ao.com Reviews

4.3 Rating 4,129 Reviews
82 %
of reviewers recommend ao.com
4.3
Based on 4,129 reviews
Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods
Courier, Own Driver
Average Delivery Time
Within 5 Days
On-time Delivery
95%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders
96%
Customer Service
Communication Channels
Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In
Under An Hour
Customer Service
4.4 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process
Difficult
Returns Process
Could Be Better
Read ao.com Reviews
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Phone:

0344 324 9222

Email:

customerservices@ao.com

Location:

AO World PLC 5a The Parklands Lostock
Bolton
BL6 4SD

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ao.com 5 star review on 8th April 2024
Susan Heaton
ao.com 1 star review on 3rd April 2024
Nicola Henry
ao.com 1 star review on 24th February 2024
Karen Anderson
ao.com 1 star review on 27th November 2023
Phil
ao.com 1 star review on 29th October 2023
Darren
ao.com 1 star review on 28th December 2022
Lisa
ao.com 1 star review on 12th October 2022
Aaron
126
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
Ordered a gas hob, tried to complete the order on line, but was unable to chose a 4 hour delivery slot. Then phoned to place the order and was placed under very great pressure to take out an Extended Warranty, I declined and explained that the only reason I had phoned was to ensure I wasn't allocated an early time slot because I am a full time carer. I received a call at 7am on the date of delivery, to say they would be there in 15 minutes! I had paid for fitting , to replace the hob I have had for 10 years. They were unable to fit it because there was a drawer underneath!. Absolutely appalling experience, not to be recommended
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Ordered over £1700 worth of goods, paid for by credit card. They debit card and then cancel order - I ask them why and they’re unsure. Had ordered iPad for sons birthday. They then email me to say they’ve tried to contact me - no missed calls and I then call their customer services who are ‘unsure’ why the ordered had been cancelled. They then asked me had I moved house... all very strange. This is the 2nd time I used and and twice I’ve had problems. Won’t be using them again. It’ll be John Lewis from here!
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
The day before the order arrived we were called by ao.com who tried to pressurise us into buying an extended warranty; and when the order was delivered, although we'd paid for both the washing machine and dishwasher to be connected up, the delivery guys were in such a rush to get on to they next job that they did a bad job. Will use John Lewis in future
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
I WOULDN'T even have given ONE STAR, poor service in ever area, worst experience in my life.  1. My order was delivered the driver's just turned up just with my microwave and forgot fridge freezer. During a HOUSE MOVE, Christmas and New year on head with TWO LITTLE ONES AT HOME TO FEED, whole of my fresh/cold grocery shopping gone in the bin because they can't deliver for another 6 days. 2. The driver's call logistics lady very unhelpful answer I DON'T AND I'M SORRY. What should I do with her sorry? 3. Logistics told me to contact CUSTOMERRRRRRS SERVICEEEE?!! after a longgggggg wait of 40mins on the phone what i hear I DON'T KNOW AND I SORRY. This person contacted his manager to get an answer who was willing to compensation £20 for the food waste. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY PARENT BUYING £20 FOOD FOR 2 ADULTS AND TWO CHILDREN. 4. With no fridge freezer for another 7 days....actually NO WHEN THE FRIDGE FREEZER IS DELIVERED I HAVE LET IT SET FOR AT LEAST 12 HOURS THAT MEANS TOTAL 8 DAYS WITH NO FREASH FOOD. 5. I asked the customer service to put me through his manager and apparently she was going to attended meeting. Manager was available 1mins ago and now she is not. Absolutely bull s..... Trying to escape from customers like us will do no good to YOUR business. I won't recommend anyone shopping with ao.com and my worst nightmare is yet to come HOW THE I'M GOING TO MANAGE FOR 8 DAY'S😨😡😠😳
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Decide to replace existing cooker/hob after glass panel broke. Order from AO to be told that my existing stove does not fit regulations-it is a fire hazard! So my stove is not up to standard while I am using it everyday and have yearly checks!! WHY do AO pretend to deliver customer service that does not exist!!
