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Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect

Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect review: Customer Services 17

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3:35 pm EDT
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AVOID LAPTOPS DIRECT !
Attractive prices & fast delivery can usually be matched elsewhere & don’t make up for awful tech help & aftersales if anything goes wrong.
It took weeks to get a reluctant refund on a faulty Compaq 610 provided with no reinstallation disks & I am still waiting 3 weeks later for a refund on the extra care package I bought with it.
Their 24/7 support was not answering over an entire weekend & when I did eventually get through took a week to return the call.
Their “Customer Services” do not return calls, will not let you speak to a manager & do not even acknowledge emails ! (just come off phone to them now after 3 days of repeated unanswered emails & calls!)
BUYER BEWARE !

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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

17 comments
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Chris58
Cardiff, GB
Jan 20, 2010 12:04 pm EST

I too have experienced a woeful after sales service from BuyItDirect.
In September I bought a Toshiba laptop, extended warranty and recovery disc from ButItDirect. Within three months I had experienced problems with all three.
1. I was sold a warranty unsuitable for the laptop. Unfortunately I had written a serial number on the cover of the documentation. Despite removing this (quite well) BuyItDirect would not give me a refund. My argument that the product was the warranty and not a piece of paper was ignored.
2. The laptop failed in December. On running the recovery disc on the advice of Toshiba services I was left with an erased hard drive and no operating system. Toshiba services were able to fix the laptop but did not believe that the unlabelled Verbatim DVD recovery disc was an item I had purchased!
3. Having no faith in BuyItDirect, I requested a refund for the recovery disc. Instead I was sent a replacement – this time discs 1 and 2 according to the marker pen figures scrawled on them. No label to describe them! My subsequent messages to BuyItDirect asking for a refund have been ignored.

I have some very simple advice for prospective customers of BuyITDirect. Very simply, DO NOT BUY FROM BuyITDirect. You will be disappointed and it will cost you more than you bargained for.

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BretHart
IE
Nov 05, 2010 5:28 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Laptops Direct have wasted so much of my time by blatantly telling lies to me on the phone, as well as having no respect for the customer, refusing to let me speak to a manager and trying to entice a reaction on the phone by mentioning that they could put me on to a manager but simply wont.

I'd avoid at all costs, they don't deserve customers until they sort out their customer service who seem to want confrontation.
There aren't words strong enough to describe what I think of their customer service reps.

I would love to speak directly to a manger about my situation as twice they have failed to meet delivery date and clearly they have lied to me about the second estimated delivery date.

I'm also a long time customer who's been responsible for at least 30 orders so the fact that they'd treat a customer who's been loyal to them (I've told so many in the past to buy off them) like that shows that they have zero respect.
The customer care reps don't care at all, it seems like they enjoy pissing off the customer and couldn't give a [censor] if you cancel the order.

I don't even know is there a point in writing this as obviously the higher up people in laptopsdirect know this already as a quick google of an Irish messageboard shows posts and posts stating the same experiences (95% of posts I've read have stated that the reps blatantly lied to the customer...you're not paying money to be lied to...it's disrespectful and dishonest.

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tom116
london, GB
Jan 07, 2011 10:00 pm EST

laptop direct has been the worst companies i have had to deal with. customer service was terrible. i purchase a laptop for my daughters birthday that was not working from when i first recieved it, i returned it and they said it was working fine. when i recieved it again it had failed to work. i then had to constantly phone customer service who answer always seems to be "you need to email us regarding your query" and when i did i had no reply. i request to talk to their team leader and they said that i can't i need email my complaint and when i did i still had no reply. Their customer service is disgusting and i strongly recommend people not to use their services as if anything goes wrong you will spend a lot of time chasing them. out of ten it would be minus 10. I am still upset about their service.

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BuyitDirect
Huddersfield, GB
Jan 10, 2011 10:20 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Hi,

Sorry to hear you've had a bad experience shopping with our company, this is not our intention at all and we strive to resolve all customer issues which occur as quickly as possible. All we want is for our customers to get the laptop they want at the lowest possible price as quickly as possible with the best service possible.

If you can email me your order number I will look into this issue for you and get it resolved.

Thanks

Mark

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Mblog
sheffield, GB
Apr 08, 2011 12:10 pm EDT

I've just bought a new laptop for my 75 year old mum from http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
When she got it home she had to fill in a cashback form so she sent it off immediately, as old people do.
I then recived an email saying it had been received too early and as such she wasn't entitled to cashback.
This is £75 we are talking about, she is on a tiny pesnion and this company wil not backtrack on their policy. Nowhere on the form does it say that early submission of the cashback claim form would result in loss of cashback, just that it must be sent between 14 and 30 days of invoice. The email recived said that the claim was rejected and nowhere does it say that if a claim is rejected it would result in loss of cashback.
I hope you can help put all this into some sort of order.
I need to know what right this company has of purely rejecting a claims form then making their own verbal rules up henceforth.
I was told I would receive a phonecall to explain more about the verbal part of their policy and I am still waiting.

