Don’t Shop At Pixmania - Awful Customer Service
November 14th, 2006 • Related • Filed Under
I recently ordered a new LCD TV to go in my bedroom from Pixmania. I’d never ordered anything from them before, and they looked like a good bet but I was shocked by the customer service. My TV went ‘missing’ in the post, and despite constant emails from me, my TV was never recovered. What made it worse, was rather than just sending me a replacement while they investigated where my TV had disappeared to, they just kept fobbing me off via email.
In the end after a month they finally offered me a refund, but no compensation or even an apology for my troubles. I definitely won’t be using Pixmania again.
All I can say is I’ve just ordered the same TV from Scan and I know it’ll arrive on time on Friday.
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Comment by Twotoes on 11 December 2006:
They are a disgraceful excuse for a company. I am now receiving spam from them daily having made the mistake of purchasing something from them a year or so ago. Their unsubscribe link does nothing. I have tried to send them messages from their site also asking them to unsubscribe me. The first one was returned saying that it had been received by Pixmania France and that they couldn’t find my record. The second one was returned saying that they couldn’t track my order without an order number (there was no order – I just wanted to be unsubscribed). On one occasion I did receive and email from them saying that they had received my unsubscribe request and asking me to give feedback on why I had unsubscribed. The email address that the link sent the feedback to was a false one and bounced straight back. I am guessing that these tactics are deliberate and there is in fact no way of unsubscribing – which I believe is illegal. I have logged into my account and changed my email address to one that I no longer use, and deleted my address – but still I am receiving daily emails from them.
I also have a very bad opinion of their customer service department in regard to purchases – they are almost impossible to contact, rarely respond to emails and when they do they don’t seem to read them properly first.
AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS.
Comment by Everton Blair on 11 December 2006:
Couldn’t have said it better. I had the same problem trying to unsubscribe - always a bad sign. I just setup a spam rule so it all gets deleted automatically.
Definitely one to avoid
Comment by James on 12 January 2007:
That’s a terrible customer service experience. You should checkout 321calllog.com, a new service intended to hold these companies accountable. They also provide a tool that allows people to rate companies.
-James
Comment by Vangelis on 14 March 2007:
Well don’t know what happens with you people, but i have to say that i am customer of pixmania the last 3 years, we have buy a lot of things, and we never had problem with this company. For me the support is excellent, and i am very satisfied with there products …
I guess the company do a lot of shippings and has a lot of clients … i believe that they can do mistakes as every company in the world …
Vangelis
Comment by Everton on 14 March 2007:
Well, I made the mistake of using them again in January as I couldn’t find the product that I wanted elsewhere. Without going into detail I now have an unopened product at home that I don’t want and they are refusing to give me a refund, even though they messed up royally. They said I’d have to put it on eBay…….
So they are 2/2 with me for awful customer service!
Comment by Dennis on 26 March 2007:
Had the misfortune to order from PIXMANIA on the 28th.December 2006 sent my £260 STILL waiting for a response from numerous emails, letters to head office and recorded delivery letter to their Fulham store. I have contacted CONSUMER DIRECT and TRADING STANDARDS but after seeing several bullitin boards with complaints going back to 2003 and still being added to, I don’t hold out much hope of seeing my money again.
Comment by Andi Anderson on 11 April 2007:
ME TOO! I bought a camerand charger from them. The camera is o.k. but the charger was inernational conection not UK - not as described. Fobbed off on email, not receiving junk email daily.
Comment by zepa on 16 April 2007:
Well, I’ve bought several itens from them over the past 3 years, and it always arrived ok. All my friends by from them, and not one have a complaint to do.
I live in Portugal. Maybe the problem is with your national resellers or dispatchers or something.
