Homebase UK

First time online buyer and what an experience. Next day delivery if placed before 4pm. Ordered Friday 8th, given a delievry slot of 13.30 - 17.30 on the 9th and still waiting on the 11th. Van broke down, my backside, tracking showed the driver in the next road around 20.00 so, with my mobile, why didn't they call me to pick. Monday 11th and driver just set off, 12.15, with 147 drops of which mine is 140! Nice one homebase, get yourself a better courier service. Homebase could have chased courier but that was left to me. Appalling attitude.

I went to Homebase on Wednesday because I had seen a rug I liked on the website. As per usual S$#*!horpe didn't have it in stock because Homebase thinks S$#*!horpe is a backwater town But I always know the staff can be very helpful and get it in from another store. Whilst I was booking in the order the driver was at the desk so the customer service lady asked him if he could go to Doncaster to pick up two rugs for me for Friday. He said he could. Friday came I called the branch and was told it would be Sunday now after the staff had to call the driver again. Sunday came and went on the Monday I called again and myself and the staff came to the conclusion the driver had no intention of getting the rugs until Wednesday his usual day so completely wasted the S$#*!horpe staff, Doncaster staff and myself the customers time with all of his messing about. A complete waste of space and his attitude wasn't that impressive either. So On the Wednesday as planned I got the rugs and was helped by two great staff in the transaction. So a massive thumbs up for the S$#*!horpe team but a big thumbs down for their Hull driver who needs some customer service training.

Pay is low and mangers don't listen to staff get messed about on working hours cant plan things due to rotas evey week get questioned if of sick products are not cheap to buy.

Incompetent service. They do not respond to emails requesting refunds. Don't waste your time and money with this company.

In-store in Lewes...

After asking to return just £10 worth of items that came out more expensive at the checkout than they were labelled, without blaming any individual for this (making sure to clarify this, as is considerate) and commenting that occasionally price labelling/ticketing is inconsistent and confusing (so you can expect to take £X amount of items to the checkout and be charged £Y, pretty much without fail) I was threatened with calling the police(!) and banned from the store!

My comments were absolutely mild mannered with no swearing or anything of the sort, not even raised voice! Absolutely revolting customer treatment; I have for many years enjoyed the ritual of popping by for bits and bobs since I was a little boy but I would never wish upon anybody the treatment I experienced for daring to make the most basic of requests. I suffered an anxiety attack at which point I refused to converse further with the clerk in question (whom wasn't even serving me at the checkout but another that felt it was appropriate to shout me down and explain how wrong I was, repeatedly blaming customers rather than the even remote possibility that items might be priced incorrectly, some of the time...).

Apparently it is customers' fault that items might be mislabelled because they get moved around (and not corrected by staff). Apparently it is customers' fault they do not "read price labels properly", even when the item descriptions regularly consist of obscure abbreviations and random strings of characters, so naturally you are only left with the quite logical deduction that the number on the label next to or on the item in question pertains to its price? I didn't even get to the point of citing consumer law but was just explaining why I got confused, because their pricing is inconsistent, jumbled and disorderly. Instead the very clear insinuation was that I was stupid and looking to cause trouble. I was told repeatedly I was just "on your high horse" with no contrition at all that perhaps my feedback was valuable. Extremely unfair as it was more reasonably the clerk that was exacerbating the situation by choosing to verbally harass me instead of simply listening and actioning my rights for a return. Without question my worst experience in a shop, store or establishment of any kind and absolutely shameful.

I will be investigating appropriate recourse for my experience and strongly recommend anyone to stay away, and certainly don't even dare to return anything under their *own* in-store policy, never mind consumer legislation! The chap in question was not wearing a name tag and it's impossible to get through to their customer service. They have also exploited a loophole on Facebook to remove reviews/recommendations by classifying it as a "Community" rather than a business. Such underhanded tactics are typically used to mask customer backlash. These fear-mongers will shout you out of the store, criminalise you and generally treat you like a piece of crap time-waster because for some bizarre reason they are offended by asking for a return.

Abhorrent.