Beware - Simply Electronics Scam? advice plz

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  • kdmbudd
    kdmbudd Posts: 16 Forumite
    I too placed an order on Jan 29th using a HSBC visa debit card. I bought an Asos tablet at nearly £500 and having checked the order it has not yet been dispatched with a 2 - 4 dispatch promise and a 3 - 8 day delivery promise.

    I looked them up online today (can't believe I didn't check before I placed the order as i do normally) to discover the many many negative reviews for this company. I phone this morning and was actually impressed to begin with as after the automated message of a 37 minute wait they offered a service where if you call back after this length of time you are automatically put at the front of the queue. Unexpectedly this did actually work!

    I then spoke to an american gentleman on what unfortunately was a very bad line so I couldn't always tell what he was saying, however he did manage to fob me off with 'you will receive an email on the day of dispatch, and the item will arrive the next day'. He seemed to think that it was likely to happen today, and as it was not yet 8 days I felt that I couldn't push it further at this point. Not holding my breath though.

    Will give them a couple more days and if I don't receive the tablet I will cancel and start to chase a refund.

    If anyone else has dealt with this company and actually received goods please can they let me know!
  • kdmbudd wrote: »
    I too placed an order on Jan 29th using a HSBC visa debit card. I bought an Asos tablet at nearly £500 and having checked the order it has not yet been dispatched with a 2 - 4 dispatch promise and a 3 - 8 day delivery promise.

    I looked them up online today (can't believe I didn't check before I placed the order as i do normally) to discover the many many negative reviews for this company. I phone this morning and was actually impressed to begin with as after the automated message of a 37 minute wait they offered a service where if you call back after this length of time you are automatically put at the front of the queue. Unexpectedly this did actually work!

    I then spoke to an american gentleman on what unfortunately was a very bad line so I couldn't always tell what he was saying, however he did manage to fob me off with 'you will receive an email on the day of dispatch, and the item will arrive the next day'. He seemed to think that it was likely to happen today, and as it was not yet 8 days I felt that I couldn't push it further at this point. Not holding my breath though.

    Will give them a couple more days and if I don't receive the tablet I will cancel and start to chase a refund.

    If anyone else has dealt with this company and actually received goods please can they let me know!

    I received two items from them (see post above). One took over a week and the other arrived the next day. From the prices and warranty etc, it was obvious they were going to be grey imports. I wasn't expectiing quick delivery either - I expected about the same delay as with ebuyer's free delivery option. They're nowhere near the best but I have dealt with worse companies. I paid with a credit card to make sure I was covered...
  • lez5075
    lez5075 Posts: 21 Forumite
    Just to update I have still to date not received my refund back from them since requesting it on 3rd Feb 2012. I keep getting the same reply from their customer services that the refund is being dealt by a seperate support company and they cant advise when it will take place. It appears theere is the same person answering the calls (after a long wait) from the custoemr services team and basically repeating the same words each time. I dont know what else to do with this and if I am gonig to get my money back. Clearly something is wrong here with the company.
  • lez5075
    lez5075 Posts: 21 Forumite
    7th March - and stilll no refund. I am not sure what do to here. Clearly something wrong with the company.
  • @lez5075. Did you ever get a refund? I have been waiting a month for a refund and they keep giving myself (and now my dad who has got involved) different reasons why I have not received it- getting very concerned I won't get my money back!. I paid via paypal, does anybody know if paypal can help me with this kind of problem? was going to get trading standards involved but it looks like that won't be of any use. HELP!!
  • johanka
    johanka Posts: 7 Forumite
    Hope by now you've got your refund kirstytulloch? I'm also currently waiting for a refund from this terrible company. Ordered a camera on their website on 12/07/12. Phoned them later same night to ask if my order could be upgraded to express delivery as we had a family occasion the following week. As they said they did not do express delivery on cameras I cancelled the order, also cancelled by e mail at their request and had acknowledgement of cancellation from them within minutes. As I had learnt from the phone call that I would have to wait 7 days on a refund I became suspicious, as up until now any online company I have dealt with has not taken payment for goods until they are dispatched.
    I kept an eye on the status of my order over the next couple of days and was horrified to see that it changed from 'new' to 'packing'. I emailed them immediately reminding them that the order had been cancelled and I did not want the camera sent. I got no response until 16/07/12, I had an E mail from SE saying they were delighted to inform me that the camera was on its way!! Once again I emailed protesting but had a reply saying, the camera had been dispatched before they received my cancellation e mail! This I find hard to believe since the order was cancelled just hours after placing it, 4 days before they emailed me to say it was on its way? Parcel arrived on 17/07/12. Unfortunately as I was not at home when DHL delivered, they took it into our business yard beside our home where it was signed for by a family member who was unaware of the situation. I had the camera checked by the manufacturer, who confirmed it was a 'grey market import', has no CE marking and no manufacturers warranty. I have photographic and video evidence and back ups of all correspondence. The camera has been returned and at present I am one of the many who seem to be waiting on a refund.
    I have already contacted KwikChex to assist me in getting a refund
    Next step is contacting watchdog, HK police, HK consumer council, UK Authorities etc, full list of useful contacts to be found on hotdeals.com and amazon.co.uk:Customer Discussions:Reviews of Simply Electronics.
    I am almost £600 down for over a month now and I think it's disgusting that after the number of years this company has been ripping off the innocent consumer, still the only people that seem to be taking any action in trying to stop them operating are the victims themselves!!
  • I ordered a tablet from them last xmas (last minute rush job to get a present!) Like a tit, I used a debit card as needed to order there and then and that was all I had on me.

    It was 'processing' for around 1 week after me chasing it up every day to see when it would be dispatched, as it was then around 20th December I had to cancel ASAP as needed to buy from a store. Numerous emails went unanswered, I called them a couple of times. Got through but didn't get anywhere, someone was always getting back to me but never did.

    Upshot was, one final threat of getting trading standards onto them resulted in me getting a phone call from someone apologosing profusely, according to them they had been overrun with orders and just couldn't cope with it. Anyway, as my payment was taken as soon I ordered they issued a full refund, got it back within a couple of days.

    No banks, no police but got my cash back so I would suggest persisting and don't worry too much as I surely cannot be the only one.
  • Incidentally, watch out when buying electronics from some sites. I don't know if this site is the same but sites such as pixmania do offer excellent prices but the likes of their TV's (not all of them I'm sure) are normally of EU origin so your warranty may not be valid for example.
  • it is always rings alarm bells to see a product on many sites for around the same price then stumble accross one with a much lower price... thank god for forums like these where we can share experiences and genuine offers :)
  • mist3r wrote: »
    it is always rings alarm bells to see a product on many sites for around the same price then stumble accross one with a much lower price... thank god for forums like these where we can share experiences and genuine offers :)

    Yes and this is nearly always the case for pixmania. Don't get me wrong, it is a valid company but if you want a UK warranty when buying a £500 product (which you would) then be careful.
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