"Appalling customer service

Appalling customer service - I will never shop with these guys again. THEY incorrectly processed an order twice. I then changed my mind and cancelled what should have been one order, but because the order was processed twice I received delivery of the item anyway, as I was meant to have cancelled two duplicate orders (but I had no reason to know this, as only one order was placed). They won't take account for errors at their end or problems with the way their systems process orders and pick up the incorrectly delivered item for free - they are charging me for it.

They say 'no quibble returns policy' if you have any issues on their website - 'you'll receive all your money back'. This is misleading - you'll have to pay for the return postage. If you open your item (luckily I didn't), you have to pay a restocking fee.

Customer service rude and unhelpful (3 separate individuals). Their attitude is 'this is what happened, we won't accept any other version, if you don't like it, tough'. Their direct attitude and way of taking to customers leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Customer service representatives should try and understand their customers when things go wrong, instead of dismissing concerns outright.

If you want to buy a laptop, order elsewhere - either direct from manufacturer or somewhere like Amazon where the returns are made easier and they treat their customers better. Companies like Amazon or the manufacturers themselves if you order direct, will take return of laptops for free if you are not happy for whatever reason - even if you have opened them and used them. LaptopsDirect are charging me for an unopened order! If I had opened it, they would charge a 'restocking fee'. What would happen if I used it and found it to be faulty, and wanted to return? Would they accept it? I don't know, but that's a risk I cannot take so I will never order with these guys in the future - it's not worth the risk.

When will companies learn - provide good customer service, and you'll reap the benefits in the long-term by repeat custom. No repeat custom from me. They now lose out on many hundreds of pounds as I will be buying my laptop elsewhere. It just doesn't make any sense.

In a way I am happy these errors have occurred, as I now know what their customer service and returns policy is like. Once they have your money they don't care - you're on your own. I have gained insight into how this company treats their customers, and I now know it is not safe to order from them in case something goes wrong. When you spend a lot of money on electronics you need the security to know that you can return an item if there are problems with it. This company does not provide that security. I don't trust them at all.

Just look around the internet for reviews of this company on other websites. Many others have described similar issues."

"AVOID! They employ chronic liars and try to weasel their way out of a contract. I bought 13 graphics cards that went up in price the day after and was also a large order...

Was told the items would be here by the 23rd of Aug. No graphics cards were received by the evening on the 24th so I left them a message and the response was their customer support acting dumb...

Called up to complain and was told a manager would call back - eventually they did and promised a discount plus all the cards.

I must have phoned up nearly every day for about a week and a half to be constantly told they would "get back to me," and I was also told that the product price had increased and they attempted to change the order to a different product which was cheaper than the now more expensive product I ordered. I refused and they offered a refund, I said no. I told them that they sold me those cards and they must honour the contract.

Eventually was told they had a new supplier who could provide all 13... Was called back later to be told they can only get 10... Called back the following day to ensure that they were actually coming and the woman told me they hadn't been shipped and the supplier ran out...

Eventually I get a note through the door saying a parcel is awaiting me from Overclockers UK (obviously who they had to buy these with), so I collected the 10 graphics cards finally about 2 weeks later.

They are LIARS, cheats, they try to get you to pay more if the price goes up (you don't need to, that's their problem), tried to get me to cancel, and were also terrible customer service.

Avoid like the PLAGUE."

"Horrible experience! I made an order but because of a misunderstanding I cancelled the order. The lady on the phone was really rude and she did not even try to help and get me into trouble. This is one of the worst experince I have ever had."

"I had the worst experience with this company! They sent me a laptop with a charger that didn't fit. I explaining them the issue and that I thought the problem was the port but they insisted in sending me a different charger that of course didn't fit once again. I brought my laptop to a technical service as I had to give a presentation at work and I needed my laptop urgently. I contacted this company to explain this and they did not contacted me back. As I expected, the problem was the port and no the charger. I contacted them back explaining them the problem and now they are arguing that my guarantee (that I purchased for 3 years) is not longer valid! They did NOTHING to sorted out my problem and instead of apologise for their lack of knowledge and capability, they are just washing their hands clean of this!! Terrible experience, DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!!!!!!"

"Ordered a laptop that was "In Stock" and paid extra for rapid delivery 1-2 business days to Dublin. 6 days later no laptop, item not dispatched on order summary and no replies at all from them. If you are thinking about ordering from them DON'T, go anywhere else it will be quicker and less painful!"

