https://www.bax-shop.co.uk - ruined my Christmas...

[edstraker123]

I ordered a PJB Double 4 on Tuesday which was in stock and the website said it would be delivered today. Order also confirmed today as delivery date. Checked tracking today and status says advised. Finally managed to talk to somebody who said the item is still in their warehouse in The Netherlands . Fuming !  - unlikely to get it before Christmas now and completely misled by the co.uk website and UK contact address on the site. Would I also have to pay duty as its coming from Europe ? Initiated a Paypal claim as looking at Trustpilot they seem to be dreadful. If only I'd done that before ordering.

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, edstraker123 said:

I ordered a PJB Double 4 on Tuesday which was in stock and the website said it would be delivered today. Order also confirmed today as delivery date. Checked tracking today and status says advised. Finally managed to talk to somebody who said the item is still in their warehouse in The Netherlands . Fuming !  - unlikely to get it before Christmas now and completely misled by the co.uk website and UK contact address on the site. Would I also have to pay duty as its coming from Europe ? Initiated a Paypal claim as looking at Trustpilot they seem to be dreadful. If only I'd done that before ordering.

 

Bummer about the delivery cockup.  A big store like that ought to work out the landed UK price and charge you the VAT/Duty included price.  I have a super cheap bass on back order with them and I do not expect to pay any more on arrival.  In fact, I am pretty certain they do, because if you look at the UK site, you see this next to the prices:

 

 

So they're well aware of the need to add UK VAT etc. to the price.

 

Why are you initiating a claim?  It's a delivery issue, possible stock reporting mistake, it happens.  Also don't fill your head with scare stories on Trustpilot - the bias towards negative reporting will be staggering - the vast majority of people will have been served satisfactorily and will leave no review/comment at all.  Occasionally someone might be pleased enough to leave a positive.  The most motivated commentators will be riled up disgruntled people of the "WOULD LEAVE ZERO STARS IF I COULD" persuasion.

 

I recently received a bass from the States, and UPS was the courier.  I filled my heart with dread reading the negative comments on Trustpilot.  Guess what happened?  The bass arrived on the (revised) estimated date quoted, undamaged, all good.  I felt like I needed to leave a positive, 5 star review to try to balance out all the negatives!

[edstraker123]

I just wanted them to do what they said. They are still listing the in stock black PJB as will be delivered on Monday so it isn't a stock or reporting

error, it's deception. If they had said it would be several business days before dispatch (as they do on other items) I would have just bought the amp from GAK or another UK seller.

I kicked off the claim early knowing it will take some time to resolve. If the amp arrives before xmas I will cancel the claim but I'm not optimistic having spoken to them.

 

If it ends well I won't leave the 1* review they currently deserve.

 

[aniki]

Coincidentally, BAX have just failed to deliver my latest order on time.

Ordered on Tuesday; web page said order now for delivery on Thursday. Received invoice later that day stating Thursday delivery day. As of today (Thursday) have had no shipping advice.

I phoned them and they said it was down to Parcelforce being behind and was nothing to do with them. Well, I'm sorry BAX, it's everything to do with you if you make promises you can't keep. Cuts a little deeper also because I had exactly the same nonsense the last time I ordered from them.

I seem to recall an older purchase going smoothly but after this they're dead to me.

I phoned them to try and sort it out to no avail; even though the parcel is still at their warehouse, their 'system' prevents them from cancelling my order and issuing an immediate refund. I have to wait until delivery is attempted and then refuse and wait for a refund. Probably about a two week turnaround!

I told them their system was BS and totally NOT customer focused which made me feel about 10% better.

But yeah, no more BAX business from me. Ironically I had a bass shipped from Australia (the same day as my BAX order) which is already in the UK and due for delivery tomorrow....
 

 

[edstraker123]

It's frustrating when all you need is honesty - surely that would be a better business model. The price I paid was a good one and I was really pleased when I placed the order. Now they have tarnished it and like you I wouldn't use them again and our posts may stop others who might have used them in future. Seems a crazy way to operate in a competitive market,

Edited December 19 by edstraker123

[bigthumb]

I think they should be more clear on where the item is being shipped from. From the web address you'd be forgiven to think it's from the uk so a 48 hour delivery wouldn't raise any eyebrows. Saying that, a bass I bought from a Reverb seller (London) actually came from Holland! I was worried at first as I thought there might be import and tax charges etc. But all was fine in the end and it surprisingly arrived a few days later. I've not bought anything from the EU since Brexit so I'm not sure on anything like this. 

