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I recently ordered some bars and stem from carboncycles.cc (their site, not eBay) and they were dispatched that day. All good I thought until they didn't turn up. Not that that is their fault, royal mail were supposed to deliver them. I contacted them about them not arriving but I had to wait 15 working days before they were able to put a claim in to royal mail and if stocks allowed they would send out some more. Fair enough I thought, it's not their fault royal mail have lost them. The 15 days were up on Friday so I emailed them at about 11am but didn't get a reply until Monday morning. The reply was at 5:10am. The email said they would send out some more bars and stem. Brilliant I thought, not long to wait until I get them. I then got an email this morning at 10:45 saying the stem isn't in stock anymore, what did I want to happen. I replied to the email within about half an hour but I've not had a response yet, that was 5 hours ago.
It took me ages, but i eventually found a phone number on their Facebook page but I've rung them and not got an answer.
In this day and age I'd have thought that a company would get back to someone they already have a contact and communication with within a shorter timescale than this.
Am I being unreasonable here? I paid for the stem and bars 3 and a half weeks ago.
that a company would get back to someone they already have a contact and communication with within a shorter timescale than this.
Am I being unreasonable here?
Getting an arse on as they haven't responded in 5hrs definitely puts you in the unreasonable camp
10:45 is probably home time in China, they're 7 hours ahead, at least give them a working day to respond!
Am I being unreasonable here?
I am going to say yes.
They emailed back to you quicker than most UK companies, and they can't use the time difference as an excuse.
Getting an arse on as they haven't responded in 5hrs definitely puts you in the unreasonable camp
Where are we getting China from? Address on the website is in Surrey.
The 15 days is absolutely standard, and it's a Royal Mail thing, not a carbon cycles thing. So yeah, as above, a bit unreasonable. They're offering you an option to change/refund your order. No problem here in my eyes.
thegreatape - Member
Where are we getting China from? Address on the website is in Surrey.
Exactly.
Not sure why they are emailing at 5am when they are in Surrey and Utah. 5am is still 11pm in Utah.
The 15 days is absolutely standard, and it's a Royal Mail thing, not a carbon cycles thing. So yeah, as above, a bit unreasonable.
As I've said in the first post, I get that that is a royal mail thing and not their fault it wasn't delivered. It was the not getting back to me quickly after I responded to them. They asked which stem I would like to have instead of the one that is now out of stock and I answered with a couple of other questions. I'd have thought they would like to be able to get the order out tonight so I'd have thought a reply would have been quicker than this. Maybe I am wrong.
Also, why provide a phone number if you aren't going to answer it when it rings!
Yeah... They're not in Surrey. Unless that's Surrey in the Guangdong province!
They may have a UK and US address, but they're definitely in China.
It's not really relevant, but I don't see what difference emails being sent out of hours makes. It's an email, you can read it when you like.
Not sure why they are emailing at 5am when they are in Surrey and Utah. 5am is still 11pm in Utah.
They will be emailing you from China.
It's not really relevant, but I don't see what difference emails being sent out of hours makes. It's an email, you can read it when you like.
You can, an if you're a manager of some sort you probably would.
But how many minimum wage customer service people will be checking their work e-mails out of hours? Do call centre staff have mobiles to keep answering calls through the night?
The email address is .cc. So China.
[u]From wiki:[/u]
[i].cc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory of 5.4 square miles (14 km2; 1,400 ha) and about 600 inhabitants.[/i]
Although tends to get used for a lot of cycling stuff almost clubs are abreviate to TOWNNAME CC.
Yeah, .cn is China. They're obviously at pains to disguise their origins, but they're definitely in Asia!
They will be emailing you from China.
So it's just a dispatch warehouse in Surrey then?
From wiki:
.cc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory of 5.4 square miles (14 km2; 1,400 ha) and about 600 inhabitants.Although tends to get used for a lot of cycling stuff almost clubs are abreviate to TOWNNAME CC.
I have no idea what you're on about...
😀
So it's just a dispatch warehouse in Surrey then
If that.
Maybe I'm never going to get my bars and stem?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Have we reached 'Outrage' level yet?
