Early last month I bought a set of four DECT phones (with answering machine) to replace a set we'd had for a dozen years and were showing their age.
The new ones worked out of the box and the old ones were bagged and collected by the council for recycling, Small electrics are accepted in the same round as the mixed glass/paper/plastic once a fortnight.
After a couple of weeks the display on one of the four handsets failed. So last Friday I called Amazon hoping to get a replacement set and a return label for the faulty stuff. They wouldn't do that as (unnoticed at the time of my order) it was a third party supplier fulfilled by Amazon or some such thing. Only option was to return it for a refund - which would have left us without a phone, or rather doing a reversion to 30 years ago where it was a single corded item in the hall.
Argument, needless to say, got me nowhere and in the end I ordered a replacement set and got a return label emailed for the faulty ones. Refund to be processed upon their receipt by Amazon. Package to be collected by Hermes on Monday 28/09 - no time slot could be given. Waited all day; no Hermes. Allowed a bit of extra time but still nothing by 16:00 today.
Phoned Amazon again after I'd finished work today. Got passed pillar/post to technical support and patiently explained for the third time that we'd done all that - no joy. The items were in a box by my front door. Please could they kick Hermes and get them to call tomorrow. Apparently that needs a new label to be emailed to me and it's now too late for collection until Monday 05 October.....
That was an hour ago. No return label received but I've had an email confirming they'll accept return but based on it being a duplicate item - no refund.
I'll give it until the morning and have another go.....
Perhaps I'll just take it to a Hermes shop.
|
|
Did you, by any chance, buy with a credit card?
|
>> Did you, by any chance, buy with a credit card?
Unfortunately no, the default payment card is the Visa Debit linked to my current account. Lesson from this is to make one of my credit cards default; they all pay in full automatically.
Having been bitten once by a failed collection I dropped the package off at a Hermes shop yesterday.
|
>> >> Did you, by any chance, buy with a credit card?
>>
>> Unfortunately no, the default payment card is the Visa Debit linked to my current account.
I took out the Amazon credit card, and a pay full balance direct debit to back it up. That way you get Amazon vouchers, credit card protection and a debit card type experience. It has a £1k credit limit, which suits Amazon purchasing profile perfectly.
|
|
Amazon (spit) and Herpes belong in the same pit. I hate them both with a passion. I wouldn't have a thing from Amazon if it was free.
|
|
Why wouldn't you take it if it was free? If they screw up the delivery you've not exactly lost much.
|
>> Herpes
I use that term too. One of my co-tenants in the shared flat I was living with during the Falklands conflict referred to the carrier HMS Hermes as Herpes. It's stuck ever since.
|
>> a phone, or rather doing a reversion to 30 years ago where it was a
>> single corded item in the hall.
30 years? We still have a single corded thing. It lives on the floor near the tv. Once or twice it's rung, but as it gives us both a cardiac when it does i look at it through narrowed eyes every so often and threaten it. Horrid things.
I dont believe I've ever had a pleasant conversation on a phone.
|
|
Hermes are crap around here. I know why. He's a local driver, I worked in the NHS job with someone who knew him. He is known for having faulty vehicles and delivers in his car, which means he has to go back and forth to his house to re-load. My beer gets delayed every time he's meant to deliver. I have come close to cancelling. All the other delivery providers are spot on.
|
We have had stuff delivered to our neighbours by error by Amazon. They were away for the week so it was a bit of a pain as I needed it. Of course I didn't know that at the time and called Amazon and got through to a call centre in India and they sent another FOC.
When my neighbour got back and popped the package over I called up Amazon to ask for a return label and they said keep it as a good will gesture.
|
Had a card through my door saying my package had been accepted by two doors down.
Not expecting anything, I went to find out what it was. An enormous box had my house number, but a road two streets away. The occupant got annoyed when I pointed out it wasn't even for our road and threatened not to accept any more deliveries for me (even though this was the first). As an act of neighbourliness, I offered to take it round.
The addressee was in the garden and berated me for delivering it late as they'd a message to say it had been delivered earlier!
