Martin Daley

Had shine carry out some repairs to my vehicle earlier this week as part of some cosmetic insurance, which comprised of two quite bad stone chips on the front bumper and a dent on the rear bumper. The guy who came(apologies I can’t remember his name) was very professional and completed the work with no fuss. Damage required some re spray work - vehicle now looks as good as new, can’t tell there was ever any damage.
Would definitely recommend - excellent service!

Ordered a C700 e-bike as a present for my wife. Reviews online seem very good. Item received no problems, however once I started to put the bike together it became clear that there was no front basket or rear rack, despite the fact that in all the video advertising and in the photos of my order images show a front basket and rear rack! When I went back onto the Fiido website to double check I found that the basket and rack are optional accessories….come on Fiido this feels like smoke and mirrors sleight of hand. Why can’t you make it clear the bike does NOT come with the basket and rear rack?
I have since had to order both items at a cost of £127!
It is scenarios like this that turn a straight forward easy pleasure-able purchase into an annoying requirement to double check small print and feel the need to put reviews on Trust Pilot!

As I type I am travelling on the 17.06 from Doncaster to Kings Cross in the first class carriage.
I have to say I am disappointed. Having looked at the options on-line before travelling the options weren’t extensive but the ‘scubby’s chilli and lemon humous chips’ sounded appealing.

However when we got on the train the only savoury options were crisps and pretzels. When they arrived (thrown on the table by a member of staff….shouting our seat numbers) the crisps were a small 20g packet and the pretzels even smaller at 10g!!

Is this the best Grand Central can offer?

On the plus side the seats were comfortable and the carriage quiet.

I would normally travel Hull Trains or LNER and when compared their first class service is far superior!!

Not sure I would be tempted to upgrade to first class in the future if the option was travelling with Grand Central….poor service.

Drawn in by slick website etc and placed an order for three items. There was however a delay due to one of the items being out of stock…fair enough no problem. This morning I got an email confirming the items had been despatched, but when I looked at all the order paperwork they were in fact being sent from China?? I emailed them to find out why they were coming from China but no response as yet.
Not sure how you can get away with taking orders and then having them despatched from China… no mention at all on their website about this. I will wait to see how long shipping takes and will update in due course.

***Update 23/02/26***
Items arrived today, shipping has taken some time, but really impressed with the quality and fit of the ‘Mateo’ pants. So all in all despite the wait happy with my purchase. Seller has agreed also agreed to sort the return of any items which do not fit etc.

Recently bought a Land Rover Velar from Wardford Cars Ltd, can’t fault them, excellent service from start to finish and the car was reasonably priced too! Would definitely buy from them again…

Excellent service from start to finish. Phone sent next day delivery and is in perfect condition thank you, really pleased!

A few months ago my son ordered two t shirts on line at a cost of £80. Neither fitted correctly, but when he contacted them via email (3 times) to enquire about returning the items he received no response at all.
Eventually we had to resort to raising a charge back through our bank.
I’m sure many people would not have had the wherewithal to go through their bank to get a refund and would have lost out…shameful.
Clearly customer service is awful and, maybe a deliberate policy?? My advice would be to AVOID at all costs!

Decided to use ‘Hocus Pocus’ (definition- an illusion or a meaningless distraction that tricks you in some way) in a no win no fee group action after loosing money in the Woodford fund debacle. Before the matter got to court the FCA stepped in and told the receivers to compensate clients. As a result I received a small portion of my original investment. This ‘compensation’ was not as a result of work done by ‘Hocus Pocus’ yet to add insult to injury they are now chasing me for payment!!!
How does that work?
I understand lots of other investors have found themselves in the same position and are receiving demands for payment. However it would appear other law firms involved in the same legal case have said they will not chase investors for payment because quote - ‘they (Woodford investor’s) have been through enough’.
This tells you all you need know about ‘Hocus Pocus’ they aren’t there to look after your interests, they are in business to make themselves money.
Avoid at all costs!!!

I recently purchased some contact lenses from Alensa which were of poor quality. When I complained I was met with an extremely poor response. First of all I was told that the lenses would need to be returned to the manufacturer for assessment before any refund could be given and then I was accused of ‘contact lense experimentation’. They also wanted to see a copy of my prescription.

I have been an Alensa customer for some time and initially purchased a particular brand of daily disposable lenses, which have become very expensive. As a result I decided to order some fortnightly lenses which were much cheaper but in fact have been excellent. Unfortunately those lenses are no longer being made so I ordered what I considered to be a suitable replacement - same water content, same base curve and diameter etc - but unfortunately these lenses were awful hence my complaint.

The way Alensa has dealt with this matter has been shocking. It has taken them weeks to respond to each email, the responses are difficult to understand/conflicting and their level of customer service has as been extremely poor.

As outlined above I have been accused of ‘experimentation’, ‘randomly inserting contact lenses in the hope that they may fit’ and ‘If you had an actual prescription stating that the lenses you are ordering fit you (based on professional examination) then there would be a room for discussion regarding the quality of the lenses’.

I did NOT randomly purchase lenses, the replacement lenses were of exactly the same specification, in addition I have been wearing lenses for over 40 years, so I think I know when there is a quality issue!!

