Mrs Valerie Armstrong

I use the Enniskillen store every week, and the staff are always friendly, and polite, and even carry my heavy purchases to the car for me. There are a good selection of items for cats, dogs and birds, so I can do all my shopping there.

After trying to place an on line order with sparklingdirect, I was having a problem getting my payment to be accepted, which after the really bad storm we have just had, which disrupted our internet, I really wasn't surprised, so, I rang them and was really pleased that the lady who I spoke to went out of her way to help me complete the order. As we were still having problems, she sent me details on how I could make my payment, and details of their account etc. A few messages later and my order was completed. So helpful, and friendly, I would definitely use them again.

I don't know where these good reviews on DPD delivery come from because in my experience they are a nightmare. Yes you do get a text saying when they will deliver, but I use the "deliver" word carefully, because they don't. I've waited for deliveries, and when I've checked where they are, it states they have been delivered. I now know I have to contact neighbours to find out if they have my parcel, OR, I wait for the delivery, only to find it has been thrown over my gate, which is out of sight of my front door, and some of the things have been left on the floor in the pouring rain. WHY, when there is a bell on the gate and I would go out and collect the delivery from the driver. I've had soaking wet parcels, flowers for Mothers Day dropped over the gate, but not once have a I actually had my parcel DELIVERED to ME. Waiting again today for a delivery, which DPD seemed to have misplaced, then they say THEY put the wrong Eir Code on it, but the address is correct. They have told me before there was no code on parcels, which I proved wrong because I took a picture of the delivery note attached to the parcel, which clearly states the Eir Code.

This review is a follow up to one posted a few days ago. Just to keep people informed of what happened to my efforts to cancel my account and get a full refund. The quick answer, very little. I spent hours both on line and trying to contact customer service by phone. I reverted to C.S. on line to explain that I was not at all satisfied with Total AV and wanted to close my account, and as I had only had the security program just over 14 days, I expected a full refund as stated on their web site. Which I have copied below. The on line chat simply kept telling me to follow the link they had sent me to cancel. I tried this numerous times, and it did not work, all you do is go round in circles, and eventually end up back at on line C.S. After I had stated I wanted them to cancel my contract immediately, the agent told me that he had cancelled it and I would get only a small portion of my subscription refunded. I asked why, and was told that I had opened the account more than 14 days ago, therefore, I was not entitled to a full refund. I told him that according to their web site it was 30 days, and I wanted my full refund. I have not heard anything further from them since last week. I have therefore lost approx Euro 70 for having to deal with this company, and getting nowhere. Buyer beware.

Following text copied from their web site.

Money-Back Guarantee
We're so confident that you won't want to leave TotalAV, we'll give you your money back if you do. No questions asked.

During the first 30 days, if you decide TotalAV isn't for you, we'll refund your subscription fees in full. Your satisfaction is our top priority, and we’re so confident that you’ll be pleased with our services:

How easy it is to protect your devices
24x7 customer phone support available

I am so sorry I did not read reviews on Trustpilot before starting an account with Total AV 2 weeks ago. The installation from a download was easy, and I also purchased VPN from them to enable me to browse or bank in complete safety. I have since found out that TotalAV VPN has to be activated "manually" each time you need to use it. It does not run all the time making your banking etc secure. It also does not let you know if it's working or not. Nothing. So if someone forgets to switch it on, they could actually go into their bank and not be covered in a secure browser. For some people who are not computer savvy this could be dangerous, as in today's climate you really need to keep your details as private as possible. Total AV on line Customer Service is a joke, and I have tried to find a way of contacting them to cancel my subscription and get a refund, even getting their so called cancellation email address from their recorded message on their phone contact number. Surprise, surprise the email was not recognised. I will continue to try and get my subscription cancelled, and my money refunded, and will keep my review on Trustpilot updated on the outcome. In my opinion beware of this company.

Blue Insurance took over the underwriting of my Pet insurance with An Post after Brexit. I'd had the policy for almost 5 years, and had no problems with An Post or the UK underwriter they then used. When I received the first renewal quote from Blue, it had gone up considerably, but was just acceptable. This month I received the new quote for 2022, and to say I was stunned is an understatement. I know insurance premiums go up every year, but, as I have another 4 animals insured by another company, I know what a reasonable price rise is. In fact I have just received the new price for my 4 pets, and that has gone up by Euro 12 per year. The rise that Blue wanted is for Euro 135 per year, that is for just one cat. I'm sorry, but there is no justification for that extra amount. I tried for 2 weeks to get an answer from Blue, but their Customer Service took all my details, told me they would get back to me, and didn't. Not a word. As the policy expires at the end of this month, I have cancelled it, and would not use Blue Insurance again for anything. They are just not interested in providing a reasonable premium for their services.

