“Damaged Goods, Endless Chasing and an ICO Complaint
UPDATE
Following this review on TrustPilot, Michelle from vidaXL contacted me and advised that she wished to look into the matter further. I welcomed that opportunity, responded promptly and provided everything she requested, including my order details and the names of the staff who had handled both the complaint and the Subject Access Request.
Unfortunately, despite providing everything requested and subsequently chasing for an update, I have received no further response. That is extremely disappointing and, regrettably, simply reinforces the very concerns that led me to leave this review in the first place. I had genuinely hoped this latest contact signalled a willingness to resolve matters. Instead, it has become another example of a matter progressing only when I continue to chase it.
One aspect that particularly concerned me was the handling of my Subject Access Request. Despite the extensive history of emails, live chats and complaint handling, vidaXL declined to provide records that I had requested, including chat logs and complaint-related communications. I considered this sufficiently concerning to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office. Based on my experience, I would strongly encourage customers to keep copies of their own emails, live chats, photographs and any other communications throughout the process, as these may become important if a complaint becomes prolonged.
My concerns were never simply that a product arrived damaged.
The original items arrived with damage across multiple components. Photographs were provided immediately and I contacted vidaXL on the day of delivery. Unfortunately, what should have been a straightforward customer service issue became a lengthy and frustrating process.
Replacement items were supplied, but they also arrived damaged. In particular, the same component appeared repeatedly damaged across multiple units, which raised concerns regarding packaging or quality control. By this stage I had multiple damaged items, including original units which I had repeatedly explained I did not want to keep as they were of little practical use and weighed approximately 25kg each.
What followed was a cycle of emails, live chats, delays, repeated explanations, inconsistent responses and multiple escalations. I repeatedly explained that the process itself was becoming the problem. Instead of dealing with a single damaged delivery, I found myself spending a significant amount of time chasing updates, re-explaining matters and attempting to obtain meaningful management involvement.
I asked for a manager to become involved, sought clarity regarding compensation and repeatedly attempted to find a practical resolution that would bring matters to a close. Calls were attempted without prior arrangement and, when I attempted to continue those discussions, communications appeared to stall. The overall experience became unnecessarily drawn out and far more stressful than it should ever have been.
I acknowledge that compensation was offered during the process. However, my dissatisfaction relates primarily to the overall handling of the matter rather than any single offer. By that stage I had simply reached the point where I gave up because I no longer had confidence that the matter would ever be resolved properly.
The file already contains a substantial history of correspondence and, in my view, demonstrates the amount of time and effort required simply to progress what began as a relatively straightforward complaint.
Based on my own experience, I would encourage prospective customers to exercise caution. If you do purchase from vidaXL, I strongly recommend keeping copies of all emails, live chats, photographs and any other communications from the outset. Should something go wrong, those records may prove invaluable. I sincerely hope others have a better experience than I did, but unfortunately I cannot recommend the level of customer service or complaint handling that I experienced.”
“Extremely poor customer service.
I purchased a motorized awning, but the remote control was defective upon delivery. After providing video evidence, VidaXL insisted that I remove and return the entire 4-meter-wide awning, even though the issue was only with the remote control.
I even spent my own money on a replacement remote in an attempt to solve the problem, but it turned out to be incompatible. After that, VidaXL completely stopped responding to my emails.
The result is that I now own a motorized awning that cannot be used. I am extremely disappointed and cannot recommend VidaXL to anyone.”
“Poor quality and even worse customer service. The cushions took far longer to arrive than expected, and when they finally showed up, they had adhesive marks on them. Trying to get help has been a nightmare. I've been going back and forth with support for weeks with little progress, and the suggested return process would cost nearly the same as the item itself. Communication has been extremely slow, with long periods of no response to emails. Overall, a very disappointing experience and not a company I would choose again.”
“Iâd give a 0 star rating if it was possible.
My parasol base arrived smashed in two. The packaging was very poor, Iâm not surprised it was damaged. I bought the base through Robert Dyas who assured me it would be collected and Iâd receive a refund, but neither happened. I was offered a âpartialâ refund of ÂŁ17 - the base is granite and cost ÂŁ97! They expected me to return the 30kg item at my own expense. Myâcaseâ has been referred to 3 departments and I am still waiting a satisfactory outcome.
Iâd never buy from them again.”
