DABS a disgrace - owned by BT and won't use a telephone

[Marquis01]

Can anyone help? For anyone that didn;t know, DABS is the 'biggest' internet PC and components retailer, have just been bought by BT, and are the least responsive supplier I have even dealt with.
Despite being owned by BT, DABS refuse to talk to anyone by telephone.

I moved house and changed my address on their website before placing a laptop order in January 2007. The 'next day despatch' didn't go for many days, then when it was shipped I found out they used my old address.

I can't contact them by telephone, their online chat service say its not their department and also accuse me of not updating the address myself. The despatch department haven't responded to any of my 3 emails sent over the past 2 days.

The courier Amtrak can't change the address without DABS authority, they dont have a phone number for DABS either, and DABS are simply not responding.

I spent 6 hours during the past 2 days trying to resolve this, and have absolutely no idea whether the laptop has been delivered to the wrong address or not yet - it was due to be delivered there yesterday - and for all I know it may have been stolen by now.

All DABS need is a TELEPHONE and a better attitude towards their customers. Any cost saving you make by buying from them is not worth the pain, because if you order from them you have to just hope nothing goes wrong - if it does you may end up where i am - up a creek without a paddle, and no way to make effective contact with them or get a response out of them.

Do you enjoy stress and have the time to deal with needless problems? I don't.

Why would anyone buy from a company that acts like this?

 

[TriplexDread]

I used to use Dabs in the past and have had many a disagreement with them so simply in the end told them where to shove it.

I spend approximately 3thousand pound with them in one year and even that didnt seem to make a difference.

All I can suggest is log all your emails and calls to Amtrak dates, times, everything so when they said delivery has been made you can prove that you hav done everything in your power to contact them to imform them of the situation.

Their website design is absolute rubbish now anyway, awkward to navigate and non informative. I stay well clear from them

Good luck

 

[leetay2]

Yes, i've had the same problems with DABS, Its a pain in the bum.

I either use them or Ebuyer, their prices are pretty much the same, however, Ebuyer do have humans you can talk to on the phone, and they are pretty prompt to sort any issues out!!

Lee

 

[Taffycat]

I'm sorry to hear of your problems Marquis01, what a worry As you might already know, DABS is ISIS (Internet Shopping Is Safe) accredited company. On the ISIS website, they say that if you're not satisfied after e-mailing your complaint to the company (in this instance DABS) then you can set out your problems in an e-mail to (e-mail address removed) who "..will pass it on to the merchant, asking them to respond quickly."

Alternatively, the fortnightly PC magazine ComputerActive often intervene in matters of this kind in their Consumeractive feature. You can contact them via (e-mail address removed) including your phone number and address in your e-mail. If that is not helpful, maybe you could have a word with your local Trading Standards office, their main website is here: http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/ Good luck

 

[Marquis01]

Latest on the DABS saga

Hi,

Thanks for the messages of support and advice. The only one I didn't understand was the one about dogs and cats. In this case it feels more like messenger pigeons. Anyway.

I contacted Trading Standards already, they say they have no jurisdiction regarding any advertised claim as to service levels (or anything else) on the internet, and especially as this won't have been sold in their geographical area!
With regards to DABS advert on their website entitled 'Customer Promise' (its in green and blue to the right of their home page), they certainly to my mind fail to do what they claim on all counts. This is what it says:-
[Thumbs up graphic] Customer Promise
[tick] Same day despatch
[tick] Lowest prices checked
[tick] Safety and security assured
[tick] Online service support

They did not despatch for more than a week, I could have bought the laptop a bit cheaper elsewhere, I did not feel safe or secure when the goods were addressed to the wrong address especially when DABS online support seemed to indicate it was probably my fault not theirs, I could get no help or service from their online support.

So I contacted the Advertising Standards Authority. Guess what? They say they have no jurisdiction over any Internet advertising.

So DABS can carry on as they are, untouched by normal business laws!

Maybe that's why they won't use the telephone in the UK???

In my case, the goods were indeed delivered to the wrong address, but luckily the recipient refused to sign and sent them away. Amtrak were then stuck with the goods, told me they could not contact DABS, and to get rid of them (and me!) although they would not deliver them to me they agreed to let me collect them provided I brought with me: written proof that we had been at the old address, and the new address, and proof that I was who I claimed to be.
Not knowing what they would actually accept when I got there, I borrowed from the book-keeper two files of bills sent to both addresses, dug out my passport and driving licence, printed 3 sheets of maps from 'Multimap.co.uk' and set off to find them.

