homeshop18.com: Live update on the ordeal

Santy

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So, I was looking to get this HU (JVC KD-R90 BT) and I saw it on homeshop18.com which had listed this item for sale citing 'available in stock'

I know these people might have not updated the inventory so I sent a mail asking them to confirm the stock.

Aug 30 (11 days ago)
from: ***
to: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
date: Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 10:41 AM
subject: Stock availability confirmation


Hi
Please re-confirm if the following are in stock (ready to ship)?

Product Code: 30522069
Product Code: 30522067

How soon they are shipped after ordering?

Regards

After 3 days, they reverted that the item is in stock but did not say anything about shipping TAT.

from: Girish Dutt <[email protected]>
reply-to: [email protected]
to: ***
date: Mon, Sep 2, 2013 at 10:46 AM
subject: [HS18 Care #] Stock availability confirmation

Dear Mr. ****

Greetings from Homeshop18!

Thank you for your email. In regards your query against JVC KD-R90BT Car Stereo Receiver. We would like to inform you said product available in stock for more information please go through below link.

JVC KD-R90BT Car Stereo Receiver from JVC | Car Stereos | electronics | HomeShop18.com

Regards!
Girish Dutt Sharma
Customer support Executive

When I rang up the customer care meantime, they said the same thing that it is in stock and I will get it 'delivered' in 6 days.

On Sept 3rd, I paid online and placed an order.

hs18ss_zps202ef1ad.jpg


In the order mail also they had committed that expected delivery in 6 days. So I waited.

If it has to be delivered in 6 days the product should have been dispatched atleast in 3-4 days. It did not happen. I asked CCare who understandably said it is in 'process' and I will get the item delivered on 10th Sept, latest and I will get SMS update then they update the shipping details.
I have no problem to wait for another 6 days also but the frustration is nobody seem to have a clue about the actual status.

Today when I checked, the order status says "Delayed" with no shipping information yet.

I called up and as typical as it can get, the agent says 'your complaint is registered, order in process, we will revert blah blah blah". I said I wanted to know when the item will get delivered. She had no clue whether the product was available or it is shipped or it is sourced - absolutely blank. When I said I wanted to talk to her senior manager, again typical blah blah. Then line is put on hold and finally she says I will get a call back in 24 hrs. I said I don't anyone to call me just to say sorry they have to give the date when it can get dispatched (since delivery is not in their hands entirely).

Now when I checked the link, it says out of stock. Exactly the same way it happened with Snapdeal, another ordeal I went through recently.

hs_out_zps132f642c.jpg


So predictable it has become these days. There are lot of similarities between Snapdeal and Homeshop18 in order handling. Displaying a product online, showing stock as available, taking money and after a week still being clueless about whether they will be able to deliver or not.

While the call was on hold, the IVR played a quote, "HS18 is one of the most respected brands in India." I thought, if it is India, the best can also be the worst.

As someone said elsewhere, small time ebay sellers seem to be far superior in this segment of business than big companies like snapdeal, homeshop, tradus etc..

Let us see how far this goes. Homeshop18 is probably going to cancel it saying a sorry- after all, it is so simple and easy for them. Finally it is we who have to suffer for placing trust on them and believing their promise. Unfortunately, we cannot expect any better service because this is India.
 
Yup.. CS and inventory management of online shopping is simply pathetic for the most part in this country. But what can we do..people in India get away with rape and murder so why bother complaining about bad customer service!

PS. I do hope you have posted on their Facebook wall, though the don't really care, it helps sometimes.
 
This is so common now for most of the online sellers like snapdeal, tradus, hs18, shopclues and now even flipkart in some of their orders.

Ebay is still better and most of the sellers (not all) go extra mile to get positive feedback.
 
As expected :mad: order cancelled.

Gave the person who called me to inform it (atleast they did) earful.

Hello,

Greetings from Homeshop18.com!

First of all please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in informing that the product is Out of Stock and subsequently the order being cancelled. As discussed, we do not hold an inventory and hence are awaiting for a revert from the supplier once the order is placed, currently the product is Out of stock and we are unable to process the same.