Why is it that Alensa are prepared to sell me different types of lenses, with no question asked, but then as soon there’s an issue play the ‘experimentation’ card.

Yes, Alness will sell you cheaper lenses than most online retailers but if there is an issue their customer support is very poor.

I have also noticed other similar Trust Pilot reviews based on similar issues.

BEWARE!!

****Update*****

As outlined below Alensa are putting the blame fairly and squarely with me the customer for ordering lenses which have not been recommended by an optician, there is no recognition that the lenses may actually be faulty!!! In fact there seems to be a lack of concern about the quality of the lenses, which is very worrying.
The response would also appear to be at odds with a recent email in which it was suggested that the faulty lenses could be returned??

Please Alensa make the position clear, can the faulty lenses be returned for a refund??

Beware admin charges

Recently booked some tickets to go to London on 02/12, but at the time was unable to book the return journey for the following day - there was a note on the app stating 'tickets available soon’. So I waited for the tickets to be made available.
Yesterday however I discovered that no return trains would be available on 03/12 and replacement bus services were the only option. My tickets for 03/12 were not refundable, so was pleased to see (when I clicked on the booking in the app) an option appear which stated ‘good news you can amend your tickets’.
I decided to use this option in order to change the date of travel, however when I got to end of the process, there were x3 £10 admin fees applied!
I contacted customer service to discuss/query and spoke to a lady who was polite, but very difficult to understand. She informed me that the admin fee was non refundable and that if I had asked for a refund in the app (as opposed to changing the date/time of travel) no admin fee would have been payable!!!
This has left a sour taste, why is it not made clear that if you ask for a refund no admin fees are payable!!!
Added to this using the app to process a change in a booking is difficult to navigate and not clear at all.

Can an explanation be given as to why it is not made clear that refunds will not incur admin fees whereas changes to the date/time of travel will.

Also I feel that I was invited by the app, to change the time and date of travel as opposed to using the no cost option of a refund…..very poor.

In future I will be using the service provider direct - not Trainline!

****Update 14/10/23. With respect could you please answer the question raised around the disparity of admin charges? *******

Had hotel bookings cancelled twice almost immediately after placing the order, but as compensation I was offered discount on future bookings (after each cancellation) - one for 48usd and one for £41.60?? On third occasion booking went through, Interestingly after each cancellation the room price went up when I re-booked, but because I had been promised a discount on my next booking I went ahead. I have requested the promised discounts be applied to my final booking but have been ignored. I’m also still waiting for refunds re the two cancellations!
Not sure what’s going on but can an explanation be given and the discounts applied please??
***** Update 28/2/23 ******
Refunds have now been received.
Receipt sent by Traveluro for a discount of £42, but hasn’t shown in my account yet. Looks like only one of the promised discounts will be applied?
No explanation so far around why bookings were cancelled.
Have requested a guarantee that when we arrive at our chosen hotel we will have a room - no response as yet…
*******Update 01/03/23******
I have now cancelled my booking (thankfully chose the option to cancel before a certain date) due poor service from Traveluro, unfortunately cannot rely on them to provide a smooth, responsive and uncomplicated booking service.

Doing a house renovation at the moment and have purchased a number of lights from Value Lights.
Great quality and excellent value.
Had a problem with a part missing on one of the items. Made contact with customer service who resolved the matter straight away - excellent service!!

Bought a Smeg Victoria dual fuel 90cm cooker in black in May of this year (from John Lewis).
A couple of days after receiving the oven I noticed that the doors at the top of the oven weren’t level. Had a closer look and noticed that the locking pin for the oven door was bent downwards and was loose. I straightened the pin and tightened it up, then tried to shut the oven door, however it wouldn’t close. I soon realised that at the point of manufacture the door locking pin had been bent downwards to allow the door (which wasn’t lined up properly) to close.
An engineer was sent out who agreed with my assessment that the door had been fitted incorrectly and the door locking pin had been bent to accommodate the door. He was unable to repair.
A replacement oven was sent out, which on arrival had doors which were also not level, although the oven door locking pin was straight . This oven however had a bent splash back which didn’t fit correctly.
Another engineer was sent out who agreed the doors were not level - and a fault at manufacture. A replacement splash back was provided, however the oven door fault could not be repaired.
I made contact with John Lewis who said they would contact Smeg.
A month later however I had heard nothing from John Lewis so made contact. Profuse apologies etc, they then contacted Smeg directly who basically offered me a £230 discount to accept the oven. I refused and so was told I would be offered a full refund and the oven would be collected. Smeg refused to provide a replacement oven stating they had none in stock. Great I thought, however a little research revealed that the lead time to obtain a similar oven is into next year now!!
I also had a look at the same Smeg oven in a nearby showroom and guess what, the doors weren’t level and the door locking pin was bent downwards and was loose.
CLEARLY SMEG HAVE HUGE BUILD QUALITY ISSUES WITH THEIR OVENS.
There are also question marks around the level of service offered by John Lewis i.e. no contact for over a month and the fact that if a full refund is offered and faulty one collected we will be left without an oven for a number of months….very unhappy 🙁
Have established that John Lewis have one of the same ovens in stock so will see if they offer a replacement!!!!

