Terrible, terrible Debenhams online! (Debenhams)

Member Name: Annoyed

Product:	Debenhams
Date:	18/01/08 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absolutely none

Disadvantages: Bad customer service, bad stock levels, bad delivery

I've shopped with Debenhams before, but would NEVER shop online with them again! I place orders with different retailers online several times a week and haven't found any large retailer anywhere near as bad as Debenhams Direct (their online service). I've used them once online and it's been a terrible experience. What you order online doesn't actually reflect what they've got in stock or what you'll receive.

Once you've placed an order you get an email thanking you, but there's a caveat at the bottom stating: "This is not order confirmation or order acceptance by us. Unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it, order acceptance and the completion of the contract between you and us will take place on the despatch to you by us of the order invoice which takes place as your product is shipped from the warehouse."

So you can't be sure you'll get any part of your order until you're actually holding it in your hands, and there's no breach of contract by them when the item you've received a despatch email about fails to turn up.

They cancel parts of your order - and the email they send you to confirm this doesn't state why they've cancelled, you have to telephone to find out it's because the items are out of stock. They don't include their customer services number in their emails or invoices so you have to search for it on the website every time there's a problem. They encourage you to email any customer service issues and then fail to reply. Their delivery times are deplorable - I placed my order on Jan 4th, had one item cencelled two days later despite being in stock on the website when I ordered, and then received an 'order despatched' email on Jan 11th saying everything in my order had BEEN despatched. As of today (Jan 18th) I'm still waiting for one part of my order, which apparently is stuck at the warehouse. It also keeps appearing on their system as a rug, even though the item is a baby romper suit. They've told me their website and customer services system isn't live so they can never guarantee what you've ordered is in stock when you place an order and they can't track your goods when you phone to enquire. To top this all off, I tried to call them on a Sunday after finding their customer services telephone number on their website which said "Lines are open 8am to 11pm, 7 days a week" - not quite true as the automated message told me it was 9am-5pm at weekends. Thankfully they've now changed this this week so it actually reflects when they're open.

All in all I would NEVER shop with Debenhams online again - for such a big retailer in the UK you'd expect at least their system to be live so when you place an order you actually get what, at the time of ordering, they claim is in stock. Regardless of the other issues I've experienced, I'm very annoyed it's possible to place an order and have parts of that order cancelled simply because of their useless system - to place an order on one day and TWO days later get an email saying part has been cancelled is ridiculous in the 21st century. Shoppers beware!

Summary: Use only if you want to waste your tme on fictional stock you'll not receive