A.

I placed an order on March 1st and received an email on March 3rd stating it was "about to ship." Yet, as of March 21st, it still hasn't shipped.

I reached out for an update, but they provided no further details. When I requested a refund, their response was:

"Once an order is placed, it is prepared for dispatch immediately. Unfortunately, this means we cannot cancel a completed order."

Absolutely unacceptable. Avoid.

I paid extra for next day delivery, and took the day off to await the delivery.

Part of the order was delivered today at 11:30ish. I phoned today at 11:43 stating I have received part of my order (the accessories), but the blinds had not been delivered.

The lady I spoke to said that she would find out where they were, and phone me back. She said that it would be in a few hours time.

It is now 6:30pm and the office is shut and they are not answering calls.

I have taken the day off for this deliver and lost a days worth of wages, and I paid extra for the next day delivery. Will be performing a credit card chargeback.

Came in for a SimSwap. Saachika was amazing, really helpful, friendly and efficient!

Poor communication, slow delivery.

Item was not even dispatched by the date that it was expected to be delivered.

Phoned them up and they could not give a date of deliver. Took a while for them to get back to me and requried me to phone them up.

Given 2 stars since after speaking to a manager, a full refund has been promised.

21/10/2019: Went to the SmileDirectClub store in Tower Hill and met Brigita R. She was very friendly and took a 3D scan of my mouth. Similar positive experience as most of the other reviews on here. Brigita told me about the new Nighttime Clear Aligners, which sounded perfect for me given my job, and crossed that box and gave my credit card details.

01/11/2019: Received an email with the subject “We're cookin' up your smile!” with further images of the progress for each month (4 months in total).

03/11/2019: Over the weekend, I was excited so I looked at the email in more detailed. It appears that SmileDirectClub have allocated me the normal aligners and not the Nighttime aligners. I thought this would be a simple switch, so dropped them an email. With 14 minutes, “Adrienne R.” responds stating that this is not possible. I immediately ask for the details of the Dentist/Doctor overseeing this case (including his/her GDC registration number). “Jocelyn G.” responded that I will be contacted “in the next 24-48 hours).

05/11/2019: “Shelley H.” responds stating that “I see that you stated the Smile Guide told you at your scan appointment that you would get the Night-Time Clear aligners, as this is something that the Dentist or Orthodontist on your case has to determine while they are creating your Smile Plan. I understand this may be frustrating and I am so sorry, but the upside is that our standard wear schedule is about 40% shorter in length than our nighttime clear aligners so you will be done sooner now. Please make sure to be wearing the aligners for 22+ hours every day to get the predicted results and to keep the smile guarantee valid.” I responded that this is not in line with what I purchased.

06/11/2019 (13:04): Received an email with the subject “Your aligners are on the way!”, to be delivered the following day.

06/11/2019 (19:35): “Erin T.” responds that a 2nd opinion has now been requested.

07/11/2019: “Katrina S” responds with: “Thank you for reaching out about switching to our new nighttime clear aligner technology. At this time, Dr. Selim has determined the standard wear schedule is necessary for you to achieve predicted results due to the complexity of your mouth. The good news is that this technology is about 40% shorter in length than our nighttime clear aligner schedule, so you will finish much sooner. Please continue to wear your aligners as prescribed for the 22+ hours/day.”

08/11/2019: I respond saying that this is completely unacceptable and I explicitly stated I wanted the Nighttime aligners at the time of placing the order. As I had already received the aligners I requested a full refund and I would not open the box.

10/11/2019: “Alicia I” responds with “I can request a second opinion from Dr. Selim to see if there is any way possible for you to receive the Nighttime Aligners. If you do not want me to request this, I can go ahead and request the cancellation for you. Please inform me of how you would like to proceed.”

11/11/2019: I respond with “Please can you go ahead and request the cancellation? Please can you tell me where to return the box to, and how long the refund would take to be processed?”

12/11/2019: “Misty D.” responds with: “I have sent your cancelation request to the account management team and you will receive additional correspondence within 3-5 business days, about your cancelation request.”

18/11/2019: No response, so I email back stating: “It has been 3-5 days since your email below and I have received no response in relation to my refund. Please can you advise when I will receive my refund.”

19/11/2019: No response, so I email back stating: “I still have not received my refund or any communication. You have begun to completely ignore my request. If I have not received a refund by Monday 25 November 2019, I will be escalating this to the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC).”

In short, SmileDirectClub seems amazing (e.g. great customer service, free 3D scan, quick delivery) until you encounter any issues. Once you do have an issue, they begin to ignore your emails. Please take this into account when proceeding with an order with them.

UPDATE (20/11/2019 17:21): Received an email from "Andrea S.": "Good morning Alpesh,
Hope your day is going well, this is Andrea S. with the Dental Team here at SmileDirectClub.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to us about your cancellation request. I do apologize for the delay in the account manager reaching out to start that process. I do see that the request has been made and they will be in contact with you soon.

Please feel free to contact us as it is our pleasure to continue to assist you through your Smile Journey with any questions you may have.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your Smile Journey and a member of the club."

[i.e. still no refund]

UPDATE (21/11/2019): SmileDirectClub had informed me that a Dr. Youseff Selim was the UK registered dentist prescribing my braces. I confirmed he is via the General Dental Council (GDC) register, and a simple google search give me the dental practices he works at as his day job. I sent him an email stating the poor service received from him (via SmileDirectClub) and that I will be making a formal complaint to the GDC.

UPDATE (23/11/2019): Dr. Jeffrey Sulitzer (Chief Clinical Officer) called me from a USA number. It was a reasonable conversation and we concluded that a refund was the most appropriate option. He stated he's aiming for Tuesday (today is Saturday), but if it gets delayed, due to Thanksgiving, would likely take a longer period of time. At the end of the call, he asked me whether I had complained to the GDC yet (making me assume that Dr. Selim had escalated this on his side). Fingers crossed the refund is on its way...