Best regards,
Zepa
Comment by Babs on 25 May 2007:
I ordered items worth £609 in november 2006 for xmas, item never arrived in 48hrs as promised. After 3 months of delays, I decided to ask for a refund in february but up till now, I still havent got a penny back. on the 4th of may 2007, I got an e-mail from their customer service sating: ‘we are delighted to tell you that a refund to the amount of £609 was transfered directly into your bank account today and you should have it within 3-5 working days. Its been 15 working days since i got that e-mail but, I still havent got my money back. I have sent countless e-mails and made numerous phone calls but still havent got any reply. I do not understand why a company like this still exists! They lie to you constantly and use delay tactics. Customer service is appauling, and they never read your e-mails properly. this looks like a CON to me! Please could someone advice me on how to go about recovering my money back? I live in the UK by the way.
Comment by Everton on 25 May 2007:
Babs - your best bet is to contact the citizen’s advice bureau who will give you the best advice. You probably should also contact Trading Standards and Which!. Which! are probably a good bet as they probably have a whole dossier on Pixmania, and they are one of the few consumer organistions that can instigate official investigations.
Comment by Alan on 5 June 2007:
Just for the record, I live in Finland (although I am English), and recently ordered a 32 inch LCD from Pixmania.
Have to say the transaction was first class, ordered late Tuesday night, delivered to my home in Finland Friday morning. Able to see and track the transaction all the way. Couldn’t have a better experience.
Only thing, make sure you delete the “club” membership they automatically add to your order before pressing the “buy” button if you don’t want it. Strongly suggest paying the small extra for express delivery as this not only speeds delivery, also enables tracking the goods during delivery. Only cost me 9 euros (£6) extra. (28 instead of 19 euros delivery), well worth it for peace of mind.
Comment by joe mc on 11 June 2007:
I have also made the mistake of stupidly buying from an online retailer without checking the company first. Had i read the comments befor ordering i am sure i would still have £1200 in my bank, i would not have sent 26 emails and would not have spent £67 on 0800 phone calls to guess who PIXMANIA! I ordered 4 items that were in stock and available for despatch. Alan i also paid extra for the delivery, that doesnt mean squat to pixmania, they are not based in the uk as it may appear, but in france. I have been informed from trading standards that the only thing they can do is highlight the scumbag company for future customers as they have no jurisdiction over a foreign company. They have however discovered that the dixons group now own the majority of the company but they cannot be held accountable either. I have contacted BBC Watchdog and would urge everyone who has a complaint to do the same. Even if it does not aid my cause it may stop other hard working individuals having their bank accounts raped by some french conmen…….
Comment by Cecile on 12 June 2007:
I’ve only had great service from Pixmania ! When a parcel gets lost it’s the same procedure for all companies.
I’m sure you’ll get your money back.
Comment by unhappy on 14 August 2007:
i recently purchased a surround system from them when i opened the box the display on the control unit was scratched , the aerial didnt stand up straight, there was white grease on the cable leading to the control and finally there was a stain on the subwoofer which suggests to me they had sent me a repaired unit or returned item, oh and they didnt send the mains adaptor plugs as promised on their website. the box was collected today and refund promised between 1 and 5 days. the customer was poor at arranging a collection- not very flexible , didnt take the correct details etc. etc, numerous phone calls so god knows what the phone bill looks like! BOTTOM LINE DONT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM.
Comment by germander on 20 August 2007:
They should not be allowed trading.
Just had a very bad experience. I ordered a freezer, which according to their webpage was in stock.
Nothing heard from them; reminded them about delivery.
They responded that they are out of stock and expecting a delivery on Friday.
Today they emailed, that delivery did not happen and there would be (maybe) another one in 7 days.
Needless to say that their webpage still shows item “in stock”
I then called them to cancel the order.
“We cannot do that over the phone; you must email us”, she said after playing 5 minutes of rubbish music.
I do claim the following: They trick you into ordering; they take your money and invest it as “Day Money”. In the meantime they let you wait and wait and wait….
Until you cancel the order and you get a refund, they have made quite some interest.
Avoid them like the pest.
In contrast, COMET, same item 2 days delivery.
