Bambino Direct - has anyone bought from them?

[hallett]

I'm interested in one of the package deals that they have on buggies at the mo, and just wondered if anyone had bought from them recently

good/bad experiences?

Hi Mamamea, I'd like to explain my post in context of your response.

The RRP for the Mountain Buggy Terrain is £439. You have therefore saved £84. If you'd gone to the local store you contacted and said you'd seen it for £355 on the web they would more than likely met you in the middle and ordered one on for you. Hence your saving would be £42.

For the sake of £42 you have more or less foregone your warranty, and judging by the rest of the posts on this forum put yourself at risk of a lot of stress.

All I'm saying is give your local store a chance to compete and give you good service. I'm not saying all the independent nursery goods retailers out there are wonderfull, however, there are some very very good ones that give great advice and support to expectant mums and dads and these places should be supported. Bambino Direct might sell 10 mountain buggies in a week, an independent might only sell 1 or 2 in a month, hence they can't sell at web prices.

All the best

Mamamea, www.pushchairs.co.uk sell the Terrain Pro for £399 including next day delivery, and they throw in special pro off-road walking wheels, lambskin harness pads and seat liner for that, too. We had ours the next day, no problem. That's a very good deal, given they're a reputable company.

Hope you're in luck with BD, and given he monitors this thread and must be frantic for some legit decent feedback you hopefully will be, but thought I'd mention another option in case someone else wants a MB with warranty/you decide to use the Distance Selling Regs to send it back & get a Pro version.

Thank you tireddadof2 for writing so acurately of the reality of the nursery industry. I too work for an independent store and spend my working weekends talking to parents-to-be about products which may suit their lifestyle/budget/car boot etc, finding the right car seat which will fit safely in their car, only to be told that they now know what they want they will be purchasing from a much cheaper website. Its very demoralising.

Read very carefully the small print on sites such as Bambino Direct and Two Left Feet. If you have any problems with your products (if you ever receive them in the first place) they make it extremely difficult for you to return it to them and sort the problem.

DO NOT USE BAMBINO DIRECT!!!!DO NOT TRUST THE DELIVERY TIMES GIVEN, BAMBINO MIGHT BE THE CHEAPEST BUT THAT COMES WITH A PRICE!!!
We ordered a set of furniture, a baby carrier & a travel system, after 3 days of placing the order we got a call saying that the colour we wanted for the travel system was not available and said that we had to wait 3 weeks (which we agreed to) but the rest was in stock and could be sent immediately, over the phone we agreed a delivery day and I waited from 9am to 5:30pm, I then phoned, they apologised saying that it hadn?t been sent and promised delivery not for the day after (because it was already too late for next day delivery) but the day after that. As you can imagine it never arrived, so I phoned them again, only to hear same thing again. After this delivery did not turn up I managed to speak with the supervisor, who explained to me that generally they don?t do part deliveries?.SO WHY DID THEY OFFER IT IN THE FIRST PLACE????

They agreed to send the set of furniture and the baby carrier separately, the set of furniture arrived but the baby carrier did not, so again I had to phone??.I cannot even remember how many times I?ve phoned them in the last 5 weeks asking for my baby carrier and travel system, on several occasions I have even been told that goods were in stock, no explanation to why they have not been sent and promised that they will be sent-But guess what??. they never arrived!!!

After 5 weeks of been fobbed off my husband and I decided to cancel the order and ask for our money back so I phoned them and as soon as I said that they put me on hold on and off for 25 minutes, all to eventually get to a extremely rude guy call ?Paul? saying the money will be on your account in 7 days and hung up??

Honestly, think twice before ordering anything from them, they don?t get how important and time sensitive the products that they sell are!!!

I wish I'd seen this thread before I ordered and paid for a cot from Bambino Direct.

Minutes after ordering from them, I received a link from a friend saying they'd found it quite a bit cheaper elsewhere. I immediately emailed them to enquire about their Price Match Promise, and would have cancelled the order had they not been able to match it.

To date I still have not received a reply, despite the cot turning up the following day. I called them to enquire and was told "we won't do it afterwards anyway (unlike Kiddicare) and we can't do it on furniture as we'll be selling at a loss" I explained that if someone had answered my email to that effect I would have cancelled the order, and was basically told there was nothing I could do about it now unless I want to send it back subject to a "restocking fee".

