Graham

It’s a good way to give to charity with a possibility of winning a big prize and I mostly support the charities chosen.
I would have given 5 stars but the emails I receive from Omaze sometimes imply that I need to pay more to win which I don’t believe is true. I got caught out by this strategy once.

Another absolutely shocking experience from Virgin.
Bought a helicopter package that was not available at the venues advertised or at any venue within 100 miles in the next 12 months.
After much wrangling and going around the houses I managed to secure a refund…..never again will Virgin get a penny of my money.

A great price from Bennetts for my bike insurance this year. Unfortunately like most insurance companies they don’t seem to reward loyalty so I expect I’ll end up going elsewhere next year and coming back to Bennett’s the following year as usual.

I bought Proton VPN based on positive reviews and I’m very disappointed. It is often slow, it blocks my email on my iPad so I’m forced to use the Yahoo mail app with adverts and it just randomly stops downloads. I have to turn it off to view some things which defeats the point.
I’m locked in for another 18 months un,es I want to lose the money I paid but I won’t be buying it again.

A great range of products and absolutely outstanding service. A visit to the shop was well worthwhile to talk through options and understand the available colours and textures in more detail. There is no pressure and a real desire to make sure you buy the best sofa or chair for your needs.
As a result I am delighted with my new Chesterfield which is beautifully made and a real feature in my room.

I seem to always buy my GAP insurance from ALA. Their prices are always competitive and the product seems good.
Hopefully I’ll never have reason to claim 😎

An absolute shambles of a company.
I was given an option to send a parcel to an Inpost locker. It turned out that the parcel was too big and they returned it to the warehouse. I didn’t find this out until I went to the locker to collect it. Inpost and Yodel are linked.
Anyway despite numerous web chats, where I was assured that it would be sent out again to my home address, they have returned it to sender.
They are an absolute disgrace of a company with little or no customer service and call agents who are not empowered to deal with any issue at all.

Hit a pothole that severely damaged the sidewall of my car on a Saturday morning 50 miles from home. I went to Setyres in Henfield but didn’t expect to get a replacement as it’s a sports car with big low profile tyres. The manager took a look, advised me not to drive home on it and managed to produce a ‘budget’ tyre that fitted. A short while later I was on my way.
Outstanding service on a Saturday morning.
Thank you.

My daughter who lives in Canada ordered 2 cakes and a card for me. Both of the cakes were supposed to chocolate - one called The Bruce as I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan. She even referenced the Bruce cake in the words of the card to me. Instead I received one called ‘plain Jane’ and one called ‘Vanilla and choc’. So nowhere close to her order.
Disappointing for me and for her.
However after posting an initially poor review I was contacted the following day (a Sunday) and I was assured that everything would be done to fix the issue.
True to their word Mailbakes sent the order again with the correct cakes which arrived two days later.
I think that the way in which a company responds when things go wrong says a lot about them and their customer service. Mailbakes have been outstanding and now deserving of a 5 star review.
Thank you.

I’ve made progress in learning with Duolingo. Like some other reviewer I have found it a bit too much like a game at time with its graphics and overall structure. However I was able to learn the basics of the language so that was good.
The recent addition of explanations of my mistakes is a great step forward but Duolingo keep moving it towards an even more ‘gamey’ type feel. I’m now bombarded with reward chests to open which add nothing to my ‘paid for’ experience. They have introduced some stupid and ineffective games where characters wander around asking questions and it’s rubbish. Its as if Duolingo have a load of developers sitting around with nothing to do so they invent stupid stuff with no thought to the user experience.
I subscribed in 2025 and just renewed, after careful consideration for 2026 and now wish I hadn’t. If this direction of travel continues for the app then I won’t be renewing again. Very frustrating.

I used the free version for a while to see how Proton performed. It seemed ok so I went for the paid version.
I initially had problems with email downloads on iOS so had to switch to Yahoo’s native email service which wasn’t ideal. What is worse is the speeds I’m getting across all devices. On initial connection to a server it seems fine ~ although some websites can take ages and eBay can come to a complete stop at times. However the service gradually degrades through the day and I find I have to disconnect and reconnect to get the speed back. This is particularly true first thing in the morning. This implies that there is something fundamentally wrong with the serve load sharing algorithm.
At the moment I regret my decision to go with Proton and wish I’d gone with Nord.

Good price for what I needed. Hopefully I won’t need to claim!

Good experience overall and only moved away due to price -
Yet another company that doesn’t seem to reward loyalty!

Once again Moonpig failed to deliver a card on time to my daughter in Canada. There was no postal strike in Canada this time!
I would have given a one star review but they gave me an account credit to use again.

Shocking.
Late delivery, poor customer service, lack of update on progress and refusal of refund which should have been given in line with distance selling regulations.

Slightly better
I originally gave a one star review. However after contacting Kidzly several times I was offered a partial refund which covered the cost of sending the Christmas parcel onwards to my granddaughter albeit late. There is also a possibility that their chosen delivery courier - Yodel - was the problem as there was some indication that they received it some 15 days before they delivered it to me!

The ALA representative understood clearly the changes that I needed to make to my Gap policy and dealt with it pleasantly and efficiently at a reasonable price.

Went to Squires in Milford for a coffee and a bite to eat. We were met with dirty tables and surly staff when we asked if one could be cleared for us.
Having sat down we then found out that there is no hot food served between breakfast stopping at 11.30 and lunch starting at midday - ridiculous.
We left and found a lovely coffee shop around the corner.

The process to arrange the repair was easy and I was kept up to date with everything
Liam did a great job on my car. A really friendly guy who turned up on time and I would definitely use again.
All at a much better price than my local body shops.

I changed my car on which I had a warranty and shortfall insurance. I phoned to cancel the warranty and move the shortfall insurance to the new car.
All was done efficiently with no hidden charges and a refund of some of the premiums.

If only all insurers were so efficient and helpful. Great service from ALA.