Pixmania should be investigated by the Government for breaking the Standards of Fair Trading !
Comment by mikeyc on 19 November 2007:
I refused to comply with their erroneous and irrelevant security requirements (of providing personally sensitive documents) and asked for a refund. I have been waiting for weeks having made countless phone calls to get a refund and have been denied several promises of this being done within 4 days (as per their policy). If you are like me and live in the UK, I believe the distant selling directive (also relevant in the EU) states that refunds should be made 30 days after cancellation. This means you have 2 options:
1. Ask your bank to make a claim 30 days after the transfer (Barclays will do this).
2. Make a claim via the claims court- at first request a refund in writing or by email if not done so already (recorded) giving them notice of 4 weeks (or the remainder of 4 weeks since you made the cancellation request) and write to the CEO at both the Paris and Fulham addresses. Make more noise by speaking to at least one customer service rep and record a conversation giving them the notice (and state that you are recording the conversation) and email to as many addresses as you know. Dont let them profit from retaining so much customer credit and benefiting from accumulated interest.
Comment by germander on 19 November 2007:
Thanks,
yes I got them quite a while ago.
I also got my money back shortly after I reported them to my credit card company and
informed them that Pixmania was about to go bust and has trading difficulties.
You got to fight fire with fire ; but hopefully they will disappear soon.
Comment by mikeyc on 19 November 2007:
Cheers- I didnt know they were going to go bust- what great news. Id love to rub their noses in it when it happens. ALthough I hope it happens after I get a refund
Trading difficulties is an understatement!
Does anyone know of an official and active email address to send to? I have one but want to explore other avenues, so to speak.
Comment by annoyed on 23 November 2007:
After a recent pain in the ass debaucle with this disreputable shambles of a retailer I have found that for swift action go directly to the CEO of the parent company Fotovista, below are the emails that will hopefully help you recoup your money if you have been unfortunate enough to deal with these useless theives.
a.walker@pixmania.com; ( North European Supervisor)
s.rosenblum@fotovista.com (CEO FOTOVISTA)
s.delsol@pixmania.com
Comment by BEGOOD on 27 November 2007:
Hi everyone,
I just got the most awful experience with that guys. Within three days difference over £400.00 was taken from my business account with the description: PIXMANIA.
I Reported to the Police and Bank obviously and I rang pixmania and do you know what happent next? The guy o the phone told me in a rude manner that they aws going to report me to the Police as fraud. UNBELIEVABLE !!
I SAID: You gonna report me hey? Go on because the company and account owner is my self and didn’t bought anything from yourselves, so … I am prepared to take your company to the courts of law.
Becareful with this people as we don’t know what kind of connection they’ve got.
I think they need to face tribunal and be closed down and pay compensation to everyone affected by their business.
Comment by DrAdell07 on 27 November 2007:
I am still waiting for a refund which I suppose to have received in June 2007. After e-mails, international call, etc… Still waiting for the money!!!
They said they sent the money but we have never received…
Trading Standards has investigated the case and although we have proven that Pixmania has never made the refund, Pixmania hasn’t done anything to solve it. Trading Standards are not a legal advice organisation, hence they cannot give you legal advice, they can only try to help you in a friendly manner. USELESS with Pixmania.
We are issuing them a court summons. We are aware they have been already taken few times to court and lost. We will claim the refund money + interest + administrative cost (calls, time wasted with them)
I think everyone should do the same, as it is the only way to fight back with shameless company.
I can give details if required. Do not let them take your money!!!!
Comment by RoyB on 29 November 2007:
You can only comment as you find but my experience with Pixmania has been excellent. The goods I recently ordered were delivered in less than 48 hours and I was able to track the progress of the goods all the way from Paris to my home in the UK. My only niggle was that they tried to add some extra services to my bill which I had not ordered - it was a bit fiddly to remove them but that was all. Perhaps the problems are isolated rather than endemic?
