problems with SURPLUS & ADVENTURE

[Singeblister]

Has anyone had problems with ordering from SURPLUS & ADVENTURE ?
I placed an order on 12th of may , after a week I Emailed them no reply tried to phone them , engaged , press ring back , phone rings no answer, so I left it a while, more Email no reply , I finally got though last week the guy I spoke to was very abrupt asked what I had ordered , not for the order number or anything , then said its out of stock should be in soon,,, one thing I cant abide is lack of communication I don't mind waiting for an item as long as I am informed why I am waiting , I am thinking of just asking for a refund now, I will give it till Monday though,
Bad experience with these guys I wont be buying of them agian.

 

[Twoflower]

Bought a few bits off them a couple of weeks ago, had an email to say that one item was out of stock but got the rest after a few days.

Still waiting on that one item though .. I should really email them about it.

 

[Toddy]

I've bought stuff several times from them before and been very happy with goods and prices, but it has to be said, sometimes you really wait for items from them, though I have always gotten what I ordered eventually.
I don't know whether they're overworked, understaffed or just out of stock and not good at saying so, but this sort of query raises it's head every so often about the company. They do seem to try to get the majority of the order out quickly, it just seems like one item
hold things up.
Patience is a virtue we are told

cheers,
Toddy

 

[falling rain]

I've only ever ordered some hurricane lamps from them and they arrived OK. I think companies should update their websites daily to say if an item is out of stock or otherwise. Some companies do this but a lot don't, and you order in the expectation that they have the items as advertised and you wait ages. I don't mind waiting either but as you say I like to at least know what's going on and be informed if there is going to be a delay.

 

[Singeblister]

The problem is I need the things I ordered or I would have told them to cancel the order already , give it till Monday then sort them out one way or another

 

[Zammo]

I haven't had to many problems ordering camping gear online. But I tried ordering a washing machine online recently, I had to cancel my order with Boots after they had taken over a month to get the item in stock, despite the fact they had already debited the money and told me it was in stock when I ordered it. The new place I am ordering it from has been marginally better but has still taken two weeks over the original date they were meant to get it to me by.

You start to get a little bit more annoyed when your dealing with hundreds of pounds

.

 

[MarkG]

I've had a few problems with them in the past. Mostly sending the wrong sizes.

A friend of mine had items missing off his order that were never sent on.

I would prefer to go to them in person rather than order of the internet now.

Mark

 

[Squidders]

I will not ever order from them again... They are short to the point of being rude on the phone, don't answer e-mails and when I ordered a "genuine US metal mug" a cheap aluminium knock off arrived covered in sharp edges and obviously just complete tat.

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest their testicles!

 

[Womble]

I ordered a gor-tex jacket and trousers from them in early March - by mid aprl I had still not received, and only got information about potential dates when I contacted them. I cancelled the order, and am not really inclined to try to use them again.

I didn't necessarilly mind the wait, it was the not being informed that annoyed me.

 

[Miggers]

Used them in the past, very average in the customer service department. Never responded to email. Wont use them again.

Miggers

 

[duenorth]

i made a order a few weeks ago for 2 stoves, catapult and 1 man tent, everything turned up in a couple of days but the tent which im still waiting for. these people must get a abundance of complaints. :twak:

 

[fredcraft]

i made a order a few weeks ago for 2 stoves, catapult and 1 man tent, everything turned up in a couple of days but the tent which im still waiting for. these people must get a abundance of complaints. :twak:

I think the guy that files in complaint is the same that takes care of customer service.

 

[Risclean]

I order from them twice in 2005, first time nothing happened for ages until I phoned them, then the order arrived quickly. Unfortunately the trousers were in the wrong size so I had to get them changed.
The second time they charged me immediately but didn't send me the order until I phoned them nearly four weeks later. Also the grade 1 trousers I ordered were very marginal and could have been grade 2. I have no intention of ordering from them again and I don't recommend anyone else does either.
I think it might be worthwhile if anyone having trouble with now contacted the local trading standards.

 

[Singeblister]

I got an email from them today , wonder if they saw this thread , still not sign of my order though just a lot of excuses there suppliers are out of stock , now I will wait a while longer as I need the bergan side pouches for the meets and I think they were a decent price ,
Anyway I am glad I brought this to light if i had seen a thread like this about them i wouldn't have bothered, hope it helps someone out

 

[Squidders]

singeblister - there are oodles of surplus and adventure rants here mate... it's been an ongoing thing for a while.

The problem is... and this applies to myself also, we more often than not, only research a company or product after something isn't as it should be.

 

[Singeblister]

yes true , shame I didnt check up , but you dont think to search for bad experience threads on here ( well i dont ) , I followed a link about side pouches from here so just assumed people were happy with the service ,
Might be an idea to have some kind of rating system for some of the more well known Internet shops

 

[Womble]

when I used them I did know that people on here had had problems with S&A in the past; but I've always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and so thought to give them a try. I have to say that I ordered 3 items, and 2 of them had been delivered within 5 days of the order being acknowledged. So it's not necessarily all bad - but I would still think very hard about using them again.

 

[falcon]

When I used them for a Swedish Rucksack I phoned to see if they had any in stock. I said I needed it urgently so if I ordered, could they ship it same day. When I got "Yes" answer to both questions, I placed my order, paid by card and it arrived no problem. Because of problems experienced by others I felt that was the only way to use them.....

 

[Graywolf]

I have used them a couple times with no problems at all.Then last Christmas I ordered some haversacks prior to Christmas I received them two months later, after numerous unanswered emails and unanswered phone calls.I will not use them again.Its a shame as they do stock some nice gear.
Clayton

 

[william#]

having a similar problem with active 8 i ordered 2mths ago and they keep telling me they are having problems with supplyer driving me bonkers
if a shop does not have it in stock why advertise it ?