Daily Mail Online been informed yet?
Not quite sure why you'd think that. They're a reputable company. You're expecting responses within daft timescales, and you've now been informed that they operate in a different time zone to what you thought.
Id suggest it's probably EMS rather than Royal Mail at fault though!
Not quite sure why you'd think that. They're a reputable company. You're expecting responses within daft timescales, and you've now been informed that they operate in a different time zone to what you thought.Id suggest it's probably EMS rather than Royal Mail at fault though!
Firstly, they're covering and hiding where they are based.
Something was in stock when they said they'd dispatch it but now it's not in stock. I get that stuff gets sold but when I worked in retail that item would have been reserved for the sale that had been agreed. This doesn't seem to have happened here.
Also, why sell to a country that you cannot provide service to? If they provide a UK mobile phone number then someone should be available to answer that number during UK operating hours, e.g. 2.30pm BST
You're now having a pop because they've got a virtual address? Lots of businesses do that.
They can (and have) provided service to lots of customers in the UK. Including me.
If you don't like it, perhaps just better to ask for a refund.
If you want a bar and stem and the ability to ask questions and get an instant response, go to a bike shop. This will also negate any issues with Royal Mail.
Maybe i'm just spoilt by other companies providing a service which (to me at least) is better than this.
Quick Q. Where you aware they were a Chinese company before ordering?
No, I checked out their details and it said Surrey and Utah.
This is the info on their 'About Us' page: [url= http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=10&q=aboutus& ]HERE[/url]
I asked on here about them as I hadn't really had any experience other than knowing I'd seen a report or two which looks good. No one said they were China based or suggested anything other than that which is on the website.
[quote=swoosh ]No, I checked out their details and it said Surrey and Utah.
This is the info on their 'About Us' page: HERE
Company registration number:: 200716616E
https://www.sgpbusiness.com/company/Discobrakescom-Pte-Ltd
Company registration number:: 200716616E
Didn't look that up as they had a GB vat company number.
Company registration number:: 200716616E
To be fair to the, OP. The website is a bit disingenuous. As suggests they have UK HQ, like DX has.
Bit more transparent on their eBay shop.
[img] 
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Bottom line is you've learned something, and you will get your stuff or a refund. Just apply the new knowledge to your expectations, so you don't get too stressed.
Stop being melodramatic FFS. Item lost in post. Item now out of stock. They've asked what you want to do. Ie wait, or refund. What do you want them to do?!
That they're in Asia is a complete irrelevance in any of this other than your unrealistic expectation re: reply times.
I just want to know what the chap sat waiting solely for the OPs email, with nothing else to do, has been doing since the email arrived in his inbox
That is how it works, isn't it?
That is how it works, isn't it?
Pretty much. They get the email, they then hire someone to specifically deal with your issue. The new worked changes their name to be the same as the client, so they feel a closer bond with you. Once they have resolved your issue, they have to commit seppuku as they no longer have a purpose.
If they've been shipped EMS from China then chances are they will turn up - EMS tracking is useless - I had a pair of carbon rims 'disappear' for 3 weeks. Also try putting your EMS tracking number into Royal Mail - it may be being held by UK Customs.
I was going to write a post saying that it's not really their fault blah blah....shipping....blah blah....
but looking at the website, they do try to make out that the items should be coming from US or UK....
From their website:
GENERAL
DiscoBrakes.Com Pte Limited is a Singapore based company with [b]distribution hubs in the UK [/b]and USASHIPPING
We ship worldwide from the Surrey, UK and Ohio, USA. Normal dispatch is within 48 hours.
So, if ordering within the UK it's not unreasonable to think they'd be dispatching items from Surrey. And equally, you might well expect to be able to reach someone on the end of the phone in Surrey.
It does say that the company is based in Singapore, but there are plenty of companies who are 'foreign' but have a presence in the UK.
The problem with these websites is honesty.
If they just openly said that they are based in the Far East & shipping might take a few weeks, I'd much rather that than trying to hoodwink customers & make them think that they are getting stuff sent to them nationally, rather than internationally.
