written by Bec8 on 16/01/2009
The customer service at Empire Direct is very poor. The first delivery was a day late, then missed because it had to be delivered to my work, then it was supposed to be re-scheduled, but Empire Direct did not imforn the delivery company. I only found this out by calling the delivery company directly, who told me it was still sitting on the shelf at their warehouse. It cost me 5 phone calls (each lasting 15mins) and I was only offered (when I asked, incidentally) vouchers. I had a refund and would advise anyone else to avoid this store at all costs.
written by on 18/12/2008
I bought a Tv from Empire Direct over a week ago over the telephone, they gave me a great price and couldnt be anymore accommodating, they even gave me 10% off and told me my item would be delivered in 2 days, great i thought.
None of their stores had stock of what i wanted and so i rang them to see if i could get hold of one, they said yes we have them in our main warehouse, their website said- availability - selling fast and that they had limited stock.
Over a week later received no tv and no response to over 15 emails, when i did contact them i felt I was given excuses everytime i asked where my tv was.
Finally i have had enough and have gone to comet where i unfortunately paid abit more but at least i have the item without any messing around, I'm currently waiting for Empire Direct to refund me otherwise i shall put them in touch with mastercard.
written by rabk on 14/12/2008
I ordered 2 pair of sony speaker stands from Empire Direct back in October and here we are are mid-December and still no sign. On initial order they called to say there was a six week delay so fair enough i accepted that. Six weeks came and went no stands and no explanation so I called to be told there was a problem with Sony deliveries and i would be contacted when shipping was due. Needles to say another 2 weeks past with nothing so again I called to say 'They' are the poorest online company i had ever dealt with. Again I was given an apology and told they would e-mail the buyers to find out what was going on and would call me back right away on my mob phone. Again another week has past and no contact in any shape manner or form.
My adviceL Please do not use this company as the customer service is poor.
written by ashsoft on 01/12/2008
I ordered a 42 ' LCD on the 6th Nov. They said it would take 7-10days. On the 19th my wife had to ring them to see where the TV had got to, they said the manufacturer has problems and its not there problem. I emailed them the same day and asked them to give me a definitive delivery date but the never answered my email. On the 21st I cancelled the order and they said they would refund that day. It ' s now the 27th and still no refund. I eventually got the same TV at Dixons online within 2 days. Just shows who has the problem. I will never use again and I am now starting legal proceedings.
written by hktiger on 23/11/2008
My builder ordered a fridge and a freezer from Empire Direct on 2/11/08 and on 4/11/08 confirmed delivery on 14/1108. On that day, I called them in the afternoon and was told that they did not place the order on time and therefore, goods are not ready and I had to arrange another date of delivery on 19th Nov. On that day I called them in the morning and was told the courier would contact me an hour before the delivery time. Soon after the call, I received a txt message from my builder asking to call the number to confirm the delivery date. I then called the number and was told there was no record of the delivery to my address and suggested me to contact Empiredirect. I called them and was told the goods had shipped to somewhere else because I had not confirmed the delivery with them. Then I was told I needed to wait for further 2-3 weeks for the goods. I had wasted my 2 days of annual leave on 2 seperated occasions. I then advised my builder to cancel the order the following day. After my builder had cancel the order and had the confirmation of the cancellation from Empiredirect via email, the following day some one from the courier company left a voice message on my mobile asking me to contact them to confirm of the date of the delivery?
I certainly will not order any goods from them in future.
written by railyphill on 13/11/2008
I would neither use Empire Direct again or recommend them to anyone. We tried to buy a fridge freezer from these guys. Firstly they said we would have it within 7 - 10 days. 3 weeks later we received a call saying we would have the item the following thursday and that we should unplug our fridge / defrosted ready for them to take that away. We did putting all our frozen goods in Freezer bags... Only to be told on the day of delivery it would now be a further 5 days before they can deliver the item. So we now have wasted all the frozen food!
written by on 06/11/2008
I feel I have received bad service from Empire Direct. They delivered a dishwasher broken, and then promised replacement in 4 days (when I needed it in 2). They failed to deliver on that delivery date and then failed to deliver the next delivery date. Various excuses given.
written by on 30/07/2008
Ordered an oven just over a week ago. Managed to get an extra 10% off the price through a special 10% off day they were running, so in total, they were charging 51% of the price B&Q were ( £390 inc delivery vs. £760 vs delivery - for exactly the same oven).
They phoned the next day to arrange delivery and it arrived today, exactly when they said it would.
Delivery drivers brought the oven into the house and unpacked it so I could check for damage and decide whether to accept or reject item.
Honestly couldn't fault any part of the sale. Recommend them 100%.
written by on 21/07/2008
My LCD TV I bought of Empire Direct developed a band of light coloured pixels after a couple of weeks, I phoned customer services expecting a battle -particularly as I'd thrown the packaging away. However after putting me on hold for 10 seconds I was told that they would arrange collection and delivery of a new TV and that no packaging was not a problem as the courier would be told to use the packaging for the new TV. Delivery was super quick, with the customer services ringing to arrange a convenient time, brilliant service and such a refreshing change!
written by phillm36 on 05/07/2008
I can no longer trust Empire on delivery time. They stated that the item was in stock, but I found out it actually was not. I had to eventually cancel my order, as 4 weeks delivery is just not good enough for me - especially when you have to make continuing trips to the launderette!