So now I get lumbered with a bill for sending it back, a restocking fee and then having to fight for a refund. I'll just swallow it this time, but it'll be the last business they get from me, and I certainly won't be recommending them

I also bought via the Top Cash Back site and have had to make manual enquiries as it didn't track! I think I'll stick to Kiddicare in future

My battle is clearly destined to go on - it's broken...

And after several calls over the last week (and most being cut off after holding), no call backs, a promise of delivery "sometime" yesterday (and I waited in ALL day) it appears they no longer have the part. So I've had promise of a delivery tomorrow now...I won't be holding my breath

And I wait...becoming suspicious that I'm not going to get this part (and having taken a second day off work to receive the "sometime tomorrow" delivery, I've just called them to be told it's not coming today, but it will "definitely be there tomorrow".

A warning to others: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH THIS COMPANY, their service is appalling

Hi I a Newbie...

I too am having the worse experience with BambinoDirect... They have used every avoidance technique under the sun not to refund my money of £600... From not answering the phone... the manager will send you an email regarding the refund.. your refund has been processed... Then I check my Visa account and this is still not the case...

This has been ongoing for nearly 3 months.. and the money was taken from my account in November... I'm at a loss what to do.. I live in Ireland so it's not like I can visit the premises to demand my money back...

What else could I do.. I've sent emails, phone calls etc...{sad}

You must go to Trading Standards if you have had any problems.
Bambino Direct sent a car seat that did not match the description on their website. They were very rude and twice they have failed to collect. I am a solicitor so I am aware of my rights and have not let this lie!
THEY ARE REQUIRED under Distance Selling Regs to give a refund if you cancel within 7 days in any event - the danger of cancelling by email is they will deny that they received it (best to do this by registered post). They are not allowed to deduct restocking fees etc if you cancel under Distance Selling.
After two times failing to collect the car seat it was only by chance that they managed to collect it but as yet they have not refunded the money - I wait with baited breath. If they fail to do so, I will commence proceedings.
YOU MUST CONTACT TRADING STANDARDS/CONSUMER DIRECT - I have done so and they have logged it and referred to their Huddersfield office and the company are now under investigation for misdescription of goods. The more complaints the more seriously Trading Standards will treat the matter. As for this Paul - well he is rather elusive isn't he. I am still waiting for his call. The car seat was collected on Friday but I didn't have to sign anything! It wouldn't surprise me if they deny receiving it full stop!

I have my Bambino Direct feedback update, and the news ain't good.

Order placed 3rd March 2009. Told in the email

"Please allow 5-7 working days for the delivery of your goods. However most goods are dispatched the next working day on an overnight service from point of ordering. "

Email sent 12th March 2009:

"Could you please tell me when this will be dispatched?

Thanks
"

Reply Friday 13th March 2009

"Good morning
Sincere apologies for the delay with your order we are expecting these to come in to us today or monday. We would the despatch to you and you should expect delivery next week"

Email sent by me Tuesday 17th March 2009

"Has this been dispatched yet?"

Reply Wednesday 18th March 2009

"Good morning
Sincere apologies for the delays with your order. We are waiting for this to come in to our warehouse and we can assure you that it has been ordered and it is on route to us.
We should expect these in by the end of this week

Warmest Regards
Katrina
Bambino Direct
"

My email sent 23rd March 2009

"I take it you have not received these yet?????

How long can it possibly take to ship from Holland? 2 or 3 days at the most.

What is going on?
"

I just called them now and they said it would be at least another week.

DO NOT USE BAMBINO DIRECT.

They lied, they wasted three weeks of my life while we struggle with an unsuitable pushchair.

AVOID.

I'm such a fool. I read the tales of woe, and still went for them.

I'll let you know when I get my money back.

I've just bought one from Lullabys on ebay.

Will let you know when I receive.

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=1603240228 12

Pushchair received this morning, no problems at all.

Lullabys good.

Bambino Direct BAD BAD BAD BAD

We have had a nightmare with Bambino Direct also. Lie after lie about delivery dates and times. We ordered a Quinny Buzz 3 package and are still awaiting the footmuff, carry cot and the cover for the car seat. The staff have been very apologetic (all but 1), but that doesn't help when you are waiting in all day for a delivery that doesn't arrive after being "assured" it is on it's way. They took the money 2 weeks before they even had the stock in despite advertising on the web page "payment taken on dispatch of goods!" Bo**ocks.