Comment by mikeyc on 30 November 2007:
I beg to differ, perhaps you may want to observe the press regarding their huge liability ‘problem’ involving fraud within their warehouses. If that is what you call isolated, then you have your head a little burried in the sand.
If you are lucky enough to have had your order delivered correctly then I am only too happy for you. But, for the worrying number of people involved in situations alike involving poor aftercare, huge delays in receiving refunds from faulty/incorrect goods and extremely poor after care I would say the problem is a little more far reaching and deep-rooted than you care to acknowledge. Pixmania have an extremely poor business model that is primarily sales-driven and takes no regard for customers - you only have to look at several review sites and take account of their recent trading difficulties, to observe what is going on.
Comment by DAN the MAN on 3 December 2007:
Oh god looks like I’m just as much a mug as all you lot, bought a dvd player for my sister when it arrived it had european connection broken adapter and more importantly broken scart connection, this thing was supposed to be new and a gift, anyway returned it after lots of hassle getting a coupon, still awaiting replacement no email conformation avoid like the plague although if you are reading this I bet you’ve been bitten already bas#ards!!!!
Comment by Bunjy on 6 December 2007:
I recently purchased a Pentax camera, delivery no problem but it was supplied with a French language manual which is useless.I e-mailed them about an English language version but they didn’t want to know.
Never again.
Comment by //addict on 31 January 2008:
Yup, I too have suffered at the hand of Pixmania. But I keep going back because their prices are so competitive! Especially for things like memory cards and computer upgrades…
Comment by hendrix on 1 February 2008:
I bought some computer speakers from these guys. they stopped working after three weeks. They refused to accept a return without original packing and manuals. Do not buy from them they contravene the slae of goods act and also the distance selling regulations
Comment by Mark Eames on 5 February 2008:
Thanks for that i thought it was just me. I am still waiting for them to repair a camera i gave to my 7 year old son for christmas which was faulty on delivery but which i didn’t return within 14 days.It has taken 5 calls and one extremely snotty e-mail to get an automated reply saying be patient. Rotten experience and service.
Comment by Gutted on 6 February 2008:
I really wish I’d seen this site before buying from them. I made the mistake of buying a TV, this arrived minus instructions but complete with a empty crisp packet. Was told by the Tech people that I’d purchased a ex-display model and that I’d paid £76 less than the unit had been advertised and charged at. I asked them to come and collect it and that took ages, they asked for a serial number and guess what, there wasn’t one !!! Something totally dodgy. I was told that I would have my refund 4 working days after they took delivery of the unit back. 18 days later and some 8 phone calls later I’m still waiting for my refund. Some of the staff appear sympathetic but some are really quite rude. Does anyone know how I’ll get my money back?
Comment by Vanessa on 6 February 2008:
I am sorry to hear your bad experience with Pixmania… no worries… all of us passed through similar experience…
We had similar issues, a refund of £475 which we never received. Basically, do not wait any longer as there is no need to wait. If you have not received the money it is because the money has been wrongly credited into another account.
We asked advice to Trading Standards, the European Consumer Centre and The Banking Association to trace “our” money. No success, so I definitely advice you to go directly through the small claims court.
After 6 months of fighting and no success, and as soon as we advice them that we have issued a court summons… guess what? they credited our account + gave us £100 compensation.
This is my e-mail if you need further information.
vanessa_a_g@hotmail.com
Pixmania does not deserve to be in the business!!!
Comment by Graham on 8 February 2008:
O dear. I wish I’d read this before ordering a TV from them. I placed the order after confirming it was in stock by phone. It is supposedly on 5 day delivery, but when I now check with oder tracking on the internet they say it is “temporarily out of stock”. It still shows being as in stock on their adverts. Disgraceful. There should be some recourse. The Office of Fair Trading perhaps??
I did buy a camera from them with no problem a few years back. At this time they were only based in France.