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Having read a lot if the comments on here I felt that on behalf if the delivery drivers I needed to clarify a few points. I honestly feel that if the general public using AO understood what the delivery drivers have to go through more than half of the complaints regarding them would not be made. My husband has been working for AO as a delivery driver for only a short period of time. Not only has he has been subject to abusive and threatening beahviour from the public but it get no better from his employers either!!! AO drivers are self employed!!!!! They start work at 5am in the morning and most nights are lucky to be home by 8pm. Yes unfortunately sometimes you delivery does not turn up in time, why?? Because they are given the route they have to follow by people that do not know the areas you live in. The vans are loaded in order of drop according to the route they are given to follow and no matter how bad it is planned they are not permitted to change it. On several occasions my husband has been given a route that on a normal day not allowing for traffic the journey should take 30 minutes. They are given 10 minutes to get there!!! Now as they are self employed they are charged for everything. If they were to attempt to fit your washing machine when you have a leak any damage that could be caused which you will undoubtedly put a claim in for has to be paid by the drivers!!! Not the company. So if they are refusing to fit things it's because they are trying to protect themselves. They are not refusing to do it to annoy you or be difficult. Have you ever tried lifting an American Fridge freezer up a flight of steps??? You wouldn't do it yourself so I can't understand why you would expect other pepole to do it with No Lifting equipment because they are not provided with any........Do you no that every time you complain about something that is not in the drivers control they stop the drivers from working for a whole week! My husband will not be working for them for much longer due to how they are treated. Only the other day the breaks on the van his was given to drive failed. He was lucky to stop without hurting anyone or himself. When he called to tell them they needed a tow truck there response was can't you just do the last few drops on the van first? Obviously he refused to put his life or the public at risk. Guess what he didn't get any work the next day! I understand that none of this is an excuse for being rude. All I ask is that if your delivery driver refuses to deliver or fit. The chances are it's because he has calculated the risk of either hurting himself by lifting beyond what is resonable or the are too many issues that could result in him being charged hundreds if pounds if something goes wrong.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
I'm about to have anew kitchen installed and require 6 appliances. I attempted to get price matching commitment via email, (something to refer to if problems occurred). ao., asked me to phone close to half a dozen times. I even sent them completion web site and email details. after many requests over several days they eventually advised they only stocked/dealt with 3 of the 6. Why they couldn't tell me this at the offset and save frustration and delays is ridiculous. It would appear their customer service incapable.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
My rating is zero for this company. Took delivery of a washing machine and paid to have it installed by them. Had a new floor laid in kitchen after that was in, and washing machine leaked because they didn't install it properly. The builder didn't touch the machine to lay the floor as it was in a fitted space. Trying to get through to anyone at AO is a joke. When you get through they promise a call back days later still waiting so I have to call them back. Evidence sent that it was their fault. Their response- it's not our fault it's yours. We are doing nothing. Asked for them to send someone to clearly look at the evidence to prove what I was saying- their response We don't do that. After several frustrating weeks getting no where my solicitor is involved. So frustrated and angry at the service I found the owner of AO email address and I told him about my case. I pointed out what he had quoted last year which was We do everything possible to ensure our customers are happy and everything is done for them. They do not. Once they have your money they care of nothing else. He didn't respond to the email but had someone contact me to sayYeah-we are not doing anything for you. So get lost basically. But I will not go away or shut up until they pay for the damage that has to be put right. My fight continues. If anyone wants his email address I will provide it to you. They cannot treat customers like they do. And I will not stop until they have put this right.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Used to have great, reliable service from this online electrical company at reduced prices but last couple of purchases have not gone well. Have received damaged goods, wrong items and poor customer services support, and resolving with no compensation. Will not use again in a hurry. No longer worth the hassle.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
