“I ordered a Leica M11 battery from LCE Online on 6 June. After 10 working days with no delivery, I called and was redirected to the Bristol store, who told me the battery had never been dispatched due to a stock issue. I explained I needed it for a workshop on 29 June. The Bristol staff member advised me not to source it elsewhere and assured me the Strand store would dispatch one by the end of the week. I received a confirmation email from the Strand store to that effect.
The battery never arrived. When I called the Strand store on the day it was due, they had no knowledge of the order and no tracking information. I was passed between stores and an unanswered phone line before being told it had 'probably' been sent.
I raised a PayPal dispute and received a full refund within minutes, which tells its own story. I had to source the battery independently at additional cost and short notice to make my workshop.
In over 10 years of buying camera equipment, this is the worst experience I've had with a retailer. The initial stock failure I could have forgiven. Being actively advised not to find an alternative, and then let down anyway, is harder to overlook.”
“When I bought the camera, the guys in the store were helpful and friendly, so I did not expect to be leaving such a negative review. After having my camera for a total of around 20 days, the lens retracted an angle mid-shoot and became unable to use. I went back to the Worcester branch and they told me they would have it sent off for repair and that I should have it back in around 3-4 weeks (already annoying as I hadn't had it that long and needed it sooner that that, but at least something was being done). I then receive a phone call a number of days later saying they actually hadn't sent it off like they said, and had now decided I was at fault. I could pay £45 to have it LOOKED AT, and Sony would then decide whether they were going to repair it. I use this camera for work, so being without it for so long has been extremely difficult and stressful, and neither me or my colleagues appreciated being messed around to the lengths I had been - especially considering we all know I had not done anything to damage the lens. They of course could not prove I had damaged it. So I am now obviously under the impression that the damage must have appeared whilst in their hands as it was recorded as a 'lens error' when I handed it over - NOT as damaged. My father went in to try and amend the issue, stating my rights as a consumer and explaining how they had breached them, and was told that they would no longer speak to him about the matter. They will also not refund me. I now have a broken camera, and am roughly £560 down the drain. I am utterly disappointed and outraged at the awful customer service received, it has been by far the worst. No replacement, no repair, no refund and absolutely no understanding.”