No good deed etc.
|
|
You can't win. Our neighbours are old fashioned country people, always willing to help.
|
|
oh, and their 6 month old ~Lab loves me.
Last edited by: R.P. on Fri 2 Oct 20 at 08:30
|
|
Dont feel special, A 6 month old lab loves everyone.
|
If Amazon was a person you would count your fingers after you shook their hand.
Don't like. Won't use them unless there is no alternative!
|
>> If Amazon was a person you would count your fingers after you shook their hand.
>>
>> Don't like. Won't use them unless there is no alternative!
>>
Really?
I have used them extensively over the past year for all sorts of stuff and have found them both to be the cheapest and very efficient as far as deliveries are concerned. Use Amazon Music too. I guess I must be lucky
|
>> I guess I must be lucky
Me too. Had an Amazon account for years. Never had any problems with anything I've ordered before, both in terms of the product and delivery.
|
I use them quite a lot and find them reliable. In direct contrast with Brompt’s nightmare I had to return a faulty cordless unit and the process was very slick. I printed off a label, left the returning package at a mail drop five minutes walk from my house and got a same day refund (ie while the faulty item was in transit).
Mind you it was Amazon own brand and no Hermes.
And I do hate how they lay traps in their ordering process to sign you up for Amazon Prime or postal charges. If you are not fully concentrating it’s easy to miss the free postage.
|
>> I use them quite a lot and find them reliable.
Up until now I've generally found them to be OK, indeed very good with 'wrong' stuff or the odd faulty item.
I did for a while have an issue with Prime stuff for next day delivery being sent by 1st Class post. Now even Royal Mail don't claim 1st class is next day. Add in the fact that we're semi-rural slowing things down - until 2015 the final sort of our mail was done in the village - and we never got our stuff next day.
Repeated complaints got me nothing except extensions to my Prime subscription and another book or whatever delivered late in a month's time. Not had it recently though so I suspect the penny dropped eventually.
|
Ditto, amazon have been fine, used them a lot, they are not the cheapest tho.
As far as carriers go, UPS make me as angry as an angry thing. I had to rely on them for a while for essential medical supplies, utterly useless and completely unreliable, I ended up changing suppliers to avoid UPS
|
Used amazon bits and bobs but not much, maybe a couple of items a year. No better no worse than ebay.
Tried prime a couple of times for free but never bother taking it up, hardly used, most of the stuff I bought wasn't illegible. Wouldn't be worth it for me.
|
>> Tried prime a couple of times for free but never bother taking it up, hardly
>> used, most of the stuff I bought wasn't illegible. Wouldn't be worth it for me.
We took up Prime early when it was cheap.
At the time one/both kids were at Uni and we could get them books as/when needed straight to halls/shared house. Could also get stuff for my Mum who was increasingly physically frail (but could still have an argument in an empty room never mind with stuff ordered by phone).
Not sure I'm still getting my money's worth.
|
> We took up Prime early when it was cheap.
>>
>> At the time one/both kids were at Uni and we could get them books as/when
>> needed straight to halls/shared house. Could also get stuff for my Mum who was increasingly
>> physically frail (but could still have an argument in an empty room never mind with
>> stuff ordered by phone).
>>
>> Not sure I'm still getting my money's worth.
>>
If prime was on everything they sold it might be worth it, maybe, but it's too selective at the moment. The tv is probably fine, but there's more than enough on the tv stuff we've already got. I get it works for some people but it's just not worth bothering with for us.
|
>> Ditto, amazon have been fine, used them a lot, they are not the cheapest tho.
I find Amazon pretty good, but always compare their prices with eBay and other stockists.
I picked up a leaf blower/vacuum from Robert Dyas a couple of days ago that would have cost me considerably more at Amazon.
|
>> I picked up a leaf blower/vacuum from Robert Dyas a couple of days ago that would have cost me considerably more at Amazon.
