Eight days ago Mrs C16 ordered some specialised plastic grids from a small craft company in the Midlands to help with her embroidery hobby. Cost £80 plus £3.95 postage. Today, after 8 days, she received an email to say the delivery charge was now £20.95 because of where we live and did she want to go ahead or cancel. Because she has difficulty hearing on the phone I rang to ask why they were charging so much. Usually it's because they think we are classed as "Highlands and Islands", which we are not, being just a 20 minute drive south from Aberdeen.
The female owner said it was UK Mail who set the charges. I said that perhaps she was using the wrong carrier as we never pay these inflated costs with DPD, Hermes etc. At that point I was informed in an irate voice that they were very busy and hadn't got time to discuss the matter. Did we want the delivery or not. It was an easy decision.
Eight days ago Amazon UK were not offering these items. Mrs C16 has now found them on their site with free delivery by them from the USA and all import duties and taxes included. A couple of quid saved on the items costs as well.
Once the refund has been received I shall be joining those who have posted damning reviews about the craft company. Silly people - it's not as though this was Mrs C16's first order with them but there will certainly be no more going their way. British customer service at its worst!
The helicopter pilots' mantra: If it hasn't gone wrong then it's just about to...
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