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I spent a good few hours looking to buy goods from debenhams.com on 8th January 2009. I only had a gift voucher for £15 to spend. I selected some costume jewellery from the blue cross sale which was such a bargain that the extortionate £4.50 delivery paled into insignificance. I paid with my gift voucher got a confirmation of order email and order number. Half an hour later though I received another email cancelling my order and declining payment. The email had the reassuring words that "no money had been taken from my account".
I went back on to the Debenhams website, tapped in my gift card number to find that the monies had been debited from the card! Checked to see if the goods I had originally ordered were still available and guess what? They were! Straight away I sent an email to debenhams.com only to get a cheery reply with a promise of a reply within 5 working days (how disgraceful).
I rang to complain getting a 'customer service assistant' who obviously had no empathy with 'the customer' at all. He even insulted me further by saying 'maybe I didn't have sufficient funds on the card'! This was even after I had explained everything I have included thus far in this article. I was told that my gift card could take 18 days to have the money refunded. I stated that I simply wanted the goods I had ordered and paid for, to which he offered me no help or apology. Having not reached a satisfactory outcome with the 'customer service assistant', I sent yet another (quite angry) email to Debenhams about this!
I phoned the following day complained to another operative who put me through to The Contact Team. The lady on the other end of the line couldn't explain why this had occurred but assured me she would look into the matter. I was still not offered any apology. After taking both my phone numbers and email I was told she would be in touch on Monday.
Having heard nothing I phoned Debenhams again (it was now Friday 16th) and the member of staff I was dealing with was not in apparently. She had arranged the money to be put back on my card I was told. Great... but I only wanted to buy my goods. I have not had a phone call email or an apology which I pointed out to the customer assistant. Yes I got a half hearted apology and an excuse like 'there had been a mistake in the computer system'. I stated this just wasn't good enough asked who I could take this further with. Of course she didn't want to know.
I will be taking this further. Fair enough, £15 isn't a huge amount of money and I am sure if I had been one of their corporate customers or if I had a wedding list with them I would have got adequate 'customer service'. Wake up Debenhams those £15 sales from normal people might just be the thing that helps you ride this recession and keeps you trading!
By: Ragdoll Lady
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ok, i had another try then...
i spent more than an hour to find proper goods for F20, i gave the pin number and the card number and again they took money from my debit card !!!!
so i need to call them again
today however, i spent more than an 1h speaking with Next customer service as they messed up with my order, they cancelled it and now the items are out of stock :( !!! Why shopping online is so difficult....
I received an e-mail confirming receipt of my on line order indicating delivery of my purchase in three to four workings days. When I did not receive the customary e-mail advising me that my goods had been dispatched, I telephoned to query the matter. I was sarcastically told the reason you have not received the e-mail confirming dispatch is because "the goods have not been dispatched." When I indicated that I had been advised in writing that delivery would take place in three to four working days, I was told that Debenhams manage to dispatch items in that time frame; not deliver them. I found the person to whom I spoke officious and supercilious bordering on rude.
His Call Centre Supervisor later apologized and told me that the items which I had ordered had been "picked" but "not wrapped up and dispatched." I was told that I could not cancel my order despite Debenhams' failure to deliver within the times advertised but I could refuse to accept delivery and just pay the delivery charge. What a cheek ! What a shower, they are !
Go to John Lewis, I say. They may be bureaucratic and make mistakes but at least they are good about putting things right.
looked for an email address to contact customer services and none available. Unbelievable that in the 21st century a huge retailer like debenhams don't have this option.
In furture I'll be warning people not to bother with giftcards from them and infact, not to bother with such a bad company as debenhams again. Hmm...I agree with the other lady, if this company doesn't wake up soon they won't be in business at all. My custom will go to much more deserving retailers in future.
I finally took them to a small claims court (July 09) and won the full cost of the suite and costs. Obviously customer services at Debenhams Wellbeck Street aren't doing their job properly. Debenhams also have to pay GE Money compensation as well as me, as they were equally liable and financed the purchase.I agree don't purchase large items of Debenhams as after sales is extremely poor and the customer services team very rude and unhelpful.
Molly