Ebay

Seller bidding on their own items for inflated prices - protect yourself because Ebay won't!

I've used Ebay for years and always thought with a bit of common sense it's a safe environment for people to trade. Buyer protection via Paypal is good and fairly simple if lengthy to use. So, my complaint? I discovered a seller shill bidding, that is bidding on their own auctions with a fake account to artificially increase prices. It wasn't particularly well done as the same account bid on 5 different auctions, all with the same seller and in each case bid the genuine buyer up to their maximum by retracting any bid that was higher and thus leaving the genuine bidder at their top price. 14 retractions spread over those 5 auctions was pretty conclusive and looking into previous completed auctions revealed a clear history of shill bidding. Ebay at first reassured me that the auction had been cancelled. 12 hours later it was still running and when I queried it, they basically told me, I wasn't the highest bidder any more so don't worry.....er? but what about the poor sod who was the highest bidder pushed from £10 to £30 or the other auction who had pushed one bidder from £22 to £71!!!!. Ebay clearly don't care what sellers are doing to push up their price because at the end of the day they take a fee based on the final selling price! Having used Ebay for years, I am stunned at their attitude. All I can say is Ebay is a great place to buy just about anything and there are some really great sellers on there, but, you have to check every auction....if you're outbid then suddenly find yourself the highest bidder again, before you congratulate yourself on your luck, check the bid retraction section on the bidding page, you just might be being taken for a ride and Ebay won't do a damned thing......

Ohbabylondon

A Personalised service above and beyond

I had a bit of a unique situation recently whereby I ordered items for my nephews who were leaving for Australia. I used the next day delivery service which was quite costly, however time wise I had no choice. I received an email the following day saying the items hadn't made the post in time ( which at the time annoyed me immensely as I'd noted their deadline for next day delivery and was 14 hours within it, having ordered the night before and not the morning) and that the additional postage would be refunded. I emailed them immediately to say they could cancel the whole order as my sister and her twins were leaving that day, so it was pointless ( I was a tad stroppy it has to be said!) Anyway, I had a personal reply, very apologetic and cut a long story short, this lovely woman, sent my items directly to Australia at no charge, sent some free trainer socks and then offered me an item of my choice for my own daughter ( which I very politely declined as she had done more than enough to compensate a simple error). What spectacular service. As for missing the post, she explained they had had an unprecedented response to a flash sale and having ordered before and since I can confirm orders are normally very timely. In this day and age where everyone outsources abroad and email replies are computer generated, what a refreshing change to meet a company who are so customer focused and provide a real personal touch.

Very

The most awful customer service i've ever come across

Very are great until something goes wrong and then be prepared for the most mind numbing incompetence you could imagine. Do not use their email service unless you just want computer generated responses that take no account of your query whatsoever and the customer service helpline who say repeatedly, I understand but then can't do anything and all for the price of 5p per minute. An order didn't leave the warehouse, they charged me interest over a 6 week period for something I didn't receive. When I queried it I got a reply saying my account had been credited and I should re order in the usual way. I emailed them to point out that I had accrued interest, so simply refunding the purchase price didn't cover it, that the price of the item had since increased and that re ordering in the usual way would incur deliver charges I'd already paid.....I got an email saying they didn't have the details, to which I again responded, to which I got the same email saying my account was credited and to re order.....ever felt you were caught in a ground hog day situation.... Eventually after a week of this and feeling the blood vessels popping I relented and phoned the order line who then told me they couldn't help..... so on hold I waited for customer services who after 12 minutes of phone time (at 5p per minute) told me they couldn't put the item through at the original price, they'd have to put it through at full price with a note on the account and it would be up to me to phone back when I'd received it to ask for a reduction....yep up to me at 5p a minute again..... I'm out of pocket for the phone calls, the interest charges, the delivery charge and I still have no item..... Unfortunately Very have a monopoly on the catalogue market and it shows in their customer services. they don't give a stuff about helping customers..... Oh and here's another one, I emailed them 7 weeks ago to ask them to clarify the size of some mattresses on their website as they had mixed up small and standard singles (dimensions and titles didn't match and I wanted to ensure I ordered the right one) to be told head office would get back to me, I emailed again after 4 days to be told to be patient and that head office hadn't yet responded..... 7 weeks later still nothing! I could've walked to their warehouse and measured the stupid things myself quicker than that! By the way, I ordered them from Argos in the end......a company who know how to look after their customers!

Gill skene found this review useful

PreciousLittleOne

Online Shopping as it should be

The best online baby company I have dealt with after 5 children! I've ordered a few times now and the website stock details have always been up to date. Email confirmation comes through immediately and items that I've ordered in the evening show as despatched before 9.15 the next morning!!! Items arrive on time and are well packaged. Add to that the fact that the prices are always competitive and there's a loyalty discount for repeat customers, why go anywhere else?