Anyone else having problems with Chain Reaction?

I ordered a set of cycling boots a while back, even though they were flagged
out of stock - I had a couple of weeks to spare, I thought that they would
come in. Unfortunately, they are still out of stock, and I'm about to be
out of country, so I'm trying to cancel the order. It's flagged as
"Processing" on the track orders form, so it can't be modified online, so
I've sent (several) e-mails, which have not been acknowledged, and the phone
is permanently engaged, even though I've tried upwards of 100 times in the
last 48hours (according to PABX stats)

Anyone else having any issues, or know of anything?

Many thanks,

pOB

In ,
PoB tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

Anyone else having any issues, or know of anything?

I ordered a couple of items last week - IIRC a pair of brake levers and some
handlebar grips and they arrived with the usual CRC promptness.

--
Dave Larrington
http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk
Mr. Charles Kennedy (Krankieburgh): Would the Prime Minister
care to comment on a report in today's Guardian that he: "arrived
late for a meeting with Jacques Chirac, smelling of alcohol, and
with body language suggesting a total disregard for the rights
of ethnic minorities, lone parents and laboratory animals"?

"Dave Larrington" wrote in message
| I ordered a couple of items last week - IIRC a pair of brake levers and
some
| handlebar grips and they arrived with the usual CRC promptness.
|
I suppose that's the problem - we're used to excellent service, and so
notice when it's merely good.

hey-ho.

pOB

On Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:32:37 -0000, "PoB" wrote:

"Dave Larrington" wrote in message
| I ordered a couple of items last week - IIRC a pair of brake levers and
some
| handlebar grips and they arrived with the usual CRC promptness.
|
I suppose that's the problem - we're used to excellent service, and so
notice when it's merely good.

hey-ho.

It is not always the online supplier's fault. Sometimes it can take
months to restock products manafactured overseas. Though in the case
of the 12 cateye mity 5 computers I ordered from Wiggle and took 4
months to arrive, the problem was not that Wiggle was out of stock,
but that the product code had been changed following a minor
specification change, and Wiggle had not updated their website with
the new product code until I advised them that this might be the
problem.

In article , PoB wrote:
I ordered a set of cycling boots a while back, even though they were flagged
out of stock - I had a couple of weeks to spare, I thought that they would
come in. Unfortunately, they are still out of stock, and I'm about to be
out of country, so I'm trying to cancel the order. It's flagged as
"Processing" on the track orders form, so it can't be modified online, so
I've sent (several) e-mails, which have not been acknowledged, and the phone
is permanently engaged, even though I've tried upwards of 100 times in the
last 48hours (according to PABX stats)

As always if emails and phonelines aren't working I would deal by
letter. Disputes done by post grind slowly but they grind small.
Keep all your correspondence of course (including copies of your
emails and notes of your phone calls).


On to your actual situation:

If you have notified the seller in writing (email counts) that you
wish to cancel the order, then according to the Distance Selling
Regulations they must comply. As a consumer you have until 7 days
after delivery to rescind a distance contract for goods and since the
goods haven't yet been delivered that time is not yet up :-).

To avoid any dispute about lost emails I would send the vendors a
paper letter too.

If they have already taken money (eg from your credit card) you should
ask for a full refund (including of carriage, P&P, etc. - specify the
amount you want) by a specific date (give them 14 days). If they
haven't taken payment yet, you should clearly notify them that your
authorisation for them to debit your card is withdrawn.

If they still end up owing you money, you can sue; alternatively, if
they take payment after receiving your letter saying they're no longer
authorised to do so, you should dispute the transaction with your
credit card company who are (in those circumstances) obliged to
reverse it.

If they send the goods anyway then refuse delivery if you can. If for
some reason that doesn't work and you end up with the goods then you
must keep the goods safe (ie, treat them as their property rather than
yours) and allow the seller to collect them. If they want you to send
them back you should insist that they promise in writing to pay the
postage.

(If you cancelled the contract after shipment then they can, if they
write it in their Ts&Cs, make you pay for the return shipping, but
from your description that isn't the case here.)


Example letter:

Your Address
Your Email Address
Date

Their Address

Ref: Your order number #####

Dear Sir or Madam

I notified you by email on #### that I wished to
cancel this order. As I have had no reply and
your website still lists the order as `processing'
I am sending you this letter.

Please cancel this order. If you send the goods
anyway I shall to treat them as unsolicited goods
and therefore as an absolute gift.[1]

Please refund me the full amount I have paid (L##.##)
by #####, by refund to my card or by cheque.
[OR]
You are NOT any more authorised to debit my card;
if you do I will have the card company reverse the
payment.

Please acknowledge this letter promptly.


[1] this is a bluff.
--
Ian Jackson personal email:
These opinions are my own. http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~ijackson/
PGP2 key 1024R/0x23f5addb, fingerprint 5906F687 BD03ACAD 0D8E602E FCF37657

Many thanks for all your posts guys, but ChainReaction sorted things out
with their usual aplomb, when I finally got through to them

Cheers,

pOB