I sent my perfectly working MacBook which was in excellent condition. I received a revised offer of £9 in comparison to the original £112 - this is because they claimed it has a cracked screen and it couldn't be restored. Thankfully, I took several photos before I posted my device which are clear as day there is no damage to the device. I sent my photos and asked for images of this "cracked screen" that they've found. They then sent me photographs of a perfect screen, I was in complete shock. I disputed this as anyone would but they continued to claim there is cracks which is absolutely diabolical when their own images did not show any damage. I demanded escalation and was told seniors would review it - a few days later I then receive another email stating the item is cracked and they will not change the offer. I was in complete utter disbelief. I proceeded to phone customer services as it felt like I was talking to a complete idiot. The customer service advisor and their senior manager then agree with me that there is no cracked screen and confirmed the device will be reassessed. I chased and chased for an update until today and they apparently still stand by their previous comments. As no one would accept this stupidity, I proceeded to call customer services again who confirmed there is no cracked screen but the device cannot be restored. I asked for images repeatedly which is a simple request, but the advisor said they couldn't provide these because it is confidential information and I am the public? Hearing this was laughable as it is MY device and it is MINE until any transaction is complete, I am not the public! The advisor, Lucas, was rude on the phone and wouldn't listen to my valid points. Firstly, they couldn't even provide simple images of the so-called crack and then confirmed it was an error on their end AND now they cannot take photos of the device not being restored? Surely this is a standard procedure when an investigation is ongoing?! How is it that they cannot even provide simple evidence to back their claims? They are absolute scammers and a complete waste of time. Idiots work at this place and they definitely do not employ any qualified technicians. I have now rejected their absurd offer and if my device is returned damaged or "not restorable" I will take this further to small claims court.

Music Magpie are jokers!

If you order 'playalong' music books - and the CD is missing how can you list the item on eBay as 'Very Good'? (The all important Alto Sax CD was missing - but the other instrument was there - see empty pocket!)

And the book btw, was decidedly tatty.

And how can you claim that having to visit a Post Office - just to get a label printed from a QR code they send you - is 'saving paper'. How? They're barmy - and it's clear they don't trust you to send it back.

Unfortunately eBay are complicit, because if you go through their complaint resolution they say MusicMagpie will send a prepaid label - then when the deadline arrives - MM tell them they have sent a 'prepaid' label when they haven't just the QR code - and you have no other option. This is what most people regard as a lie. And eBay are complicit. This is a shame, because eBay's complaints procedure was highly regarded - and they will not allow you to use PayPal complaint procedure - which has a much higher reputation.

This is what the Magpie clown, Camilla said in her response:

"The QR code replaces the old Royal Mail labels that we used to provide and this is a paperless way of creating a label.
Please take the QR code attached to this email to the post office on your phone, they will scan the code and create a label for your parcel."

Paperless.

Dear Reader - please can you explain how this saves paper? How can a label being printed by the Post Office (where I had to queue behind six others) instead of me, saves paper? Ludicrous.

So instead of being able to post it in a post box after you've printed it at home - you have to queue and wait, and wait and queue, and wait!

This Kafkaesque situation is an insult to Magpies - who are very intelligent birds - not many have the name of Camilla.

MM will soon be out of business.

Not so long ago the trading report for MM said: "MusicMagpie stock had lost almost 90% of its value since its market debut in April 2021 as a cost-of-living squeeze hurt sales."

So it's not just market conditions that will see them fail - but their own incompetence.

Be very wary of any 'book' purchases - try World of Books instead - and definitely don't buy any phone hardware with a 'guarantee' - they'll be out of business before you can say Jack Robinson.

Fly away discordant bird.

Postscript: On another site MM responded:

'Jodie' below, says "I regret to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations." - ("your expectations"! What about Jodie's professional expectations? It's an MM failure - not mine.) What does she know of my 'expectations'? - Except that I probably want a decent, efficient and fair service)? (Failure on all counts.) Unfortunately I only use MM as a last resort -So I don't have any "expectations" regarding MM. Reviews on TP are a powerful device for highlighting poor retail for others - especially as I read them too. No one can be in any doubt - like me - who believes that MM use the despicable technique of damaging phones when they are sent in - to their advantage. You just can't disbelieve all the reviews that mention this - search for yourself. Reviews on TrustPilot are a powerful spotlight on dodgy traders. I have myself had a run in with MM regarding trading practices - and reporting them to understaffed trading standards (as I did) is pointless. So well done TrustPilot. Also mentioned on other sites is MM's being "...good at getting poor reviews removed from TP". I believe they tried it with this one too.

Now I wonder why Jodie didn't give their usual response? They normally respond with:

"Did you know we also have a refer a friend program? When your friend signs up, we will treat you both to a gift card!"

I believe this is a manipulation of the stats that say they respond to a high percentage of reviews - and is not a sincere measure of their 'care'. Strange!