I would give a zero score to ao.com if I could. A very irresponsible company in dealing with faulty appliances and lots more...... I ordered a Miele integrated dishwasher which i paid extra for fitting. I was told it would be delivered in 10 working days and was given text updates it would arrive initially between a time slot of 12-4pm , no arrival so rang their customer services who said the van had broken down and so they would rearrange delivery with no text update to the customer. I was a little annoyed, as I took a days holiday and the next deliver was for another 3 weeks. So I was promised a time slot between 7.30am to 12 noon and guess what, it didn't arrive until 5pm and took another days holiday. To make matters worse, the delivery men said they didn't install integrated appliances yet I had paid £117 extra on top of the dishwasher price for them to install this which clearly says they install integrated dishwashers , otherwise how would this cost be added at time of purchasing? The delivery people were rude , left it in all its packaging and I was left to ring customer services for a refund and complaint that not had I waited almost 5 weeks and taken 2 days holiday I had to write to them for a refund saying they would pay for the cost of me paying for getting it installed by a plumber as a sorry and the time it had taken for the dishwasher to arrive. It took them over 2 weeks to refund the £117 I had paid in advance for their mistake in promising to get this installed. On their advice I got a local plumber install the dishwasher and shockingly, it was evident that the dishwasher had been damaged in transit as the salt tray was leaking and sending a fault error when turned on. By this time I was really annoyed, so rang customer services again, explained there was a fault as well as submitting the receipt the my plumber had charged for the same price they had charged of £117. To my surprise ao.com said they were only going to pay £53 towards the costs of the installation. At this point, I requested to speak to their manager, who wasn't available and eventually the manager 2 days later advised, I ring the manufacturers on the fault and said they could not offer more than £53 towards the cost of installation as this was the maximum offered, which is totally incorrect. I asked for the tape recorded conversation they claim they have and told it would cost me £100 to send me. At this point, I basically told them I would be taking this further and report them to trading standards. Trading standards wrote to them and have many customer complaints with this company. This company is flawed and misleading to customers, their customer service and automated texts with no responsab to sort a faulty product out and a left me to write this review on my experience with ao.com
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Sadly I won't be using AO again! Poor customer care! - I am appalled at the way customers are treated by installation workers and the call centre! My house was left in a wreck - including a serious leak and broken electricsl! The call center staff pressurised me to purchase insurance! And now my electrics are tripping their live chat is closed! For the price I paid for installation and service I expect better. This is not free and I fell robbed to be honest. Very bad
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
I ordered a laptop and arranged a delivery slot which required i take off a half day from work. the delivery slot was between 12-4pm. By 4.10 i still had no word from the driver so called up the enquiry line, to be informed that they had "lost" the laptop and didnt have any left in the warehouse. I sugested that they send out the most similar laptop in terms of specs for the same price and they politely refused to do the honourable thing. All I ended up with was half a day less holiday and an overdraft fee to pay. total time wasters, be warned.
Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago
Be weary of delivery workers damaging your property!! On Friday 20th January 2017 I received a delivery of a washer dryer from AO and this was not my first time using this website as I didn't have any problems before. I have had also received delivery of gas cooker within the same week, perfectly fine - No Issues. Unfortunately the driver who deliver the washer dryer has damaged the kitchen floor and had caused severe liquid damage by pouring almost whole bottle of washing up liquid on the floor to slide the washer dryer under the kitchen work top. Also, the delivery guy didn't bother asking for the permission to use the washing up liquid to my wife. When my wife saw this she was very upset and asked him for the reason. The delivery guy has said this is to ease the fitting process! He actually damaged the kitchen floor right in the middle of the kitchen and under the kitchen worktop too. He advised us to speak to AO team online to get this sorted and left us in a mess. I have raised a complaint on the same after noon and reported the damage. Needless to say the delivery man used an excuse to cover up his mess because there is more than enough space to fit the washer dryer without using a washing up liquid. I have provided a picture proof as