So wish I had came across this site before ordering from them..... Would not recommend them to my worst enemy... terrible service they should not be trading

Not surprising to see more complaints re Bambino Direct.

I WILL NOT LET them get away with how they operate.

They sent a refund advice note saying we will be credited the full £174.95 as they misdescribed items on their website.

Sure enough 5 days later and they have only refunded £156. THIS IS ILLEGAL - they are not permitted to do so despite what rubbish might be contained in their terms and conditions.

I have no issue with contacting trading standards again or issuing proceedings against them even if it is only for £18! I feel so strongly about the way in which this company are treated that I am prepared to sue them even if the court fee is more that the amount they owe because they cannot be seen to be getting away with it.

I would recommend that people email all their friends and let their NCT friends/toddler groups know not to use this company. I have already warned all my friends.

Once again - anyone having any problems - I urge you to contact TRADING STANDARDS - they will take it seriously the more people complain.

Best of luck all x

BAMBINO DIRECT ARE A BUNCH OF COWBOYS AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!!!

I ordered a Phil & Ted's classic package in February before reading these reviews.

They took money from my credit card before despatching the goods despite it saying on the email confirmation (in bold) they only take money at time of despatch.

They sent me half of the goods within 2 weeks of placing the order, but never responded to my emails asking when the remainder would be delivered. Luckily I live in West Yorkshire and not far from where they are based so we returned the goods by hand and demanded a refund. Unfortunately the infamous Paul wasn't around to issue the refund so we made them sign something to say we had returned the goods and that they would issue a full refund.

I waited over 2 weeks (which is nothing compared to some people) and sent numerous emails demanding the refund. I telephoned to no avail. It took a call from my bank (the fabulous First Direct) demanding a refund to get a refund (they actually answered a call!) - and when I did receive my refund it was £2 short - I am persuing this via my bank to get the full amount refunded. They will not get away with this!

I have reported them to Trading Standards/Consumer Direct.

I got the pushchair package I wanted from Kiddies Kingdom in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire who were fantastic. It was a bit more expensive, but I have learnt you get what you pay for. Bambino Direct are cheap for a reason - it is worth paying that little bit more. I have never received such shocking customer service!!!!!!!

God I saw this thread the day after I ordered my Travel system from these morons and hoped everything would be okay........HOW HARD CAN IT BE!!!!!!!

Got the pram 10 days ago but STILL waiting for the car seat!

Everytime we ring them they have a different story about it. It's been dispached..have we not had it?..we'll see if we have one in stock.. today been told there is one in stock and it will be here tomorrow...we'll see

Fucking idiots!

Hi all,

Thanks so much for these posts, they have given me some perspective as I've just had my own little nightmare with BD. Almost two weeks ago I ordered a cotbed and today I thought I should contact them as I haven't received it yet or had any word of where it is. The response to my email (from Katrina) said that the product would be dispatched on thursday. I then got an auto email immediately after saying that they have none in stock and my order has been cancelled! This was extremely annoying and inefficient as we desperately need the cot...These guys clearly don't have a clue what's going on. I guess we'll now just wait and see if they try to charge my card...they better watch out if the do...

They will more than likely charge your card... it seems common practice with this company... I used a credit card and I am pleased to say that Mastercard have refunded it.

Got the car seat today so not too bad!

We brought a silver cross sleep over delux from them last yr. When it finally arrived we thought we'd best check & see if it all works. Whilst putting it together the hood got stuck & we couldn't pull it out & try the mosses hood in it. (we didn't want to force it out as the warranty would of been void). So as we don't live too far from them we took it in & showed them what has happened. They accused us for breaking it - I couldn't believe it we had only just put it together that once & it had got stuck. The man who worked there was so rude to me & my partner and basically blamed us for it. He even told us to force it off! They wouldn't even offer us a refund or even exchange it. We did pay a bit for this pram as well (£450.00). Eventually they agreed to send us out a new hood for it, which ment we would have to break the one that was stuck in the pram. We managed to force it out without breaking the pram. And couldn't believe it when we pulled it out, as it had L for left & R for right and it had been manufactured wrong as they were in the opp slots as the hood had been put on the frame the wrong way round. Just wanted to share our story with you.

