“First class service with their 2 man delivery. Received phone calls to confirm details, timings etc and a call on the morning of delivery. Two guys could not have been more polite or helpful. These stoves are exceptionally heavy and very well packaged/protected - worth every penny paying for the 2 man delivery!,”
“The delivery came sooner than the 5-10 working days allowed and we were kept in touch about the progress of the delivery. The team arrived absolutely on the dot when they said they would, were very helpful and waited for me to inspect the item for any damage before they left. First rate service.”
“Paid £75 for this service and they refused to bring it aboard because it was a house boat. Feel totally ripped off. I've called twice to ask for a refund and have been promised a call back. Hasn't happened. I'm going to give them one last chance and then dispute the payment on my credit card. Unacceptable level of service, or lack of.
UPDATE: I was eventually called back by a junior member of staff who said that, although they consider that we had indeed received the service we ordered, as a goodwill gesture they would refund 50% of the cost. Such a gesture is effectively an admission of guilt because no company would make such an offer if they didn't know they had genuinely failed to provide the service they are contracted to. I asked for a callback from a manager, which I did get, a Mr J Williamson, who was rude and clearly untrained in customer service provision. I told him that the offer of 50% was not adequate and offered him the opportunity to put things right as he is required to in law at no extra cost to the customer. He refused to do this so I have now raised it as a dispute with my credit card company. I would suggest you avoid this unreliable service, or better still, avoid the retailer altogether based on their attitude to customer service. I almost never write negative reviews of anywhere, but in this case it is warranted. Mr Williamson even made an unprompted impolite remark about my "one star review" when I spoke to him on the phone. Lamentable.”
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your review. We were sorry to hear of the issue experienced.
As you mention, we do charge £75 in order to book deliveries via a two-man service. Upon arriving at the delivery address, the courier observed that this was a house boat on a canal with a slippery gangplank and rope sides and deemed it unsafe to deliver onto the house boat itself, instead leaving this at the nearest available access point.
We can appreciate the disappointment that may have been caused but would advise that the safety and feasibility of deliveries is often at the courier's discretion, and ultimately the wellbeing of the delivery team does have to come first. They cannot be expected to make deliveries that would be considered unsafe.
We can see that a partial refund has been offered as a gesture of goodwill on this occasion. Unfortunately, because we are ourselves charged by our delivery partner for a two-man premium service (which you did still receive, regardless of accessibility onto the boat itself) and because the issue with delivery was not the fault of Direct Stoves or our courier, we would not be able to refund the full amount.
We do however apologise for any delay insofar as the response to your complaint, which will be due to the very high number of dispatch and delivery related queries being received at present.
If we can offer any further advice or clarification then please do let us know.
Kind regards,
Direct Stoves & Fireplaces
“It never happened I was not informed of the delivery date so I was not at home to let anyone in. This was the third date as I was let down on the previous 2 deliveries due to unavailability of the fire and then a clerical error. Had to move the fire myself with help the next day. Gave it 1 as it was left where I asked. Still awaiting response to my complaint.”
