Rails of Sheffield - experiences?
manat...@hotmail.com
I seem to have paid for second class service as well as second class
post.
MBQ
Robert Wilson
I don't like them. Their staff are incredibly surly when you go into
the shop.
I tend to shop at Hattons now, even though they're not a lot better.
Many shop keepers tend to sneer and look down on you when you go in,
although Kernow in Cambourne seem to be quite civil when you go in there.
Pete at Inter-City models on the other hand is a completely different
animal. He has lots of time to talk to me when I go in his Shop when
i'm in holiday down there and am happy to part with my cash when i'm
down there. It's a veritable alladins cave. My son, who's 8 think he's
great,a nd I shall look forward to visiting his stall at Warley.
These are my opinions, nut plugs. Just personal experience (before
someone gets on their high horse).
Sincerely,
Rob.
Chris
very friendly as well and sells at mail order prices see
http://www.scograil.co.uk/
Chris
simon
"Chris" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:e_udnXL6pvT_cpTU...@bt.com...
Only ordered from Rails a couple of times buut no problems and quick
delivery.
Hattons - will never ever ever ever ever go near them again.
Liked Trev signal box in rochester but now its got different owners so dont
know about them.
Now Mr Turner - theres a gent.
Send mail at midnight ask if item in stock.
Get reply sometime before mid morning.
Send mail to go ahead at midday.
Its in the post that afternoon and on my doorstep next morning.
So when want mail order its John that I recommend.
Cheers,
Simon
Ola Trygve Kvitle
Robert Wilson
negs though.
Rob.
traction
> Bloody hell, that's a lot of auctions. Can't be arsed to look at the
> negs though.
Click just the 'negative' figure, which is '6' at this time for 1 month ago
and read JUST the negatives..
Personally I've never had ANY problem with RAILS- I guess delays could
depend on 'how' the payment was made..If I were paid by cheque, I would wait
until it cleared.. Rails use a 24hour delivery agent inmy experience, and
considering that 'well packed' really means 'well packed' , 2 to 3 days from
payment is not unreasonable. There again I've never had a problem with
Hattons, or any other for that matter...
manat...@hotmail.com
wrote:
> Hi,
> I don't like them. Their staff are incredibly surly when you go into
> the shop.
That could explain the attitude when I comp[lained about their website
a while ago. I can't recall the issue but they didn't seem interesetd
in fixing it in a hurry.
> I tend to shop at Hattons now, even though they're not a lot better.
They can be slow, but at least they send progress e-mails.
MBQ
Melbournian
news:d_OdnewuhoNL35fU...@bt.com:
I must say I've had the opposite experience! You never know if Rails has
stuff in stock (and even if you order items that their website claims
are in stock) and I've had the same item sent and charged more than
once. Plus it takes forever to get to my house from Sheffield (in
Melbourne, Australia). And before anyone suggests just sending it back,
at the time I wasn't too concerned about getting the item and it's a
right pain and expensive to send something back to the UK from here!
Still, I'd never shop with them again, it's just too random what you
will and won't get.
On the other hand I've only had 2 "problems" with Hattons, once when a
wagon wasn't in stock after I'd oredered it from the website saying they
had them, and when I got 2 class 110 DMUs when Hornby rereleased the
green ones after asking if I'd get one 'A' and one 'B' and was assured I
would, but received 2 'A's (as I now understand that the B would be
produced after the A had sold out or such like, so should have ordered 1
'A'then waited for the second release). Overall, I've ordered a lot of
stuff from them in the past and apart from the early days have received
the majority in a week from order, with the rest within 2 weeks. No
complaints here!
I'd like to try somewhere else, but the price differential is usually
such that I don't feel like taking the risk of a new supplier for no
reason so cannot comment on anyone else. It seems that in most of the
cases usually quoted that a particular retailer charges "mail order"
prices that it is to regular customers or you need to ask specially as
their website has different prices. Why bother?
My only caveat on that is that a local model shop (to me anyway!) opened
on the other side of the city that apparently charges "Hattons" prices
in Australian dollars so I'll have to get there one day to see.
Paul Boyd
> Hattons - will never ever ever ever ever go near them again.
Odd - I've never had anything but excellent service from Hattons, over a
fair few orders. How many orders was your bad experience based on? I
would suggest that if it was just one, that you give them another go.
The only time I've had a delay on an item showing as being in stock
turned out to be when Keith Hatton died.
--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/
simon
"Paul Boyd" <ab...@invalid.net> wrote in message
news:490b01c7$0$2920$fa0f...@news.zen.co.uk...