Prices have gone up on tech and seasonally in-demand items at Amazon just lately; I suspect it's so they can drop them for Amazon Prime Day on Tuesday 13 & Wednesday 14 October. I've been keeping an eye on the price of Sony WH100XM3 headphones for a few weeks, waiting for them to drop now the XM4s have been released. They've gone up from £205 to £245.
|
|
At £245 they are still cheaper than most so I think your expectation was unrealistic. The camels show them no cheaper ever than £214.99.
|
>>As far as carriers go, UPS make me as angry as an angry thing.
Expecting a parcel, I had an email from UPS this morning telling me it would be delivered late this afternoon, so I went out, returning before midday. Sorry you were out card.
|
Update.
Email said parcel was ready for collection a few miles away. Went there with proof of identity. It was a corner shop, in an area of pre-war terraced housing and the shop keeper didn't have English as his first language (I suspect). He spent some time looking for it with my name, couldn't find it and had to search with the tracking number. Eventually located it on top of the pile. I pointed out my name on the label!!!
I suspect UPS choose their drop off points to have a similar level of intelligence as the rest of their staff.
|
I try to avoid them.
If I do use them I get my daughter to order as she has Prime.
For my last order online at £25 I asked my daughter and it cost me £30 . The price had been hiked
I can now buy the same for less than £20 on ebay. Amazon is now £22.
I too dislike them trying to get you to sign for Prime.
|
You have to watch amazons pricing algoryth, if you show any interest the price goes up, sometimes only for you (I have checked this out using two machines - one over a VPN)
The trick is to look at it, then ignore it for a week and any suggestions they send to you.
Suddenly a suggestion arrives and its cheaper.
|
Thanks Zero.
That is exactly what I was a victim of. My son did explain what they were doing.
IIRC there are a couple of apps that track their price fluctuations.
|
|
If you can be bothered you can track prices CamelCamel website is very useful and clever
|
I hve an Amazon account and use them about once a month. I find their service and prices ok.
What i am very wary of is scammers who know i have an account and when i use it. I've had phone calls telling me my Amazon Prime premium is about to be taken, i don't have an Amazon Prime account, E-mails also after my bank details. These things always arrive just after i'v used their services.
|
>> I hve an Amazon account and use them about once a month. I find their
>> service and prices ok.
>>
>> What i am very wary of is scammers who know i have an account and
>> when i use it. I've had phone calls telling me my Amazon Prime premium is
>> about to be taken, i don't have an Amazon Prime account, E-mails also after my
>> bank details. These things always arrive just after i'v used their services.
>>
Someone may have hacked your email and is reading your messages or set up a bcc.
Cant remember if Amazon have a copy email to address option, that may have been hacked.
I do wonder if call centres used by companies abroad have unethical staff. I recall every single time I had an issue with a particular broadband supplier, (whose ex CEO is now in charge of track and trace), I got a call within the hour from a scammer offering me hundreds of pounds for my troubles.
|
>>I've had phone calls telling me my Amazon Prime premium is about to be taken, i don't have an Amazon Prime account,
I get the same once or twice a week, whether or not a recent order has been placed. 'Phone goes down as soon as I hear the Prime word.
|
>> I get the same once or twice a week, whether or not a recent order
>> has been placed. 'Phone goes down as soon as I hear the Prime word.
Four times on Wednesday. Each of them appeared to be from a UK landline but the message was exactly the same.
|
>>Four times on Wednesday.
Is that coming in on a landline or a cell phone?
We have a landline which has caller ID. IF I don't know the number then it doesn't get answered.
On the cell phone, where I need to answer even unavailable and unknown numbers, I have Truecaller and have had for years. These days about 1 spam call a year gets through.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 3 Oct 20 at 17:34
|
>> >>Four times on Wednesday.
>>
>> Is that coming in on a landline or a cell phone?
>>
>> We have a landline which has caller ID. IF I don't know the number then
>> it doesn't get answered.
You can spoof a caller id on mobile easily, less easily but possible with special kit on landline. They won't be able to spoof a number you know, well unless they are very lucky.
|
>> Is that coming in on a landline or a cell phone?