The problem with these websites is honesty.
If they just openly said that they are based in the Far East & shipping might take a few weeks
I've ordered plenty from CarbonCycles and DiscoBrakes and it's never taken more than a day or 2
Stuff made in Far East
Shipped to distribution centre in UK
Any orders that come in are despatched from the UK distribution centre
So pretty much how every business works with the exception of Hope! Where someone answers an email from isn't a huge issue
Id suggest it's probably EMS rather than Royal Mail at fault though!
Or PMS.
when I worked in retail that item would have been reserved for the sale that had been agreed. This doesn't seem to have happened here.Also, why sell to a country that you cannot provide service to?
This isn't exactly standard old fashioned retail. You notice how Carboncycles stuff is really cheap? Thats the cutting-out-the-middleman thing - the paying someone like you thing - like dedicated 24hr sales and customer support. All that stuff is shaved away to cut the costs that get you the cheap thing cheaply. If you want to feel served then there are plenty of retail models where someone to serve you is included in the price.
I've ordered plenty from CarbonCycles and DiscoBrakes and it's never taken more than a day or 2Stuff made in Far East
Shipped to distribution centre in UK
Any orders that come in are despatched from the UK distribution centreSo pretty much how every business works with the exception of Hope! Where someone answers an email from isn't a huge issue
^^^^^^
This.
The stuff I've ordered from them in the past has been dispatched from the UK not China.
Also, why sell to a country that you cannot provide service to?
😕
Must be to wind you up, can't be any other reason?
Ordered quite a bit from them, seatpost, forks and brakes. Never had a problem, always quick and definitely posted in UK. Better than my experiences with CRC, Merlin and Wiggle although they've not been bad. On one, not if it was free!
They do have a UK office/distribution warehouse. I have ordered a few things from them and they have always been delivered via royal mail from a UK address/post stamp. I assume they have limited stock numbers compared to china.
The items are good stuff and delivery has always been decent speed, but their response to emails is quite slow. I think it's a one man show in the UK
The items are good stuff and delivery has always been decent speed, but their response to emails is quite slow. I think it's a one man show in the UK
It wasn't the speed of the delivery that I was complaining about in the first place, that was just background information. It was more the lack of communication via email that gets me. And then not being able to get through via telephone either.
Glad to know I'm not the only one to experience bad email communication. I suspect the emails I'm getting from 'Rebecca' are from Singapore though due to them arriving very early morning.
It was more the lack of communication via email
Except that there wasn't a [i]lack[/i] of communication, they did communicate, just not as quickly as you wanted. Most companies will have a target to reply within 24hrs to email queries, but that's a target, not a guarantee, and some (even UK ones!) take longer.
This is how buying off the internet works, if you want real-time interaction go to a shop and pay for the service. Even the big guys like Amazon, and smaller guys like Wiggle/CRC can take a day or more to reply at times, lots of places don't have a telephone number (Wiggle for example) let alone one that might not have someone available to answer when you ring it, were you able to leave a VM, or try again later?
Well nobody else has had issues with them in the past so maybe I just need to chill and hope for the best.
[quote=swoosh ]Well nobody else has had issues with them in the past so maybe I just need to chill and hope for the best.
If you want real bad/non-existent service, try emailing Fisher and waiting for a response. 😆
Fisher aren't a retailer though?
Fisher aren't a retailer though?
They have a trade and public side, and the public side is more secretive than the freemasons
Unless you know the secret handshake....
That would seem to be the only way. Don't think they've ever responded to an email!
3 working days is what is deemed by Trading Standards as "accepted" response time to queries. This is much faster.
Having previously managed a customer service team for an ecommerce company, I know that to maximise workflow, you work a strict "bottom up" process on the email inbox to ensure you hit response tines for all queries. This in turn ensures a fair and even response for all customers, not just one person who has an email chain going on.
Sounds like they've done nothing wrong here. Either refund or wait.
Uk based distribution model with limited stockholding/frequent replenishment is a very common ecommerce model now too. There's often tax advantages to structuring a business this way, so makes perfect sense.