To think whsmith are appalling

[ILikePandas15]

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

They are AWFUL. Sad, because it used to be a lovely shop.

Loveletters123 oh no. I bought 20 pounds worth of books so don't want to lose that and more on top with the parcel that hasn't been delivered. I'll have to open a PayPal dispute.

Grrr. How can they get away with treating customers like this

Does it state in the small print what will happen to orders that are not collected?

There is a fairly amusing Twitter account called @WHS_Carpet which details the various ways the place is failing with lots of photos and nonsense deals like "£4.50 each or 2 for £10"

It's a rip off

Also file a SAR with them - I reckon there’s a chance they do actually record sales calls

Wrong thread!

Loathe their overpriced tat. But they have cornered the market in desperation - they are at loads of international airports, even at Melbourne station. You can’t escape them and their £3 cans of pop!

£10 for an army print pencil case.

I got one in Asda, in the sale, for 25p.

They're extortionate.

YOu'll get your money back through paypal as you havent even got you item

I'm concerned that so many Post Offices are in WH Smith branches. If WH Smith were to go into administration or worse, it would take some time for replacement Post Offices to be found and opened. If train tickets become almost all online or Oyster cards style, then people will be able to turn up nearer to departure time and as more people don't buy papers and magazines, it is not beyond possibility they could get into financial difficulties.

Asked some-one who works for them. Apparently uncollected orders are not sent back, they just keep them in store indefinitely and they are eventually incorporated into stock if unclaimed. They said that to get a refund, you should go into the store, "collect" the order, then return it.

Rubbish!

Their staff are always completely fucking rude in my local branch. Ignorant and abrupt.

Our post office relocated to a WHSMith. It use to have five positions, now we have three and queues out the door. The stationary is so expensive.

Open up a case with Paypal if you paid via them.

Good point @ForalltheSaints We have lost an excellent post office which has now relocated to a WHS. Less staff, less counters, more queues. All the good and knowledgable staff seem to have gone. We now seem to have straightforward sales assistant behind the counter.

I think our local one is about to be shut down. The shelves are empty.
Hopefully it will make way for a useful shop.

Don't think you can blame smiths for the downsizing of post offices.

As a shop though they've been going downhill for years as I don't think they've ever made their minds up what they want to be.

Can't see them going under but I can see them jettisoning their high street stores to focus on the profitable airport side of things.

OP raise a PayPal dispute. You haven't had the item.

Can't fathom why anyone would order anything from WHS! It is no surprise they are shit at that as well.

Whenever I have ordered books from Whsmith I haven't had to pay for them in advance. I have paid when I collected them. Why did you pay in advance?

I went in there for the first time in ages last month. My DC is just starting to read, and I promised him he could pick a couple of reading books. It's the only bookshop in our local town.

Firstly, I couldn't get the buggy past the various obstacles. Then the selection of early reader books was dire. There was literally only one book that was the right reading level in the entire shop.

I did buy it, but ended up buying another few on Amazon anyway.

I honestly dont understand how they're still trading?! Awful shops. Grossly overpriced. Hate the way they're situated at every train station, exploiting commuters with over inflated chocolates.

Baldcrusader I don't blame WH Smiths for accepting the Post Office business, I blame the post office for downsizing and for so much of their eggs being in one basket, so to speak.

I’m in agreement, I really do try and shop there especially so that I don’t have to shop at Amazon. However with a great customer service you get it on Amazon and any delivery issues get sorted swiftly and refund is processed quickly other companies have a lot to live up to.

Hope you get a refund.

Just open a PayPal dispute. It's really easy and PayPal sort it for you

For balance, the one where I live is quite good. One of the only shops with a good selection of toys, books and stationary. It's not as cheap as Amazon but then if you are stuck for ideas it's handy to browse.

Obviously this doesn't excuse the situation in the OP. But I've had struggles like this with the likes of John Lewis so I don't think any retailers are immune to messing up. Hope you get your £ or your order OP :(