Feel cheated and would not recommend (pcspecialist.co.uk)

Member Name: tmattoneill

Product:	pcspecialist.co.uk
Date:	12/09/06 (997 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 24/48 hour shipping

Disadvantages: Customer Service, No return policy, deceptive practices

I, too, thought these guys were good..until I ordered from them. I feel pretty cheated.

1) I ordered the system and according to their online time-to-delivery estimation, all parts were in stock and available. They said it would be 5 - 7 days before it shipped.

2) After about 3 weeks I had no system so I called. They said that due to high demand, the order would take longer than originally anticipated. Obviously, since I should have had it a couple weeks before this note. Now, I think they should have indicated this when I placed the order and, even if not then, certainly they should have sent out a note proactively to let me know it was delayed. I shouldn't have had to chase them.

3) After another long delay, they contact me to let me know the original processor was no longer available. I had to upgrade for an additional 400 pounds to the next higher processor. They said I could wait but it would be another few weeks before they got the new one in.

4) After paying about 35% more than my original order, I finally got the note my system was ready and would ship. It did and it arrived about 48 hours later.

5) The box was fine but the cooling fan on the CPU was covered in dust, as though they had pulled it out of a used machine. Way dustier than a new component should be.

6) They had failed to plug in the floppy/card reader so I had to open the box and plug that in to the mobo as well as the power supply. If I hadn't been comfortable with the inside of a PC, this would have been daunting.

7) 10 days after receiving the box, I checked their site and they were now offering the Core 2 Duo intels. These had not been available when I placed my order but it took so long to get, they were available shortly after I received it. I called to ask if I could return to swap my box out for a new core 2. The AMD FX57 I'd paid an additional 400 pounds for is very slow, barely better than my old P4 3.2 Ghz. The price for the core 2 system was identical to what I paid. I'd not had the box for more than a couple weeks. They said absolutely not as they box they'd sold me they no longer supported or sold (all this within a few weeks somehow). I offered to pay for the shipping both ways and they still said no way.

8) I feel completely misled and cheated by this company. I feel that they were deceitful all along the way and may have tricked me into buying a component they were trying to clear out of stock. This ended up not only costing me much more than I'd originally priced the system for, but also gave me a processor that they won't take as a return. No 30 day satisfaction, no money back guarantee.

I would not do business with them again and I'll be posting this to as many blogs and review sites I can find.

Summary: Go somewhere else