We brought a silver cross sleep over delux from them last yr. When it finally arrived we thought we'd best check & see if it all works. Whilst putting it together the hood got stuck & we couldn't pull it out & try the mosses hood in it. (we didn't want to force it out as the warranty would of been void). So as we don't live too far from them we took it in & showed them what has happened. They accused us for breaking it - I couldn't believe it we had only just put it together that once & it had got stuck. The man who worked there was so rude to me & my partner and basically blamed us for it. He even told us to force it off! They wouldn't even offer us a refund or even exchange it. We did pay a bit for this pram as well (£450.00). Eventually they agreed to send us out a new hood for it, which ment we would have to break the one that was stuck in the pram. We managed to force it out without breaking the pram. And couldn't believe it when we pulled it out, as it had L for left & R for right and it had been manufactured wrong as they were in the opp slots as the hood had been put on the frame the wrong way round. Just wanted to share our story with you.

I wish I had seen this discussion before dealing with Bambino Direct!!!!

I ordered the Britax Vigour 3+ package with carry cot and car seat.

I was told it was all in stock and would be delivered in 5 days and they gave me a date for delivery. The day came and went but no delivery.

After a few emails and attempts at phoning them I finally got through and was told that there had been a delay in getting the stock from Britax and that they would contact me with a new delivery day and tracking number.

A few days went by with no email. But the push chair and car seat turned up!... minus a carrycot.

The pushchair frame was scratched up and the seat was also damaged so I got back onto Bambino Direct.

They said they would come and collect the damaged goods and deliver the carrycot at the same time... last Tuesday - I took the day off work... and guess what - no one turned up to collect or deliver.

I've emailed them but they are not responding and have tried phoning but can't get through!!!!

My next call is to Huddersfield Trading Standards!

They are an absolute bunch of tossers... I really can't see how they can stay in business for much longer. When I had problems with them they never replied to my emails. The only email I ever got from them was the day after I placed my order and that was to tell me the items were not in stock (surprise surprise and they still took my money!!). They were completely and utterly useless.. I hope that trading standards are inundated with complaints about this firm and something is done about them.. they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. I got my money back cos I paid with a credit card but what about those who use debit cards.. it's disgraceful!!

I ordered all of our travel system, cot, moses basket and other bits from them and most of the delivery arrived in about 3 days - however i am still outstanding the Prami setting (i paid over £100 for) and footmuff for the buggy which was included in the system - and this was ordered over a month ago now. I have tried calling, and emailing everyday, and occasionally get a response, but then it is never delivered. As the due date is very close this is increasingly frustrating! I have asked for a refund of the £100 and heard nothing!

has anyone got anywhere with them, or complaining to trading standards or watchdog?
Louisa

I tried to order furniture from these guys on 3 occasions and they kept coming back to me saying it was out stock. Then calling the manufacturer they say it is in stock and don't understand. Basically I believe they put the furniture at a price where they could not sell it at that price. These guys are a waste of space - absolute cowboys. Try calling their number nobody answers it for 15-20 minutes if you are lucky. That shows what a bad company they are. Beware if you place an order with these guys it could be a very painful process.

SMALL CLAIMS says

I've done some research for you:

The owners name and address:

nadeem mirza
11 rosehill drive
birkby
huddersfield
west yorkshire
HD2 2GA

He is a sole trader and is personally responsible for any transactions.

If you would like further help, contact me through my website www.smallclaims.uk.com and quote CYTT 3188

If you have found this information helpful, and to show your appreciation, perhaps you would like to post a comment on our SETTLEMENTS page as we have now taken an interest in your case.

Regards
Tony
Small Claims
www.smallclaims.uk.com

SMALL CLAIMS says

I've done some research for you:

The owners name and address:

nadeem mirza
11 rosehill drive
birkby
huddersfield
west yorkshire
HD2 2GA

He is a sole trader and is personally responsible for any transactions.

If you would like further help, contact me through my website www.smallclaims.uk.com and quote CYTT 3188

If you have found this information helpful, and to show your appreciation, perhaps you would like to post a comment on our SETTLEMENTS page as we have now taken an interest in your case.

Regards
Tony
Small Claims
www.smallclaims.uk.com