It might look a cheap option, but is it really worth the wait?
written by kesy on 06/06/2008
Bought a freezer from Empire Direct due to good price. First unit was badly damaged during transport hence delivery was refused and sent back. Replacement delivery promised for 2 weeks time.
When nothing had arrived on the promised date, rang them only to be told that they had no stock. No communication, no explanation!
Now 1 week on I am still fighting to get a refund. Unbelievable!!
Having now wasted 2 days off work because of these people, a 5% saving on a £200 item is not worth it. I recommend you go elsewhere.
written by on 06/06/2008
Ordered a surround system from Empire Direct, and was telephoned later that day to make sure I would be home for delivery.
Still haven't been charged though and I've had the item about a week? Is that normal?
written by on 03/06/2008
Good price, there was cheaper but not by much. Although slightly more expensive than play it had a good warranty, 3 years with purchasing a £20 empire card. Ordered the item Toshiba 37XV505DB late on the Sunday evening and got a text on the Monday to say that it was being delivered on the Tuesday. Great service. In the past have waited weeks when ordering from other companies (hifibitzt) so fair play. Happy with the tv as well.
written by Vicky46 on 31/05/2008
I'm not a regular online purchaser and was apprehensive about spending so much money but I found the whole experience worthwhile having saved over £150 with comparisons high street stores.
written by TShill7 on 29/04/2008
Empire Direct have been slated for poor customer service so I thought I balance up the experience. I only read the horror stories after I'd order my LCD TV so I phoned them up expect to be on hold for hours.
But the phone was answered straight away by a helpful guy (can't remember the name) who arrange delivery and advised that I get an e-mail & text to confirm.
Both confirmations duly arrived and the TV arrived - half an hour past the alloted 4-hour time slot admittedly - but at least it was there. Excellent stuff! I'm sure people have had bad experiences but either they've got their act together or I was lucky. Either way, than can deliver good customer service.
written by gammonfunk on 12/03/2008
I was a little concerned about buying from Empire Direct after reading so many bad reviews on this site. But after thinking 40 bad review out of thousands of sales. I rang them up to confirm they were in stock,I then placed my order over the phone. A Sony KDL 46 W2000u for '£999.99 which was '£400 cheaper than anywhere else. They promised me delivery in 6 days and it came as promised.
written by brooksbrooks on 07/03/2008
I have never done this before but Empire Direct www.empiredirect.co.uk was so appalling that I need to do it! I ordered an item a month ago for which the delivery estimate was 1 - 2 weeks; received an email saying it was not in stock but I would receive a further email when it arrived from the manufacturer. After a month I emailed them and waited. No reply after two days. I 'phoned them and got through to a sales person who asked me to hold on - he never came back. 'Phoned again and got through to a man who obviously wasn't happy in his work. He was extremely friendly and helpful, so much so that he advised me to shop elsewhere and said it would be better not to have to deal with the them. He traced my order only to find that it was never placed with the manufacturers. He told me my money had been paid back on my card (which is good) because someone thought a request for a refund had been made instead of an order. I was never told about this. The comic inefficiencies of this actually make it quite funny but not when you are trying to buy something.
written by beneydog on 06/03/2008
I had to return a TV under warranty. It took them a week to collect it. They still have the TV four weeks later. Every time I've rung up, I've dealt with a different person. I have been told three different things that is happening. They promised to look into it and ring me back. I wasn't rung back and so had to go through the same procedure every time. The aftercare I've experienced has been very poor. By all means buy from them but don't say you sere not warned.
written by on 06/03/2008
Empire Direct are quick to take your cash. Placed an order for a Hotpoint/Creda cooker (EWH151) online in January and delivery was promised within a week. Several days later Empire contacted me to explain that due to an admin error the item was in fact not in stock as stated on their website but that more were on order from the manufacturer and that I would receive one in ten days.
It turned out 2 weeks later - again after chasing for a status update - that the cooker was not available - apparently discontinued. It took a further 10 days of chasing to obtain a refund. Empire had my money for 5 weeks.
Although I have purchased from empire in the past - it does take a problem to test the customer care aspect - I will never but from them again - and strongly recommend others do the same.
Amazon will I feel - corner the market with their excellent customer service.
written by marekcz on 28/02/2008
Most of the items I ordered (over £2000 worth) were not in stock as it turns out although this information is not freely handed out. 6 weeks later and multiple unanswered phone calls later, I had to cancel part of my order as they still did not know when it was arriving, but were happy enough to take my money.
Absolutely useless - never again!
Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
As rated by our community of reviewers
John K23's Response to railyphill's Review
Written on: 05/01/2009
Have you tried legal proceedings to recover costs? I would.