There was near-rioting in Bitterwalletville earlier in the month when avid reader Tom pointed out Play.com’s spectacular and entirely unneccessary excess when delivering a t-shirt. Avid readers from across the land booed and jeered and asked “Why do you never pick on Amazon!?” before promptly voting them Best Company In Britain 2009. Some people, eh readers?

Well, Tom has been at it again and ordered more goods online, but this time from your favourite company.  And despite enjoying the most coveted title in the country, Amazon clearly aren’t infallible – as this order of DVDs from them proves:

No padding in a box four times too big for the job. It’s like slinging a sausage down an alley to these people. Packing a box, and a correct sized box at that – it’s not difficult, is it?

Barely seconds have passed since we asked for your examples of bad Christmas packaging, when we presented Play.com’s efforts as first-rate examples of the genre. First off the starting line this year is avid Bitterwallet reader Matt, and there are no surprises as to who the culprit is:

When I got home last night I received a card from Royal Mail saying that three parcels had not been delivered as they were too big – a bit strange as I only ordered three £5 stocking fillers from Play.com. So this morning I cycled to the sorting office, with my rucksack on to collect the parcels. I was a little surprised to see the huge stack of packages that the postman gave me.

I wondered if the cat’s arse pencil sharpener or the Vibrating Duck I had ordered from Play were larger than expected, but no, it was just the enormous boxes that they put them in. It was actually possible to fit all three items into just one of the boxes with space to spare.

Christmas time! Mistletoe wine! Dubious packaging far from fine! Yes, as we begin ordering a festoon of gifts from online stores, there will be more than a few prezzies returned after seemingly been packaged by a mentalist. Who can forget the likes of Bitterwallet reader Halflife’s internal hard drive, which was left to rattle around a large cardboard box unprotected, then placed inside a larger box?

Or reader jinkssick’s CDs, sent in a box with no packaging whatsoever? “It sounded like a lego box when I got it”:

The culprit in both instances? Bitterwallet favourite Play.com. The question is, have they learnt their lesson since last year? And who else frankly can’t be arsed to put the effort into making sure your Christmas gifts arrive in one piece? Send your photos and disgruntlement to bitterwallet.com. Bless you, my flock.

It’s a little known fact (mainly because we haven’t told you) that Play.com missed out on a place in our Worst Company in Britain contest by a single vote. It may have been a different story if we’d have counted up your votes a week or two later. After the cockfaced debacle that was the launch of COD: MW2 (Play did serious damage to customer relations by offering guaranteed delivery that guaranteed nothing of the sort) they’ve now gone and upset fans of Assassin’s Creed.

Dozens of customers pre-ordered a limited edition of Assassin’s Creed 2 (the Black Edition), with some ordering the game months in advance. Can you guess what happened next? No need, because we had several emails over the weekend to tell us about it. From example, this from Bitterwallet reader Gary:

A lot of people, myself included, have been once again let down by Play.com. We’ve paid a few pence off £70 for Assassins Creed 2 Black Edition and were promised it on release day. It’s now early evening the day after release and a lot of us still have no game to play.

That is, of course, those of us who didn’t get our orders cancelled because Play reserved more items then they had. And when they later got more stock? They didn’t reinstate the cancelled orders, they just opened them up to everyone who wanted to order one. Nice customer loyalty there.

Bitterwallet reader Adam is similarly unimpressed:

Assassin’s Creed 2 Black Edition, it was due for release yesterday. It didn’t turn up then and it hasn’t today either.

I paid £69.99 for it and I received no tracking number – I have no way of finding out about when or if it will be delivered. I’ve sent Play.com an email but I won’t receive a reply for a few days as usual. I’ve phoned them but all they tell me they can’t do anything and to simply wait. Just a horrible experience not knowing where your parcel is, especially when you’ve paid that much money for it.

The real kick in the guts for customers? Assassin’s Creed 2 Black Edition is exclusive to Play.com. It’s not as if they screwed this up because they lost out to other retailers – there was no competition for stock. D’oh! There are now over 600 posts concerning Play’s non-existent customer care in the Playstation forums – well done Play, you’ve done it again!

