Nothing Smart here (smartinks.co.uk)

Member Name: Susanna75

Product:	smartinks.co.uk
Date:	21/06/09 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Initially good customer service - perhaps I was just unlucky?

Disadvantages: If that's the case, why did the customer service strangely disappear when I asked for a refund??

I know dooyoo is not the place for revenge reviews, but I would like to think of this review as more of a warning than anything else. After my experiences with Smartinks, I am, to put it mildly, not fully convinced of their dedication to the service they are supposed to be providing, and if this review can prevent others experiencing the frustration I did with them, so much the better.

Smartinks.co.uk is, as the name suggests, an online shop selling printer cartridges. It's a user-friendly enough site - finding the cartridge you need is simple - a clickthrough menu takes you from your printer's brand to the exact make and shows you which cartridges will work for you. There's a huge range offered and prices are very good indeed - what more could you want for your printing needs? Hence why I decided to buy from them earlier this year. A few months ago I needed cartridges for my bright and shiny new Canon Pixma printer, and I ordered them from Smartinks.

The order went through, and I had a dispatch email from them swiftly - and then nothing. After a couple of weeks I emailed them to inform them that I hadn't received my cartridges, and had a swift response saying that a replacement order was being sent out to me straightaway. Excellent, thought I, what good customer service! Except the replacement order also conspicuously failed to turn up. Feeling that the likelihood of two orders mysteriously being lost in the post in quick succession was slim, after another couple of weeks I emailed and asked for a refund. Again, a prompt response came saying that my refund request had been put through to accounts. Great, I thought, and waited. And waited. And waited. After a month, I sent an email asking for an update on my refund. No response. I emailed again a couple of weeks later. Again, no response. Clearly, they had no intention of refunding me for my nonexistent cartridges, and couldn't even be bothered to tell me.

As dooyoo suggest entering your order number in the review so the company can contact you, here it is: 13980. If I do get any response from Smartinks as a result of this review, I will certainly update it!

On the surface of it, Smartinks seemed to be an efficient company with prompt customer service, but probing deeper has made me believe they are less than reputable, and I would strongly advice against using them to buy cartridges. Other shops such as Amazon or Argos may be more expensive, but at least you will receive your purchases! Smartinks' homepage claims "We offer 100% Customer Satisfaction or your money back" - this is, I regret to convey, a big fat lie. Avoid at all costs.

Summary: Better to pay more elsewhere, sadly.