I was confidently advised 3 days after receiving I would have had resolution re this matter

30/03/2024
Hi JT,

Thanks for contacting our customer service team, if your query is still outstanding please be assured we will work on this behind the scenes!

We would love to hear about your experience with our support agent musicMagpie

Please drop musicMagpie a rating below, feel free to leave additional comments

How would you rate the support you received?

06/04/2024
Hello,

This is to let you know we've received your item from order R07****** in this morning's post.

NOTHING HAPPENING?!

13/04/2024
Thanks for contacting our customer service team, if your query is still outstanding please be assured we will work on this behind the scenes!

We would love to hear about your experience with our support agent musicMagpie

Please drop musicMagpie a rating below, feel free to leave additional comments

How would you rate the support you received?

15/04/2024

Hi S,

Thanks for contacting our customer service team, if your query is still outstanding please be assured we will work on this behind the scenes!

We would love to hear about your experience with our support agent Nolwazi Gonya

Please drop Support Agent N.G a rating below, feel free to leave additional comments

How would you rate the support you received?

20th April 2024
##- Please type your reply above this line -##
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us here at musicMagpie!

Your message has been received and one of our customer service specialist will respond within 2-4 business days, we are currently receiving a high volume of contacts but rest assured we will respond as soon as possible.

Please be sure to have your order reference ready, if applicable, so we can answer your query right away!

In the meantime, please check the following articles to see if any of them help!

Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated during this time.

Thanks again,
The musicMagpie Team

Here are some great articles that may help:?!

24th April 2024
Sorry to keep you waiting!
Thank you for your patience!

Just to remind you, due to high demand, it's currently taking a couple of days for a response. We hate to keep customers waiting so our team are working really hard to get to your message.

Thanks again and apologies for the delay,

In the meantime, if any of the articles below helps or your inquiry has been resolved in the meantime, please let us know by solving the ticket below

Hello,

We are contacting you to confirm your item from order R07*******

We will now investigate the reported issue and get back to you within 3 working days
Kind regards

K
Customer Services
The musicMagpieSTORE Team

THEN FINALLY AFTER excess of 15 emails:
Return Enquiry
Dear X

Regarding your recently returned item, I'm pleased to inform you that we have successfully repaired the reported fault.

Your item will be dispatched within the next 24 hours. Once dispatched, you will receive a dispatch email notification directly from the postal provider.

Thank you for your patience.

Best wishes,

Returns Department
Customer Services
MusicMagpie

2 Xbox one console sent (1 x 1 tb version and 1 x2 tb version) in perfect working condition with warranty stickers intact on both and in original box, I then received an email stating the 1tb had been declined due to cracked damage like it had been dropped new offer was £10 while original offer was £100, When i contact MM via chat they then informed it wasn't cracked but had loose parts, later on i was then informed the 1tb was in fact ok and it was the 2tb version what had the issues, and was told the tech guys had put a rubber band round the unit to hold it together, I asked for pictures and they were never supplied. I tried to escalate however informed this not possible, i can assure you both these console was sent 100% fully working no cracks nor loose parts and all warranty stickers intact, all I can say is make sure you take pictures when sending a anything to MM with S/N and timestamp, lets see what junk they send back to me.
Absolutely shocking service which by the sounds of it will leave me well and truly out of pocket, if a rubber band holding this together which was not how this console was sent, i have pictures of the console taken a few days before sending and also have my networks logs of the console working on the day i factory reset the console, I really feel scammed, all they kept asking for is proof of item before I sent, but I can assure you whatever proof i did have they would just say well this could have happened between me taking the picture and putting in the box, Please anyone reading this, BEWARE

Update

Xbox has been returned and yes sounds like lose parts, this was not sent this way, also when Xbox sent, it was in the original box, with all cables included, Xbox returned original box missing, HDMI cable missing and the stand to allow the xbox to stand on its end also missing, I will be reaching out to Music Magpie, but expecting usual response, do you have the proof.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/users/5ce6a966ec87ee*******e4503

That's my TrustPilot review, their response and my further response.

To sum up - they sent me a phone which completely ceased to function. I sent it back and I want a refund. Because the phone didn't die within 30 days they have fixed and returned to me (despite me contacting them to tell them not to) the original phone. I have zero confidence that a company who say they send out phones which "function perfectly" and which have apparently made it through being "quality assessed" and so I don't want their replacement, I want a phone which I have confidence in and trust to work, which is not one from this company. They have accepted the fault is their's but have still left me out of pocket and penalised. The 30 days in immaterial, in that the product sent was not fit for purpose.
Save yourself time and effort and go elsewhere. I eventually managed to get a reply to them AFTER I posted a review on TrustPilot which says that they think more about their external reputation than they do about my actual customer experience.
Or tie two tin cans together with string, because that will work better than my phone did.