So then. You’ve been ganting for your copy of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for months, and through unwavering loyalty you order your copy from Play.com. Sure, you’ll be able to get it cheaper in the supermarkets when they whore their tuppence and slash their prices, but supermarkets don’t offer this:

That’s right. A guarantee. It’s like a promise, only you really, really mean it. So when Play.com charged customers full whack for COD MW2, those loyal consumers didn’t flinch because Play.com had guaranteed them satisfaction. Except. Well. Not really:

“Seems Play.com have failed many customers on the guaranteed November 10th delivery. I’m one of them – I still don’t have COD MW2 and it is 5.30pm on the 11th November. Play.com assured games fans that they would receive the most anticipated game of the year on release day, so long as they ordered before 8th November.”

Bitterwallet reader Stuart is unhappy, and rightly so. Perhaps Play would blame the situation on the postal strikes? Not at all – in fact Play made a play for further PR by announcing they’d switched to couriers to avoid any delay through using Royal Mail, with CEO Stuart Rowe saying: “The strike coinciding as it does with the biggest selling entertainment product release ever has presented us with a challenge which we believe our new delivery plan will overcome”. And it wasn’t only our reader who had problems; Play has seemed eager to piss off plenty of customers who paid full price while supermarkets knocked £20 off it. Check out this story on Pocket Lint – the complaints stretch several light years below the fold:

“5:30pm and still no sign from play.com, paid £45 for the privilege of getting on release day and not having to go to a shop where I could’ve got it for much less. What a joke.”

“It’s sold out everywhere near me so I’ll have to wait till tomorrow ”

“First time was 4pm, then 5pm, then 7pm then wait 24 hours. Do you think it’ll definitely come tomorrow?”

“Waiting on mine. Outrageous – they have to make serious amends with this. Either a hefty discount on any next order or a rebate on the price down to the £30 odd quid. It’s on sale at supermarkets right this minute.”

Upon realising the lunar-like dimensions of the bollock they’d drop with this, Play.com offered a brief statement on the matter:

“Play.com is taking this situation very seriously and is working with their mail carriers to ensure the fastest possible delivery of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to all customers.”

Cheers. But what about this guarantee Play offered customers? Guarantees are secure, binding agreements that usually necessitate compensation if they’re broken, but Play didn’t mention any such detail in their advertising (you can see the full poster here) and their customer services representatives couldn’t provide our reader with an answer. Those of you with Action Men-style eagle eyes may have noticed a caveat attached to the guarantee; yes, there’s (very) small print:

“Delivery is subject to our delivery partner achieving standard delivery guarantees. PLAY takes no responsibility for late delivery due to… failure on behalf of the delivery partner.” Unbelievable. The inference is that Play only guarantees to provide the stock, and more importantly Play blatantly refuses to guarantee delivery – on the basis it is not them providing the delivery service.  This is Play saying to the customer: “How can we guarantee delivery if we’re not the people delivering it?” In which case, why did Play ever guarantee they could?

This offer, which has lured countless numbers of customers to pay full price on a product, is a sham, because Play void the guarantee in the same breath they offer it. Many releases aren’t time-sensitive but this one most certainly was, and Play squeezed every last penny out of customers by ramping up their PR efforts and pushing guaranteed deliveries. They delivered nothing of the sort.

We’ll contact Play to ask how they will rectify the situation. In the meantime, if you’re a Play customer, let us know whether Play offers to make amends, or whether you’re past the point of putting custom their way again.

It seems that something has gone horribly wrong at the HQ of play.com over the past few hours, if the word of BW reader Wout is anything to go by.

He’s been having problems getting to speak to any of their customer service reps and reports that the line cuts off after about four minutes, regardless of whether you’ve actually been able to speak to anyone or not.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Wout was sent no less than 24 emails from play.com, each one confirming the dispatch of an ordered item. A minor glitch you might think, until you learned that each one is for a different item and is for someone else.

So now Wout, who assures us that he is not an identity thief, has the names and addresses of a bunch of play.com customers. Well done play!

Wout adds:

“The one time I actually managed to speak someone for more than 10 seconds, he repeatedly refused to take my phone number – as I told them this was my fifth attempt – and in broken English told me I should ignore any problem like that and just delete the emails, as they would solve it.”

He has since had further communication from them, telling him that the colossal cock up is ‘under investigation’ and that they’ll compensate him for the countless wasted phone calls he made in an attempt to alert them to it.

