Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

OT: Rant - e "bloody" buyer

10 views
Skip to first unread message

Jethro

unread,
Apr 23, 2011, 4:15:12 PM4/23/11
to
Typical, after recommending them a few times, saying "I've never had a
problem" ..

Ordered some homeplugs (the 200 MBs ones) Wednesday evening. Was too
late for next day delivery but happy to pay the premium for Saturday
delivery. Order taken, went through, and was with the depot 5:00am
friday.

Come today - no homeplugs, and the order is "scheduled" for 26th.
Spoke to Citylink who confirmed they *could* have delivered today, but
had no instructions to. Checking the order, I certainly paid for
Saturday delivery.

This has caused a lot of inconvenience ... I had planned to do a few
jobs this weekend, one of which was to re-jig the domestic network.
Now that will have to wait for at least a week.

They've already got a very stiff eNote waiting for them, but that will
be nothing compared to when I get to speak to them.

Fume, grrrrrrrr.

D.M.Chapman

unread,
Apr 23, 2011, 4:51:29 PM4/23/11
to
In article <2b8dec2e-d9ee-4412...@s40g2000prg.googlegroups.com>,
Jethro <krazy...@googlemail.com> wrote:

>Come today - no homeplugs, and the order is "scheduled" for 26th.
>Spoke to Citylink who confirmed they *could* have delivered today, but
>had no instructions to. Checking the order, I certainly paid for
>Saturday delivery.


I've ordered from them 3 times. Each time I've paid for a scheduled delivery.
Each time they have failed to dispatch on time or haven't told the courier
(as in your case) to deliver on the Saturday.

Best I've ever got is a full refund of all postage charges - even that takes
effort. They want to remove the additional charge only.

I've given up on them. Useless...

Darren

Ron Lowe

unread,
Apr 23, 2011, 5:39:28 PM4/23/11
to

I selected next-day delivery on an order, only to be told it 'was not
available to my postcode'. That is in fact total bollox.

It substituted a *1 week* delivery date.

The destination was in Aberdeen, where next day is fairly routine. I
could understand it if it was in Shetland...

--
Ron

m...@privacy.net

unread,
Apr 23, 2011, 7:12:11 PM4/23/11
to
On 23 Apr,
Jethro <krazy...@googlemail.com> wrote:

> Typical, after recommending them a few times, saying "I've never had a
> problem" ..
>
> Ordered some homeplugs (the 200 MBs ones) Wednesday evening. Was too
> late for next day delivery but happy to pay the premium for Saturday
> delivery. Order taken, went through, and was with the depot 5:00am
> friday.
>
> Come today - no homeplugs, and the order is "scheduled" for 26th.
> Spoke to Citylink who confirmed they *could* have delivered today, but
> had no instructions to. Checking the order, I certainly paid for
> Saturday delivery.

Cancel the order. replace with wireless router (or ethernet cable). Homeplug
is a polllutant of the aether. Domestic wiring is not designed to constrain
RF so it will leak out. I can't use my radio because of some neighbour
with homeplug. When I find out who it is I know where I'll plug it.

The high speed version wipes out all frequencies below UHF, no VHF radio and
no DAB! A taxi goes by and you slow down to low speed anyway.


--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

Bill

unread,
Apr 23, 2011, 8:59:19 PM4/23/11
to
In message <51C8A93642%brian...@lycos.co.uk>, m...@privacy.net writes

I wondered when someone was going to bring up the other side of the
coin..

<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/advice/8466961/What-are-the-altern
atives-to-WiFi.html>

For a different viewpoint.
--
Bill

Rob

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 1:50:44 AM4/24/11
to
On 23/04/2011 21:15, Jethro wrote:

I use them a fair bit, and always use the free 'saver' delivery. Last
one I ordered Thursday afternoon, arrived Friday morning. I wasn't in,
so the parcel was left at my (very) local PO, rather than the depot.
Which was nice.

Rob

harry

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 3:18:40 AM4/24/11
to
> Ron- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Aberdeen? Radioactive place near the North pole?

Dave

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 5:17:49 AM4/24/11
to

+1 from me. Luckily, I've never needed to have next day delivery so I always
go for free delivery which supposedly can take up to five days - but my
stuff has _always_ been delivered next day or the day after :-)


tony sayer

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 10:27:19 AM4/24/11
to
In article <iove4h$dg5$1...@dont-email.me>, D.M.Chapman <dmc@puffin.?>
scribeth thus

All the times I've used them I've gone for the slowest cheapest delivery
and its been here in each instance .. quicker!....
--
Tony Sayer

tony sayer

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 10:28:05 AM4/24/11
to
In article <51C8A93642%brian...@lycos.co.uk>, m...@privacy.net scribeth
thus

Yes not the cleverest way of distributing broadband around;(...
--
Tony Sayer

tony sayer

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 10:31:52 AM4/24/11
to
In article <MSNyTyEn...@birchnet.demon.co.uk>, Bill
<Bi...@birchnet.demon.co.uk> scribeth thus


Not the best researched article that.

This is a bit more scientific 'tho they do admit its early days in this
area and more needs to be done, but its convincing enough that they
aren't that clever a way of distributing broadband signals....


http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp-pdf-files/WHP195.pdf
--
Tony Sayer

Ron Lowe

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 3:46:50 PM4/24/11
to
On 24/04/2011 08:18, harry wrote:

>> The destination was in Aberdeen, where next day is fairly routine. I
>> could understand it if it was in Shetland...
>>
>> --
>> Ron- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Aberdeen? Radioactive place near the North pole?

Yes, but the dog-sleds are plenty fast north of Edingurgh.

newshound

unread,
Apr 24, 2011, 5:14:41 PM4/24/11
to

>
> Cancel the order. replace with wireless router (or ethernet cable).
> Homeplug
> is a polllutant of the aether. Domestic wiring is not designed to
> constrain
> RF so it will leak out. I can't use my radio because of some neighbour
> with homeplug. When I find out who it is I know where I'll plug it.
>
> The high speed version wipes out all frequencies below UHF, no VHF radio
> and
> no DAB! A taxi goes by and you slow down to low speed anyway.
>
>
My powerline one doesn't seem to bother *my* DAB or VHF.

tony sayer

unread,
Apr 25, 2011, 5:16:31 AM4/25/11
to
In article <91ji62...@mid.individual.net>, newshound
<news...@fairadsl.co.uk> scribeth thus

Your prolly quite lucky that you live in a high signal strength area if
thats the case then you may well have no problem..

But..

These units not only radiate Radio frequency energy they also receive it
and in doing so their performance is compromised..
--
Tony Sayer

Grimly Curmudgeon

unread,
Apr 25, 2011, 3:27:12 PM4/25/11
to
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Bill <Bi...@birchnet.demon.co.uk>
saying something like:

>>The high speed version wipes out all frequencies below UHF, no VHF radio and
>>no DAB! A taxi goes by and you slow down to low speed anyway.
>>
>>
>
>I wondered when someone was going to bring up the other side of the
>coin..
>
><http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/advice/8466961/What-are-the-altern
>atives-to-WiFi.html>
>
>For a different viewpoint.

What different viewpoint? That of a know-nothing technical numpty?

Theo Markettos

unread,
Apr 25, 2011, 3:46:08 PM4/25/11
to
Dave <no...@valid.com> wrote:

> Rob wrote:
> > I use them a fair bit, and always use the free 'saver' delivery. Last
> > one I ordered Thursday afternoon, arrived Friday morning. I wasn't in,
> > so the parcel was left at my (very) local PO, rather than the depot.
> > Which was nice.
>
> +1 from me. Luckily, I've never needed to have next day delivery so I
> always go for free delivery which supposedly can take up to five days -
> but my stuff has _always_ been delivered next day or the day after :-)

CityLink is their Achilles heel. I once had a small order (about a tenner)
that didn't turn up. Phoned up the local Citylink depot, who said they'd had
a breakin and the parcel had been stolen. Thanks for telling me. They said
to get on to ebuyer. I rang up eBuyer, who had no idea anything had
happened but agreed to send the goods again by next day delivery. They
arrived... in the same delivery as the original parcel. Again no contact
from either to explain what had happened.

