Consumer Problem .. help please

[smurfchops]

My daughter has been treated appallingly by M&S Online. In a nutshell, she ordered a suite in May, three days before due delivery they phoned her to say they didn't have enough fabric and hadn't made the suite. She had to go to M&S locally and choose another fabric. She telephoned them with the fabric number, they took her money .. and now three weeks later she has just found out that her suite is still not on order. And it takes around six weeks to be made and delivered. No-one rings her back, not even the manager. Where do we go from here? They won't help her in store as she ordered online. I need a consumer body, someone like Dom Littlewood or Watchdog to take this on .. I can't believe M&S treats its customers like this - please help someone !

[jg96]

This all sounds familiar same thing happened to me only they cancelled my order without telling me. Although they said I had been informed I wasn't. Only found out by accident by tracking on line progress of order to find it had dissapeared off the system. Fortunately got hold of a decent manager who ordered us a different fabric a hefty discount and pulled out all the stops for delivery. My advice keep plugging away and hopefully it will all come good.

[smurfchops]

jg - is there any way you could let me have that manager's name and telephone number? You can email me if you would rather. Anything would help. Thanks.

[Suetheramble]

My mother ordered a rug couple of years ago for a Christmas present for me. A week before Christmas she went to collect it but it had not been ordered. She agreed with me to collect after Christmas in February we were told they no longer stocked it ;my mothers money was refunded.
Not impressed.

[cassa333]

As annoying as it may be why not just go somewhere else?

What would you like the outcome of going to a watchdog programme be? Is it to embarrase M&S? Get your suit made? or what?

As you can see from the other replies they do it a lot and to be honest EVERY single big company make mistakes like this all the time. That is the nature of being big! They might want you to believe they are the perfect customer orientated company but they can't be all things to all men so to speak.

[smurfchops]

Cassa, it is easy to say 'go elsewhere' ... she has been waiting for this suite since May - does she just say 'Oh well, forget it, never mind'. It means finding something else she likes, ordering somewhere else (in fact that was the nicest suite she had seen and we went everywhere locally) and they have her money now. I know she could get a refund but don't you think M&S should be named and shamed? They have made one mistake after another and don''t even have the decency to phone back. At least other people would think twice before ordering from them. It was a suite by the way, not a suit.

[buildersmate]

So what did they say when she phoned this number: -
Tel.[phone] ???
This is the pre- and post- customer services number for online furniture.
Her experience is not my experience of M&S Online, and whilst I agree they occasionally make mistakes because of the sheer size and scale of their operation, I reckon that when you do get through to customer services and confront them with a foul-up, they are pretty magnanimous in putting it right. What chance have you given them to do this??
At a trivial level, the last time it went wrong for me, some part of an online food order did not turn up at the store on the delivery day - they refunded in full the food that didn't turn up and allowed me to choose an equivalent number of larger quiches for nothing to compensate for the missing ones. That is generally the company they try to be.

[cassa333]

What is the outcome you want? The new suite? compensation? to embarrase them? or worn other people not to use them?

It is easy to go somewehre else. If I had been waiting since May and had been treated in the way you describe I wouldn't actualy want it?

If all you want is to get the suite then complain to the right people. not watchdog.

[smurfchops]

I think it's obvious what the problem is. She has phoned M&S customer services nine times on her mobile, always left hanging on by the way. No-one phones her back as they all promise to. They order her suite, then re-order it when they haven't ordered it in the first place, then they say it hasn't been ordered the second time. So she has to start again from scratch. I think I have explained myself when I say it was the only suite she wanted, the only one she liked. All I want is someone to help me who can actually ring M&S (like Watchdog or Dom as I said earlier) and speak to the right person - I will do that myself if I find the right person .... so they actually do something about it and get her suite made and delivered ... without the order vanishing off their screens again. They say they are going to put it right, and they are going to ring her back and let her know what is happening ... BUT THEY DONT. Is it too much to ask that she actually gets what she ordered in less than ten weeks, which it has been now ?? Can you understand that this is the suite that she actually wants ?? By the way Cassa - yes yes yes and yes.

[jg96]

Sorry I would love to help but my M&S foul up happened nearly 2 years ago can't remember the managers name although I do remember he was based in Warrington.

[smurfchops]

jg -- well after some very weird responses to my question, my faith in human nature has been restored. At least you tried to help me ! In fact I have now got in touch with someone 'higher up' at Head Office and fingers crossed things are now starting to move. Watch this space !