So yes, I'd be annoyed too as the ad is misleading in that respect, unless they actually can deliver from Holland in the given time. 

[Ed_S]

The only recent 'problem' I've had with Bax was them sending me too much stuff - I got two of the same bass instead of just the one I paid for, which wasn't really a 'problem' as one was much lighter than the other and I got the choice. I rang them and asked for a label to post one back, and the RMA slip you print off and put in the box explained that it was "sent in error - do not refund". So of course then the refund arrived anyway, meaning I'd essentially no longer paid for the one I kept. I rang them again and asked for a payment link to return their money, and now we're all square. Both of the calls I made were answered quickly and the people I spoke to were friendly, so I'd still use and recommend them as there are some UK based shops where every time I've had occasion to contact them they've been abrasive at best.

 

Regarding delivery, most things I've had from Bax have arrived on time or at most one day later than estimated. Those times have usually corresponded with bad weather, Black Friday, the run-up to Christmas etc.

[Bolo]

Drama aside, I think it's unrealistic to expect anything you order in December to arrive before Christmas.

 

I do agree sellers need to advertise realistic shipment expectations. Thomann always takes a week and change when they advertise a three day turnover.

[edstraker123]

50 minutes ago, Bolo said:

I think it's unrealistic to expect anything you order in December to arrive before Christmas

Well I ordered a Zoom M60B+ from Amazon this morning and its being delivered today !

[asingardenof]

1 hour ago, Bolo said:

Drama aside, I think it's unrealistic to expect anything you order in December to arrive before Christmas.

 

I do agree sellers need to advertise realistic shipment expectations. Thomann always takes a week and change when they advertise a three day turnover.

I'm still amazed that the Sire I ordered through Thomann on 12/12/2020 turned up less than two weeks later, which was doubly gratifying because it all happened before B-word did.

[PaulThePlug]

Only issues i've had with Thomman 'n Bax arn't really Thomman 'n Bax

It's the Courier... more specifically the depot. Actual local deliverer-ers are fine.

Depot seem to add the extra day or two by being stretched...

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said:

Only issues i've had with Thomman 'n Bax arn't really Thomman 'n Bax

It's the Courier... more specifically the depot. Actual local deliverer-ers are fine.

Depot seem to add the extra day or two by being stretched...

 

But those retailers chose which courier service they use. Therefore they are responsible when the courier service messes up.

[PaulThePlug]

But if Evri want to play silly buggers and over stretch the delivery drivers time.. 

Bit out of the retailers control.

Difficult, and i know what its like to wanting and waiting!

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

But those retailers chose which courier service they use. Therefore they are responsible when the courier service messes up.

 

If you look at the various threads about couriers, you'll see that there isn't any great level of consistency about which are good and which are bad. Unless the retailers start up their own courier service under their direct control (and even then it will rely on human beings), they're always going to get let down on some proportion of orders.

[edstraker123]

Just to update -the amp actually arrived today. So Christmas is saved 😄. All the drama could have been avoided if customer services had just told me that yesterday - it actually ended up a really good deal and it's a cracking little amp. "All we need is just a little patience !"

[neepheid]

All this drama could have been saved if you hadn't gone off the deep end...

[Tandro]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

All this drama could have been saved if you hadn't gone off the deep end...

However he said that he called them yesterday and was told the item was still in The Netherlands, I would not say that is going off the deep end. But at any rate, glad it all ended well.

[aniki]

Appreciate this isn’t my thread but just a quick update on my Bax experience.

My item (guitar stand) turned up. A day late, but before xmas so all good?

No.

The outer packaging was pristine however the box inside, containing my stand was shabby and torn. Unsurprisingly one of the stand legs was completely snapped off and rattling around in the box.

I’d bet good money on this being something someone else had already returned!

Bax were quick to approve my return and send me a shipping label but something in this condition should never have been sent. They could have at least checked it before shipping.

Luckily gear4music came to the rescue and I got a fully intact stand delivered today.

[chriswareham]

Biggest problem with Bax (and Thomann) is that they usually send electronics with "deathdaptors", those wobbly converters from EU two pin plugs to British three pin ones. I kind of expected it with Thomann, but got fooled by Bax having a .co.uk website address. At least I already knew to not order from DV247 (the former Digital Village and now known as Music Store), who did a "flat pack" restructure a few years ago, with many suppliers left out of pocket and the company basically moved to Germany. I was actually working in an office above their Barnet branch when they restructured overnight, and came in to work one Monday to find their confused staff standing outside a locked and empty store.