Nico

I like the website showing clearly the products offered. In other respects the website does not give me the information I need.

I made an order on Monday the 6th, with next-day delivery between 7am & 7pm.

I could not track my order on my account, nor get updates on its status, in spite of the fact it was delivered late, long after 7pm. I had to make repeated telephone calls to its recipient, to check it had arrived at the delivery address.

As of this morning, there is no update as to the status of my order on my account.

This is not good enough.

I ordered some headphones. They were competitively priced, and the collections process was straightforward.

Easy to find what I wanted to read.
Easy to purchase.
Easy.

It was very straightforward to order Velux blackout blinds from this site, at the exact size and spec to match our loft roof lights, and cheaper than the quoted prices from Velux, too!

The blinds were delivered promptly, sooner than expected. Easy to install and configure, they were up in our loft in no time.

I have raised these issues with the seemingly helpful Lewis at Customer Services. My main issue is with the spec of the product:


I bought this bed in a 4' small double size. £420 including £25 delivery. No other extras - headboard or floating shelves, etc.

The stained & lacquered softwood bits are well finished. There are black angle brackets to connect the side rails to the headboard & footboard, screwed in place to the headboard & footboard using robust black 25mm no.10 flanged button screws.

The zinc no.6 20mm screws to connect the side rails to the headboard & footboard are simply not fit for purpose, as these 12 titchy screws are all that secure the brackets to the side rails to secure the weight combination of side rails, bed slats, mattress and human sleeper to the headboard & footboard - the parts of the frame in contact with the floor.

Also, nearly all pre-drilled holes in the side rails for these screws were not in the right place apart from at one corner, leaving gaps where these rails meet the headboard & footboard.

Also, 9 slats for the bed is insufficient. The resultant gap of around 90mm between each of the wide softwood slats supplied is excessive. I can only speculate upon how long it will take before mattress springs start sagging into these gaps.

Under these circumstances, £420 appears a wholly ridiculous price for such a poor-quality and poorly-specced piece of furniture.

Update:
Lewis surmised from the photos I submitted that the fault was with the warped headboard & footboard and sent replacements. He didn't cotton on to the fact that the side rails' pre-drilled holes were in the wrong place.
I have been given assurances that screwing the side rails properly to the headboard & footboard creating new holes in the process will not invalidate the product's warranty.
The bed still creaks a little. Still not great, but at least it's a working bed.
Suggestions:
1. the side rails should be a little thicker, allowing the use of more substantial screws to secure the corner brackets.
2. the slats are quite wide, and should be affixed to the side rails using two screws at each end, not one.
3. the gaps between the slats of nearly 4" is ridiculous, and only time will tell whether this has a detrimental effect on the mattress atop them.

I placed an order for 36 linear metres of primed Skirting. The process was clear and painless, the price competitive, and the turnaround time and estimated delivery of 4-8 working days appeared reasonable.

Panic ensued two mornings later, when my wife told me a van had just pulled up with our delivery! Outstanding!

What I got was exactly what was ordered, with a primed finish so immaculate I am absolutely bricking it about applying the topcoat.

Fingers crossed. Thanks, Skirting UK

Update, 9th August:
After a bit of caulking and one coat of Dulux Satinwood, and the finished skirtings are gorgeous! So pleased I was, that I opted for a second topcoat for extra durability. I forgot to mention that the skirting profile has a slight bullnose at the top and a groove about 20mm down. Looks great.

Thanks again, Skirting UK

Part Shop Direct (PSD), see also Tools and Parts Direct, Spare Parts World, all out of the same address as Power Tool Centre; 'distributors' who all have the same 0151 207 1400 number, for the same unit on an industrial estate in Liverpool.

I placed an order, 390859, in Mid-March, was advised on the website of a 4-6 week delay in delivery of a parts from the EU because of problems with EU suppliers (right, blame the EU). I chased PSD 10 weeks later to be told the product was not available.

The part I ordered was due to arrive by the end of April. On 26th May I queried where my order was, and 2 days later I was told by PSD the item still hadn't arrived and there was no sign of it. Did PSD get confirmation the part was on its way? As far as I am concerned there is no evidence that PSD had any confirmation that a part was ordered and was on its way. This is the most likely scenario, as I checked and learned the part I was after was long-ago discontinued by the manufacturer. So that's bull**** there, then.

I was confirmed a refund on 28th May which took 6 days to be received. I received a copy refund invoice which listed the part as 'returned'. In the meantime, I spent a few minutes online, found a supplier in Germany, placed an order at a price 25% cheaper than that quoted by PSD, and which was in my hands a week after I placed my order.

The problem wasn't that PSD couldn't get what I ordered. The problem is that no effort was made in sourcing apart from a couple of emails, and spending little effort to justify the premiums that UK distribution pockets.

It's a grassroots con - producers and manufacturers have to cut back to the bone, while UK distribution networks become ever more opaque and siphon off profits in return for very little actual work. The consumer is screwed.

Never again.

I bought two of the SGS-brand mobile tool boxes 4 years ago. They appeared well put together, and have proven excellent value, durable and convenient.

As my tools have increased in number, I have had no hesitation in buying a third box. Thankfully, the design appears identical. It will get filled up quickly, I'm sure.

Yes, the SGS-brand toolboxes may not be as bomb-proof as the Milwaukee products they also sell, but for the DIY-er/hobbyist they are excellent, and with double the length of warranty and a less-than-half the price of the more robust 'professional' ranges these remain exellent value.

The whole shopping experience via the SGS website was refreshingly simple, painless, efficient. So nice to buy direct.

Appliance Direct's range of used/refurbished appliances are excellent. Painless shopping experience and appliance delivered promptly.