3 out of 5 so given them a fair chance.
Cheers,
Simon
Dragon Heart
http://www.modeltrains4u.co.uk/index.asp
They started of with a relatively small selection but it is now
starting to grow. I have found them VERY good.
Based on my experience with PC parts etc. EVERYONE has had what they
consider a bad experience with a supplier or another. Even the big
names get it wrong sometimes.
I used one company from the south of England for digital camera cards
for some years ....
Good prices
Good packaging
'Free' p & p
Excellent delivery
Then they move to the Channel Islands ...
Complaints on the web forums about them taking money and not
delivering
Wrong goods sent
Poor customer service, unable to contact, ignored e-mails
You can take them to the Channel Islands equivalent of the small
claims court but you have to attend !
They still claim over 90,000 satisfied customers .....
My advise is to ring the company and ask for the owner or manager to
air your complaints.
If, like many companies, they refuse to let you speak to the owner
or manager then ask for their name and write to them.
If still no joy write again and say your are, based upon the nature
of your problem with them, going to take it to the small claims court
and / or put your complaint onto the review forums like www.reevoo.com,
www.reviewcentre.com and the model rail forums.
If they can't or wont give you a good explanation for the poor service
simply don't use them again.
Chris
MartinS
within a week. The odd time, I've used another dealer for something that
Hatton's didn't have (even from Oxford Diecast direct), and I've always
ended up paying more because they don't deduct VAT or they charge more for
postage, and/or waited longer for shipment and delivery. I always specify
surface postage, although everything under about 2kg goes by air anyway.
On my latest order @ £15 for 4 small cars they only charged £1.65 postage,
which is less than they charge within the UK, plus I saved £2.18 in VAT.
Canada Post is supposed to collect Canadian sales taxes plus a $5 fee, but
they rarely ever bother unless it's a large shipment.
--
Martin S.
MartinS
Hatton's used to send out an email at each stage of the process, with the
sender's name and a link to their profile. They seem to have dropped that
now, but service is still good. The only time I've experienced a delay
(about 10 days) was when I placed an order right at the end of December.
Anyone remember Richard Davies, their Development Manager and chief IT
guy, who came on this newsgroup several years ago looking for feedback
when he was first hired to upgrade their website?
You can still access staff profiles, although Keith Hatton's hasn't been
updated recently... http://www.ediecast.co.uk/list/Staff.aspx
--
Martin S.
simon
"MartinS" <m...@my.place> wrote in message
news:QAROk.3816$Dm5....@newsfe01.iad...
Begin to get the impression that some people think because theyve not had
problems then it must be me moaning - but its a small sample of replies.
am very slow to complain and if its a simple mistake or honest error then am
not bothered. Didnt even include the one where am sure ordered Holyhead and
got EC Trench. Didnt mind so never said anything.
Have placed quite a few internet or mail orders from variety of retailers.
Once or twice had to chase them but its always been pleasant exchange of
mails or phone conversation. Once waited over 3 weeks for an item that was
supposed to arrive in less than a week and when phoned he just apologised
and said had missed it.
No problem I said, just wondering. It arriived a couple of days later.
Dont require perfect boxes - Signal box said they only had one item I wanted
in stock and one corner of the box was bit bent but loco ok. Fine I said
send it anyway - didnt expect or ask for 10p discount.
However if something arrives in badly torn box with no torn bits present
then you know it was sent like that. No problem cos not collector. Then
something arrives that may well have been known to be a dodgy item before
sent - of course cant be proved but you wonder. Couple of months later a
freind gets one in similar condition and the shop begrudging replace it -
but yours is out of warranty. Then you see on a forum that someone else had
same situation. So you contact the retailer by email. Get response saying
theyve never done that. You reply and get response from someone else who
does admit that this type of mistake has been made occasionally. Then you go
back and check other models received and find other minor defects. Smile cos
theyre not major ones and can fix.
Anyway they said it was out of warranty - but didnt say if its a
manufacturing defect then it isnt. But wha5t the heck. Had enough by now.
So got my own back, have bought over 10 LMS pacifics, some 2nd hand but most
new and some at full price to support local toy shop. Not a penny has gone
to that retailer.
My final comment would be when I buy from a retailer I trust then when the
article arrives I can open the box and gaze in wonder at the contents. If
theyre a new one (for me) then take out of box, examine every bit thoroughly
then test. Finally gaze .....