The order will be cancelled now and the refund amount will reflect in your bank account within 3-4 business days. Should you face any issues or require any clarifications, please feel free to revert on the same email and I shall get back to you at the earliest.

Regards,

TV18 Home Shopping Network Ltd.
Facile tower, plot no 7, new no.26, Victoria road,
Civil area, Division no, 48-61, Victoria layout.
Bangalore 560047.
 
As expected :mad: order cancelled.

Gave the person who called me to inform it (atleast they did) earful.

Tough luck buddy! I know the feeling.. this has happened to me NUMEROUS times.

I once ordered a liquid cooler for my PC and had it delivered smashed with the liquid leaking, that happened to be the very last piece in stock, so trust me, I know the disappointment and frustration.
 
My personal view is that when ordering stuff for ourself, one should always opt for cash on delivery. Pay online upfront only if you are sending the item to someone else as a gift. At least, if the order is cancelled, your money is neither lost nor it goes in a state of limbo until matters are sorted out.
 
one should always opt for cash on delivery.

Payment is taken immediately, but refunds either take weeks, or get made as "credit," which means not made at all. COD makes sense to protect against this alone.

I hate the expression "world-class," as used in India, but imagine if Amazon had begin like this. Thw world might be a different place now.
 
My personal view is that when ordering stuff for ourself, one should always opt for cash on delivery. Pay online upfront only if you are sending the item to someone else as a gift. At least, if the order is cancelled, your money is neither lost nor it goes in a state of limbo until matters are sorted out.

I prefer to pay by my credit card, mostly because I get to free 55 days credit cycle, and if the amount is huge, I can always convert it in EMIs. Other than there is no reason of paying upfront. But I believe if you are not available to receive the delivery by yourself then it also becomes a hassle to arrange someone who can pay and take delivery (especially in my case as I live with my mom only and we both are not available during weekdays due to our job)

Generally, I pay by CC while using sites like amazon and flipkart. But I have recently used COD for snapdeal.

But most of the sites have the most idiotic refund policy. They will deduct money from our account within a minute but while refunding they will take 14 working days....lol
 
The 55 days credit cycle is not necessarily always true. It depends upon the Billing cycle. Most banks follow the 18th to 17th cycle or nearby dates. So if your purchase happens on 17th, it will immediately appear on the statement for that month. You will still get some credit period because the payment is usually not due till the 10th. On the other hand, if you purchase on 19th, you get the maximum credit. (Note that dates are for example only - please check exact Billing cycle of your bank). Be it as it may, there are pluses and minuses. Along with the credit, you also get cc points which are redeemable. That is a plus. On the other hand, refunds are tricky and cumbersome on some sites. So it is a judgement call.
 
+1 to COD. whenever i buy from FK or HS18, these so called "online marketplace portals", its better to buy COD than give them a 1 month working capital loan
 
BTW, most of the people accept credit cards for Cod as well. I use it all the time with Myntra and Bigbasket.

Haven't really shopped from Myntra or bigbasket. But I have never seen flipkart/ amazon (mostly delivered by bluedart) carry any card swapping machine with them.
 
Haven't really shopped from Myntra or bigbasket. But I have never seen flipkart/ amazon (mostly delivered by bluedart) carry any card swapping machine with them.

Flipkart delivery person carry card swiping machine. It is always inside his bag and produced only on demand.
 
Haven't really shopped from Myntra or bigbasket. But I have never seen flipkart/ amazon (mostly delivered by bluedart) carry any card swapping machine with them.

Flipkart delivery person carry card swiping machine. It is always inside his bag and produced only on demand.

But from what I have read on the terms of COD on Flipkart is that they accept only cash. Not the plastic money I believe.
 
But from what I have read on the terms of COD on Flipkart is that they accept only cash. Not the plastic money I believe.

I can confirm that the delivery boys do carry the card machine with them. However on both occasions they said that the machines do not have charge. Not sure if that is an excuse.

Also within the Cash On Delivery tab there is a line which says "Also Card on delivery" and another line which says "You can also pay using Credit Card or Debit Card at the time of delivery" just above the image(for verification) on the payment options page.
 
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