Comment by Jay on 10 February 2008:
I’m yet another person who wishes they’d come across this before ordering…
I ordered a TV in December, and I’m still waiting on it. They put a stock request in on the 14th of January, numerous phone calls and repeated requests later, I finally got an e-mail over the weekend telling me the TV is out of stock, even though since the 14th of Jan, the TV has shown being in stock on their website!!! They’re a disgraceful company, and their staff are absolute idiots…
They’ve said I can cancel the TV, but I put a deposit down on it, so God knows how long it’s going to take to get that back, based on comments here.
I’ll be telling everyone I know to avoid them - bunch of pricks.
Comment by DM on 12 February 2008:
Absolutely, Pixmania is an incredibly shoddy site with terrible customer service. I ordered a TV from them got all sorts of confirmation emails and everything looked fine until the following day when they said ‘your order has been cancelled because:.’ Most helpful.
After calling them I managed to ascertain my order had been cancelled because the item was out of stock (despite what the website said, they actually told me they were unable to update the stock status!!!). This hasn’t stopped them taking over £1200 of my money.
It’s now been a week and they are unable to tell me why it’s taken so long to refund or when they expect the money to be refunded.
Never buy from this company.
Comment by jimbob on 15 February 2008:
Are you all on about a different pixmania to the on i know because me, my family and friends have been using this company for several years and never had a problem with there customer service and all my orders have been on time and undamaged i must say it is one of the best online shops i have ever used and to those saying the company is based in france i think you will find they have a shop in london
Comment by Simeon on 15 February 2008:
I have bought a satnav fron Pixmania last year October.Returned it after a few days(everything complaying with their terms and conditions)today is 16/02/2008 and still have not received any refund although I spoken over ten times with their ,,customer service”-wrongly called.Every time only empty promises(Sir you will receive your refund in a few days.
Comment by Dennis on 16 February 2008:
Wait till YOU do!
Then you’ll be posting on here.(I too used them for several years without problems)
But don’t say that you were not warned!
Comment by Lee on 16 February 2008:
PLS CAN I JOIN YOUR ‘OH MY GOD I GOT STUFFED BY PIXMANIA’ GROUP
I ordered a tumble dryer over a month ago which was shown as in stock and delivery time of 5 days. I phoned up after a week and was told that the order had been lost in the system, although it had managed to debit my account!!
two weeks passed and i eventually came to me senses and asked for a refund……………….
the fun now commences on trying to get my money back.
this company is scum, and i wonder if the good reports on this site are employees of said scum!!! (sorry if you are not)
Comment by Dan on 28 February 2008:
Yep, they are terrible!! Do not use them!! I’ve returned a product with recorded mail. They received it according to Royal Mail. Now Pixmania can’t find my package.
Give me back my expensive mouse, you b****ds!!!!
Comment by Genna on 28 February 2008:
I purchased a laptop from them over 3 weeks ago. I was already unsure about the site as the description of the product was not correct. This should have sent alarm bells but as it was £40 cheaper than anywhere else I went with them. After paying £20 for 24 hour delivery the next day I found an email asking for a copy of personal documents (passport and utility bill) I was not happy with sending these and cancelled the order. After 3 WEEKS and lots of phone calls urgently asking for the refund (as a student £450 is a lot to wait for!) I STILL have not received the refund…and after reading the above posts am now starting to worry. They do not read emails properly and their replies are totally far of the mark of what I originally emailed them about..not even a hint of an apology.
Hoping the money comes through, although im sickened now I have read this post!
Pingback by Overclockers UK: Great Customer Service | Connected Internet on 15 April 2008:
[...] when I write a post about an online store e.g. Pixmania, it’s to warn readers not to shop there. However, after my most recent experience with [...]
Comment by John on 16 April 2008:
I ordered a camera saturday evening and waited until monday for the money to sort out on the site and for them to move to the next stage of packing. early monday i received a call to ask for personal details from me so they can sort out the camera. I sent them my bills and a letter head from my work, only for them to say they cannot accept it, and require more, as i wasnt comfortable with this i declined and emailed them to say i will not send any more as they do not require it, al they sent me was again the same email to say the document are not accepted, i emailed again to say i wasnt sending them any, to their reply, the same email.
