit card company to refund me.
    The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.
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