"I tried to return a laptop having read "no quibble returns" only to find the no quibble was going to cost me 10% plus up to £20 postage as I had ordered it under a company name and they would have to open it to make sure it was OK even though it was still sealed!!!
No quibble taking it back but be prepared to get stung!!
poor service and definately won't use again!! "

"Based on my own experience and the many negative reviews posted online, this company is clearly engaging in all sorts of shady practices.
I ordered a laptop based on the particular spec which was not available elsewhere. I called to confirm that this spec was correct before buying and was told that it was. The item arrived within a reasonable period of time (BTW, they charged me a 1.5% surcharge for using a credit card even though I used a debit card for the purchase), but I could immediately see from the spec breakdown on the box that it was not as advertised. I then had to make several calls to their customer service team due to people not getting back to me or the line suspiciously getting cut whilst being put on hold. I am convinced that they have an internal policy to try to wear customers down with this carry-on in an attempt to get them to give up. I finally got them to agree to let me return the item, but at no point did they officially recognise that this was a mis-sold item and despite my efforts to get them to amend the incorrect description of the item, it hasn't been changed. They agreed over the phone to arrange a pick-up for the item (as I made it clear that I would not be paying shipping costs for their mistake). However, a few days later I received an e-mail asking me to arrange the shipping. I then had to go back and make a further several calls to get them to cover the shipping cost (all the while having to use their premium rate number line.....have to think that their delay tactics are tied in with making money from the calls). I also noticed that a few days after I purchased the item, they increased its price by £200 and claimed that it had been reduced by 9%! This was clearly a complete fabrication. I brought this up but was met with responses along the lines of "that's a different department, I don't have anything to do with that".
My advice is to keep away from these guys, it's not worth the considerably higher risk of having issues that will cost you at the very least a lot of time to resolve, even if they have a competitive price. "

"i was bought a laptop as a gift in june 2015 only for it to go faulty 3 months down the line, i contacted laptops direct and was told to contact the Acer to arrange for it to be fixed, i did this and 1 week later it came back with 2 more faults, so i contacted laptops direct again and explained to them what happened and they didnt want to know and put the phone down on me, i sent it back to Acer again and the following day it came back with 2 more faults on it, i spoke to laptops direct again and they still dont want to know, they wre suppose to contact me and they havent which i expected, ive gone to the CAB for advice now as fed up with them. dont buy anything from these rob dogs as they dont want to know."

"SHOCKING !! MY DAUGHTER BOUGHT A LAPTOP WITH HER MONEY FROM HER STUDENT LOAN - 6 MONTHS LATER THE MEMORY HAS PACKED UP - £289 DOWN THE DRAIN AS IT COMES WITH A 3 MONTH WARRANTY - SPEND YOUR MONEY ELSWHERE PEOPLE"

"I bought a dashcam from Laptops Direct that is incapable of doing what it should, i.e. reading a number plate in motion! Even when I'm parked it cannot focus on passing cars plates.

Can I get them to RMA it - not a chance. They just argue and argue. It's taken me weeks to get to this stage and still they won't refund it. Every time you call or e-note them, you get a different rep who just repeats what the last one did - useless and time-wasting.

STAY AWAY !!!"

"If you're a business user, don't touch Laptopsdirect.co.uk with a barge pole. I placed my order for 8GB of RAM for my MacBook Pro and immediately realised I'd made a mistake upon receipt of the goods.. rather than two 4GB sticks, I'd accidentally ordered 1 8GB stick.. an innocent error...

But upon calling their 10p a minute 'customer service' helpline (which, in itself should be done for trades descriptions), I was told with complete disinterest that they would not accept the return or exchange of my incorrect order as I was a business... They couldn't care less about retaining a happy, satisfied customer.. nope.. they had my money - and a little extra for calling their premium rate phone line and that was good enough for them.

So now, as a sole trader who works extremely hard for his money, I'm left with a useless stick of expensive Ram memory that I'll have to try and peddle myself on Ebay.

Companies who operate like this do not deserve your trade.. go elsewhere.


FOLLOW-UP - TWO WEEKS LATER (Feb 17th)
So, after posting this review, and later seeing further negative reviews had appeared online, I noted I had not received the stock reply here from 'Liam' as others had, however, I had received the same reply from him via my message to LaptopsDirect on their Facebook page... I had replied there and been ignored until I messaged again today asking if it was lip service or if they actually escalated these matters...

