Customers have been disappointed with their goods – and shocked at being chased by debt collectors – after dealings with mail order collector's store The Bradford Exchange.
Janet Tonkin-Covell received multiple invoices to pay for a Lancaster Bomber Clock even though she'd returned it. She sent the company proof in the form of a track and trace receipt from NZ Post and a written note recording the time of delivery. But rather than stop, The Bradford Exchange got debt collectors to chase up payment which grew to about $260.
After feeling she was getting nowhere trying to deal with the company, Tonkin-Covell turned to Fair Go, saying "I'm not going to pay for something I don't have".
It was a similar situation for Jill Pearce in Christchurch.
She'd ordered a Princess Diana necklace for about $150. She paid for it upfront along with the cost of postage and packing, which was about $15. She had a Mastercard statement to prove it.
However the necklace was too tight, so she sent it back and asked for a refund. For months, she heard nothing, so she followed up by contacting the company. Eventually, she got a letter confirming her payment had been received but shortly after came another letter demanding payment for postage. Three invoices were followed by a demand from a debt collection agency.
Pearce said she felt bullied into paying for the postage a second time.
"I was frightened. I'd never had this happen before," she said. This meant she was now owed nearly $200 all up, and it was almost a year since her refund had been requested.
Heather Bevan in Wellington was one of several other frustrated customers who also got in touch. Hers was a slightly different problem. She'd paid for a Disney Christmas Tree for her great-granddaughter. It looked perfect in the brochure pictures but she was disappointed when it arrived.
"To let something like that come out of their factory even, I was just appalled," Bevan said.
She tried to contact The Bradford Exchange to talk about a replacement as she thought perhaps this was a one-off, but to no avail.
All three asked Fair Go to look into the situation.
Once we contacted The Bradford Exchange, it was all action. It promptly responded to say that it had "not met its objectives" of providing "the best customer service possible" and making sure "the customer is 100% satisfied".
It wouldn't comment on the individual cases, but agreed to refund Pearce immediately, refrain from chasing Tonkin-Covell for any payment, and offered to refund or replace the Disney Christmas Tree for Bevan. She opted for a refund to be on the safe side.
All three customers were happy with the result.
"I'm just glad someone is here like Fair Go that can help the little person," Pearce said.
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