iPod Car Kit Direct - www.ipodcarkitdirect.co.uk

I purchased a car kit with the professional installation in December:

Summary:

> Sent me the wrong device

> Their customer support number is always disconnected

> Queries, complaints and support is only dealt with via an online ticket submission system (where I had to wait days/weeks for responses - were generally unhelpful and vague)

> Complained to their customer services because the guy dealing with my support tickets was being unhelpful and reluctant to give me the details required to return me device (despite claiming a 30-day money back guarantee)

> Eventually returned my device at my own postage cost, and received NO FURTHER CONTACT from these cowboys!

> I received NO REPLACEMENT and NO REFUND for the device OR the "professional installation" - which never even happened

> I basically got conned out of £180

> It is now July and they have been ignoring my emails and complaints for 4 months, I am still trying to get my money back from the Financial Ombudsman, but its not looking like I will ever see my money again

Purchased a car kit and the expert fitting for my Honda in December, but they sent me a different model from the one I ordered which didnt have the AUX input. After literally months or arguing with their support guy via an online helpdesk ticket system (where they were slow and generally unless on responses), I

Avoid them like the plague unless you are 100% confident that you will not have to return a faulty unit.

The service was very good till I had to return a faulty unit back in early January. Since then, they have had both my kit and my money. No responses since 21st Feb, and they ignore all of my posts and requests for updates. Phone number is constantly engaged, and no response from phone number for InCar Network site (maybe a parent company, they deal with sales enquiries).

Seems like I am not the first...

Yes you guessed it, another customer that paid and received nothing. I keep hearing about 'Dave' the so called company owner, and I tell you what....if I didn't have Paypal protection (which allowed me to claim for non received goods) I would be finding Dave and having a little 'chat' with him that he would not enjoy.

I waited a month with my order at 'pending', 2 support tickets, and numerous failed call attempts later, all ignored. Thank god for PayPal protection. I can't think of any other word than 'fraud' to describe this situation & company. I'm reporting them to Trading Standards as this guy cannot be allowed to continue ripping off the public.

Keep well away, and also be sure to check for the same telephone number (0845 430 3355) on all other similar looking websites. It looks like they are running a few other similar looking scam fronts. Idiot.

Paid for an order, received nothing. Send two customer enquires via mail, no reply. Phone lines always busy. Did sent a letter, no reply. To sum it up, this company is a scam. Don't entrust them with your money.

My review is just going to echo the more recent ones here I'm afraid but I think it's worth giving people as much warning as possible against companies like this.

My experience with this company hasn't been going on as long as some poor people here but it's going the same way so I'll just give a description of what's happened so far.

I had been looking for a bracket and cradle just to hold my iPod in the car, no charging or connectivity required as I have a cable into the aux socket and like to fully discharge the battery to extend it's life.

I found this site on Sunday 4th March which had the items I wanted (Brodit Passive iPod Cradle and Dashmount bracket), I put the items in the shopping basket and was about to check out when I realised I needed to double check something in the car so closed the web page while I went out to check.

When I got back to the computer I had received an email from this company saying they'd seen I'd been on the site but not finalised my purchase, they asked if I needed any info and gave me a 10% discount code as a goodwill gesture.

I was going to make the purchase anyway but an extra 10% discount is always nice so I refilled the shopping basket and went to check out. I couldn't actually find any where to enter the discount code but never mind I thought, I still want the goods so I'll buy them anyway.

After receiving my email receipt I decided to open a support ticket just to ask why I couldn't enter the discount code. The site says they will respond within 24 hours, as it was a Sunday I thought it would be reasonable to expect a response by Tuesday 6th March.

I had my response on Saturday 10th March - not 24 or 48 hours but six days later! And on top of that the response was ridiculous. I asked why I couldn't enter the discount code they sent and the reply was "Hi, the code is now invalid, sorry. We run the offer once a month as a testing purpose"

What is that supposed to mean?!

I immediatley responded asking why they sent out invalid discount codes that are only for 'testing purposes'.

I have not yet received any of the goods that were supposed to arrive 3 - 5 days later.

They (Dave) has not responded to any emails or support tickets I have sent (and there have been quite a few!) I have tried calling the only phone number on the website, which according to Dave in responses to earlier reviews here is not for after sales support but for pre-sales enquiries only - Well they don't answer that either.

