Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share my experience with Newbie and Me in Solihull, in the hopes of saving other parents from the nightmare we went through as it’s stressful enough starting a family.
If you are expecting a baby, please save yourself the stress and go use another company surely anyone else couldn't be as bad as this one. They like to portray themselves as a family-run and understanding business, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The owner clearly cares nothing for the whole newborn experience; they just care about making money.
We ordered a £1,100 travel system in November. I explicitly told them I had an order ready with another retailer, but their sales team promised us guaranteed delivery before Christmas. Based on that promise, we went with them. This was a lie. Their own staff member later admitted to me on the phone that the original collection date they sold me was "always wrong" and should never have been promised.
Starting a family has been a real challenge for us, and he is our miracle baby. Instead of enjoying the final days of the pregnancy, I spent them incredibly stressed, chasing Newbie & Me. They ignored emails and failed to call back. I had to call them over 20 times in January alone.
Our baby was born at the end of January, and we still had no pram. To cover their incompetence, they gave us a scratched, used "loaner" pram and stand, which was heartbreaking and embarrassing to use for our newborn's first days. Even when the actual order finally started trickling in weeks later, parts like the carrycot stand were still missing. The owner was consulted multiple times about our situation. When I asked if they could just deliver our actual pram and pick up the loaner so I wouldn't have to travel with a newborn, the owner flat-out refused. He insisted I make a 3-hour round trip myself just to fix their mistakes.
Even at the very end, when our only focus should have been our newborn, we realised we hadn't even been given the small accessories that were part of the "Ultimate" bundle we paid for. Shockingly, they hadn't even written "Ultimate" on their copy of the invoice. It was only because my receipt explicitly stated it that I had the proof to show they still owed me these items. I have no doubt they would have argued against giving them to me if I didn't have that paper trail.
When it came to resolving this, I had to chase them with multiple emails and phone calls just to get basic answers. Head Office initially offered a totally insulting £50 compensation. After fighting this, the local manager bumped it to a £100 store voucher. They made it explicitly clear that they do not offer cash compensation, even when they are 100% at fault. Think about that: after completely failing us, their way of making it right is forcing us to spend more money in their store.
The amount of time I spent chasing them to sort out their own mistakes is unacceptable, and their lack of accountability was embarrassing. They may boast good reviews, but please look closely at the negative ones—that is where the truth lies. This company shows its true colours when things don't go to plan. They are happy to promise you the world to get your money, but once they have it, their customer service vanishes. Save yourself the stress and avoid them entirely.