Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Fortnum and Mason Appalling Customer Service

59 replies

tineemum · 27/01/2015 17:58

Is it just me or has anyone fallen victim to F&M's appalling customer service recently? The last thread on this topic that I found on Mumsnet is from 2012. I wish I had known!

Would it be worth taking them up further for what is essentially a case of interference of my goodsthat is, goods I physically brought to till and paid for at storemoney taken from my account including for delivery service. Then I receive a call and am told that some of the items I purchased are out of stock!!! Impossible!!! I physically had them on hand and simply trusted them to be promptly delivered to me! I am seeking legal advise as I believe they have become so smug in their reputation and couldn't care less for their customers! Your thoughts would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

OP posts:

Original poster

tineemum · 27/01/2015 20:43

That's right. They have interfered with MY property!

OP posts:

Original poster

tineemum · 27/01/2015 20:46

oops, above message meant for Fairyfellows

OP posts:

bigbluestars · 27/01/2015 20:48

"I will take it as far as my time and energy will allow me to"

Is it really worth all this? Wouldn't you be better offering your time and energy to Save the Children or Amnesty International?

It seems a storm in a teacup..........................

Fairyfellowsmasterstroke · 27/01/2015 20:51

Is it really worth all this? Wouldn't you be better offering your time and energy to Save the Children or Amnesty International

FGS - Using that logic we'd all be walkovers with no-one bothering to fight for their rights!!!!

What a ludicrous thing to post!!!

lomega · 27/01/2015 20:55

Good god. At their prices I'd expect to be serviced by a uniformed butler with the utmost care.

Idontseeanysontarans · 27/01/2015 20:56

For an internationally renown company with a reputation to uphold this seems like appalling service. How about going down the social media route and tweeting/FBing them? No company likes bad press.
If I were paying those prices and dealing with a company like F&M I would expect the best from them.

nachodad · 27/01/2015 21:01

I love F&M and go there with my wife and kids. They often give free chocolates. I do think they have gone down hill a little. Apparently the Queen had shut her account. (maybe she gets better value at Lidl)

Idontseeanysontarans · 27/01/2015 21:03

I love looking on the website
The summer hampers are gorgeous, but eye wateringly expensive.

NutcrackerFairy · 27/01/2015 21:14

For some reason I hear Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's voice from 'To the Manor Born' whilst reading the OP...

StarsOfTrackAndField · 27/01/2015 21:21

It is such a bother but I will take it as far as my time and energy will allow me to

Oh for fuck's sake you aren't the Birmingham Six, you aren't the victim of a hideous miscarriage of justice.

Whilst I am sure a money grubbing solicitor will happily take your money off you, threatening legal action isn't and shouldn't be the first port of call for something as utterly trivial like this.

Original poster

tineemum · 27/01/2015 21:24

noted

OP posts:

skylark2 · 27/01/2015 21:26

Yeah...OP, you might want to send the thesaurus back.

You sound really pretentious. Assuming that wasn't what you were trying to do, best learn how not to. You'll be laughed at.

As far as the whole story goes, did they not pack what you'd bought there and then? I don't understand why there's any question of "stock". Surely once you'd paid, what they'd be delivering to you would be "packed boxes" and nobody except you would even know what was in them?

FreeWee · 27/01/2015 21:38

Can people lay off sniping at the language used by the OP please? It's as much bullying as taking the piss out of someone who isn't as eloquent.

If you have a problem with her shopping at an expensive store then FTFO this thread. The issue here isn't 'haven't you got more important things to worry about?' which is never a helpful response but rather the OP paid for goods, left them in the care of a store and the store has 'lost' them. Replace F&M with John Lewis or Debenhams and they'd be far fewer people sniping at her 'big' issue.

OP, I think you're doing the right things talking to Which Legal and a succinct email to the CEO (rational, logical, non emotional) would be the next step.

Original poster

tineemum · 27/01/2015 21:43

Thank you, FreeWee

OP posts:

navoie · 27/01/2015 21:44

Did you pay by credit card OP because you could contact the credit card company for some help and support?

Fairyfellowsmasterstroke · 27/01/2015 21:47

Did you pay by credit card OP because you could contact the credit card company for some help and support?

I know that you're being helpful BUT OP is a victim of theft.

Goods were 100% hers and have been fecking stolen disappeared.

No difference to them being stolen from her car/frontroom etc.

Why should credit card companies get involved??

bigbluestars · 27/01/2015 21:54

I assume you have had a refund? If so I really don't know what else you want- compensation for the trauma?

contortionist · 27/01/2015 21:57

Fairy - because credit cards offer protection against goods being stolen.

Original poster

tineemum · 27/01/2015 21:59

Navoie, Fairyfellows,

Yes, paid by Credit card and funnily, the lawyer did say that the bank could also be liable for this breach by F&M, essentially for handing over funds from my account towards a breached contract. Of course will not make the bank pay for F&Ms mess. It will be one or the other, cannot claim twice understandably.

There is no question anyway that I would get a full refund--F&M would be happy to do just that. But there could be other options.

OP posts:

Fairyfellowsmasterstroke · 27/01/2015 22:01

Contortionist - I fully appreciate that.

My point is OP has had her goods stolen and I'd expect F&M to instigate some form of investigation to:-

Find out where her goods are
Put strategies in place to ensure this doesn't happen to other customers
Offer a full apology (and compensation) to Op for allowing her goods to be stolen.

I fail to see why credit card companies should foot the bill for a major companies cock up.

bigbluestars · 27/01/2015 22:04

fairy- but F&M have offered the OP a full refund. It's a mix up- she is not out of pocket.

FreeWee · 27/01/2015 22:50

Being out of pocket isn't the issue! Say someone walks in through your unlocked front door while you're in the garden and steals your TV. You notice and run after them and they give you some money for it. Do you not still call the police on them because they have done something wrong? Even though you've not been left out of pocket?

They were the OP's property once she'd paid for them and if you read the posts properly you'll see it was stock which would be hard for the OP to source now this stuff has disappeared. So maybe she's got her money back but she's left with only a few bits of a whole set she wanted which is really not much use.

borisgudanov · 27/01/2015 23:17

I would not be making a big fuss this time if not for the fact that it is not the first time I have encountered such poor service from them.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I'm surprised the lawyer didn't laugh his arse off. You don't need legal advice to take something like this to the small claims court. In the unlikely event that F&M turn out to be stupid enough to let it get that far.

Primafacie · 28/01/2015 00:23

It might be cliche-ish to say it's not the money but the principle, but that really is it.

That is an extremely foolish statement. You better make it about the money very quickly. You will never get closure on your principles - do you think the F&M CEO will call you, sobbing that thanks to your intervention, he now sees the errors of his ways? Of course not. Think of a compensation that would give you closure, because that is all you are going to get (if you are lucky).

BTW writing to the CEO is also a huge waste of time, and I would be very sceptical of any solicitor who gave you that advice.

bigbluestars · 28/01/2015 06:49

primafacia- I totally agree.

The OP may end up getting a gift card or similar as a good will gesture, but is she thinks that F&M are going to serioulsy reviewtheir procedures then she is mistaken.
F&M are a huge empire and someone like the OP is a tiny fly in the ointment- even though she may have good taste in crockery.

F&M may have a customer service representative phone to apologise- but it won't be heartfelt and nothing that he won't have done several times that day. Any apology will not be heartfelt or meaningful.
I think the best thing the OP can do is move on, remove her custom and find some other overpriced shop to spend her money.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread