by agskyatnight » Mon May 19, 2008 11:56 pm
I am not sure if the moderators of the Sky at Night forum will allow this post post as it relates to a commercial firm, but as Chairman of Macclesfield Astronomical Society, I feel very strongly that amateur astronomers should be made aware of the following ...
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Dear all
I think I should make you all aware of my recent dealings with ScopesnSkies.com, as I feel it should be a warning to others before they place an order with this company.
I ordered an ex-demo AC493 2 inch T-thread camera adaptor on 24 April. On the 25th the money was taken from my account. By May 2nd I hadn't received the item so I called ScopesnSkies and explained the situation. The person I spoken to said they would investigate and call me back. They never did.
I called again on May 5th and explained the issues again. I was told that the item hadn't been sent and it didn't seem to exist anymore. I was offered a new item as a replacement (for the same cost). Although unhappy at the fact that my money had been taken before the product had been dispatched, I accepted and also placed an additional order for a set of 3x 15mm T-thread extension tubes (at £19.99).
The money was taken from my account for the new order on May 6
Cut to May 19, and I still had not received my products. Previously, I was upset and felt let down, now I was annoyed.
I called and asked how long on average it takes to dispatch an item after it has been ordered. I was told 4-5 days. I had been waiting nearly four weeks.
I once again explained my disappointment. I was told that the after my call on May 5th the AC493 had gone out of stock. I asked why. I was then told that the item allocated to me had been sent to another customer. By this time I'm feeling angry. I asked why I hadn't been informed. There was no answer.
I requested recompense for all these errors. I was told that this would have to be referred to the Manager and that I would be called back.
My call was returned and I was offered £1.99 off my £31.00 order, which to be frank is embarrassing.
Ultimately, the unwillingness of ScopesnSkies to be fair in this issue led me to cancel my order. I have been told that my money will be returned within 24 hours. We'll see.
My position as Chairman of Macclesfield Astronomical Society puts me in contact with lots of people who need advice on finding good, customer-focused retailers to buy equipment from. Suffice to say that I will not be recommending ScopesnSkies.com to any of them, and I certainly won't be using them again.
Andrew Greenwood
Chairman, Macclesfield Astronomical Society
<www.maccastro.com>
<www.imagepalette.com>