Audio Affair

[Oldboy]

Hi all,

Has anyone bought anything over the net from these people? I bought a Chord Crimson Plus interconnect from their site last week which has failed to arrive, i've tried emailing them and phoning all to no avail so i'm wondering if i've been ripped off?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I bought a pair of Soundstyle Z2 stands off them last year and had no problems! Even with delivery to Ireland.

Peter

 

[Oldboy]

Thanks IrishPeterB it's just worrying when customer services don't reply to any form of contact, my Marantz cd6003 arrived today and was ordered after the cable from a different company so i'm anxious to ditch the freebee cable. Just out of interest how long did it take for your stands to arrive, if you can remember?

Oldboy

 

[garyw77]

Seems you are not the only one who is having problems with Audio Affair

A week ago i ordered a pair of Partington stands from them, on their site was written "in stock, usually delivered within 24 hours"

I waited and 3 days later contacted them through their "Live Chat" feature on their web site.

I was then informed, only upon my enquiry, that they actually had no stock and it would be 3-4 weeks before THEY even had them, let alone send to me. This is despite the fact that they had already taken my money.

After a lengthy discussion and apology admitting their fault, i was then told that customer services would email me, which they duly did. I was told how they can not up date their site efficiently due to staff shortages etc etc. I then asked for a full refund, as i had paid via Paypal this should have been at least the same day.

Having not received my refund quickly and not wanting to have the hassle of payments backwards and forwards i then contacted them again the next day via the "Live Chat", thought i would give them a second chance, and asked if i could change my order to different stands with Atabites.

After deciding, I was informed categorically that the stands i had chosen were in stock with the Atabites and they would be either sent that day (Last Thursday 17th) or latest Friday 18th with delivery being no later than today (Monday 21st)

Needless to say, nothing arrived.

After sending an email, and trying to connect with the live chat with no joy, i have just finished my last contact with this company, hopefully, after phoning them direct. Which incidentaly cost me as i am presently away working in another country.

I was informed that the new stands i chose are actually NOT in stock so i was waiting on something that was never going to arrive anyway!!

I have requested a full refund and will never use this company again. To be honest i should have seen the writing on the wall and gone ahead with the original cancellation, but i thought i would give them a second chance.

I am now waiting for my refund to purchase elsewhere.

It seems this company are advertising many things they have in stock when they obviously don't. They take your money and make you just wait until they order it in and then send it on, with no contact to the customer to keep you informed.

I suspect your cable is in the same situation and i would phone them if i was you.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, hope all goes well with your purchase in the end, but from my point of view i only have one piece of advice... STEER CLEAR OF AUDIO AFFAIR.... good luck

 

[Anonymous]

i bought a yamaha A-S500 amp from them in december. had no problems whatsoever. excellent website. Try giving them a call to find out where your cable is.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi all,

Has anyone bought anything over the net from these people? I bought a Chord Crimson Plus interconnect from their site last week which has failed to arrive, i've tried emailing them and phoning all to no avail so i'm wondering if i've been ripped off?

Thanks

I phoned this shop a while back and left a message because guess what they were not answering their phones - never did get a phone call back though. Also i emailed them but no respond there either, i have seen someone from their shop posting on here quite abit, which seeing they have time to do that and not answering their own bits seems abit bizarre.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

There was a thread relating to this company a while back (quick search didn't bring the thread I mean) where some users had issues as you described. Alex (the owner IIRC) also introduced himself on here and explained the reason behind some of the issues. He did also mention 2 new members of staff were being taken on to deal with telephone/internet orders.

You could search on here for the thread and read further stories but it may not put your mind at rest.

Good luck.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[audioaffair]

A week ago i ordered a pair of Partington stands from them, on their site was written "in stock, usually delivered within 24 hours"

Gary - I post a reply separately as this is a unique situation. Our company also owns Audio Manogamy, the new owner and distributor of Partington and Co. Peter Partington entrusted us with his business following many years of stand manufacturing.

Running Partington and Co has been a steep learning curve - whilst the same company has been manufacturing the stands, there were some delays following a period of intense sales. The next batch of stands is due end of April/early May and we intend to keep the stands in stock thereafter. We will be happy to add your name to the list (and offer something as a good will gesture) if you give us a call.

 

[audioaffair]

Thanks IrishPeterB it's just worrying when customer services don't reply to any form of contact, my Marantz cd6003 arrived today and was ordered after the cable from a different company so i'm anxious to ditch the freebee cable. Just out of interest how long did it take for your stands to arrive, if you can remember?

