Underaglassbell
Super Freak
My first and final experience with Toy HQ:
On July 11, 2014 - I played a pre-order for the Iron Man Mark XLII via Toy HQ
£209.99 + £9.99 - Deposit £72.99
For the price, I was /ok/ with paying the rather high deposit.
At the time, the figure was due Oct (14). I waited patiently, nothing. No updates, no news - Granted Lead times on Hot Toys and the like in the UK isn't great.
November 2014 I visited NYC for my 30th birthday, and while stateside I popped into the Forbidden Planet store only to see the Mark XLII on display and ready to buy. Suffice to say I wanted to buy it there and then.
Checked Toy HQ - Still showing as out off stock / Pending. Decided to e-mail them and noted that I would like to cancel my order. I received a reply advising that the cancellation fee of a (in-stock) is £60, and the difference of £12.99
will be refunded via paypal (5-7 working days).
I responded noting that for months I've had no update - waited patiently, and more importantly the website still has the item as out of stock, not "in stock" as suggested.
I was told that is because the units have 'just arrived' and that they would be sending out the final invoices that following week. This was in contradiction to a FB post which stated that the goods were coming in next week.
Forced into a corner, I advised to send the invoice as I seemingly had no choice but to proceed.
November 26: I received a 'invoice', however immediately I notice that my deposit had vanished and I was being asked to pay £219.98 rather then £146.99 (£72.99 deposit).
I e-mailed asking why my deposit had vanished. Nothing. No response, no update. I sent another mail - Nothing. They just elected to ignore my correspondence.
I've worked in retail, and nothing grinds my gears more then when companies actively choose to ignore e-mail/letter correspondence. I wasn't abusive, in my correspondence, I merely pointed out clear discrepancies with what they were claiming and what was displayed on their site / and in FB posts.
So not only had my whole deposit vanished. No way of contacting Toy HQ, whom appear to only provide a e-mail function in terms of contact, and FB which they again actively choose to ignore.
It was at this point (December 1) that I contacted trading standards and also raise a case with Paypal.
Fortunately the case was ruled in my favor and I got my deposit back, and later picked up the Diecast Mark 42 (
).
I just wanted to put this horrible experience out there, as I don't want others to go through in terms of truly terrible comms - boarder line lies and indeed 'vanishing' deposits with no response to concerned e-mails sent to the owner(s) to ice the proverbial cake.
Frankly I would recommend anyone in the UK considering buying from Toy HQ to consider: Collectiblesdirect UK - The two are polar opposites, with Collectibles Direct being the far more professional and indeed superior place to pick up statues/figures.
Thanks,
Dan
On July 11, 2014 - I played a pre-order for the Iron Man Mark XLII via Toy HQ
£209.99 + £9.99 - Deposit £72.99
For the price, I was /ok/ with paying the rather high deposit.
At the time, the figure was due Oct (14). I waited patiently, nothing. No updates, no news - Granted Lead times on Hot Toys and the like in the UK isn't great.
November 2014 I visited NYC for my 30th birthday, and while stateside I popped into the Forbidden Planet store only to see the Mark XLII on display and ready to buy. Suffice to say I wanted to buy it there and then.
Checked Toy HQ - Still showing as out off stock / Pending. Decided to e-mail them and noted that I would like to cancel my order. I received a reply advising that the cancellation fee of a (in-stock) is £60, and the difference of £12.99
will be refunded via paypal (5-7 working days).
I responded noting that for months I've had no update - waited patiently, and more importantly the website still has the item as out of stock, not "in stock" as suggested.
I was told that is because the units have 'just arrived' and that they would be sending out the final invoices that following week. This was in contradiction to a FB post which stated that the goods were coming in next week.
Forced into a corner, I advised to send the invoice as I seemingly had no choice but to proceed.
November 26: I received a 'invoice', however immediately I notice that my deposit had vanished and I was being asked to pay £219.98 rather then £146.99 (£72.99 deposit).
I e-mailed asking why my deposit had vanished. Nothing. No response, no update. I sent another mail - Nothing. They just elected to ignore my correspondence.
I've worked in retail, and nothing grinds my gears more then when companies actively choose to ignore e-mail/letter correspondence. I wasn't abusive, in my correspondence, I merely pointed out clear discrepancies with what they were claiming and what was displayed on their site / and in FB posts.
So not only had my whole deposit vanished. No way of contacting Toy HQ, whom appear to only provide a e-mail function in terms of contact, and FB which they again actively choose to ignore.
It was at this point (December 1) that I contacted trading standards and also raise a case with Paypal.
Fortunately the case was ruled in my favor and I got my deposit back, and later picked up the Diecast Mark 42 (
).I just wanted to put this horrible experience out there, as I don't want others to go through in terms of truly terrible comms - boarder line lies and indeed 'vanishing' deposits with no response to concerned e-mails sent to the owner(s) to ice the proverbial cake.
Frankly I would recommend anyone in the UK considering buying from Toy HQ to consider: Collectiblesdirect UK - The two are polar opposites, with Collectibles Direct being the far more professional and indeed superior place to pick up statues/figures.
Thanks,
Dan