It was on the landline. We've had the same number since 1990 so a lot of people have it and even before I changed it the CLI/directory tie up was patchy.
My mobile number is the one I got with a Motorola MR20 in 1996 so similar considerations apply.
If it's not a number I know I tend to answer with just my forename and surname in a tone that's at the brusque end of business like. That puts quite a lot of cold callers/chancers off. If it's a recorded message then there's a characteristic delay. Either way they're cut off pretty smartly and picking up the phone stops it ringing.
For quite a while our outgoing work calls showed as Private Number. Latterly they've sorted it to show the 0800 number published nationally for the service I'm working on. The vast majority of my outgoing calls are getting back to somebody with answers after research and I try to remember to say it may be an 0800 number etc. DWP, who are doing most stuff previously transacted at the Job Centre by phone, do the same.
|
>>I tend to answer with just my forename and surname
The moment you answer that phone number is marked down as active and the list it is on increases in value. If you give your name then that is also added to the list and also increases the value.
It is not the call that you are taking which is your main threat. It is the next one. Often the initial call is used to gain information that will be used to add credibility to a subsequent call.
Answer it if you need, as I said I do on my cell phone, but don't give information. *any* information.
|
|
oh p.s. the delay is normally caused by the process. The initial calls are made by a computer, it only switches it to an operator if it is answered. Hence the brief pause.
|
>>I tend to answer with just my forename and surname
I've been known to shout "Pete's pizzas" at unknown numbers and if there's a delay "come on do you want to order, I'm busy".
|
>>I've been known to shout "Pete's pizzas" at unknown numbers and if there's a delay "come on do you want to order, I'm busy"
I once had the following answer phone message;
Hi, It's Mark......
......
Hello?
......
Hello? Is there anybody there?
.......
Hello?
.......
Just joking, leave a message.
I used to enjoy the stress it caused cold callers, but ultimately the abuse from friends and family took the fun out of it.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 3 Oct 20 at 19:15
|
|
I usually say "I'm busy at the moment cleaning my knives/guns..."
|
>> What i am very wary of is scammers who know i have an account
They don't know you have one, everyone gets those phone calls or emails.
They get my "Mr T in your pocket"
|
I often buy cheaper off of Ebay only for the item to arrive in an Amazon Prime box (there seems to be a local lady who makes Amazon deliveries at all times of the day and night).
I use Amazon mainly for second-hand books from abroad.
|
|
Nudge nudge. Say no more squire.
|
So I dropped the package at the Co-Op in Towcester last Friday (02/10) and heard nothing more.
Herpes tracking is pretty useless so beyond fact it'd been picked up from Towcester I'd still got nothing. This Friday, 09/10, the local Hermes guy who covers this area and with whom we're on nodding terms as he's around most days rings my door bell to pick up the package. We have a conversation about the crapness of Amazon, he blames their systems and I believe him; if he was useless his name would be mud on the village Facebook group and it's not. His intervention did however mean Herpes tracking went totally haywire.
Tried contacting Amazon again today but thought I'd try webchat. Much better experience than phone, same script I expect but no carrpy phone line and no accented English to translate. Full refund. Accepted as Amazon gift card. Would normally ask them to process back to my card but as I (temporarily as it turned out) lost my card wallet and stopped my cards the credit note option was best.
PLenty of books I want plus Mrs B's laser printer is screaming for a new toner cartridge.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 11 Oct 20 at 18:09
|
How do these folk that deliver for Amazon work out their route?
SWMBO was expecting a delivery yesterday. Email told her it would be delivered between 10:00 and 12:00.
Around 10:00 email said driver had six more drops before ours. We were able to track them as they went past the bottom of our road, went past the top, made a few stops within a couple of hundred yards and then went off to the villages.
Package arrived around 16:00!
Edit. Just heard sister-in-law was expecting some flowers. An enormous box containing eighteen wireless keyboards arrived - no flowers.
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Sun 11 Oct 20 at 19:18
|
If I notice that a seller is using Hermes I won't shop with them. They're that bad.
