So I broke my phone on the 22nd of December and I was more shattered than the phone because I loved it. It was a note 5. So I started looking quickly for a new phone at a good price. I check out reviews and decide because I loved the note 5 the galaxy s7 would be a good choice. I check around websites and quickly see that Dick Smith has them for $815 unlock which is a good price and in big letters order now to have sent out before the 26th of December! Great I think if I get my phone in less than 5 working days like the website says then I will have it in no time and for a good price and there are heaps of working days coming up. Apparently not! They don’t dispatch the phone from their HONG KONG warehouse till the 29th! It didn’t arrive in Australia till today the 3rd of January. I have been emailing, calling on my daughters very expensive plan and a few days ago because my daughter has a chronic condition bought another phone (an oppoF1s which seems to do the job fine). Finally after much arguing about false advertising and mentioning accc, I also put in claim with PayPal to get my money back and have left it open, they said as a show of good will they would pay me back my money and try to stop the phone being sent to me (it’s probably in their best interests too since they have raised the price since I bought it by about $30). My question is how can they falsely advertise like this? I would not have bought the phone had I known it would take weeks to be delivered and was coming from Hong Kong. I assumed it was being dispatched locally and would only take a few days. Yes they sent an email after I paid saying it could take longer but that’s after you have paid and by then it’s too late! Surely this a breach of contract or something or against advertising rules of some sort?
A bit confused…so they didn’t meet the advertised 26 December 2017 despatch timeframe however the phone was still despatched on the 29 December 2016 but was received in 5 days on 3 January 2016. Was the despatch date what they provided you by Kogan or that of the postal/courier tracking service?
Was it a guaranteed despatch date or a ready/available to be despatched date - these are quite different?
I understand from what you said that the 26 December 2016 was the despatch date nominated on their website (not the anticipated receival date). What were the conditions associated with this date?
Is it possible that the phone was ready for despatch on the 26 December 2016 by the company on Hong Kong however it was not logged by the postal service/courier until the 29 December 2016…which may be why there appears to be a delay.
5 days for deliver from Hong Kong seems really fast for this time of year.
A few questions for thought.
Sounds like good delivery to me over Christmas! You don’t say where the delivery was originating from, only that it was being shipped from HK on the 29th and you received the the phone on Jan 3. If that’s the case i wouldn’t complain. If not, could you please provide more details. Cheers.
No as far as I know it had only just arrived at the toll dispatch centre in Brisbane centre. It spent three working days in Hong Kong from dispatch. It would probably have arrived here by Friday. I’m in coolangatta. By the time they did paperwork etc. (toll international is not known for being reliable apparently). The problem was it was not sent when they told me it would be sent from the destination I assumed it would be sent. They made it seem on their website like it was coming from a local warehouse (although they admit the phones aren’t local) and will be delivered and dispatched quickly. There were if it were dispatched and sent as quickly as they said it would it could have easily been delivered by the 28th or 29th of December. It may not seem like a big deal but when you have a sick kid every day without a phone feels like torture in case something happens. I ordered it early on the 22nd and HONG Kong is 2 hours behind us theoretically they could have dispatched it that night. I’ve ordered stuff off crossroads before and it comes by toll the next day or the day after at the latest it’s never been any later and I didn’t pay $30 in postage like I did for Dick Smith.
I didn’t receive it. I still hadn’t received it on the 3rd. Dick Smith told me it was in Brisbane when I rang them. They didn’t tell me when I would receive it. They still couldn’t give me a date.
Hi @dominiquedwards, thanks for raising the issue here on the Community and sorry to hear about your delivery frustration. I think we can all sympathise how it can feel to be without a phone when you need one, especially in the silly season.
Regarding your question - I had a look at the Dick Smith website across a few different products and pages, and they all have the same message so I’m going to assume we’re seeing the same thing. Firstly, there is a note about warehouse dispatch and then when you hover over this field, further delivery info is provided. Within this info, there are words like ‘usually’ and ‘allow another … 4-10 days for regional areas’. So, there’s no breach of terms based on the info you have provided as far as I can see.
However, we’ve seen website design used before to unfairly confuse consumers, and in this case obviously your original expectations have not been met. To be clear, I’m not passing judgement on whether this is the case with the Dick Smith website. Rather, we’re open to listening to what consumers think (with thanks to the comments already).
One positive that you can take away is that the company is looking to provide a resolution for you without having to pursue the matter in a tribunal, ombudsmen or other format as many companies will fight to do the opposite (usually to the detriment of their reputation). It’s also a cautionary tale for other members in the Community about ordering online when an object is needed urgently, especially around busy times of year. So thanks for sharing your story and hopefully you have cleared the way for the rest of 2017!
If you have any further queries, feel free to get in touch at any time.
This is what the Dick Smith website says:
Order Has Been Shipped - How Long Does Delivery Take?
Delivery times vary depending on the product you have ordered and your delivery address.
After your order leaves the warehouse, deliveries typically occur within:
- 5 days to VIC Metro, NSW Metro, SA Metro, and QLD Metro.
- 7 days to VIC Rural, NSW Rural, SA Rural.
_ 8 days to WA Metro, TAS Metro._
- 14 days to WA Rural, QLD Rural, TAS Rural, and NT.
Please note: Delays may occur during holiday and peak periods or extreme weather conditions.
While I haven’t used Kogan/Dick Smith, I have used Toll in the past and Toll use parcel tracking. Have you asked DS/Kogan for a parcel tracking number as it apears it is something they do. The parcel can then be tracked on the Toll website.
OK it was delivered yesterday. After much deliberation (and begging on my daughter’so part who wanted the phone I had bought because hers was cracked and glitchy) I decided after all the drama I would keep the phone and and Dick Smith has agreed to return the postage because they didn’t send it out at the time they advertised on their website. The thing is it says all that now but when I actually ordered the phone on the 22nd they had a large banner above the phone with a countdown clock saying order now for dispatch before the 26th. That’s what the issue has been. Of course that banner has since been removed. It’s not till after I purchased the phone that I got the message it would take longer. That is why it was so upsetting plus as I may have mentioned I have a sick child etc. and her phone as mentioned is not reliable. It has all turned out OK although I still don’t think I would have gone through the stress if I had known it was going to take so long. It appears some of the time I was waiting may have spent with them sending the sim to the Hong Kong warehouse so it could all arrive together. They could have just sent the sum directly to me. It would have saved time and the phone would have been sent out on the 23rd.
I should point out I got an email notification the next day that the sim had been dispatched. I just hadn’t realised it had been dispatched to Hong Kong!
I was wondering if that was the case, and you’re not alone in your frustration when business put up confusing messages or cannot deliver on a promise. In any case, glad you got a result! I’m sure others will benefit from the story as well. Thanks again @dominiquedwards
With Christmas in the middle I would be totally happy to get my phone in 12 days!