Oldboy

Thanks for the comments. We always welcome anyone to give us a call rather than speculating on the forums as the quickest way to get an update (and saves time if we don't spot the thread straight away). If you are trying to contact us out of hours, e-mail sales@audioaffair.co.uk and your query will be dealt with the following working day. We are open Monday to Friday (closed weekends)

Although we have 8 members of staff, there are the occasions where the phones all ring at once or someone from our office pops to the store to help a customer when the phones are quieter and you ring their number - but we have several phone lines if one of them is busy. If you can't get through, leave us a message and we'll call you back. Immediate contacts are:

Kieron - 0121 224 7351
Dave - 0121 224 7300
John - 0121 224 7401

It's worth pointing out that we have been reviewed over 1000 times on Reevoo (where only confirmed customers can review) and we currently have a 96% satisfaction rating - which I hope puts your mind at rest.

Give us a call tomorrow and we'll be happy to help.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi.

Could you post a link to the reviews you mention? I had a look on Reevoo and can only see product reviews - no mention of place of purchase. I may be looking at the wrong section of course.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

a/Thanks for the comments. We always welcome anyone to give us a call rather than speculating on the forums as the quickest way to get an update (and saves time if we don't spot the thread straight away).

b/It's worth pointing out that we have been reviewed over 1000 times on Reevoo (where only confirmed customers can review) and we currently have a 96% satisfaction rating - which I hope puts your mind at rest.

a/ Read the original post. He said he did call but got no reply- how is that "speculating on the forums".

b/ I take it "confirmed" customers are those who have received rather than just ordered.

 

[audioaffair]

http://www.reevoo.com/retailer/432-audio-affair

We don't pretend to have 100% reviews but with an overall "would you buy again from audio affair" satisfaction rating of 96% from over 1000 customers (and service rating of 87%), we hope this puts your mind at rest that we always do our best to help in the case of an unexpected delay if you call us first.

Give us a call if you need to - we're a nice bunch of people (we hope!) and will always do our best to help in any way we can

 

[Messiah]

Whilst a lot of people have said 'Yes' they would buy again, their reviews are not exactly glowing...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Oldboy,

As far as I remember it only took the stands a few days to arrive. It took no longer than amazon and was alot quicker than some things I hav from the UK.

Hope that helps.

Peter

 

[garyw77]

A week ago i ordered a pair of Partington stands from them, on their site was written "in stock, usually delivered within 24 hours"

Gary - I post a reply separately as this is a unique situation. Our company also owns Audio Manogamy, the new owner and distributor of Partington and Co. Peter Partington entrusted us with his business following many years of stand manufacturing.

Running Partington and Co has been a steep learning curve - whilst the same company has been manufacturing the stands, there were some delays following a period of intense sales. The next batch of stands is due end of April/early May and we intend to keep the stands in stock thereafter. We will be happy to add your name to the list (and offer something as a good will gesture) if you give us a call.

Thank you for the offer but i require stands before then, and have also asked for a different product (Atacama Aurora 6's) from yourselves which i had a problem with, with your company as well.

My order was cancelled today, but as of yet still no refund, which should be instant through paypal?

All i would ask is that you can oversee this as soon as possible please.

 

[Oldboy]

Thanks IrishPeterB it's just worrying when customer services don't reply to any form of contact, my Marantz cd6003 arrived today and was ordered after the cable from a different company so i'm anxious to ditch the freebee cable. Just out of interest how long did it take for your stands to arrive, if you can remember?

Oldboy

Thanks for the comments. We always welcome anyone to give us a call rather than speculating on the forums as the quickest way to get an update (and saves time if we don't spot the thread straight away). If you are trying to contact us out of hours, e-mail sales@audioaffair.co.uk and your query will be dealt with the following working day. We are open Monday to Friday (closed weekends)

Although we have 8 members of staff, there are the occasions where the phones all ring at once or someone from our office pops to the store to help a customer when the phones are quieter and you ring their number - but we have several phone lines if one of them is busy. If you can't get through, leave us a message and we'll call you back. Immediate contacts are:

Kieron - 0121 224 7351
Dave - 0121 224 7300
John - 0121 224 7401

It's worth pointing out that we have been reviewed over 1000 times on Reevoo (where only confirmed customers can review) and we currently have a 96% satisfaction rating - which I hope puts your mind at rest.

Give us a call tomorrow and we'll be happy to help.

Audio Affair,

Time to clear up the confusion....i had tried to contact you on several occasions before i posted this thread so your comment is not very helpful is it? I have not speculated at any point about your company and have only asked a quite reasonable question of forum members for their experiences with your company as my order had still not arrived and i had no luck contacting customer services, those are the facts and not speculation. To be honest comments like that won't win you many customers will it?