Have you tried contacting the third party seller directly? My experience is that they're usually pretty good if you have a problem and will usually just send a replacement.
|
>> If I notice that a seller is using Hermes I won't shop with them. They're
>> that bad.
The original items were delivered by 'Amazon Logistics'. Not up to standard of DPD but OK. Hermes only involved after there was a problem and stuff needed to go back. The 'third party' claim they act for Amazon and it's not their problem.
Hopefully OK now provided the full price, £69.99, is refunded so I can spend it on other stuff; I can manage with that.
On a separate note, how are you managing with the covid mayhem in your industry?
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 11 Oct 20 at 21:36
|
Amazon can be strange, but generally OK. Their drivers always seem to be able to find the house, unlike Hermes.
I once wanted to return a lithium-ion jump starter as unwanted, and when I pointed out that it couldn't go by their preferred method of Royal Mail the response I got was "just keep it, we'll refund you".
Although now I come to think of it perhaps this is a reflection of how much money I waste on Amazon stuff in the first place.
20% (ish) pay cuts at work but I still have a job. Demand for the 787 is high from a cargo point of view and will likely get higher once a vaccine is available because it's one of the few aircraft that can carry temperature sensitive cargo.
|
>>Their drivers always seem to be able to find the house, unlike Hermes.
Verily I say unto you I say unto you that in the 9 years I lived in ye olde Cornish country cottage, we had *five star* service from Hermes.
Heareth my word that it used to be an old bird in a battered Focus with parcels piled up to the roof, then for the last 6 years it was a couple of old guys in a Picasso, although the older one has been shielding for the last 6 months.
This place is even harder to find, and the access isn't at all easy, but all the couriers manage to find it okay.
Some Herberts drive in and, being a ex van/small lorry driver (back in the 70's) I see them out while they reverse out into the road.
I get a lot of 'stuff' delivered, knowlmean.
Amen [Corner]
|
Our Hermes man is a lovely guy.
He serves about half of the houses on the close, and is always cheerful.
He's retired and does this job to keep his car on the road.
He had Corvid early in the season, and was off for four weeks. Says he's fully recovered now, even though he's in the dangerous age range. His wife had it at the same time, and is still suffering the after effects.
This is the only person I know who has had it.
|
The Asian couple who do Hermes deliveries here are exemplary. Our house is easy to find although there was a time when, as it rose from the mud and rubble, it was a new address and wasn't on anyone's satnav.
I don't buy from Amazon unless there's no choice. My blinkered son, however, thinks there's either Amazon or having to physically go shopping. And that's how I'm able to give Hermes a thumbs-up.
|
Credit for the original item was on my account this morning and I've already used most of it on a cartridge for our laser printer.
I can now turn to my other consumer issue, getting the warranty on my Fabia sorted. Add on for second year was issued for the wrong dates.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Mon 12 Oct 20 at 14:50
|
>>My blinkered son, however, thinks there's either Amazon or having to physically go shopping
Amazon has done to online shopping what Tesco did for supermarkets - made them work a lot better.
There used to be supermarkets on high streets, as a school boy I worked in one and there was another on the same street.
Tesco put theirs at the edge of town and provided a large, flat, free car park. They cleaned up.
Amazon has made delivery fast, workable and largely predictable. I can get Amazon purchases delivered on a specific day, if necessary by changing my Amazon day and selecting that. Free delivery unlocks sales - Amazon brilliantly does "free" delivery but charges for it with an annual fee!
The result of course is also similar - they suck the trade away from other businesses and their scale and ability to compete for customers with offers (often supplier funded no doubt) means that they can raise margins while others slash theirs to survive.
To add insult to injury they then pay little tax here.
And yet I use them. I try to use other businesses where I can but that's not always easy especially if I want quick delivery which is very hard to provide economically without scale.
|
>>Amazon has made delivery fast, workable and largely predictable.
I wanted a couple of bike inner tubes last week. Amazon was the most expensive, closely followed by ebay.