Have any Bitterwallet readers received other people’s dispatch emails complete with personal details? Should play have their internationally-recognised ‘could organise a piss-up in a brewery’ charter mark revoked? How confident do you feel about dealing with them now?

If you’re a gamer, you might have been giddy with excitement at the prospect of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the PC. It’s released next month and promises more first person shooter nonsense as you blow the faces off Russian ultra nationalists.

But it’s not quite the game that PC users were looking forward to. Yesterday our sister site Dealspwn reported the game would no longer have dedicated servers, as previous titles had. This is a massive deal for gamers – dedicated servers allowed gamers to play in groups, customise the gameplay and compete with rival clans online. The new version is a console-style matchmaking system which involves being paired with random players and little customisation.

Piracy would seem to be a key reason for the change – as Dealspwn explains, while dedicated servers give gamers many more options to choose how they play the game and interact with others, it can also allow games with pirated copies to play online by avoiding any validation system.

The upshot is there’s an online petition – currently with over 133,000 signatures – demanding the game’s developers overturn the changes and restore the level of gameplay expected by loyal fans. Gamers are also making their feelings known elsewhere – take a look at the ratings and comments for the game on Amazon, and you realise that the retailers stand to lose a sizable amount of money on what would have been a very bankable title.

Which brings us to Play.com. It’s the norm for Play to allow reviews of titles before release to create buzz around the launch – for example you can read glowing reviews for Football Manager 2010:

Plenty of pre-release games don’t have reviews, but given that Amazon features over 140 comments on MW2, it’s a little odd there are no reviews on Play. Maybe it’s because all commenters must be registered with Play.com, and that process involves handing over your credit card details. Or maybe it’s because Play stand to lose too much money in pre-orders if people are put off buying the game.

All comments posted to Play are moderated and must adhere to Play’s review guidelines:

We registered and posted a one star review, pointing out the game didn’t support dedicated servers – a comment that didn’t contravene Play’s rules in any way. It hasn’t appeared, and nor have the comments of Dealspwn reader Graham, who posted a reasonable and balanced review of the changes in gameplay:

Changes to multiplayer, no dedicated servers, steam reqrd.
With only 3 weeks left to launch day, news has broken that the long established method of using hosted servers is being replaced by console-style matchmaking. This means clans and squads can no longer have their own servers but are forced to group and then get placed with randoms. The game also is run via steam, to make sure you have a geniune copy. This also stops you from selling on the game to the 2nd hand market and stops any custom maps etc. So for those expecting more of the same please be aware of these changes which Activision and IW have never publicised until it was mentioned possibly unintentionally by an employee during an interview. I hope this is published as it will save play the hassle of processing many cancellations for pre-orders.

The only unacceptable aspect of Graham’s critical post is that it might put buyers off the game, or lead to those who have pre-ordered to cancelling. Otherwise there’s no reason why the post shouldn’t have appeared, although it would tip off buyers to something Play.com themselves don’t mention – there’s nothing in the site’s description that explain the changes. We’ve contacted Play and invited them to comment on this matter – there may be some perfectly innocent reason why they’re not publishing comments, but right now they’re sitting on an awful lot of pre-orders worth £35 a pop and doing their best to prevent anyone learning the truth.

All customers want is a little fair play

While most customers seem very pleased with Play, thanks to their kick ass prices, others have raised issues with replacing damaged/defective goods on time issues with obtaining refunds on postage costs.

So as a followup to our previous post on damaged goods in transit from Play.com, we decided to speak with the Play team. Here is a summary of what their super friendly customer service team informed us:

1. Play.com is based in Jersey. This means that the terms and conditions of sale that we enjoy here in mainland Britain may not apply. It may be worth checking their T&C.

2. Royal Mail handles Play items under £40 (as a general rule). Their standard delivery time is 3-5 working days, but RM’s rules is to wait 21 days before handling items. This is why if goods do not turn up within the advertised 4 days, you are told by customer services to allow 21 days for it to arrive.

3. Fragile packages should have been sent out in cardboard boxes directly from the warehouse. If items were not shipped out in proper packaging that it would be a ‘mishandling’ case. In the first instance, customers should report damaged/defective goods via phone or online. You can reach their CS as a 1st point of call (SayNoto870: 028 90921724). Play will issue return authorization details and a return address within 24 hours (or less). It may be a good idea to make copies of these.