well as independent plumber report to prove the point that there is more than enough space. Upon the complaint the damage team (Dawn Armstrong) had advised me to fill out the damage detail form and send her the details. I have sent all the details with the pictures of the damage floor including the picture of washing up liquid on the floor. She had assured me that AO will look into this and get it resolved as soon as possible as AO looks for customer satisfaction and committed to provide best service. Later on in the week she then asked me to get independent quotation to get this fixed. I had to spend my time to get the quotation. I got the quotation from the local check trade contractor, this was then sent to her. Unfortunately Dawn was on holiday so I was e-mail by another customer representative (Jeanette lowe) to get another Independent quotation to get this fixed. So once again I had to spend my time for no fault of mine, this time i got quotation from carpet right to get the damage kitchen floor fixed. This quote was then sent to AO (Jeanette lowe). Jeanette then came back advising that AO will look into this and will come back to me in due course. Needless to say that the definition of due course varies from company to company because by the time I received a response from Jeanette it was middle of March 2017. (Today) its 27th March 2017 (Delivered on 20th January 2017). Yes! Over 2 months!! still not sorted. The customer service was not polite in the slightest over the phone either.had to called them and chase them again and again. every time I was promised a call back first thing in the morning but never fulfilled their promise! (Here are the names of the person I spoke to and was promised call back- (Spoke to Pat Atkinson, Leanne Lemaire, Jazz and few more). I actually have their apologies e-mail for not responding but doesn't worth anything as I am typing this review today and have still not received a call back as promised. After a long process of back and forth and me chasing them many times and sending evidence as requested to AO's claims for damage department, I was passed on to their 'Claims Expert Logistics'. (Who didn't even come to my property to assess the damage and apparently don't even know how to spell customer name correctly - they spell my name as HardDick on the letter...How rude! I still have their letter) has sent me a letter today to say that I was rejected on my claim with their reasoning of "the damage was pre-existing" even after providing all the necessary proofs, pictures and independent report on damage including various quotations and most importantly over two months of chasing, calling and e-mailing. After this experience my faith in AO to own up to their mistakes has diminished and it's all about passing the buck with them. Regardless of who AO subcontract to deliver the goods it's still their responsibility to ensure good customer service is provided in a honest and polite manner. Training staff may solve some problems for AO. To anyone thinking to order from AO I would recommend to keeping a close eye on the delivery crew and don't expect them to be honest with you when they do damage your property because they will deliver the goods and will say AO team will sort this out later on to leave the customer in limbo. Alternatively save yourself stress and order from a different company.
Helpful Report
Posted 7 years ago
Hi Hardik Thanks for your review. I'm sorry to hear about your disappointing experience. We'll take your feedback on board with regards to the way in which this has been handled. We'll arrange for calls to be listened to, so we can speak to the agents that you've mentioned and we'll provide them with any relevant feedback. With regards to your claim, I'm sorry that this has been rejected. Outlined in the letter that you've received is some information on how you can appeal the result of the claim. I would recommend taking this route as you disagree with the outcome. Please let us know if you'd like any advice on how to move forward with this process. Thanks, Anthony - ao.com
Posted 7 years ago
I placed an order on the 11th may 2016, ft a belling F550EDOPC_6C electric cooker, I also booked in for connection. My original delivery date was for the 3rd June. I received a phone call from yourselves on the 12th May telling me if i cancelled installation and got my own electrician I could have it delivered on Saturday 14th May. I was more than happy to go ahead with this, as I would receive my items earlier. So I arranged for an electrician, I have had my old cooker removed, fully expecting my new cooker on Saturday. Now imagine my outrage, when I check my emails to see I have received one from you today at 5.30pm saying my cooker is OUT OF STOCK! No phone calls, no text messages, an email. Less then 24 hours before I am supposed to receive my new cooker. I am disgusted by this level of service. I did not arrange an earlier delivery, you called me! What kind of company calls a customer, tells them they can have their order earlier, gets them to rearrange an electrician and then emails to say out of stock! Would you be happy with this service? But not only am I disgusted with this, but I am appalled by your customer service team that I spoke to over the phone. When I read the email, I decided to call, to see if this was some kind of mistake, because let's face it, it's ridiculous. I was told over the phone, that my delivery would now be for Wednesday 18th may. Now bearing in mind I have discarded my old cooker, ready for my new one, so this would mean 5 days with no way of cooking for my 2 small children or my husband and myself. 