I purchased a Vax Blade cordless vacuum cleaner from Argos in 2019 as a replacement for a Dyson and used it daily. No problems with it until the hinge on the dust compartment broke, meaning I could not use the cleaner as the compartment was open. The actual hinge was only plastic, and in my opinion, was not really strong enough to cope with being emptied daily, and should have been metal. As the item was still under warranty, I took it back to Argos where I had purchased it and they replaced it with the same model. This machine never seemed to be as sturdy as the original, and after 6 months when you used the power brush for carpets, it did not have any power to the brush, which seemed to be a problem with the wiring or connections in the long handle making it totally useless for cleaning carpets. I again took it back to Argos today, and said I would pay the extra money to upgrade to an Air Lift Drive Plus upright cleaner, not the cordless. On arriving back home, I put the cleaner together and tried it out. Immediately on using the brush head for carpets, the handle came off when I pulled the cleaner backwards. The cleaner is quite heavy, and has a really good suction on the carpet, BUT, the handle doesn't have a strong enough fastening to keep it attached to the cleaner. When you push forwards it's OK because you are pushing the handle into the cleaner, BUT, when you pull backwards, the handle comes off in your hand, meaning you cannot use it at all. I have looked at the small clip that should hold the handle to the main cleaner, and as the cleaner is quire heavy and the suction is strong, the fastening is no where near enough to keep the handle in place. As this is now the 3rd Vax I have tried in as many years, there seem to be profound design errors. For such a powerful vacuum, the design is definitely lacking.

I have been a customer of Zooplus since 2012 with little problem, but, over the past couple of years their service has got worse. Even though they have a Zooplus.ie web site, their orders come from Holland. This should be made clear on their site, as delivery times just get worse. My latest order was placed on 24th May, today, 3 June still nothing, and no update from DPD who according to their tracking site have had the parcel since 1 June in their Athlone facility, which is only one and a half hours away from me. Sorry Zooplus, your service is just not good enough, and make sure clients know even though they are ordering on and IE web site, your not in Ireland.

Had to renew my pet insurance with Blue as my old company could not renew it this year because of Brexit restrictions, so, I was told Blue were taking over. I received the renewal quote, which was considerably higher, but as there are very few insurers in Ireland that do pet insurance I agreed to the policy with Blue. As the price was higher I agreed to pay monthly, and was told I would need to ring up each month and give my debit card details for the payment to be taken. I rang today to make the payment, and was told they were taking it directly out of my account, without any prior consent from me. Customer Service were useless. Not happy with them. Have complained in an email, will be interested to see what they say.

Very pleased with this company. I placed the order on 26 Jan and it was delivered on the 29th. Packaging was good, rolled not folded as some companies do, and I was kept informed by email on the order from despatch to delivery. The carpet looks exactly as advertised, and looks really good in my lounge. Will definitely use again.

I've given this company 1 star because you can't get any lower, but I would like to have given them a minus score. After 16 days my item still hasn't been delivered, and it's a waste of time trying to get any sense out of their customer service, which despite being advertised as IE, is probably in India, but they are not allowed to tell me where they are, which is suspicious in itself. I thought I was buying from either a UK or Ireland based company, but they do not have an office in Ireland, even though it gives an address in Dublin. I have no idea how I would even get my money back from these people. Do not use them, it's not worth the trouble.

Absolutely useless company, the worst one I have ever used. They have now had a delivery from the UK for me since 23 October, according to their tracking site it's been at "A" parcel center, I'm assuming that's Dublin since Monday, and it looks like it's still there. That's a 2 hour drive from my home, how can it still be sitting there after 3 days, and it isn't showing it's out for delivery tomorrow either. Don't bother ringing them, your on hold for up to 15 minutes, and no one has as yet answered their on line form I completed on Monday.

Flowers delivered on time, unfortunately, the recipient was not in, but the florist rang me and asked where I would like them leaving. She had also rung the recipient to tell them she had a delivery for them, but they didn't take the call.

Great service.