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Original poster

To think whsmith are appalling

51 replies

ILikePandas15 · 10/12/2019 19:43

Ordered some books from whsmith to collect in store. I forgot to collect them right away so they sent them back but have not refunded me. I have tried emailing them and got no replies from them. Do I open a dispute with PayPal to try to get my money back?
Then another order delivered to my house the parcel has got lost (with parcel force - another company that does not reply to emails) and whsmith won't reply to my emails asking where my parcel is and neither will parcel force. Appalling behaviour from whsmith and parcel force

OP posts:
VanyaHargreeves · 10/12/2019 19:49

They have deteriorated into a pound shop with ideas above their station in the last ten years.

It was my favourite shop as a child, respectable bookseller and stationary supplier

No you go in and can barely move for the cheap chocolate and other assorted tat piled high.

I don't think they have much of an innings left

It's sad

misspiggy19 · 10/12/2019 19:51

How long did you leave it to collect?

Original poster
ILikePandas15 · 10/12/2019 19:52

misspiggy19
Couple of weeks. But surely I'm entitled to a refund because I don't have the books?

OP posts:
Original poster
ILikePandas15 · 10/12/2019 19:55

Anyone else had a bad experience with them? Not getting your parcels and zero communication from them?

OP posts:
carrots555 · 10/12/2019 19:56

You can't blame them for trying to make extra money by selling chocolate at the till etc.
I know it annoys people but if it helps keep the shop afloat then it's good. Otherwise it's yet another shop in administration.
No I don't work for them.

Regarding the online order via Parcelforce I believe you're normally supposed to go via the retailer as it's their responsibility to ensure the parcel gets to you. So keep trying with WH Smiths.

Thestrangestthing · 10/12/2019 19:59

When did they tell you they were sending them back?

Thestrangestthing · 10/12/2019 19:59

Or when did they send them back?

kitk · 10/12/2019 20:02

Sorry OP. I had a Saturday job with them from 16-18. They were the creme de la creme of Saturday jobs back then but back then it was busy and a legit business. They also (even back then) did nothing well compared to competitors except being a one stop shop. I'm sad but not surprised they're going down the toilet unfortunately

Motherontheedge1 · 10/12/2019 20:06

I dislike WHSmiths and have been expecting them to go to the wall for some time. I hate the lighting in the one in my town. The shop is dull and reminds me of somewhere lit by emergency generators. It looks untidy and generally doesnt have very basic things I need. I haven’t ordered books from them for years as when I did they were always ages coming compared to say Waterstones who often had them in next day. I once bought a double CD from them and then found out it was so grossly overpriced I wrote to the head office to complain. Tbf they did give me a voucher which more than covered the difference. I also wish they’d stop handing out those rubbishy money of vouchers at the till. Even with them you can usually buy items cheaper elsewhere. Don’t know what to suggest about your books I’m afraid.

MitziK · 10/12/2019 20:09

I thought this was going to be a post about how they hoik up the prices of essential items in hospitals because they know people are likely to be in no fit state mentally or physically to go and buy them somewhere else.

That's appalling (and why I won't buy from them), not because they're generally shit. But they own their buildings in most cases, rather than leasing them, so they have a fuckton of collateral, which is why they have managed to stay around and take advantage of the most vulnerable.

MitziK · 10/12/2019 20:10

I'd definitely open a dispute, though. No point expecting them to be reasonable.

MistyCloud · 10/12/2019 20:11

Worst shop in the UK, dowdy, badly laid-out, lacklustre staff, and massively over-priced.

It should have shut down in the late 1990s. Total dump.

TeenPlusTwenties · 10/12/2019 20:13

I'm so sad at how they are these days. They don't really seem to have a USP any more.

I particularly dislike is the stationery is really expensive unless it is one of their interminable 3 for 2 offers. It winds me up seeing the stuff I paid £6 last week now being £4.

I also dislike the self service tills.

I keep expecting them to be the next high street store that goes under, which will be a shame.