5 DAYS! What is their solution " we will transfer £30 to your bank, so you can purchase takeaway for your family for the next 5 days" are you kidding me?? First of all takeaway for my children for 5 days is absolutely diabolical, what kind of parent do you think I am? I would never give my children takeaways for 5 days. And seriously, in what world could you ever buy 5 days worth of takeaways for £30! I would probably need nearer to £30 per day! Can you buy your family a takeaway every night for almost a week on £30? Not only that, I was then offered alternative cookers, and this is how your customer service team tried to sell them to me, " you can have a cheaper cooker that we have in stock delivered tomorrow if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it, as it's not very good" REALLY?? Or "we have another one that is also available, but you would have to pay £200 more" is that how you get more money out of people? Do you not have to have common sense to man the phones at ao?? Then to top it off I had a fridge freezer meant to be delivered today between 7-12. I've been awake since 6.30 to have a Facebook message no phone call to say someone has cancelled it for today. So now have no food, fridge freezer or cooker and 2 young kids. Unbelievable stay away from them
Helpful Report
Posted 7 years ago
Nightmare! Had no cooker for 8 days over Easter! X4 Kids at home as half-term! We had to buy takeaways for our dinners as we were eating soup, cereal & sandwiches for breakfast and lunches. AO decided to disconnect & remove my old cooker, refused to reinstall it, which left us with no cooker to use for 8 days! BEWARE the ACTUAL size of the Smeg Dual Fuel Range Cookers depth is 65mm due to the oven door HANDLES but it's not STATED ANYWHERE under the specs. AO confirmed with me on an initial phone call that the dimensions were 60mm x 89.7mm and correct size for my kitchen space. AO Please go find & listen to that recording! No agent bothered to say that those dimensions given on the websites product pages aren't always accurate because the manufacturers sizing does not always include or account for things such as handled protruding! RIDICULOUS! This LACK OF CRUCIAL INFORMATION caused THE FIRST failed attempted delivery. As far as we knew, the old and new cookers were like for like size wise. My old cooker was TAKEN OUT just fine. The delivery team was asked to put back in the old cooker when they couldn't get the new cooker through the kitchen door. THEY REFUSED! This left a household including a disabled child & vulnerable people without any means of cooking meals!CRUEL! When I called up to complain AO were non chalant, blasé & their excuse was that the manufacturer provides spec dimensions, they said "we don't go round with a measuring tape checking the dimensions of all our appliances". How rude! Because of this lack of VITAL INFORMATION on SIZE we went without a cooker for much longer than was necessary. Had the new cooker made it through the kitchen doorway, they would have discovered the hot zone issue EARLIER, on the 25th not 31st March! We would have had the chance to resolve the problems BEFORE it RUINED our Easter bank Holiday weekend! Another lesson learned is that if you pay for premium installation, AO delivery team/gas safe engineers are extremely strict about cooker hood distance, mine was just 5mm off. YEAH for safety! If you have ANYTHING less than perfect gas pipework they'll ABORT & ABANDON you without completing your cooker installation! We were left high and dry, had to source & pay our own private gas engineer to install the cooker! Keiran at AO customer service was supportive when I explained the turmoil, he asked me to email them our receipts as proof of out of pocket expenditure. He said we would likely be reimbursed under these circumstances. We have spent £400>on takeaway food, evidenced by receipts, that's x3 meals per day for x6 people over 8 days. Money that we WOULDN'T HAVE HAD to spend if we had any means of making a hot meal! AO didn't care about how this affects us financially during a cost of living crisis. They refused to reimburse us but offered £30 goodwill gesture! We accepted the gesture but still expected at least £300 reimbursed for the inconvenience caused by THEIR FAILURES (delivery guys taking away our cooker and false dimensions on the product spec). The whole experience has been awful, extremely distressing not to mention disappointing. AO need to do way better by their customers. The very least AO can do now is to help us recover from our terrible experience by offering a reimbursement of our forced expenses. Can't comment on the Smeg cooker as it's STILL not been installed yet. If AO choose to leave us customers like this, without any further offer of compensation, we will never recommend AO to anyone & will share our awful experiences and opinions everywhere we can to warn others.