Cheers,
Simon
Kevin Lee
wrote:
I've used Hattons a few times and have no real complaints although
their delivery times can be erratic. I've only had one problem an N
gauge loco bought brand new was faulty but they replaced it without
any hassle. I used Rails of Sheffield once to buy a couple of N gauge
locos which were on special offer and had no problems with the order.
The dealer I use the most is Kernow Model Rail Centre
(http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/) and their service is very
good. They also send out a weekly e-mail newsletter and have regular
special offers on rolling stock and commission limited editions.
MartinS
I was in Camborne last April for the Trevithick Day celebrations!
--
Martin S.
Robt P
..
> Personally I've never had ANY problem with RAILS- I guess delays could
> depend on 'how' the payment was made..If I were paid by cheque, I would wait
> until it cleared.. Rails use a 24hour delivery agent inmy experience, and
> considering that 'well packed' really means 'well packed' , 2 to 3 days from
> payment is not unreasonable. There again I've never had a problem with
> Hattons, or any other for that matter...
Same here...I've used both as my main suppliers for many years.
Next time I have a 'problem' with either, will be the first time...
Cheers
Robt P.
simon
"Robt P" <robert....@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:03a11a0c-a460-4282...@u29g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
Tis becoming patently obvious that I'm receiving things incorrectly from
Hattons. Just from them of course.
Will review my procedures and have a talk with management.
Must I forgo the '100% feedback next day service' I get from John and give
'20% (3 duds out of 5) feedback sometime later in the week or next week
service' from Hattons another chance.
Its a difficult one that.
Cheers,
Simon
manat...@hotmail.com
> > They can be slow, but at least they send progress e-mails.
>
> Hatton's used to send out an email at each stage of the process, with the
> sender's name and a link to their profile.
That's a shame. I don't mind things progressing slower than I'd like
if I'm kept informed. Also, if I've had good service in the past
thenI'm much more willing to accept the occasional glitch.
Rails didn't despatch the order for a whole week. I'm beginning to
wonder what their "next day" service actually means. Next day after
order (impossible since they do not obviously state a cut-off time for
placing the order, or next day after they decide to post it.
I'll try Kernow next time.
Andrew
MartinS
> "Robt P" <robert....@ntlworld.com> wrote...
> "traction" <tract...@nospam.today.com> wrote:
>
>> Personally I've never had ANY problem with RAILS- I guess delays
>> could depend on 'how' the payment was made..If I were paid by cheque,
>> I would wait until it cleared.. Rails use a 24hour delivery agent
>> inmy experience, and considering that 'well packed' really means
>> 'well packed' , 2 to 3 days from payment is not unreasonable. There
>> again I've never had a problem with Hattons, or any other for that
>> matter...
>
>>Same here...I've used both as my main suppliers for many years.
>>Next time I have a 'problem' with either, will be the first time...
>
> from Hattons. Just from them of course.
> Will review my procedures and have a talk with management.
>
> Must I forgo the '100% feedback next day service' I get from John and
> give '20% (3 duds out of 5) feedback sometime later in the week or
> next week service' from Hattons another chance.
> Its a difficult one that.
Hatton's is geared up to ordering by internet and shipping overseas. My
latest order arrived in Canada 6 days from ordering, at a surface postal
rate of £1.65 for 250g - and no VAT.
I'd love to order from John if I was in the UK, but it's not the most
effective for me.
--
Martin S.
traction
Tried to get a latest Heljan Falcon from Rails , and they had sold out,
tried Hattons 4pm last Friday and they had one- agreed price- agreed 'normal
' delivery and confirmed that I didn't want it sent unitl Monday 10 Nov.
Arrived by Royal Mail at 10am Tuesday 11th Nov... and packed to withstand a
nuclear explosion on route..
Well done Hattons and Royal Mail.. Service above any expectation.
simon
"traction" <trac...@nospam.today.com> wrote in message
news:57dSk.63485$QF4....@newsfe13.ams2...
out of warranty :-)
Some people get upset as Hattons tend to price some items according to
availability, but thats never bothered me as theyre up front about it.
Cheers,
Simon
MartinS
> "traction" <trac...@nospam.today.com> wrote...
>>
>>> What are they like at fulfilling orders?
>>>
>>> I seem to have paid for second class service as well as second class
>>> post.
>>
>> out, tried Hattons 4pm last Friday and they had one- agreed price-
>> agreed 'normal ' delivery and confirmed that I didn't want it sent
>> unitl Monday 10 Nov.