TheCanterburyWhales · 10/12/2019 20:14

I worked in WHS in the late 80s and it was superb. We were really well trained, loads of courses relevant to the department you worked in, and on the job training courses you were given time off during your working day to study for.
Then they seemed to take over every lost, grubby and forgotten corner in every mid-size railway station in the country and triple prices for a can of pop and a Mars bar.
Their high street shops (where as a child I spent all my pocket money) seem to be in a timewarp with dark lighting, mile high shelves and stained carpets.
Of course they'll have lost a lot of £s as the newsprint market has died, as much of the company income came from their stronghold in news distribution back then.

I'm not surprised the OP has been short-changed by them- only time I ever bought online from them it all arrived squashed and damp in a ripped old bag.

Have you tried their FB page? When o need M&S customer services I find you get a much quicker reply on FB than via email.

VanyaHargreeves · 10/12/2019 20:15

Yes Mitzi

They also charge ridiculously over the odds if they are anywhere near a train station

It's a deliberately calculated and cynical attempt to exploit people in urgent situations.

Loveletters123 · 10/12/2019 20:17

I ordered a book from their website as a gift for a friend only to find out it was out of stock after I had paid for it! I emailed them several times asking when it would be delivered (to store) explaining if it wasn’t before x date I needed to cancel as it was a cruise guide for said friend and obviously of no use after she had gone on the cruise. No response from WH Smith’s to any of my emails, then received a message the book had arrived in store for me to collect the day after she left! I didn’t bother collecting it and thought I would receive an automatic refund when the book was returned as I paid through PayPal but no such luck! Terrible company

user1497207191 · 10/12/2019 20:19

I keep expecting them to be the next high street store that goes under

Why, when they're profitable?

Rather than struggling to the bitter end and then collapsing (like Woolworth etc), WHS close unprofitable stores as they go along, hence why the chain as a whole remains profitable.

By taking in Post Office counters, that's breathed a new lease of life into some town centre shops driving customers into their stores.

They're also "last many standing" in many towns as regards newspapers and magazines as most newsagents have now closed down, so they're the only place to get the full range (supermarkets only stock the most popular titles) - indispensible for less popular hobbies and interest mags and foreign newspapers, etc.

I think they'll be in existence for a good few years yet.

Mouseketeer2015 · 10/12/2019 20:20

Our local WH Smith has been refitted, it's now well lit, looks clean and tidy. Much more emphasis on cards and stationary. Magazines now at the far end of the shop rather than the front and not so much chocolate! Don't know if this is part of a national plan to refit.

TeenPlusTwenties · 10/12/2019 20:22

tbh user I don't expect them to be profitable. If they are then that's good I guess.

MamaFlintstone · 10/12/2019 20:24

A couple of weeks is a really long time not to collect an order though, it’s not just “not right away”. Places like John Lewis and Sainsbury’s only keep them a week before sending back. They should refund you though, open a paypal dispute if you’re not getting a reply from customer services.

I saw an interview a while back with the Chief Exec because WHSmith were actually bucking the trend whereby other high street stores are struggling - he seemed to suggest it was precisely because they weren’t spending money doing up the stores. Not sure how long that can last though.

Sarcelle · 10/12/2019 20:40

It's not only chocolate they push at tills. I was once asked if I wanted some lightbulbs. Random. I always feel claustrophobic in their stores. Too much stuff. Too many obstacles to navigate.

BookWitch · 10/12/2019 20:51

I'm bitter about WHS as my mum used to own an independent stationers and craft supply shop in our town a few doors down from them and she fought for years to keep afloat.

That said, I went in the other day in my lunch hour, one till, one self service till. The one member of staff was insisting on showing an elderly lady how to use the self service till. Elderly lady kept saying could she just pay. Staff member kept on going on about how easy it was and how she will show her. Massive queue building up - no one serving at the main till and the self service till was occupied. I left without my stuff as I couldn't wait.

If they go though, our high street will literally die. Apart from WHS, we have a tiny Boots, Greggs and Specsavers. Everything else is either empty or a charity shop.

Original poster
ILikePandas15 · 10/12/2019 21:22

Loveletters123 did you eventually get your money back?

OP posts:
halloumi2019 · 10/12/2019 21:26

Their station and hospital prices are absolutely ridiculous

Loveletters123 · 10/12/2019 21:30

No I didn’t bother pursuing it as they had been so rubbish already I didn’t hold out much hope of getting my money back! Very frustrating