Thank you for the call yesterday and for confirming that my order had been sent promtly via Royal Mail the same day, the delay is entirely down to Royal Mail and not any fault of Audio Affair. The good news is that the cable arrived this morning, however it was just left at the door even though it required a signature and i only knew it was there when i went out this morning and anyone could have helped themselves before then! I'm not blaming Audio Affair for this it just goes to show how good the postal service is currently in my area.

I'm just glad to have the cable here now and it sounds great, i'm now thinking of getting a new sub cable but will i go back to Audio Affair? Not sure.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

I agree with Messiah - not glowing reviews and most of the problems that are reported seem to carry a similar theme - money taken immediately but refunded reluctantly, poor communication and late orders.

I would like to know when you became a 2009 WHS&V award winner?

Quote from the good web guide website: "An authorised retailer for over 200 brands and winner of What Hi-Fi Magazine's 2009 Awards, Audio Affair offers each product with full manufacturer's warranty and technical support."

When an order is accepted and you discover that contrary to your website claims, you don't have any in stock (as per complaints above and on previous threads), why do you take full payment and give no notification to the buyer that delivery will not be as advertised? Why do you take any payment in this instance if you do not know when items will be sent (as you may have to wait on manufacturers sending your goods) as in the case of the Partington Stands?

Taking full payment immediately rather than when items are dispatched (more common practice in my experience) is not clearly advertised on your website.

Your service rating on customer support was from 379 people - so 50 people out of less than 400 did not enjoy the customer services experience. Quite high no? While an offer of a goodwill gesture is to be commended, most would prefer a more positive and less stressful experience.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I expect the WHF Award winner aspect relates to Partington Stands (whom have indeed quite rightly won many Awards from us); I will ask Good Web Guide to clarify this, and notify Audio Affarir.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Audio Affair sell WHS&V award winners but the wording doesn't read that way. It suggests Audio Affair themselves have won an award. It is an admin error on someone's part that requires correction. S'all.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Hi,

Audio Affair sell WHS&V award winners but the wording doesn't read that way. It suggests Audio Affair themselves have won an award. It is an admin error on someone's part that requires correction. S'all.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

You are too kind sir.The same admin error on the front page of their website that puts WHF award winners 2010 logo right next to and in line with "About Audio Affair". Or maybe I am too cynical.

 

[audioaffair]

I expect the WHF Award winner aspect relates to Partington Stands (whom have indeed quite rightly won many Awards from us); I will ask Good Web Guide to clarify this, and notify Audio Affarir.

This is a typo GoodWebGuide appears to have made accidentally - they have been informed so this will be edited.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Hi,

Audio Affair sell WHS&V award winners but the wording doesn't read that way. It suggests Audio Affair themselves have won an award. It is an admin error on someone's part that requires correction. S'all.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

You are too kind sir.The same admin error on the front page of their website that puts WHF award winners 2010 logo right next to and in line with "About Audio Affair". Or maybe I am too cynical.

Yes, you are too cynical - there's hardly a retailer around that doesn't do the same; it's a live link to all the WHF Award winners in one place.

 

[audioaffair]

Thank you for the call yesterday and for confirming that my order had been sent promtly via Royal Mail the same day, the delay is entirely down to Royal Mail and not any fault of Audio Affair. The good news is that the cable arrived this morning, however it was just left at the door even though it required a signature and i only knew it was there when i went out this morning and anyone could have helped themselves before then! I'm not blaming Audio Affair for this it just goes to show how good the postal service is currently in my area.

Thank you for your comments and confirmation that your order arrived safely. We were suggesting it should always be quicker to get an update by calling the retailer directly - especially due to the fact we can not check specific order details based on a forum alias and because of data protection. You mentioned you couldn't get through by phone so I offered the three separate phone numbers and a warm welcome to call us anytime. Despite the fact the delay was down to Royal Mail after all, we'd still be happy to offer a good deal on another item as a good will gesture if you give us a call

 

[Clare Newsome]

I expect the WHF Award winner aspect relates to Partington Stands (whom have indeed quite rightly won many Awards from us); I will ask Good Web Guide to clarify this, and notify Audio Affarir.

This is a typo GoodWebGuide appears to have made accidentally - they have been informed so this will be edited.

And to confirm that this has been amended.

 

[TnA200]

Sorry to hear about your problems with your online purchase. I always worry when buying from an online company that I am not familiar with but the price is tempting.

I have bought from Audio Affair in the past (an Atacama Equinox XL Pro SE Hi-Fi Stand) and had no problems at all, in fact they were very helpful with collection in-store or delivery options.

So not sure where the problem lies at their end, and no customer should be made to regret purchasing online esp if the company wants to stay in business in the long term and maintain a good reputation. Online bad news travels fast!

Good luck and please let us know if the company resolves the issue promptly and offers something for the hassle/stress caused.

* Looks like the issue has been resolved. Sorry i did not read the latest posts.