*****Update - fair play to John Lewis they have sourced another oven from Smeg and a replacement is on its way. Thank you to John Lewis!!!*****

Bought a Smeg Victoria dual fuel 90cm cooker in black in May of this year (from John Lewis).
A couple of days after receiving the oven I noticed that the doors at the top of the oven weren’t level. Had a closer look and noticed that the locking pin for the oven door was bent downwards and was loose. I straightened the pin and tightened it up, then tried to shut the oven door, however it wouldn’t close. I soon realised that at the point of manufacture the door locking pin had been bent downwards to allow the door (which wasn’t lined up properly) to close.
An engineer was sent out who agreed with my assessment that the door had been fitted incorrectly and the door locking pin had been bent to accommodate the door. He was unable to repair.
A replacement oven was sent out, which on arrival had doors which were also not level, although the oven door locking pin was straight . This oven however had a bent splash back which didn’t fit correctly.
Another engineer was sent out who agreed the doors were not level - and a fault at manufacture. A replacement splash back was provided, however the oven door fault could not be repaired.
I made contact with John Lewis who said they would contact Smeg.
A month later however I had heard nothing from John Lewis so made contact. Profuse apologies etc, they then contacted Smeg directly who basically offered me a £230 discount to accept the oven. I refused and so was told I would be offered a full refund and the oven would be collected. Smeg refused to provide a replacement oven stating they had none in stock. Great I thought, however a little research revealed that the lead time to obtain a similar oven is into next year now!!
I also had a look at the same Smeg oven in a nearby showroom and guess what, the doors weren’t level and the door locking pin was bent downwards and was loose.
CLEARLY SMEG HAVE HUGE BUILD QUALITY ISSUES WITH THEIR OVENS.
There are also question marks around the level of service offered by John Lewis i.e. no contact for over a month and the fact that if a full refund is offered and faulty one collected we will be left without an oven for a number of months….very unhappy 🙁

***Update from Smeg to make contact with customer service, I have already done so and been told it is not their responsibility - my contract is with John Lewis. Agreed, but what about the POOR QUALITY of appliances supplied?
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER TRUST PILOT COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF SMEG APPLIANCES, WHAT NEXT FOR SMEG????*****

####Further update. In the last month Smeg have had 19 out of 20 bad Trust Pilot reviews re their electrical appliances. WHATS GOING ON? #####

☹️☹️☹️ Another update, third oven arrived today 19/10/21. Again the large oven door was not level nor was it square, also slight damage to the front. The engineers we’re reluctant to fit due to issues and took it back. 🙁🙁🙁

🔥🔥🔥Further update (16/12/21) fourth oven arrived today and unsurprisingly the doors weren’t level, not only looking from the front but from the side too. Clearly Smeg have little interest in checking the product before being sent out. I’m lost for words!!🔥🔥🔥

Bought an approved used BMW from Inchcape in December last year. Unfortunately the vehicle developed a fault with the brakes which required repair/replacement of parts etc.
My car was collected and a hire vehicle supplied.
Although the repair took a few weeks (due to national shortage of parts) I was kept fully updated.
My car has now been returned and is as good as new - it has a complete new set of discs and pads.
Overall an excellent service and would definitely recommend BMW at Colchester.
Also a big thank you to Paul Bryant who coordinated everything and kept me updated…

Great dining chairs and bar stools, very comfortable and well made, match our kitchen perfectly. Vey prompt delivery. Took a little thinking about to put together, but well worth it. Would definitely recommend Atlantic Shopping!!

Been through a fairly long wait to get a refund re a cancelled trip booked for earlier this year.
In recent days got all my money back, so thank you to Chilisause, tough times for all those in the tourist industry so a big thank you and hopefully they will go from strength to strength once all the Covid thing comes to an end...

Been waiting for a refund for some time, payment date has been delayed and further delayed.
Recently received a refund form to complete which has the following rider ‘I confirm that I have not made (and will not in the future make) a claim in respect of this booking against the company (or companies) whose credit card(s) was (were) used to pay for this booking’.
So what happens if Chillisause go bust, is the rider legally binding?
Sounds like I will be unable to claim a refund through my credit card. I am reluctant to agree to something that will severely restrict my future options??
Chillisauce can you offer some reassurances please?

*****Thanks for getting back so promptly James, your response offers some reassurance. Will post a further review once refund process is complete ****

****Yes refund sorted, really appreciate your keen interest, I did post another review about the refund. Difficult time’s for all those involved in the travel industry... really hope Chilisauce bounce back!.*****

Recently saw a well priced watch and cufflinks set on Francis and Gaye website so decided to order as a present for my son after leaving University and starting his first proper job. Within a couple of days item arrived and I’m really pleased with it. Hopefully my son will get lots of use from it. Excellent value for money....thank you.

Good quality arbour, took some putting together...but worth it. Only reservation I would have is the roof, not sure how long it will last...but is made of tantalised wood so fingers crossed. Delivery driver was really helpful, so overall a good experience thank you.