ao.com 1 star review on 3rd April 2024
Helpful Report
Posted 3 weeks ago
Tumble dryer delivered on 31st March, just two days later it practically blows up, making very loud, strange sounds and emitting an electrical burning smell. Suffice to say, the product is clearly totally kaput, not to mention the obvious fire hazard. What would any customer of AO reasonably expect in the circumstances? That the situation is immediately remedied by way of a replacement, or a refund, including reimbursement for costs of disposal. Is that what I got? Absolutely not. Firstly, I was fobbed off to the manufacturer, who insisted that an engineer had to be sent out before they could do anything. I was then told that the earliest appointment would be 16th April - 13 days' time! Obviously I told them what I thought of that suggestion! So it's apparently AO's policy that any customers who are unfortunate enough to have received a seriously faulty product have to wait an unacceptable period of time for a resolution, whilst having to go without the benefit of that product. When I buy a new kitchen appliance I expect it to work and if it clearly has serious (and potentially dangerous) defects that it be replaced immediately with one that does work. A perfectly simple, reasonable expectation, but not one that AO appear willing to meet. The end result of my protracted toing and froing on the phone today is that I now have to wait 24 to 48 hours for consideration to be given to granting a refund or providing a replacement. I still have no idea when I'm going to have a tumble dryer that works safely. I expected a lot better from AO.
Helpful Report
Posted 3 weeks ago
If I could leave 0 stars I would, bought a LG fridge freezer (delivered 7th march 2024), when they delivered it they carelessly bent in the back of the fridge and told me it would be fine when bent back, stupidly I took their word for it... Since the fridge freezer went on, it froze everthing in the bottom of it and the temperature in the middle fluctuated between below freezing and 10 degrees without it being opened or changing the settings, I tried several different thermometers to check that this wasnt just inaccuracy of the thermometers i was using, it wasn't, the final straw was then it froze raw meat that was in the meat drawer in the FRIDGE! Contacted AO about this fault and from the get go they were unhelpful, the attitude was rude and demeaning, I had, had it just over a week at that point and was well within the cooling off period, they told me they wanted an engineer to look at it but that was scheduled for 2 weeks later (27th March) - you can't leave someone without a fridge for that long especially when it was them that caused the fault in the first place, they should have just swapped/refunded it in full. Upon saying that I wanted to send it back as I was well within my rights to as I was still in the cooling off period, they said that because they didn't know if there was a fault they were keeping 30% of the refund for THEIR TROUBLE or if i had another off them they would only keep 10%! We will be taking this to the small claims court because they cannot do this! Absolute con artists DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!!! £870 fridge freezer and only got £631 refund! This will be taken further BUT what is even more interesting is that the drivers that came to collect it from AO had never heard of this being done before and were absolutely disgusted by the attitude and "resolution" that the company had come to, so I'd love to know why this was done to me and your EMPLOYEES had never heard of this being done before! Sounds like you're making it up as you go along!! This will be taken further, and I would never reccommmend or use this company again, BEWARE of buying from this awful business - I got a replacement from a small local firm 2 days later that gave 100% better service than these con merchants, shop local and force these robbing and stealing companies out of business!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 weeks ago
Had an issue with my oven. Took a while for first engineers visit to happen as living on the Isle of Wight and the Christmas season. Then had second visit, had further issues contacted AO. Said that they would look into it, no call back, had to call and AO less than helpful with the issues. Not at all interest. Spent thousands with AO in the past but never again
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Posted 1 month ago
Very bad experience with them Had my American fridge freezer being damaged twice waited over a month for replacement. Just recently I have found out that they sell only refurbished and end of line products Be aware
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Posted 1 month ago
Said they price match another company Marks Electrical's. but as soon as I said it was the same price but with 5% off and free delivery. They said they couldn't match it. Sales lady not really interested in keeping me as a loyal customer that I have been over the years. So it looks like Marks Electrical's gain a customer.
Helpful Report
Posted 2 months ago
ao.com is rated 4.3 based on 4,129 reviews