4. Send the item with your invoice and return authorisation email for deliveries sent via RM. Customers who have not received refunds on postage costs involved are suggested to email play. Play will automatically cover P&P in the first instance with a standard postage refund set at £1.40. This can be disputed as long as customers kept hold of their proof of delivery and receipt for higher priced deliveries. Items priced over £40 are sent via the Home Delivery Network, and Play will arrange for a collection to go out to customer.

5. While Play should be first point of call within the first 28 days, the manufacturers often could replace items within the first 6 months. Play has arrangements with manufacturers for defective goods, so past the initial 28 days, customers are advised to contact manufacturer who may directly replace their goods. Otherwise, Play will help as long as you obtain a “fault reference number” from the manuactuerer. If the item falls outside of a year, you will need a independent fault report to prove the actual product is defective/damaged.

You can also of course try the Jersey trading standards office on 01534 448160, but we would advocate doing this only if they sent you a whole chicken in a can instead of your Star Wars R2-D2 trash can. Then, feel free to make some noise.

When it comes to Internet shopping, Play.com are not the new kids on the block. Jersey based Play have been around for a few years. They have been around long enough to have built up quite a reputation for supplying everything from electronic components to clothing, and certainly long enough to know about packaging.

This however seems to remain a mystery to them. Dispatching a DVD boxed set in a plastic bag or an Xbox 360 [entertainment pack] sent without any padding or external protective packaging seems to be the standard practice, and if a hardback book arrives scored and marked, it can always be blamed on the postal service. Reader Stuart sent us the following pics:

Attached is a photo of a Bret Hart hard back book which was dispatched dispite having a huge score across the front and a Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD boxset which was dispatched in a plastic bag and took a hammering in the post.  They did however dispatch my O.C complete boxset in a cardboard box. There have been numerous [Play items that arrived in poor condition] in the past month but all have been returned for refund/replacement.  Play aren’t doing themselves any favours with their poor packaging as they have refunded all the postage costs for items I returned.

And Stuart isn’t the only one. Other customer complaints include a PC hard drive turning up in just an antistatic bag and wrong articles being sent. [click link, under comments]

Play.com may advertise the benefits of free postage and packaging, but surely it is not unreasonable for customers to expect the packaging to be fit for purpose and save the pain of sending the package back and resending a new stock, which costs time and money on both ends. All customers want is a little fair play.com.

(Thanks to HUKD reader Stuart for the pics!)

Can you smell that? It’s the acrid stench of protest and dissent in the air, and it’s as strong here in Bitterwallet HQ as anywhere else in the UK at the moment. That’s because we’ve ran out of Jammie Dodgers – we’re all making placards and Vince has smashed up a wall.

Before it all goes off, we’ve just got time to let you know about some of the best bargains to be had on HotUKDeals at the moment. But don’t expect us to be happy about it. Grrrr!

What’s the one thing that we associate with April Fool’s Day more than anything else. That’s right, it’s mental illness. Or at least it is if you’re play.com – they’re having a April Fool’s Madness sale for today only.

There’s loads of good stuff there although some of it is selling out fast. Climb into your straitjacket and click here for a closer butchers. If you don’t like it, you have the right to protest peacefully. Just don’t smash any windows please.

Next, we’ve got a deal that is liable to make you sicker than the thought of Sir Fred Goodwin lying naked on his heart-shaped bed, licking a pile of five pound notes.

It’s a BOGOF deal on Cadbury’s Creme Eggs – a six pack of the delicious, sickening blighters for £2.49. With one pack bunged in free, that works out at about 21p an egg. So right but so wrong but so right.

Finally, and almost as an aside, we offer you Cock Soup. 50 delicious grams of Cock Soup for just 35p.

Cock Soup. Cock Soup. Cock Soup. Let the smutty comments commence but please don’t nick them from HUKD…

(deals found by amibees, muffinhead and gytha_ogg)

There are plenty of reasons for preferring online retailers over traditional high street stores, but customer service tends to vary from brand to brand, company to company. Not according to the CEO of Play.com though, who out-and-out believes that the service offered by online retail outfits beats bricks-and-mortar every time.