Well, to my surprise, I have just received a phone call from a slightly nervous sounding gentlemen with regard to my order.. who initially asked me if it was still sealed in it's packaging, which I explained it was.. completely unopened and untouched, resalable quite easily... Then I got the story of how it was now discontinued by them and how they had purchased it directly from their supplier and how they themselves would not be able to get a credit note for it.. and how they didn't want their business (which boasts over 1,000,000 customers on their website) wouldn't want to be out of pocket just as I - a sole trader - wouldn't wish to be out of pocket.

I suppose I should show some sympathy for a company with so many customers (about 10% of whom also experience lousy service going by the statistics on this page) and who would rather leave me out of pocket and more than a little disenfranchised than possibly risk maintaining a happy customer, who spends a fair amount of money on hardware each year... Good move there LTD!

I'm not entirely sure what the point of their phone call was to me today.. if it was to rub salt in the wound, it was successful. I am no longer disgruntled, I am now outright fuming.

So, I repeat.. and shall continue to repeat on each and every review website I can find online;

DO NOT SHOP WITH LAPTOPS DIRECT AS A BUSINESS CUSTOMER."

"awful company, here is my letter to them also sent to trading standards :

Ordered laptop on 14th Jan 2015
Received on 15th Jan 2015

Sold as Grade A1

“A1 - Excellent, As New Condition
A1 Grade Laptops are often simply unwanted returns and the only signs of use are the broken seal on the box.
All graded laptops have been fully tested by one of our qualified engineers and restored to factory settings. They come with all boxed accessories and manuals”

List of problems as follows:
Not original box with just a broken seal
Damages: gouge out of inside surface below the screen please see attached photo.
Not “as new condition” as stated also “only signs of use are the broken seal on the box” not true.

Missing items and accessories:
Asus Leather pouch for unit body
Original box
Styles pen for touch screen
Small pouch for Ethernet connection cable
Video out to VGA cable
All paper work documents and manuals (I know there is an emanual on the desktop but there is still several documents missing)
Plug UK attachment missing (kettle plug supplied instead) please see attached pictures

Not only does this particular laptop meet your Grade A1 standards, it no where near your grade A2"

"Frankly, this company doesn't even deserve the one star rating. I ordered a HP laptop and was given an estimated deliver of 5 working days. I soon got my delivery date which came and went without any sign of the product. This happened a further three times and it took over a month for me to finally get my laptop. I did message the company (I refused to call their premium rate number as I didn't want them having a penny more of my money after their poor service). I only got a reply once which was vague and avoided my questions and request to contact me to discuss the issue.

Finally, the laptop arrived and it went downhill from there. After the initial set-up my laptop crashed every time I logged in. An IT specialist gave it the once over and informed me the RAM was faulty. As if this wasn't bad enough he also informed me that he believed it was a refurbished laptop. Interesting as I had paid for a brand new one. So once again I messaged laptopsdirect and asked for the faulty laptop to be replaced and also to confirm that it is a new product and that they hadn't palmed me of with a refurbished one. Their response was as helpful as ever and simply told me to speak to the manufacturer. Once again they avoided my question and did not confirm if the laptop was new or refurbished. Guess I can assume the answer then. With a service like this I'm really glad I wasted money on an extended warranty!

All I can say is avoid this company like the plague. It is not worth dealing with them for the sake of saving a few pounds. I also find it highly dubious that on some review sites all their reviews are either 5* or 1* with next to no reviews sitting in the middle. I think it is safe to say their Customer Services team spend more time writing fake reviews that actually doing what they should.

And should anyone from Customer Services see this and want my order number so they can "escalate this" (seems to be their go to catch phrase on poor reviews) it is 34618321."

"Absolute cowboys. Ordered a refurbished Acer 6930 from them, which arrived with the intermittent flickering screen issue that we'd all too common on the 6930. I tried to return it under the Distance Selling Regulations, but Laptops Direct treated it as a fault return against my wishes, and are now charging me £62 for the pleasure. Both customer service and the technical team are rude and uncooperative, and all in all this is the worst retail experience of many years shopping online.

I can't recommend that you avoid this company and all of it's sister companies strongly enough."

"I used Laptops Direct in July to buy an Acer laptop for my son`s birthday prior to him going away to Uni later on next month.
I found the website really easy to search ans use, and the prices a lot cheaper than anywhere else for the Aspire 5536 that I bought. Really pleased with the service and delivery too, turned up at 10am the next day! Would definetely use these guys again.....Top notch! "