“We have made the order 0030001138915. You have been paid in full and you have not delivered all the items. Your transportation company confirms that the missing items have not even shipped on your end. We have been contacting you over emails and chat. daily. You avoid to answer if and when we will take the products you have been paid in full. Also every time you close the chat communication suddenly and you provide always the same generic answers. Your phone number is not operating. We have called more than 200 times any time of the day. We are afraid that this happens in purpose and you take the money of the consumers with out delivering. If we do not hear from you today and we do not receive the items by next week, we will report you for fraud and ask our bank to stop the payment. Also we will report you to the local and EU authorities for practices against the consumer law. It's unacceptable to have agents providing the same generic answers and promises that the relevant department will urgently revert and in return ignore us and keep our money.”
“I advise against buying on this shop. I bought something on 10th of February and they claim to have delivered it. But I got no package and reported the issue to theur customer service. To this day, I only get replies that they are checking but still I got no item nor any refund. Very disappointing”
“jag lĂ€ngtade oerhört efter mitt sommar vĂ€xthus .förĂ€dlade och fixade . trasigt vid leverans . obrukbar .erbjuds 10%av kostnaden . har ingen möjlighet att skaffa annat”
“Ordered an item 5 days ago and can't even get a tracking number ! I was told they have to wait 6 days to get word back from their warehouse ! Obviously they don't have any phones !!! I won't be touching them ever again !”
“EVERYTHING - THIS COMPANY SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE BLACKLIST AS THEY SEND PRODUCTS THAT DO NOT MATCH WHAT YOU PAID FOR AND WONT RESPOND TO ANY COMPLAINTS - EVERYDAY I CALL AND GET TOLD THAT IT HAS BEEN ESCALATED AND IT WILL TAKE MINIMUM OF 3 DAYS TO GET A RESPONSE - SO EACH DAY IT ADDS ANOTHER DAY TO THE TIMEFRAME OF A RESPONSE. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND A DOGEY COMPANY! BE AWARE WHEN BUYING FROM THEM - I WOULD RECOMMEND TO BYPASS THEM AND LOOK FOR ANOTHER COMPANY/SUPPLIER. STILL NO RESPONSE AND ITS BEEN 10 DAYS. PACKAGES SITTING DORMANT IN OUR LIVING ROOM THAT SHOULD BE THROWN IN THE BIN.”
“Omg. Absolute rubbish.
If Iâd of realised how awful this product was before I opened it I wouldâve sent it straight back.
More components than an Appollo space rocket.
Quality so poor that even a light gust of wind would blow it away, like the house in the wizard of oz. Definitely not worth the 190,000 Hungarian Forints.
Stated that it would take 5-6 hours to build. Is that for a team of a dozen professional builders.
Extremely dissatisfied and disappointed.
And just to add that also stated that it would arrive between 3-5 days.
Took over a week.”
“Jag köpte ett handfat i marmor. Efter att ha utsatts för vatten (handtvĂ€tt) i tre veckor lossnade delar som dĂ„ syntes varit trasiga och limmats. Jag skickade bilder och erbjöds en rabattkod pĂ„ en tiondel av priset. Jag kommer driva Ă€rendet i evighet”
“I am very frustrated with them. First , I bought some products and not the least expensive, terrible quality! In particular 2 garden animal house made out of metal roofing. Both terrible. The metal is so thin and pillars so thin the whole thing is falling apart after 6 months. Their customers service is also terrible! They mistaken a box returned and sent it to holland and for a year I ve tried to get my box back without success. I donât recomand.”
“The order and payment confirmation I received from vidaXL by email was false. Also the online tracking "we are working on it" and a couple of days later "it is on its way to you" and "expected today" were not true. One thing that worked was that they responded to my email requesting a realistic delivery date I sent 10 days after placing the order. They said that my payment had not been received yet, thus contradicting all the order info I had received from vidaXL earlier.”
“Order no. 0351001260579
I wrote two months ago and have been ignored which does not lessen my snger at bĆing ripped off . I am 86⏠out of pocket andhave few limp rags to show for it after three months and somehowthe pictures wont upload.”
“Customer service ok but would have given 0 stars for complaint dept and legal who obviously donât know the law
complaints department need training !
Bed came in battered box
No headboard would fit as not advised in the advert that only yours would fit
which I would have bought had you had cushioned ones to save the messing about
I am taking this further due to your complaints department teams handling of the matter”