If that is a good Customer service to not reply to my questions and send the same email to me 3 times, to an already annoyed customer, then im Jesus!
They are a ridiculous company, and have not had any other problems from other shopping sites. So i will not recommend them to anyone, Pixmania are terrible, and i hope they refund my money ASAP.
Comment by Brian on 17 April 2008:
I ordered camera and bits - the bits came and then received email camera would be weeks down the line. Chasing up faceless people and then get told if issues then write to managers in France…………. NOT RECOMMENDED…. Find other retailer……..
Comment by Brian on 17 April 2008:
I ordered camera and bits - the bits came and then received email camera would be weeks down the line. Chasing up faceless people and then get told if issues then write to managers in France…………. NOT RECOMMENDED…. Find other retailer……..agree that “They are a ridiculous company, and have not had any other problems from other shopping sites. So i will not recommend them to anyone, Pixmania are terrible”
Comment by Ernie on 23 April 2008:
I ordered three external hard drives in February. They took much longer to arrive than the website had promised, and then one of them turned out to be defective. I sent it back to Pixmania’s returns department and they informed me it would be “repaired.” I had requested that it would be replaced. It’s now almost the end of April and I am still waiting for the hard drive to be returned to me. This is just about the worst customer service I’ve ever encountered.
Comment by Chris on 30 April 2008:
I’ve used Pixmania once and had a good experience with them. The item was very cheap and arrived quickly; however, I didn’t have to send anything back or communicate with them in any way after the initial order (let’s hope the item in question doesn’t go wrong, eh?)
I had a bad experience with Scan - I regular spend £800-900 on new PC parts with them, and the last time I did the motherboard - worth just £60 - was damaged. They firstly refused to help, stating that I must have damaged it, and when I did manage to convince them that I knew what I was doing and wouldn’t have accidently damaged it they just said I hadn’t reported the fault within 48 hours of receiving the goods - even though no problems became apparent until a week later - and weren’t prepared to assist any further. When I suggested that it would be good customer service to offer a replacement of an item that must cost them no more than 5% of the total order value, they didn’t want to know.
It seems that the problems with these companies tend to crop up when things go wrong. I won’t be using Scan anymore (Dabs are just as good), and I’d advise anyone else not to either.
Comment by adam on 31 May 2008:
i have bought two month ago a sony cybershoot from pixmenia.the focus went dead two weeks ago,and then i realized there was no warrenty certificate arrived with the camera. i have sent number of email,which no one answered them,i called them a few times,and for some reason the call was dissconected few times after one minute passed since they answered. finally one call wasnt disconnected, and their representative answered and told me that the certificate isnt needed,and its enought to go to sony with the invoice,and they will fix my camera.i called sony,and as expected they told me that i need the invoice+the certificate in order to get the reapir done. for the last couple of days im trying to contect them again,by emails(no response)by phone(gets disconnected).i have no idea what i can do now
. but pixmenia is the shittiest company i have ever encountered,and even if they have prices that are abit lower then the market,i wouldnt advice anyone to buy anything from them!!!
Comment by Ilker on 4 July 2008:
I bought 3 External drives (1 media drive, 2 others) Back in FEB 2008 the Media drive would not work and after several calls and email a lady told me off the record deal direct with LaCie as it will be quicker and save all replies.
After a month of emails back and forth LaCie confirmed as faulty drive and sent me a code to give to pixmania. again after several calls trying to explain (one of them thought i wanted to buy a new one and just connected me to sales) manages to get a retunes ticket i sent the drive 4 weeks later (and loads of chasing) it came back untouched with a letter all in French. it is now JULY and still not resolved …. STAY AWAY. customer service pot luck if you get one that can understand English or they will not put you through to manager totally useless