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BuyitDirect
Huddersfield, GB
Apr 08, 2011 12:58 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Hi Mblog,

My name is Mark Kelly, I'm the Marketing Manager for Laptops Direct.

My apologies if you haven't had the best experience shopping with us, we strive to give our customers the best possible deals coupled with the best possible service and I can see this hasn't been the case for you.
I will make sure that our Customer Service team look into this promotion and find a way to streamline the process and make it easier for our customers to use.

We're more than happy to honour the cashback for this order. Please check your messages for further details.

Again my apologies for this situation.

please let me know if you need anything else.

Regards

Mark Kelly

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Mblog
sheffield, GB
Apr 08, 2011 1:30 pm EDT

I am indebted to your generosity in resolving this issue. If it was myself who had made the mistake I would have held my hands up but as it was my little Mum who struggles even to write an email, I was a little peeved that the automated response was so abrupt and "matter of fact."
However, I compliment myself for being so restrained in my phone conversation with Asif Iqbal with whom I spoke at Laptopsdirect and who was sympathetic and understanding albeit having no recourse other than to adhere to the company policy. He was polite and courteous at all times even when I asked him if he agreed about the unfairness, which I understand does not enter into business very often these days, but he had no comment on that other than quite rightly quoting the company terms and conditions.
I have received a call from the person you mentioned and she has guaranteed to send me an email in a month informing me that the cashback is on it's way and to expect a cheque around 7 days after that date.
I have no gripe with the company having previously purchased a laptop from LaptopsDirect and that the service and advice from the sales people was professional and beyond reproach.
If this issue is resolved without further hiccup, I would have no qualms about purchasing further goods from LaptopsDirect in the future, taking great care to read the terms and conditions.
thanks for your assistance

Mick Marsh

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Jack Stilts
GB
Jun 13, 2011 10:48 am EDT

When you speak to the guy from laptops direct over the phone, there is a sence of shoddy unprofessional attitude about them, you just know they're gonna @#$% up your order and diliberatly mess about with you, NEVER AGAIN! This place must get put out of business! sooner the better!

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BuyitDirect
Huddersfield, GB
Jun 15, 2011 10:24 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Hi Jack,

My name is Mark Kelly, I'm the Marketing Manager for Laptops Direct.

All our sales staff are fully trained in the products we sell and their phone manner. If you've contacted us and you feel that they could have performed better can you please PM me the details of who you spoke to or which number you called and I'll pass the details through to our Contact Centre Manager.

We strive to give all our customers the best possible deals and service, we can only do this with help from our customers so I thank you for your comments and help.

Regards

Mark Kelly

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AbzL
GB
Dec 30, 2011 11:07 am EST

Prior to purchasing a HP laptop from Latops Direct I called their customer services to confirm the specification, of note here was that the laptop came with Windows 7 Professional. Happy with the response I went ahead and purchased from them, collecting on Christmas eve and on the sales invoice it clearly states WIndows 7 Professional.

All went well until the intial setup when Windows 7 Home Premium was installed. To give Laptops Direct a chance to rectify this I called several times, only to be told, "oh I will get back to you today" - no call ever received, "fill out the returns form" - why when I didn't want to return it? and finally, "we refuse to correct this - just send it back". Not a very good service at all and to make matters worse they are still miss-advertising the product. I have bought several items from them before but never again, I would not recommend anyone to purchase from them either. With this poor attitude to customer service I will make every effort to discourage anyone from purchasing from them - stay clear!

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Bob taxi
Ripon, GB
Jan 03, 2012 12:00 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Glad I read these reviews, I was just about to place an order for Toshiba Laptop, but will buy it elsewhere now.