On Saturday 17th March, since finding these reviews here, I sent an email and a support ticket to every department on the website telling them to cancel my order and give me a refund and...........you've guessed it..........it's now Thursday 22nd March and I still haven't had a response to any emails I've sent over the weeks(except for that first unsatisfactory one) and no refund on my credit card. In fact my order status on the website is still 'Processing'.

I have just instructed my credit card company to reclaim my money.

I'm confident I'll get my money back but I feel the need to let others know about this sham website.

Also, it's worth mentioning a small bit of research I've done: If you, like me still want the goods you wanted you're probably looking on other websites to make your purchases. BEWARE, there are a few other sites that sell the same items, have the same sort of menu structure and THE SAME TELEPHONE NUMBER. I'm not going to metion their names just in case by some miracle they are legit sites, but I think it's safe to assume it's actually just our conman Dave here running other scam sites. There are good sites for these products out there, just do a bit of checking first.

Product. Dension Gateway 100

If you are reading this then you’ve probably googled “ipod carkit direct review”…. Well I wish I did.

Also google “ipod carkit direct forum” for more disgruntled customers.

Excuse the long review but I felt it was the best way to get my point across

I ordered the product on the 17th February and it was delivered the following Wednesday within 3 working days.

However, when I opened the pack I realised I had been sent the wrong product. I emailed ICKD straight away to be told I did have the correct product. After many emails and photos they did finally agree that I did in fact have the correct product.

This is when the trouble started. I sent the product back recorded signed for with Royal Mail.

(The following is quoted of the customer below) seemed apt to include this as I received similar treatment.)

“Royal Mail tried to deliver the package the next day but couldn’t for some reason so they left a “sorry you were out card”. I found this out by tracking my package on the RM website. After not hearing anything for a week I chased them (“Dave”) up again to see if they have received the package who then denied receiving any card from RM (which is probably another lie). I then had to call up RM to arrange redelivery, and it finally got delivered to them a few days later.”

The product then arrived with them the following Thursday, a week after I posted it.

I then chased them up again. Only to be ignored. Finally I received a response saying that the return would take up to 7 working days to process. The 7 working days came and went with no word. I chased them up again only to be ignored.

Finally, on Saturday I receive an email stating that my product has been sent out and that I should receive it by Wednesday. Wednesday comes and goes, no product has arrived. I emailed them Wednesday and have received no response and my product has not turned up.

Below is a detailed timeline of the last month since I ordered the product.

17/2 Product ordered

22/2 wrong product delivered

23/2 Email ICKD informing them that the wrong product has been sent

23/2 Multiple emails convincing ICKD that the product is in fact wrong

23/2 ICKD agree that the product is wrong, assuring me that my postage costs will be reimbursed

23/2 Item returned next day delivery with Royal Mail

24/2 Item failed to be delivered as no one was at the present address to sign for the delivery

28/2 I organise redelivery

1/3 Item is now with ICKD

2/3 I am told that the return will take 7 working days to process

3/3 Email sent and subsequently ignored

3/3 Email sent, no reply

9/3 email sent

10/3 Finally a reply. Apparently my “emails keep getting lost in the spam filters as the address is apparently dangerous. We have removed the filter for now and will have to manually virus check each mail.”

All emails have been sent through a standard Hotmail address that they have replied to many times throughout the last few weeks.

Anyway I was told that the item has been sent out and I should receive it between Monday and Wednesday (12/3 – 14/3)

14/3 You guessed it. No product received, email sent

16/3 no reply received.

I am now in the process of contacting my credit card company as the purchase cost was over £100 so have buyers protection through my credit card company. I will update this as and when

The customer service of this company is appalling not once have the admitted a mistake.

The fact that the wrong product was delivered was Denison’s fault

The fact that they never received my parcel was Royal Mails fault

The fact that they never replied to my emails was the email servers fault

And no doubt, the fact that I never received my parcel will be the couriers fault.

And I still await the reimbursement for my postage costs

AVOID AVOID AVOID

I wish I did.

Sorry in advance for the massive essay but it just reflects the terrible experience I have had with this company. Firstly I ordered an Xcarlink using the standard delivery service (3 to 5 working days) and after chasing up after a week it finally arrived 2 weeks later! I didn’t receive any delivery or dispatched emails whatsoever apart from the initial purchase confirmation. After opening a support ticket to chase this up, they (aka Dave who seems to run this company) said that they have sent out emails, which is just a plain lie.

