PBtech abysmal customer service

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#2955668 17-Aug-2022 17:31

jarledb:

In the end it has made PBtech go from one of my preferred tech suppliers to my last option next time I am making a purchase.

You'll be back the next time they offer a cheap price on something you need.

They drive you mad but where you going to go? Noel Leeming :)

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#2955678 17-Aug-2022 18:30

Earlier in the year I spend quite a lot of money at PBTech over several orders. They were unable to supply a couple of the smaller items, no problem except that I never received a refund for them.

Some time later when I enquired about it they replied with a one-sentence email stating that all items on that order had been finalized. I replied stating that no, that is incorrect, and I can see in my order history that those items were never sent or refunded.

I received essentially the same one-sentence response again. I replied with a somewhat sarcastic email along the lines of, ok, you win, the items in question are insignificant compared to the many thousands of dollars I have spent with you, so Ill let the matter go.

I had the refund and an apology by the end of the day.

I'll continue to shop there because at the end of the day they have generally got the item you want in stock and it's easy, and we do not have a plethora of comparable options.

Kyanar

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#2955688 17-Aug-2022 19:00

One has to wonder why PBT has no competition, they have margins high enough to afford to have a store at Auckland International Airport - airside! - for crying out loud.

jonathan18

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#2955805 17-Aug-2022 22:26

xpd:
I've tried returning a $700 NAS to them. They directed me to their online forms which are not relevant to the return reason.

The reason ?

Ordered one NAS.

We got sent two.

Emailed them again. No response.

They did exactly the same with me, sending me two pairs of Audioengine 5+ speakers - and that was after I’d spent so much time and effort to get the first pair sent after countless delays, no replies to emails, failed promises after phone calls… I even emailed them to say the first pair had arrived so all good, but still a second pair turn up.

So I thought #$%@# you, and stuck them in a cupboard and waited… Looking at the emails it took them over two months to contact me about the second pair; it was just prior to Xmas I told them it’ll need to wait until after the closedown period.

What clowns…

jamesrt

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#2955845 18-Aug-2022 08:06

xpd:
I've tried returning a $700 NAS to them. They directed me to their online forms which are not relevant to the return reason.

The reason ?

Ordered one NAS.

We got sent two.

Emailed them again. No response.

Maybe you can keep them...

https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/chapter-25-consumer-protection/when-sellers-approach-you-uninvited/unsolicited-goods-and-services/

JayADee

2118 posts

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#2955892 18-Aug-2022 09:30

jamesrt: Maybe you can keep them...

https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/chapter-25-consumer-protection/when-sellers-approach-you-uninvited/unsolicited-goods-and-services/

Wow. Didn't know that.

richms

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#2955917 18-Aug-2022 10:19

JayADee:

Maybe you can keep them...

https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/chapter-25-consumer-protection/when-sellers-approach-you-uninvited/unsolicited-goods-and-services/

Wow. Didn't know that.

Pays to know your rights about distance selling when ordering online or by phone since so many companies take the proverbial with how they handle things VS what they have to do. Its like them ignoring CGA but amped up ten times.

Not arrived and they just give you a tracking number and leave you to it? Nope, not happening, they can track it and deal with the useless courier they have chosen.

Arrived wet because the courier didn't follow instructions and left it in the middle of the driveway on a day with rain? That's a rejection of goods, come and get it.

I will usually comply with reasonable requests like printing a courier ticket and leaving it outside, and when dealing with the market decided to take it to their drop off place rather than make them come and get it but damn some places really try it on with what they expect the buyer to do in order so sort out their failures to provide what was ordered.

Richard rich.ms

Divhon88

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#2955918 18-Aug-2022 10:22

9th of May I sent my kid's phone for screen replacement. 22 May they were able to finish it, MN from Manukau texted me. I finally got the phone last week after countless back and forth via facebook messenger, unaswered emails, and unanswered calls.

xpd

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#2955926 18-Aug-2022 10:33

Hmm... be tempting but we're not the type to take something like that. :)

I'll drop them another line and if no response after 5 business days, then I'll email one more time with a 10 day notice :)

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hotsupes

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#2955952 18-Aug-2022 11:25

I think the issues are probably localised to certain branches as I've dealt with the PBtech online team and the PBtech Wellington team for 15 years and they've helped me out every time and been really awesome with returns which Noel Leeming or Harvey's would have been a pain about - I wouldn't consider myself a special customer or a VIP there or anything either. Even gone as far as to honour Cyber Monday pricing for me beyond the scope of the sale on a number of occasions. I think they are successful for a reason, they provide a lot of good service and good pricing for customers - undoubtedly with the size they are now, they are bound to face criticism, so YMMV.

My recommendation is if you are having trouble with the local branch, take it up with head office or just call up the Wellington Branch and say your local branch is garbage and you're ringing them up out of desperation :P

jonathan18

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#2955961 18-Aug-2022 11:56

hotsupes:

I think the issues are probably localised to certain branches as I've dealt with the PBtech online team and the PBtech Wellington team for 15 years and they've helped me out every time and been really awesome with returns

Not in my experience in relation to the order problems I detailed above - all those hassles were with central staff either via online or phone. I'd go as far to say that was an incompetent sh!tshow.

RunningMan

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#2956074 18-Aug-2022 15:10

jamesrt: Maybe you can keep them...

https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/chapter-25-consumer-protection/when-sellers-approach-you-uninvited/unsolicited-goods-and-services/

According to the linked article, you can't.

However, the goods won’t belong to you if you failed, without any reasonable excuse, to let the sender collect the goods within the 10 working days, or if you knew or should reasonably have known that the goods weren’t intended for you or that the sender didn’t have the right to send or deliver them to you.

It's pretty clear that if you order 1 item but receive 2 accidentally, you know the 2nd one wasn't for you.

jarledb

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#2956409 18-Aug-2022 20:53

surfisup1000:

You'll be back the next time they offer a cheap price on something you need.

They drive you mad but where you going to go? Noel Leeming :)

I will pay a bit more to avoid shopping at PBtech in the future. Have already done so actually.

That said, I have learned a long time ago not to be a "loyal customer", because the companies are not my friend. They don't care about "brand loyalty". Case in point is things like power, bank services, phone and internet providers etc.

Better to shop around for the best price. So that is what I do. But sometimes you just got to cut out some of the companies that treat you bad...

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kiwiharry

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#2956464 19-Aug-2022 08:04

Reminds me of the time I got sent “multiple“ Ring Chime Units.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=73&topicid=222596&page_no=5#2252382

If you can't laugh at yourself then you probably shouldn't laugh at others.

JayADee

2118 posts

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#2956487 19-Aug-2022 09:17

kiwiharry: Reminds me of the time I got sent “multiple“ Ring Chime Units.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=73&topicid=222596&page_no=5#2252382

What happened with those in the end?

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