Neither could match the price offered by Halfords (spit) and because I wanted them immediately, had to bite my tongue and go there - first time for twenty years I reckon.
|
|
Halfords aren't too bad with a trade card.Without they can be very pricey.
|
>> I wanted a couple of bike inner tubes last week. Amazon was the most expensive,
>> closely followed by ebay.
>> Neither could match the price offered by Halfords (spit) and because I wanted them immediately,
>> had to bite my tongue and go there - first time for twenty years I
>> reckon.
It's a 17 mile round trip for me to Halfords, say £2-3 in fuel, plus probably an hour of my time. Or they will do standard delivery for £3.99.
I just don't go to shops any more, and a lot of people will have acquired that habit over the last 6 months. I'd like to reverse that but it's not going to be easy - I used to accumulate my requirements and make a trip to Milton Keynes every month or so but it's been an unpleasant experience for several years with difficult or expensive parking compared with how it was 20 years ago - shopping has got worse, not better, and at the same time online has got better and I have got better at it. Not to mention the fact that searching physically for things can mean trailing around for hours to find what I want.
|
>>often supplier funded no doubt
Absolutely. Several of my clients sell to them.
There are rebates, discounts and one that caught me by surprise - a fee to have a purchase ledger clerk to look after your account - i.e. you have to pay them to pay you properly.
There are other issues too like arbitrary price reductions.
They dispute delivered quantities. One client installed equipment and changed box design to stop this happening. E.g. 24 of the same manufactured uniform items to a box, sold in multiples of 24 only. Product now weighed, videoed and put in a serial numbered outer. Whole process videoed.
They still disputed and said 23 received. Video shows 24 units going in to a packing machine, box with serial number captured. Box videoed going in to truck. One can only imagine it's been miscounted at the other end.
|
"He had Corvid early in the season"
Not something he'd crow about really.. :-)
|
Early deliveries
At 0745 Sunday morning a hammering on the door.
Royal Mail delivering parcels for my daughter.
She had not alerted me to a delivery !!!
>>The original items were delivered by 'Amazon Logistics'. Not up to standard of DPD but OK.
0745 this Tuesday morning a hammering on the door
DPD delivering to me. A order placed on Saturday that was expected on Thursday
No emails or text advising and details of delivery.
Builders are not supposed to make a noise before 0800 so why attack my door so early ?.
I need that additional 15 mins of slumber -:(
|
I'm surprised you get them that early, nothing like that time here. All the deliveries don't start here till noon, they don't stop until 8/9 at night.
Mind you we don't get the post until 4pm.
We must be far from every companies depot.
|
>> I'm surprised you get them that early, nothing like that time here.
I have an email timed at 08:48 this morning.
" Hi Henry, your order has arrived! - Dropped off 14:58 GMT
Methinks the DPD computer clocks are out of sync .
|
This time a good experience.
Rohan having started their sale early I ordered yesterday a shirt and pair of Bags paying extra for them to arrive tomorrow.
This morning I picked up my phone and found a missed call from an 020 7 number. No message and, while expecting it to have been one of those calls about a missing parcel or my internet being cut off, I thought I ought to call back.
It was the Rohan shop in Covent Garden about sending a package on to me because of Covid. Thinking something had gone wrong with my box ticking on the order, stuff often went to the Covent Garden shop for collection when I worked in London I said yes please. I then checked the order acknowledgement which clearly quoted delivery to my home and itemised express delivery.
Quick call back established that the system showed my order yesterday as being in prep. The package at the store was a single item - a belt. I then remembered that approx 2 years ago I'd bought, shopping while under the influence in another sale, one of their ubiquitous webbing belts in a special edition colour. Was supposed to be in London the following week but, for whatever reason never got to Covent Garden. Not worth the fare into London for a sub £5 item and I forgot it.
Anyway I should soon have a pimento coloured belt to go with my new Bags....
|
>>shopping while under the influence
So. Not just me who does that, huh.
|
Amazon: Head>Wall>Bang - No FM2R
