Are there any stores or companies you refuse to shop from or deal with?

[User1055]

As the thread title says - I have just decided to shop anywhere except a major high street electrical / computer company from now onwards after a couple of poor customer service issues. I shopped there from convenience, but I'm fed up with them now.
This got me thinking. I avoid any MLM, even though I really like some products I was given as a gift, and stores with poor ethics regarding production, worker treatment, etc.
Do you have any you actively avoid?

godmum56 re Gardening Express They are notorious for sending out poor plants, plants months after order or completely misrepresenting them, and taking months to resolve if at all. When it was impossible to contact them through lockdown (despite constant aggressive marketing) a few gardeners set up some forums to help other consumers know what to do and politely share their experiences. GE removed every request for help and negative comment from their social media (while still not responding to customer queries) and sent ridiculous threatening faux legal letters - really intimidating stuff. Given the customer base are decent, often retired gardeners just wanting bedding plants and to be able to get any response the bullying tactics were appalling. They have featured on many consumer watchdog programmes but shut down any criticism. I had a simple order go wrong and ended up going to my credit card company for a refund after months of no resolution (irritating but not end of world), but my boycott is on behalf of the many other customers bullied by this company.

@shadypines

I am extremely close to saying Sainsbury's after being told 3 times this week that a manager will ring me on X day/time and they haven't. This is regarding being delivered out of date food, which, as I reminded them, could give someone food poisoning, so not a trivial matter. Add to that 2 extremely rude/uninterested call centre staff (although I did also deal with one very nice one).

I have come to the conclusion they would rather deal with a law suit for causing illness or death rather than a simple phone call with me

We've found Sainsbury to be the worst online grocery shopping firm. As you say, we've also had many instances of out of date food being delivered, including "fresh meat" which has been several days out of date, rancid milk, etc. We use other firms too, such as Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, who occasionally send short dated or out of date items, but nowhere near as often as Sainsbury who seem to send something well out of date every delivery. We now check as we unpack the delivery crate and send stuff straight back if the date has passed or is short dated.

@PegasusReturns

Why are so many posters saying they don’t like Lush?

Awful women hating politics

Which is ironic given their target market.

@swimlyn

Gosh. So many of these bringing back bad memories for me!

I forgot RyanAir. Destroyed £80 suitcase and said cheap flight = no complaints. £120 flight is NOT cheap.

RSPCA – they get no more of my money following two calls for emergency animal help – completely refused any help. No wonder they have constant TV ads for more dosh. They must be losing a lot of donors who eventually see the light.

Sorry but £120 is a cheap flight

Wow! Quite some responses here. I see Currys is coming up regularly.
I think the older I get the less I'm putting up with shoddy service and the more I'm looking into the ethics of companies before I buy. It's so useful to hear other people's experiences and research.

I used to have a wobble about House of Fraser because of customer service, it was like they had a split personality, either lovely or really, really off. But they've closed down (and I think left Ireland entirely) so that fixed that for me.

I would love to boycott DD's school uniform shop. They used to be ok-ish, it probably isn't their fault that the uniform is so over-priced. But during lockdown they went online only and charged a lot to deliver, sent me the wrong size jumper and made me pay the postage to send it back when it was their mistake. Also during lockdown they have closed the shop that was near-ish to the school and now we have to drive miles around the orbital motorway (M50 in Dublin) to go to the shop. And obviously I have to actually go to the damn shop because if I do it online they send me the wrong stuff.

John Lewis because their first response to a customer complaint is to try to bat it away.

[quote WaspsEverywhere]**@8dpwoah

Was the Ombudsman helpful?
Wondering, just in case we don’t get things sorted soon with EDF.

Awful that this happens at all and now it’s the second time for us.
Will ditch EDF once sorted.

Don’t mean to derail but can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hassle-free electricity provider?[/quote]
Yes, very good. They were trying to bill me for something well out of the time limit (the fact it was their cockup as well was an aside). Ombudsman told them to cancel the bill and I got a bit of compo, all done online and very straightforward.

Lush after reading this thread!
John Lewis, for closing the York store. (Completely crazy decision)
Wetherspoon’s, because the owner is more than a bit of a knob and it’s full of people who wear shell suits.
Marks and Spencer furniture because it’s really poor quality and when it goes wrong, they won’t put it right.

