written by 163Donaldson on 10/10/2019
So I bought a tripod that they recommended to me, after using it once it fell down and almost killed my camera. Yes it’s the cheapest they had 65£, which is not too cheap anyways, but my camera is very light. Lightest wind and it was down, the problem is that the legs are really easily dismounted and they slide down all the time. After requesting a refund after 7 days, I’ve been told that they don’t do that unless the item is faulty. Guess I should have break it then. I’ve been also told that I don’t simply know how to use it but I can pay even more money for something different. I surely will not come back, let alone pay them even more money for yet another item I could never return. Super rude and weird staff
written by 16Halsey on 07/07/2017
As an existing customer I attempted to place another order by logging in which failed. Re-set my password four times and it still failed to log me in so that I could order films. Telephoned the Mail order number at Bristol Cameras and they could not resolve the issue. This has happened to me TWICE before in the past when attempting to log in to place orders. This company has an inability to operate a web site which functions correctly even though in the past I have telephoned them to advise them of this very issue. POOR WEB SITE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE DUE TO STAFF UNABLE TO RECTIFY THIS LONG TERM ONGOING FAULT.
written by Clancybm174 on 02/03/2017
Order an itwm...it is out of stock...But thery do not tell you...The Customer has to chase and chase. NOT RECOMMENDED
written by strangelad on 10/01/2017
Ordered via the website and paypal, the connection timed out, tried again, timed out again, tried yet again, timed out again, so I then tried paying by card, the connection timed out again. I was charged for all 4 attempts but no orders showed on the account. I emailed the webmaster as requested on the timeout page and asked to cancel all of the orders. The following day I checked and all 4 orders were on my account. In fairness to Bristol Cameras they were on the case pretty quickly and cancelled what I thought was all 4 orders but in fact they cancelled the last 3 and kept the initial order, unfortunately as the "list order page" didn't work either (SQL script error) it was impossible to work out what was going on. I assumed that they'd cancelled all 4 so tried again and it failed again, I then realised what had happened and phoned up to get the last order cancelled, the guy I spoke to was really pleasant and had already noticed that I'd tried again so he cancelled it. The items I ordered dispatched immediately and turned up the following day so no problems with customer service or delivery. However, the website isn't fit for purpose, despite the issues I had none of the login pages are secure and none of the my account pages are secure. Because the financial transactions are redirected to a 3rd party site the transactions are technically secure although any session data would potentially be visible to IP sniffing that are passed over as are login details.
written by strangelad on 10/01/2017
Ordered via the website and paypal, the connection timed out, tried again, timed out again, tried yet again, timed out again, so I then tried paying by card, the connection timed out again. I was charged for all 4 attempts but no orders showed on the account. I emailed the webmaster as requested on the timeout page and asked to cancel all of the orders. The following day I checked and all 4 orders were on my account. In fairness to Bristol Cameras they were on the case pretty quickly and cancelled what I thought was all 4 orders but in fact they cancelled the last 3 and kept the initial order, unfortunately as the "list order page" didn't work either (SQL script error) it was impossible to work out what was going on. I assumed that they'd cancelled all 4 so tried again and it failed again, I then realised what had happened and phoned up to get the last order cancelled, the guy I spoke to was really pleasant and had already noticed that I'd tried again so he cancelled it. The items I ordered dispatched immediately and turned up the following day so no problems with customer service or delivery. However, the website isn't fit for purpose, despite the issues I had none of the login pages are secure and none of the my account pages are secure. Because the financial transactions are redirected to a 3rd party site the transactions are technically secure although any session data would potentially be visible to IP sniffing that are passed over as are login details.
written by DBCre on 08/12/2016
Ordered sensor cleaning swabs on 22/11 but then informed by email they were out of stock. Promised the goods two days later but they did not arrive so I chased again and promised a response on 29/11 but no update. The goods should have been shown as out of stock on the website and why promise to deliver and update on two occasions and not fulfil their promise. I will not deal with this company again as you cannot reply on what they inform you.
written by Ignaciow400 on 18/10/2015
Despite the number of negative reviews about Bristol cameras my experience was first class. After looking everywhere online for a Sony branded case for the RX100 Bristol cameras came out best for availability and price. I ordered on a Sunday evening and the case was delivered Tuesday as stated. No hassle, no delays and a very good price
written by on 09/08/2015
Poor expert advice and customer care. Won't be returning.
Written on: 26/05/2017
Yes absolutely horrendous company to deal with, managers lie and shout over you on phone and they are sly and untrustworthy! Sell shop soiled shoddy goods out of window as new! I would NEVER EVER use this shop if you want a nice experience. They are an absolute shower and not at all honest!
written by 62Nicholson on 20/07/2015
I own a 35mm SLR, which I use to take nearly all of my photos (as I prefer film as a format). I recently went on a family holiday, and took 5 reels of photos, which I decided to get developed and scanned at Bristol Cameras. When the CD arrived in the post, all of the negatives had been scanned at funny angles: with black bars on the top, bottom or sides of varying photos. And a reel I took at night had been chopped and scanned completely wrong: with firework displays cut in half and stitched together in weird ways. I phoned up, and said "I think they've been scanned in wrong", when an angry man replied "well, for £2.99 I'm not going to hand scan each negative and make sure it's lined up!" I wasn't expecting hand scanning (I usually get them machine scanned), but I was expecting them to be lined up! Needless to say, when I asked "could I have a refund please?" I was told No, "but you can bring them back and I'll try again." I will not be trying again with Bristol Cameras, I will take all future business elsewhere! Yours, An unhappy customer
written by ForestSquirrel on 26/05/2015
I searched the internet for what I wanted and found the best deal with Bristol Cameras and I have just received my third order from them,once again delighted by their rapid no fuss dealing with my on line order, a Tamron 28-300 F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PCD lens for my Canon 5D MK 3 camera. I placed my order this was immediately confirmed by Email with an approx delivery date ,a copy of their terms and conditions was also emailed. The next day I received a phone call promising a Saturday delivery before 1.00 pm, I received the delivery before 9.00 am.This is the service I have come to expect from Bristol Cameras highly recommend Bristol cameras
written by ForestSquirrel on 26/05/2015
I searched the internet for what I wanted and found the best deal with Bristol Cameras and I have just received my third order from them,once again delighted by their rapid no fuss dealing with my on line order, a Tamron 28-300 F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PCD lens for my Canon 5D MK 3 camera. I placed my order this was immediately confirmed by Email with an approx delivery date ,a copy of their terms and conditions was also emailed. The next day I received a phone call promising a Saturday delivery before 1.00 pm, I received the delivery before 9.00 am.This is the service I have come to expect from Bristol Cameras highly recommend Bristol cameras
written by ForestSquirrel on 26/05/2015
I searched the internet for what I wanted and found the best deal with Bristol Cameras and I have just received my third order from them,once again delighted by their rapid no fuss dealing with my on line order, a Tamron 28-300 F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PCD lens for my Canon 5D MK 3 camera. I placed my order this was immediately confirmed by Email with an approx delivery date ,a copy of their terms and conditions was also emailed. The next day I received a phone call promising a Saturday delivery before 1.00 pm, I received the delivery before 9.00 am.This is the service I have come to expect from Bristol Cameras highly recommend Bristol cameras
written by myGuthrie239 on 15/01/2015
I have now had two orders that I have had to cancel due to lack of stock being available. The only reason I have given them 2 stars is that their staff are always helpful.