Bitterwallet reader Matthew submitted this article, saying:

Here’s a lovely piece on Play.com’s aim for more world domination from this weeks copy of MCV, the video games retailer mag – which is sent to ALL video games stores in the UK. How’s this for a kick in the teeth from Play!

Stuart Rowe, CEO of Play.com is quoted as saying:

Online retailers are producing a much higher customer service level than that which you get in traditional retail.

We’re certain plenty of Bitterwallet readers would disagree with Rowe, in particular when it comes to packaging goods correctly, but that particular point aside; online retailers can certainly beat high street stores on price, but how do they fare on customer service? Do you only buy online these days, or do you like to get hands-on with goods? Have you found any distinct difference between a company’s in-store and online service? Let us know, why don’t you.

While you’re welcome to get in touch with Bitterwallet with any consumer gripes you have, time and time again our inbox is rammed to the rim with rants about Play.com. Specifically, their less-than-professional packaging methods. There may be other online companies sending out orders wrapped in bricks and spittle, but Play.com keeps getting all your lovin’.

HUKD forum member Blender ordered an Xbox 360 entertainment pack from Play.com. To be fair the contents were already boxed, but it’s not unreasonable to expect the box to arrive in pristine shape since it may have been ordered as a gift. So when the XBox turned up looking like this…

…it wasn’t entirely surprising, because the packaging amounted to this:

A plastic bag. No padding, no bracing, no second box to protect the item. Says Blender:

“Now I don’t know if they were trying to save money or some guy in the warehouse was just having a laugh, but I feel it’s common knowledge that a cardboard box won’t arrive in good condition if it’s sent in a bag.

Luckily enough the item wasn’t a present or gift otherwise play.com would have yielded to my wrath.”

Have any of your deliveries suffered terminal packaging FAIL? If you complained, what was the response? Send us your tales and your photos to mail@bitterwallet.com.

There’s absolutely no excuse for companies dispatching gifts and goods in half-arsed packaging; cast your mind back to December, and you’ll recall that Play.com were seemingly incapable of delivering goods in the intended number of pieces. There were those DVDRs for example, packed with a single sheet of paper in a cardboard box. And then there was the hard drive, inexplicably placed in a box, which was then placed inside a second, much larger box, both enjoying minimalist padding.

No more excuses; a Japanese firm has created a packaging that molds itself to the shape of the item and the container. All you seemingly need is some magic foam and a watering can:

Despite the fact the company representative is accompanied by a translator, neither one of them is speaking English, which makes the exact procedure a complete mystery. You don’t need to know how they do it, you just need to hope that Play.com and the rest pull their collective fingers out before December and try it.

[Gizmodo]

Seems we hit a nerve yesterday, when we mentioned Play.com’s shoddy packaging. Plenty of people pointed the finger at less-than-careful handling by posties and couriers, but if there’s no protective packaging to begin with (beyond the mandatory cardboard box, that is) then the contents stand roughly a slim to zero chance of arriving intact.

Less than 24 hours later, further evidence that Play are failing to treat their dispatches with due care and attention. This time we’re not talking about relatively inexpensive CDRs, but an internal hard drive; an expensive piece of kit that warrants serious TLC. Bitterwallet reader Halflife found it sadly lacking, however:

It came in a box about twice the size of a shoe box with another box inside that contained the hard drive. A token gesture had been made to put some polystyrene in the two boxes but both the hard drive and the smaller box it was contained in were free to rattle about in the larger box. Rubbish packaging. I wonder how many things Play get back damaged due to poor packaging that they then pass the cost back to the supplier. Would only have taken a few seconds longer to package properly.

Take a moment to savour this, folks. It really is a bit special:

Are Play.com employing the man with ten thumbs to dispatch customer orders? We’re going to ask them, so if you have any recent photos of Play’s packaging fails, let’s have them sent to bitterwallet@gmail.com.

Bitterwallet’s Worst Company in Britain competition is throwing up some delightful gems of rancid customer service. As always, we’d love to hear more, but here’s a corker from BW reader jinkssick, concerning Play.com:

Play.com on the other hand, I have had many a trouble with… just two days [ago] I got sent DVDRs in the post and it’s incredible how they arrived…

Anybody expecting a reputable online company to include packaging with fragile items when posted, should look away now:

It sounded like a lego box when I got it.

Whoops.