The email update from Yodel says:
This parcel needs to be delivered to a person, but when our driver delivers your parcel, they may:
• Take a photo of it in your open doorway or
• Deliver to a neighbour and take a photo as proof of delivery

As usual, my parcel was just dumped. No knock at the door, just left on the floor of my open porch. Unprofessional.

This happens all the time with Yodel deliveries. Yet Yodel survives, because the British public put up with such shoddy service.

always reliable, always prompt

I bought two Aramid Fibre Limitless 3.0 cases and flip wallet/stands for my twins' iPhone 11 Pros. Very cool, those wallets.

So disappointing in performance. With teens, it is inevitable that these phone cases will have ample opportunity to live up to their product claims...

26/12 Phone No.1 was pushed off the dining table by the cat. No damage. Until the case was removed to reveal a network of cracks on the back glass. Not good.

03/01 Phone No.2 was dropped from some height, landed on wooden floor on its bottom right edge. No physical damage was sustained. But display showed a vertical streak about 1cm wide in rainbow colours, dead centre. Just grand.

Fortunately a replacement phone was available.

I have been looking forward to a bunch of Evofire+ downlights, as well as a couple of very nice-looking Ashino wall lights, purchased via the website.

Unfortunately, I can't comment on the products as 10 days has passed since my order as made, with repeated messages along the lines of "parcel with local Evri courier for delivery. Tracking info Evri unable to deliver parcel."

Messages from Lighting Direct vowing to escalate this matter have so far yielded no result.

I will edit this review to include products and company, in the event my goods are eventually delivered...

Update 06/02/23: By way of comment to LD's reply.
As someone who works in the parcels delivery industry, I am wholly aware of the pressures put on courier firms over the period in question.

That a supplier continues to use a company such as Hermes/Evri, in spite of the wealth of evidence as to this company's poor working practices and abysmal reputation, speaks volumes of the focus on nothing but the bottom line. Cost. No other factor. Customer service be damned.

Thanks, Lighting Direct. I will pass on doing any further business with you.

I am still waiting on an order I placed with retailer Lighting Direct 10 days ago.
I get regular updates from the couriers saying the same thing: parcel with local courier for delivery/courier unable to deliver parcel.
This is so poor.
I will try not to shop online with any retailer that contracts with this company.
We should all do the same.

I bought a kit from Nu-Heat 17 years ago to provide UFH throughout our modest South London home, which I prepared for and which I installed myself. the finished heating system has performed flawlessly since, with only wear-and-tear replacements necessary - pump/actuators/valves etc.

Our place is now being extended so, naturally, I approached the same company to quote for the kit, for an insulated ground floor to be screened/tiled and between joists in the upper floors.

Prices were surprisingly reasonable given the current economic climate, and delivery of the (so-far) first phase super-fast once the design stage has been finalised. Nu-heat are happy to prepare and deliver in stages and, with excellent customer support throughout, the experience has been an altogether painless one thus far.

I only wish I had the energy and time to install the kit myself, as I remember the self-install experience fondly and the resultant sense of satisfaction was immense. This kit appears straightforward to install, the design/technical teams are very knowledgable, and the Nu-Heat site is awash with helpful instructions, tips and advice.

Underfloor heating really is a DIY-er's dream. You should try it!

Update:

I speak of Nu-Heat products as a DIY-er's dream. On this occasion I had to resort to a firm, Master Build Developments Ltd, drawn from the Nu-Heat list of approved contractors, to install the UFH in our new spaces.

The poor quality of the UFH install became plain to see, following the unfortunate necessity of lifting the sub-standard loft flooring supplied by our builders:

1. The insulation between joists under the UFH pipework throughout was littered with sawdust, notch cut-outs waste, and other debris, simply left in situ by the UFH contractor and not cleared. This would result in a substantially reduced performance in the so-called 60-minute fire rating in the event of a fire.

2. I told the UFH contractor that all the towel rails in the house are supplied from the same UFH flow & return pipework - in the event of a hot water demand for either (a) the UFH manifolds or (b) the DHW cylinder, the heated water also provides heat to all the bathroom towel rails. That was the idea. Inexplicably, the UFH contractor bridged the flow & return supply pipework to the loft UFH manifold before heated water can get to the manifold and towel rail. Bridging this pipework effectively means there is no hot water trickle to the loft towel rail to heat it up unless there's only a UFH demand.

3. The existing system is wired to time controls which allow me to efficiently schedule on/offs etc. The UFH contractor did not properly integrate the new components with the existing set-up, and instead managed to rig the electrical connections so that it was 'on constant'. The only control over when the UFH operates is only via the individual zone thermostats.

4. Nu-Heat explained that any recourse to addressing these issues lies directly with the UFH contractor, and has absolved itself of any Duty of Care. Redress with the UFH contractor is not possible, as the contractor's site no longer exists.

5. Nu-Heat has not offered a solution which allows the control of the new UFH installation to integrate with the existing controls.

This is the second time I have used Drench for bathroom supplies - toilets and shower fittings. Quickly despatched, received in good order. Can't fault. Especially useful with builders who come up to me and say stuff like: "oh, can I have shower blending valves and toilets, by tomorrow?"

Update: My last delivery of three boxes of stuff was one box short. The guys at Drench were on the case, chased up the logistics company which appeared to have messed up, and the missing goods were delivered promptly. Well done, again.

Easy website to navigate, decent prices, quickly delivered.

lovely flowers, efficient delivery

Can't fault. The service was performed without issue on the ground.
I did manage to incur two bookings, though (the first one didn't complete but I was charged in error). A quick online chat with one of the Customer Services team resolved the issue in a couple of minutes.
Good stuff - assuming my refund for the ghost booking comes through as promised ;-)

painless shopping experience, decent price, quality firewood