They're also not as cheap as they used to be.

These days I use Scan. Prices are usually a few pennies more than eBuyer.
There's a deal where you get free postage on orders over 20 quid if you've
made 20 postings to the Hexus forum, so postage is effectively free. And
all Scan postage is from DPD, which means it's next day, and that morning
they text you with a 1 hour (or is it 2 hour, can't remember) delivery
window. So far they've made it every time. It's worth paying a little
extra on the prices of goods just so you don't have to stay at home all day.

Theo

Jethro

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 4:52:01 AM4/26/11
to

Just a wee add on ...

thought I would call and have a vent, as a complaints system (eNotes)
which offers a response within 3 working days (although they hide that
by calling it "24 working hours") just isn't enough.

Spoke a a poor chap who sounded harassed already ... I'm, not an arse,
so I didn't take it out on him, just asked why I paid for Saturday
delivery, and didn't get it. It seems they've had quite a major ****-
up, with none of the orders scheduled for Saturday being delivered.
They're trying to work out if it's their fault or Citylink's.

Oh well I'll have to finish the job Saturday ....

Man at B&Q

unread,
Apr 26, 2011, 11:59:56 AM4/26/11
to
On Apr 24, 3:27 pm, tony sayer <t...@bancom.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <iove4h$dg...@dont-email.me>, D.M.Chapman <dmc@puffin.?>
> scribeth thus
>
>
>
> >In article <2b8dec2e-d9ee-4412-9b8b-ef8214a65...@s40g2000prg.googlegroups.com>,

> >Jethro  <krazyka...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> >>Come today - no homeplugs, and the order is "scheduled" for 26th.
> >>Spoke to Citylink who confirmed they *could* have delivered today, but
> >>had no instructions to. Checking the order, I certainly paid for
> >>Saturday delivery.
>
> >I've ordered from them 3 times. Each time I've paid for a scheduled delivery.
> >Each time they have failed to dispatch on time or haven't told the courier
> >(as in your case) to deliver on the Saturday.
>
> >Best I've ever got is a full refund of all postage charges - even that takes
> >effort. They want to remove the additional charge only.
>
> >I've given up on them. Useless...
>
> >Darren
>
> All the times I've used them I've gone for the slowest cheapest delivery
> and its been here in each instance .. quicker!....

+1

tony sayer

unread,
Apr 27, 2011, 4:34:15 AM4/27/11
to
In article <08f1c400-6828-4b09...@e26g2000vbz.googlegroup
s.com>, Jethro <krazy...@googlemail.com> scribeth thus

Very much sounds like they ought to question the performance of their
carrier!.

After all as once Interlink, I think, used to say

"Carrying your delivery promises"....

>
>Oh well I'll have to finish the job Saturday ....
>

--
Tony Sayer

Jethro

unread,
Apr 27, 2011, 6:53:45 AM4/27/11
to
On Apr 27, 9:34 am, tony sayer <t...@bancom.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <08f1c400-6828-4b09-abe3-ffbf43938...@e26g2000vbz.googlegroup
> s.com>, Jethro <krazyka...@googlemail.com> scribeth thus

Ordinarily, I would agree, but in this case I was able to speak to
Citylink before 12 on Saturday. They confirmed the delivery number,
and were emphatic that they *could* have delivered for Saturday, but
that requires a special instruction which they had not received from
eBuyer. Since I couldn't get hold of eBuyer (Mon-Fri) then I opt for
the Citylink version of events, which puts eBuyer in the frame. eBuyer
are free to correct me, if they can be bothered.

Customer service is not about giving yourself pats on the back when
things go right. It's about how you deal with things when they go
wrong.

0 new messages