>> Arrived by Royal Mail at 10am Tuesday 11th Nov... and packed to
>> withstand a nuclear explosion on route..
>> Well done Hattons and Royal Mail.. Service above any expectation.
>>
> Last one in stock - would definately give that a good check over
> before its out of warranty :-)
>
> Some people get upset as Hattons tend to price some items according to
> availability, but thats never bothered me as theyre up front about it.
Recently Hatton's has been advertising a lot of one-off "imperfect" models
at a discount - probably customer returns. Damage ranges from broken wings
on aircraft to missing mirrors and scuffed or missing boxes.
--
Martin S.
simon
"MartinS" <m...@my.place> wrote in message
Well thats honest at last.
I bought a Q1 for £20 at Donington the other day. Unboxed, marked motor
good, spares or repair. Fixed one edge of buffer beam back in place with
glue, looks a beut (for foreign) and runs like a dream. Cant find anything
else wrong with it.
Bargain if you are lucky and at £20 can afford to chance it. Must admit seen
the stall holder a few times and bought a few things so reasonably sure hes
honest.
Cheers,
Simon
Mark Goodge
typed:
>
>I bought a Q1 for £20 at Donington the other day. Unboxed, marked motor
>good, spares or repair. Fixed one edge of buffer beam back in place with
>glue, looks a beut (for foreign) and runs like a dream. Cant find anything
>else wrong with it.
>Bargain if you are lucky and at £20 can afford to chance it. Must admit seen
>the stall holder a few times and bought a few things so reasonably sure hes
>honest.
Honesty doesn't always pay if you don't understand what you're being
honest about :-) I bought a Dapol J94 from a chap on eBay who was
disposing of his late father's collection. As well as listing the
positive points of each model, he'd also been very fair to point out
the defects. In this particular case, it had "dirty paintwork" and "no
couplings". When it arrived, it turned out to have been fairly
expertly weathered and fitted with three-link couplings instead of the
factory default lever arms. A more expert seller would have described
these as enhancements, not defects.
Mark
--
"There must be a place, under the sun, where hearts of olden
glory grow young"
http://mark.goodge.co.uk - my pointless blog
http://www.good-stuff.co.uk - my less pointless stuff
simon
"Mark Goodge" <use...@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ffkmh4hjvpa5v5o25...@news.markshouse.net...
But if there was a good photo and honest viewers they might have pointed
this out to him. No wonder its dog eat dog on ebay.
Prefer an honest bargain where both sides happy.
CHeers,
Simon
Mark Goodge
typed:
>
>"Mark Goodge" <use...@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:ffkmh4hjvpa5v5o25...@news.markshouse.net...
>> On Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:50:15 -0000, simon put finger to keyboard and
>> typed:
>>>
>>>I bought a Q1 for £20 at Donington the other day. Unboxed, marked motor
>>>good, spares or repair. Fixed one edge of buffer beam back in place with
>>>glue, looks a beut (for foreign) and runs like a dream. Cant find anything
>>>else wrong with it.
>>>Bargain if you are lucky and at £20 can afford to chance it. Must admit
>>>seen
>>>the stall holder a few times and bought a few things so reasonably sure
>>>hes
>>>honest.
>>
>> Honesty doesn't always pay if you don't understand what you're being
>> honest about :-) I bought a Dapol J94 from a chap on eBay who was
>> disposing of his late father's collection. As well as listing the
>> positive points of each model, he'd also been very fair to point out
>> the defects. In this particular case, it had "dirty paintwork" and "no
>> couplings". When it arrived, it turned out to have been fairly
>> expertly weathered and fitted with three-link couplings instead of the
>> factory default lever arms. A more expert seller would have described
>> these as enhancements, not defects.
>
>But if there was a good photo and honest viewers they might have pointed
>this out to him. No wonder its dog eat dog on ebay.
In this case, there wasn't a particularly good photo and I genuinely
expected to be buying a cheap item of second-hand kit that was a good
runner but nothing else special.
>Prefer an honest bargain where both sides happy.
So do I, but unfortunately eBay tends to make that harder than it
ought to be.
john scott-morgan
I ordered a Hornby Peckett 0-6-0 ST from Rails of Sheffield, it arrived with
damaged safety valves, they were not willing to replace the new model
locomotive, as they told me they no longer sold Hornby products.
I think this is very poor service, I much prefer Hatton's, who I have found
supply models quickly and efficiently.
--
for full context, visit https://www.polytechforum.com/uk-trains/rails-of-sheffield-experiences-52745-.htm