After fitting the Xcarlink I experienced allot of interference and background noise so decided I wanted to return it and upgrade to the Dension Gateway. I opened up another support ticket and was told that it is probably a faulty product and to return it. I was then faced with the massively over complicated returns policy, but nevertheless I returned the product which I sent recorded special delivery (which I had to pay for!). Royal Mail tried to deliver the package the next day but couldn’t for some reason so they left a “sorry you were out card”. I found this out by tracking my package on the RM website. After not hearing anything for a week I chased them (“Dave”) up again to see if they have received the package who then denied receiving any card from RM (which is probably another lie). I then had to call up RM to arrange redelivery, and it finally got delivered to them a few days later.

The story goes on…. After another 4 WEEKS I hadn’t heard anything so chased them up yet again and got this excuse: “The return has arrived and is in the stage of being processed and checked”. I then paid the difference for the better Dension unit via paypal and was told that it will be delivered soon. After chasing them up again it finally arrived nearly 3 weeks later. I finally thought this ordeal is over! Wrong! I opened up the package to find the contents opened and the boxes damaged. Anyway, I installed it and all seemed well. However the next day the unit refused to work so I refitted it and check all the connections and it is still is not working. I was extremely fed up by this point so I just asked for a full refund and explained that I was very disappointed in the service and the products that I had received. After a few days I received this reply: “Hi, Please seek advice from Dension”.

I am now left with a useless Dension unit which only serves as an expensive phone charger for my car! I simply cannot be bothered to pursue this or deal with this company again which has wasted so much of my time. As others have said, they should not be allowed to trade and should be shut down.

**Please avoid this company at all costs!!!**

I purchased a Dension Gateway 500 with gateway enabling (GEN) tool and trim removal set on 14 Feb.  All appeared to be good at first as the prices were great and the gateway and GEN tool arrived within two days.  However, the trim removal set didn’t arrive so on 17 Feb I raised a support ticket stating that it hadn’t arrived.  On the 20 Feb I received the following response “Hi,

The tools were sent separately, they will be with you today or tomorrow should all go well.”  I became fed up waiting for the tools to arrive so purchased one on the high street and fitted the gateway.  Needless to say, the tools have never arrived and I am now pursuing a refund through PayPal.

Next, the GEN tool failed to activate the gateway in my car.  After contacting iPodcarkitdirect for support, I was told to go to the UK distributor who offers a premium rate support number.  The answer from them was that I needed to go to BMW to have the gateway activated.  This I did successfully and contacted iPodcarkitdirect to return the GEN tool that was obviously not doing as was advertised.  I was told that I could return the tool under the 30 day money back guarantee, but there may be (no doubt would be) a 30% restocking fee if it wasn’t packaged as it was when sent to me.  I stated that I would not accept this as I was not returning it because I didn’t want it, but because it didn’t work.  I have returned it and am now awaiting a refund.

Stupidly, I then went on to order the iPod power booster, USB power booster, Dension cradle and two dash mounting clips.  I ordered these on 5 Mar and received the first three items on 13 Mar, despite paying £5.50 for 1-3 day delivery.  I have contacted iPodcarkitdirect to find out where the other items are, but am yet to receive a response.

At no point during any of this process have I ever received any communication telling me that items have been dispatched, and if I go to my account section on the website, it says that both orders are pending.

The moral of this is not to use them.  In two orders, they have failed to deliver correctly on either of them.

To be honest, my review echoes the two previous reviews in that this company do not deliver on the requested dates. I committed to an overnight delivery and after much chasing and threatening to reverse the bank charges I eventually got a refund. The item then turned up, so this exemplifies the complete dissarray that this company operates under.

In my honesty, I told them that the equipment had subsequently arrived and that I wanted it, so I agreed to make the payement for the equipment. When it came to the installation, after several emails they could not even give me a firm engineer visit date. I found someone to fit the device for half the price and then demanded a refund for the engineer fee. I was told that this was not possible. I will therefore pursue the matter further because I will not be conned by this disgraceful excuse for a company! They should not be allowed to trade!

ordered goods on the 8th february and paid for next day delivery. after a few days i contacted them via the support ticket system they have. they claim to have live chat which doesnt work and a phone number that noone answers. there first response was oh you should have recieved it. then they said they have been chasing up the package to no avail and sending me a second one as a good will gesture ( the cheek of it ) i asked for a tracking number to which they gave me a royal mail tracking number , a few days later i phoned royal mail gave them the tracking number to which they said its an invalid number and not even on royal mails system.

****** WATCH OUT FOR THIS COMPANY AND I STRICTLY ADVISE NOT TO USE *******