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Fedup100
Bristol, GB
Jun 25, 2012 1:11 pm EDT

Long story dont deal with this company and let it happen to you. No reply to my email reporting receipt of faulty goods so telephoned, took an age to get through fobbed off told I had to ring faults they were constantly busy, then told to call manufacturer. Called Manufacturer who told me to go back to Laptops Direct, called them again finally they sent me a faults form to fill in. They replied to form telling me it would cost of £50.00 to send it back to them. Returned it, then told it would take 28 days or more to fix. 28 days have now been and gone so contacted them asking for a refund or a date when I would receive it back. They refused saying I had the goods for 28 days. It was totally their fault I had the goods fobbing me off with duff info and not replying to my email. They will not tell me when I will ever get the netbook back, they have lied and said there is problem with parts which is not true I contacted Samsung I am going to the Citizens Advice Bureau and r the Office of Fair Trading

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G J REEVES
Chorleywood, GB
Jul 08, 2012 1:44 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am sorry we did not read these comments before we bought a laptop from laptops direct.
We bought an Asus which worked for one week. Then the wireless connection kept going on and off. The phone number for technical problems given in the link didn't exist. When we got in tough with Asus they wanted paying just to listen to the problem. We got the router changed by Plusnet. The connection still dropped out. Our first Emessages to the were not read were simply replied to with a reference to the page on problems and returns.
Finally they gave us the number of a technical service which we spent two hours with while the wireless channel on the modem was changed. The wireless connection worked. One hour later the screen went into multicoloured puxels and the machine crashed. With difficulty we got a return number. (To contact them by phone you have to use a 10p per minute number while you listen to endless music) They sent us a form which included the option of a refund, which we ticked. We have had the machine for 23 days. When it was returned they said we had the option of a repair or a replacement. They refused to give us a refund. We are both aging and my wife is disabled. We cannot face the prospect of continuing the dispute. When it comes we shall sell the replacement as we have bought a Toshiba from Laptops Value, where you deal with a human being and is highly recommended

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Carl1981
Botlon, GB
Sep 25, 2012 9:49 am EDT

Don't buy from acerdirect, buyitdirect, etc. Had shocking service. I can't believe they are actually still in business with the way they behave.

We purchased a dozen units (after a sample had been purchased). 11 were returned. 10 refunded. 1 lost (even though we have signed documentation).

They have refused to refund.

Argumentative customer service telephone reps.

A ridiculous warranty procedure.

Postal only complaints. 30 days for a reply.

DO NOT BUY FROM THE,

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Schneeps
Carshalton, GB
Jun 11, 2014 4:02 am EDT

After buying an AUSU USB monitor from you in Feburary and having had 3 sent back out to me because all of them did not work in the way that Buyitdirect or ASUS say it should. I asked for a refund.

It has now taken close to a month to try and find out if I will get a refund and each time I send an email in I get the same ridiculous answer that someone will contact me soon. When a phone into the stupid number that changes me each time I phone Buyitdirect to get answer about a refund for a product that they have charged me for, I get the same ridiculous answer that someone will contact me later today. It goes without saying that I never get a reply and it does not seem that anyone in the company can think past their nose and make arrangement to get things sorted out.

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Bex2203
US
Mar 19, 2018 5:19 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I too have had a disastrous experience with Laptops Dirext.
After being sold a HP Pavillion laptop in the Huddersfield Laptops Direct store at the end of November 2016 which my husband needs for work we have had problem after problem. Although this was a refurbished laptop, Laptops Dirext classified it as an A1 refurbishment which they state means that it is ‘as new’. Since purchasing the laptop a couple of the keys have fallen off (it would be understandable if these were regularly used keys but they are not), the laptop continues to crash and when it restarts it is in a ‘safe mode’ (it does not give you the option to select anything and just reverts into this safe mode) which removes most of its functionality...and then (if you can believe it) the charging plug stopped fitting into the charging port.
This was not a cheap laptop and upon calling laptops direct we were informed that the laptop was outside its three month warranty (which ended at the end of February). This was the first we had been told about a three month warranty (had we been made aware of this at the time of purchasing the laptop we would have instead chosen a brand new laptop with a full 12 months warranty).
The customer service staff we have spoken to have been incredibly unhelpful and unsympathetic...having attended a number of NHS customer service courses with my staff I know what good customer service looks and sounds like and this was most definitely not it.
I am incredibly disappointed as I have subsequently read a number of posts from people highlighting bad customer service as a major issue with laptops direct along with faulty products and an ability to dig their heels in and refuse to refund or replace any products.
My husband is currently losing work as he no longer has a working laptop.
This is simply not good enough.

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Tzvi Schonthal
London, GB
Jan 05, 2022 1:00 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Sold me a laptop which lasted 5 months then screen packed up. LD refuse to do anything about it and seem to think it's ok to sell faulty goods and break the law. They're conmen not interested in their customers, it's take the money and run. STAY AWAY OR GET CONNED!

  1. Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect Contacts

  2. Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect phone numbers
    +44 871 244 0934
    +44 871 244 0934
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    United Kingdom
  3. Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect emails
  4. Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect address
    Neptune Way, Trident Business Park, Leeds Road, Huddersfield, HD21UA, United Kingdom
  5. Laptops Direct / BuyitDirect social media
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    Nov 12, 2024
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