Well, I'm not a noob when it comes to online shopping, I buy all my CD's, DVD's, Consoles and Console games from the Internet.

So i thought i would try my hand at finding a nice cheap Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card, I used magazines and www.kelkoo.co.uk to try and find the cheapest around. After all that i stumbled across Micro Direct ( www.microdirect.com.uk ), they had a Radeon 9800 Pro made by Ati for an amazing £136.89 inc VAT. I was truely stunned, one of the best cards on the market, made by the official manafacturer for a baragin basement price! So i ordered it asap!

Well that was 3 weeks ago -_-. I rang them up after it didnt come in the 3 day delivery period (what i paid £6 for) and they said, its at the Amtrak (the delivery company) warehouse in leicester because the address was wrong. So i though i must have been hastey and made an error, so i checked and noticed my postcode and everything was right except the street address. They had made one up by the looks of it! So i rang them up and they said i would have to pay £15 to have it redirected from the Amtrak warehouse to my address, so i thought well the card was cheap anyway, i'll just pay the £15 and that'll be it. Well i waited another 5 days and it still didnt come, so i rang them again. This time they had sent it to STOKE :|. Now i live in Leicester not Stoke! They said someone had signed for it in Stoke, so i told them they better get there act together and get it back and delivered to this address within 3 days. They said they'd refund my £15 for redirection and get the card to me within 3 days. Another 3 days past and not a thing, so i rang them up agian and this time they said its still in Stoke awaiting pick up, i was seeing red by this time and went abit crazy. So i thought fu*k it and canceled it and asked for ALL my money back, they said no problem. I gave them 5 days to pay th money back and its still not in the bank. I rang them again and they said i cant have my money back till they get the card back, well the card is apparently still in Stoke, and they have all my money!

I rang them up yesterday they said the card was on its way back to Micro Direct, my Mum rang up about 10 minutes after me and they said the money is being paid back as they spoke, then my dad rang up about 2 hours later and they said the card was in Leicester =/ .

So its pretty obvious there lying, so it looks as if im gonna have to go all the way to Manchester and either take the card form them then and there or take my money back.

I will be posting back to tell you what happened, and how many people i killed.

I've had 2 friends buy that exact same card within the last week from Micro Direct, and they've both received it straight away. I'm not sure who the problem is with, but I think it could be with the delivery company this time

amtrak are shocking! time/tiny computers use them which will explain alot!!!!

reef, microdirect are usually excellent, i spend a lot of money in there and have a lot of gear delivered, never had any probs.

I've used Microdirect once, no probs.

Amtrack are useless, a nightmare.

However, the ultimate responsibility lies with MicroDirect directly to their customers, imo, and they chose to use Amtrack, it really is no excuse on their part to mess a customer around cos they chose a crap Courier service.

No excuse at all, it's their problem, not yours.

I've had lots of problems with Amtrack in the past, in fact I often ask a supplier who their delivery company is, if it's Amtrack, I will often go elsewhere.

Amtrack have a very agressive sales policy and undercut their rival's prices. This cut-price policy of theirs reflects in the wages they pay to their drivers.

And as the saying goes, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Good luck, reefsmoka.

No, i know its Micro Directs fault, because they said i said i wanted it delivered to stoke, and they have that on there database. Now i dont know anyone who lives in stoke, ive never lived in stoke, i dont even know a stoke post code. They messed up and are stealing money from me, i will be taking legal action soon because they broke the agreement when they taken the extra £15 from my bank and sent it to the wrong address still.

Maybe im a one off, but the way ive been treated is disgraceful.

Well well well, I finally heard back form Micro Direct without having to hurl abuse down the phone! They've emailed me saying that they've paid the money back into my bank, i dont know if they have yet, but im checking tomorrow morning if possible.

I'm gonna want another shop to order an Ati Radeon 9800 Pro from, for under £140. Does anyone know where i could get one from? Any make really except Saphire obviously .

micro direct lol

try aria.co.uk

www.overclockers.co.uk are doing a Connect3D version for £133.00 + p & p. and a Powercolour version for £141.00 + p & p.

I have a Connect 3D version, had it for a month now, it's OK.

I'm not keen on that supplier anymore though, tbh, cos they offered the Hercules version 'on special offer' for £130.00 and then sent me the Connect3D version without asking me for any preference. When I phoned them they argued that the Connect 3D was actually more expensive than the special offer Hercules card, which it was (going by their prices, anyway). However, I think they just wanted to get rid of surplus stock and used the Hercules offer as bait.

They did offer a full refund inc. p & p to send it back, but I wanted a 9800 Pro, so I gave in.

Crafty, or sly, marketing, no?

Still, the card's been good, it's just I'm a little narked cos the cooling isn't as good as the Hercules card.

Anyway, enough waffle, the card meets your budget, I've had no problems with that supplier over a three year period, so it's up to you mate

Is the cooling on a Connect3D card sufficent if im not overclocking it?

I will be playing all the latest games, with settings at around medium to high. Its just ive heard the cooling on modern cards just doesnt cut the mustard anymore! Especially from Saphire!

Well, you know how i said they e-mailed me to say they've paid me the money back on 14-06-2004? Well its still not in today 02-07-2004! and whats worse is that i've got my phone bill back today and i've spent nearly £7 on just calling there stupid asses.

The moral of the story is to NEVER ever ever ever, not in a million years, use www.microdirect.co.uk ! If you do, your either mentally impaired, or impaired mentally!