PLAY.COM Pre order farce.

[mcav]

It's likely you're saying right now "What could this guy possibly be talking about? - Play are a great company - never had any problems with them"

Well all that's changing.

My last 3 pre orders have arrived *well* past their release date, and each time, I have got the same garbage "21 day policy" for items lost in the post. In the meantime, I could have walked into any high street store and picked up the item at an increasingly similar, and occassionally, lower price than Play.com!

The latest was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I pre ordered early September, and got my email on 7th of November telling me they had despatched my order. Woohoo! I thought. I was so happy, I impulse bought a copy or Ratchet & Clank on my PS3.

Saturday comes along, and I'm expecting Harry Potter, as normal service has surely resumed at play.com by now! Through the door, eventually - and it's Ratchet & Clank!!! W.T.F!?!?!

So I don't mind - pre orders are ok as long as they are delivered on the release day, after all, why else would you pre order? Not for saving money these days...

So that's today - the release day - and nothing.

I call play.com - and get "Well we posted it out on Wed 7th of November, it's up to royal mail to deliver it, and I can only apologise but we need to wait 21 days before we send out another one." I try to explain the point that I pre ordered, like many people do so they can get the item on release date, not so they can get it a few days after, seeing as if people wanted that, they would just go buy it in the high street. This lands on deaf ears. I get passed to a supervisor to whom I ask while Ratchet and Clank, while ordered on the 7th, posted on the 8th and manages to arrive on the 10th, My Harry Potter Blu Ray can't be sent in decent time to arrive for it's release day. I get the same response and that nothing can be done, and I should go buy it from another store, and as a goodwill gesture, they'll take back the other one if it arrives and refund me - they even said they'd refund my postage for the trouble!! Wooooooo!!!!

They didn't seem to understand the fact that I actually wanted this title on release day, like all of my other pre orders. They didn't give a monkeys in fact, and all I got was a script read "I can only apologise"

To which I responded by asking them about my current list of pre orders and told them to watch as they disappear one by one.

Seriously - Play have gone downhill.... consider alternatives!!!

[Jonstone]

Originally Posted by mcav

I get the same response and that nothing can be done, and I should go buy it from another store, and as a goodwill gesture, they'll take back the other one if it arrives and refund me - they even said they'd refund my postage for the trouble!! Wooooooo!!!!

Royal mail mess up the delivery and Play offer to refund you in full including all postage costs well before their tand c's dictate they need to.

I see what you mean, how terrible of them.

If their service in general has deteriorated then thats a good reason not to use them, but tbh in the above case I am not exactly sure what else you would like them to do?

[dean999]

not to rub salt in your wounds i preordered harry potter(blu ray) about 10 days ago and rec'd it today-- maybe the postal service in your area is crap, i know our postal service is rubbish as the postie can't read, so i was pleasantly surprised to receive my order today.

i know this does not help but just thought i'd share my experince with u.

[Nottman]

My Harry Potter also arrived today - just goes to show you can't generalise based on a few bad experiences, although I appreciate that's no comfort when you suffer individually (as I'm sure we all have from time to time with various suppliers)

[nwgarratt]

The only way to ensure a DVD is got on release day is to actually buy it from a shop. Most places actually will not send DVD's out until the release day. You can't blame Play.com for Royal Mail's slow delivery. All Play can do is get it shipped out ok.

My post is still messed up since the strikes started. I don't get any post for two or three days a week and every delivery is now in the afternoon (used to be around 8am).

[partyweb]

Yup, go blame royal mail not play. My play HP dvd arrived today as well as my HP 1-5 box set from hmv.

However my cheque book from my bank took 2 weeks to arrive after being posted.

[mcav]

Originally Posted by Nottman

My Harry Potter also arrived today - just goes to show you can't generalise based on a few bad experiences, although I appreciate that's no comfort when you suffer individually (as I'm sure we all have from time to time with various suppliers)

I have about 9 long pages of order history from Play.com The only thing that annoyed me really is the fact that an order posted on the 8th makes it's way out for the 10th yet a pre order sent on the 7th doesn't make it doe the 12th

I've had so many pre orders from play, and other online stores, and they all manage release day delivery at the latest, most are friday/saturday before.

But what's worst of all is that, if it is lost, I have 21 days to wait until they do anything about it. It may not be lost, but if it is, that's a long time to keep my money.

Not a good policy in any book

BTW - it was a Blu ray I pre ordered.

[Zaichik]

Actually, quite a lot of companies have the same policy (including Game and Movietyme) because they can't claim for the loss from Royal Mail until that time has passed.

Royal Mail are only one reason that items from Play can get held up. Customs is another.

[eiren]

I wish more people would realise that if a company have despatched something, and it takes ages to get there, it's not the fault of the company.

Blame the awful Royal Mail, for it is their fault, and there is no cheap (i.e. not costing the customer a fortune) alternative.

You can't expect companies to fund a replacement, until they know for sure it's lost and not just delayed in the archaic post offices. The amount of trouble Royal Mail cause, it would cause a company to go bust.

Have a read of this for more information about the current mess:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...8/npost128.xml

[Brausch]

Blame the Royal Mail, I've been buying from Play for years and they've never let me down and always have good return policies. The Royal Mail is sacking workers, employing cheap agency staff, has moved delivery times back, cancelled Sunday post collections all so that **** of a Prime Minister can privatise it. Don't blame play for stolen, late or damaged items blame the slimy MPs who decided to implement the EU Competition directive.

No, I'm not a postie, just someone who remembers the days of getting his post undamaged, quickly and before noon

[SeanT]

Mine wasn't even posted until Saturday, and I don't yet have it, last time I preorder something from play.com, if I'd ordered it yesterday from Amazon I'd have it by now.....
Is the 1-5 box set the HD one from HMV?

[Brausch]

It took 9 days for delivery of a prebooked Doctor Who series 3 from Amazon

[nwgarratt]

Amazon also has a similar policy. When you order for example, it states delivery date is say 16 November and 30 November. Even though, most deliveries take one or two days to come. They will rarely do anuthing until that 30 November comes and goes.

It can be because people at RM nick the packages. I have had two DVD's stolen by them (they was nicked by a local postie who did it quite regularly). It doesn't help that most people can tell what a DVD shape looks like. The packages are obvious what they are especially when they have a DVD supplier like Play or Amazon written on them.

The longest deliveries I have had lately is from dvd.co.uk which took over two weeks after getting the shipping emails. The quickest is from CD Wow and got a DVD from Hong Kong in three days !! They usually take about a week.

[elaniel]

Play are bad with shipping though.
Ordered my HD-DVD Harry Potter's from them.

Philosophers Stone shipped last Wednesday.
Order of the Phoenix shipped Saturday.
Prisoner of Azkaban shipped Sunday (How exactly?)
Chamber of Secrets didnt ship until today ( a day after release!!)

Only Philosophers has arrived.

[nwgarratt]

Originally Posted by elaniel

Play are bad with shipping though.
Ordered my HD-DVD Harry Potter's from them.

Philosophers Stone shipped last Wednesday.
Order of the Phoenix shipped Saturday.
Prisoner of Azkaban shipped Sunday (How exactly?)
Chamber of Secrets didnt ship until today ( a day after release!!)

Only Philosophers has arrived.

Still not Play's fault.