In the end I got the goods, at cost of a 60 mile round trip, but it wasn't exactly easy to find their quite remote depot, this carrier is not exactly posh. That took me most of the afternoon, over 3 hours in fact. And I had to clamber in and out of the understandably filthy loading bay (where the 'Collections Office' is located) which is about 4 foot up from the loading area outside, by using their makeshift steps built of loose laid pallets (health and safety for their own employees, let alone visitors???) which was a bit precarious while carrying the goods, had to avoid a working sack truck, and ended up with a mess in my car. (Ever tried getting mud and machinery grease mixed with diesel out of a carpet?)

The box it was packed in had burst, they did apologise, it was flimsy, it is lucky the goods were all still wrapped in plastic inside and were all there.

Anyway, hoorah!! I now have the laptop and printer, DVD's, CD's and printer cartridges.

I just hope nothing is wrong, if there is I wonder how I would ever get it fixed or replaced?

As I write this on 21st January 2007, I still haven't had a reply from DABS to any of my 3 emails and 3 sessions of 'online chat'. I first informed them the goods would go astray as they were wrongly addresed not long into 17th January, which gave them more than 2.5 working days to respond before the weekend. I spotted the error on the order status on their website. Had I not checked the website, I STILL might have been none the wiser, patiently waiting for them to arrive.

Surely this takes the top prize for 'Most Appalling Customer Service'?

Next time perhaps it may be easier to travel to China to collect the goods and cut out the middleman. The cost savings would definitely help towards the airfare, maybe if I bought enough it would pay for it? All my meals and movies would be included. I wouldn't have to get dirty shoes. I could be there and back several days quicker than this recent order from DABS, and my car carpets would stay clean. In fact I could stay there for a week's holiday to visit the Great Wall of China, and still be back quicker than DABS shipped this order to me.

And I wouldn't have to work Saturday morning to make up for losing Friday aftrenoon, nor would I have to clean or replace my drivers side car mat.

Maybe in the future 'booze-cruises' will be overtaken by 'laptop tourism'?



Mark

 

[Taffycat]

Really glad to hear that you eventually got your laptop Mark, hope you are enjoying it, pity your buying experience was so abysmal though.

Looking around a bit more, you might want to take a look at "Consumer Direct" they are a telephone and online consumer advice service, supported by the Office of Fair Trading. They say that you can report an internet trader for bad practice, as well as discussing any other queries or problems you might have (such as giving you advice about what you can do if your laptop should (heaven forbid) develop problems ) You can also call them on 08454 04 05 06

By the way, the dogs and cats thing is just my signature

 

[jakaye04]

Thanks for placing this topic, It is extremely worrying to find out that I am not the only one experiencing problems with DABS and BT, the amount of complaints about them on the internet it is amazing that people still buy anything from DABS.com

Anyway I unfortunately placed an order with them in March 2011. I paid extra money for next day and Saturday delivery they failed to deliver on this promise.

They failed to attempt to redeliver the item at a suitable time and the last message I recieved from the courier DHL said the item would be returned to the sender.

Eventually in May DABS agreed via e-mail that I should get a full refund. It will soon be July 2011 and I have still to recieve the refund!

Despite contacting them numerous times since May to request that they process this refund they use a "Fly by night" excuse that my card details are no longer on their website. The website permissions are set that it is not possible to save the card details so I class this as an obstacle that they have placed in my way.

I have tried calling the phone number that they provided that contacts the BT Shop but after spending numerous spells of over 30 minutes waiting I feel it is a line they have set up to divert customers attention and yet another obstacle.

At no point have they contacted me by phone to see if everything is ok, at no point have they offered to assist me with this. I have asked them to send a cheque and also asked for a supervisor or manager to call me, they have not attempted to call or sent a cheque.

I am still trying to contact a director or someone in senior management.

I note the posts about the trading standards not having any jurasdiction but I will still contact them about DABS.com and BT trading methods.. I intend to contact the television program WatchDog and the ISIS organisation mentioned.

I would advise everyone not to deal with them, the prices may be appealing but if you find yourself in the position of requesting a refund it looks like they will put as many obstacles in your way as possible.
You have been warned!
Thanks to those that have posted advice for dealing with this disgraceful company. Good luck to anyone that finds themselves in a similar position.