written by keith27a on 27/12/2014
The good: Initial impressions were good. I checked if the item was in stock but could not order it over the phone for some strange reason so ordered it online. The next day I had a phone call to say the lens would be delivered the following day which it was. The bad: I was immediately suspicious that the lens was not new as the box was dog eared, the lens had dust on it and there was no warranty card. I immediately contacted Bristol Cameras who insisted the lens was new and that I did not need a warranty card as proof of purchase was all that was needed to get warranty work done on the lens. I knew this was untrue and so should any photographic dealer. I was given various excuses why the warranty card was missing - "the lens was part of a kit so the card was probably in the kit box" - "we inspected the lens so the card didn't get put back" etc etc. Bristol Cameras could not produce the card so agreed to take back the lens for a full refund including return postage.
written by Oswaldo81 on 19/08/2014
I ordered an item on 13th August. At the same time I made purchases from other online retailers and had received them by the weekend. A week later, I still hadn't received my item from Bristol Cameras. When I telephoned for a progress report, I was told "We're still awaiting stock". So, Bristol Cameras, where was the email to tell me this?
written by invicta60 on 30/07/2014
I bought a Canon Ixus 255 HS. Supply & delivery no problem. Within less than 6 months the camera failed to operate and displayed 'charge the battery' message even when the battery was fully charged. I reported the fault to Bristol Cameras and asked for a replacement under my Statutory Rights under the Sale of Goods Act. They were happy to send it back to Canon but would not guarantee a replacement. This was unacceptable. I later found out that Canon had previously issued an announcement that certain Ixus camera had a fault with the battery compartment resulting in the type of problems I was experiencing. My camera had a serial number listed by Canon as one of the faulty cameras. Therefore it should have been straightforward to get a replacement or refund as the camera was not fit for purpose and was under 6 months old. Despite many emails to Bristol Cameras they still would not provide a replacement or refund. I even wrote to their MD but all to no effect. Their customer service is non existent and I would never use them again. I am currently taking action to resolve the dispute.
written by on 27/03/2014
Ordered first, by mail a telescope. Good communications. Got here on the day it was promised. Saved a lot of money. So ordered some expensive lenses, a webcam and power pack. Had the same very good experience again. The comms were good, even a courtesy phone call the day before delivery. I'm sorry for some other posters that had problems, but I can only speak as I find. Very efficient, great prices and did what they promised. There was lots of packaging, which is a good sign, and as previously mentioned I saved a couple of hundred pounds!! Really, by using Bristol St Cameras. I will use them again.
written by aghardie on 01/01/2014
Purchased a flip case for my S3 mobile phone. I was a bit doubtful whether it was a genuine Samsung product as it was half the price of most other retailers. Ordered it anyway and it arrived the next day. The product obviously is genuine so a bargain. Communication by phone with the store by phone was excellent considering I was expressing doubts about whether the product they were selling was fake or not. Also their website has a local phone number to contact, not 0870/0845 like many retailers. I would definately use them again.
written by on 09/12/2013
I placed an on-line order for two Velbon F61 tripods from Bristol Cameras, one for my son and one for myself. They rang next day to say that they only had one in stock and couldn't get any more from their supplier. I said I would accept one Velbon F51 which is £3 cheaper which they could get and so received an immediate £3 refund. They rang two days later to say their suppliers who had promised they had F51s in stock now said they hadn't so would I accept a Slik F630 for the same price even though it is £7 dearer than the Velbon F61. I agreed and said they could take back the £3 refund but they said they wouldn't bother so I actually got the Slik for £10 less than its price. The Velbon arrived three days after my order and the Slik a few days later. All this in the run-up to Christmas. I am very pleased with the service I received.
written by DerekMercer on 09/07/2013
Ordered a Sigma lens yesterday after ringing to check still available, as I was in conversation with the shop, it was removed from the shelf, so that they made sure it would be available when I ordered on the net. Arrived with the postman this morning, a genuine UK lens, they told me what would happen and it did, delighted and saved a lot of money, the only drawback to me was, it was so well packaged it took me nearly 10 minutes to get into the lens, but well worth the wait.
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Wanderlust1234's Comment
Written on: 26/05/2017
Totally agree, they are a waste of time and energy!