British Gas - I resent them putting my gas and electricity on my credit file when no other utility company that I'm aware of does this!

British Gas. They bullied me for two years for monies I supposedly owed, sending letters saying the bailiffs were coming at several points. The only issue was, I wasn’t a customer!!! As much as I tried to tell them they just wouldn’t listen and kept sending bigger and bigger bills 😤 I can actually feel myself getting cross just typing this as I explained this to dozens of people at that company and i just kept getting ‘The System says we supply you’. Even though I kept telling them that the meter number they had was for a redundant meter and I had another one.

@matthancockslovechild

British Gas - I resent them putting my gas and electricity on my credit file when no other utility company that I'm aware of does this!

They all do, and why wouldn’t you want them to? So long as you pay it’s a positive thing! If you don’t pay you deserve to have that recorded

@Hoppinggreen

Lush Body shop Oxfam Dyson

That’s pretty much my list too.

@Wineandroses3

Why are so many posters saying they don’t like Lush?

It might be an idea to read the whole thread as it’s mentioned why Lush and Body Shop are misogynists. There are threads on Feminist board as well about their vile behaviour.

Plus Wetherspoons. Worzel Gummidge isn’t getting any of my money in exchange for shit food or stale beer.

Lush
The Body Shop
Starbucks
Oxfam
Pantene

Sorry the thread is v long and I didn’t read it all but…I always thought lush was quite an ethical company? Is it the product or overly attentive customer service people don’t like??

As for me, Kate spade store in Westfield were unbelievably hoiity toity and made it clear they thought I was a time waster who couldn’t afford the bag I was asking about (think frazzled, slightly dishevelled mum of 4 at the end of a long day)z I was so upset I stood in the store and bought the bag online then showed them and told them they should treat customers a bit better. Needless to say they just gawped at me and uttered not a word till I left.

@GameofPhones

John Lewis because their first response to a customer complaint is to try to bat it away.

Have had the complete opposite experience of this just this week!

@Moonwatcher1234

Sorry the thread is v long and I didn’t read it all but…I always thought lush was quite an ethical company? Is it the product or overly attentive customer service people don’t like??

As for me, Kate spade store in Westfield were unbelievably hoiity toity and made it clear they thought I was a time waster who couldn’t afford the bag I was asking about (think frazzled, slightly dishevelled mum of 4 at the end of a long day)z I was so upset I stood in the store and bought the bag online then showed them and told them they should treat customers a bit better. Needless to say they just gawped at me and uttered not a word till I left.

There are some things people aren't happy with Lush around trans people and women's rights as I understand it.

Not going to pretend to be knowledgeable but there is more info on the feminism board.

Ok....
Another vote for lush and body shop for the same reasons already stated (plus as another pp said it stinks when you walk past)
Sports direct so thanks to the buy out you can add house of Fraser to the list
Any mlm, I refuse to buy anything from any of the huns that come my way
Weatherspoons, mainly the owner and how he treated his staff during Covid but also because several of them by me are shit holes full of druggies and chavs
Uber for his they treat their staff

Disappointed to read about gardening express, I received a tree as a gift from them that's lovely so was tempted to get some plants there soon

Lush aren’t ethical. They treat their staff like shit, plus there’s the woman-hating stuff.

Just eat also have really poor customer service.
A local interiors store, Plaskitt and Plaskitt did a Pretty Woman on me and so I won’t go in there now either.

Forgot Wetherspoons!

Also: always go to an antiques shop when we visit the in-laws - it's a fabulous Aladdin's cave. Been going for years, but only 3-4 times a year so not regulars. Wouldn't class ourselves as tourists either as although we don't live there, we are from there and not on holiday per se.

Went in in, was contemplating buying a stamp album, when the main owner started having a conversation with his two employees about how he doesn't like having all these people he doesn't know in his shop, and it's been ages since his regulars have been in. He went on for ages - it was quite weird.

Didn't buy the stamp album

@DismantledKing

Plus Wetherspoons. Worzel Gummidge isn’t getting any of my money in exchange for shit food or stale beer.

Wetherspoons usually keep their beer very well, you can dislike a lot about them but you never get a poor pint

Wetherspoons - for the way they trea their staff, their attitude to Brexit, their attitude to Covid and the terrible quality of their establishments and products.