Mail order woes. Money taken but no plants please help

I have ordered plants through Gardening express. The gaultheria I ordered in January were absolutely fine. The fruit trees I ordered in June took 3 weeks to come and were all very dead looking. After advice from fellow GC members, I complained after taking photos. I agree that the complaint procedure leaves much to be desired. Having not heard back for a week I complained again. Another week passed and then I received replies to both of my complaints simultaneously. They offered to send me more plants and I could keep the old ones. The new plants came and they were in excellent condition. The old, dying plants are starting to show signs of life too.

Online ordering is not something I choose to do lightly but on this occasion I saw an opportunity for a practical and cost effective xmas present. As things stand at the moment I would happily use Gardening Express again.

G.

 

My saga with the grapevine goes on !!! Dobies have me my ££ back but they cant give me 3 years back of growing the wrong variety as I wanted "Flame" a seedless red and they one i have is black as the ace of spades and has a minamum of two seeds in each and some have more so deffo a wine variety , sad past looks fab in the greenhouse with the grapes hanging down ... sooooo I ordered another more ££ but its a year older from Buy Trees Online. FREE DELIVERY + 3 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY. anyway ... 3 weeks later still no grapvine so emailed them , they have informed me its gone missing in the post !! and are looking into it !! , they are very laid back with the customer care ... NOT a lot to ask is it I just want a "flame" grape at this rate I will be calling it a flaming grape

Spruce

 

@shiney Thank you so much for the offer of the voucher but I wont be using them again.

I checked my bank balance today and they have refunded me for my second order. Nothing for the first and no letter of acknowledgement or apology either. I think I'll consider it a half of a result and write it off to experience. Lets hope the plants pick up for next year.

 

Cindy, don’t leave it there. Insist you get a refund on your first order.

I too had a £5 voucher when I complained about some grasses I ordered. I had a replacement that was excellent, the original grasses recovered well and I had a voucher that I used for a subsequent order so well pleased

Gardening Express is not a con.....it does, eventually, resolve issues. However, you are right to shop elsewhere in future if you doubt their integrity.

I buy countless plants online from different sources and my satisfaction rating is very high. Most of my orders are delivered within days....some are even next day. My most recent order (Cotswold garden flowers) took a little longer, viz., 2 weeks, but arrived in excellent condition and size

 

Well, this company sound like a complete joke to me. No Paypal option, no easy way to contact them and slow to resolve complaints. Like Cindy, I simply would not buy from them again. You shouldn't have to chase a company around to get the service which they claim to deliver.

Nick

 

On the plus side, I received a 5’ Edgeworthia C. in perfect condition 2 years back from GE at a fraction of the price elsewhere.
It has been an absolute joy of a plant
Also bought a small Edgeworthia C. Red Dragon ....again cheap and excellent quality.

 

Gorgeous-looking plant and even nicer than the yellow!

Nick

 

...and worth growing for the foliage alone
Lovely scent when flowering during the winter

 

*Update*

"flame" ing grape vine

Gave me my ££ back and now the delivery people have told them it was delivered to my address , I emailed them back saying " I can honestly say nothing had or has been delivered also I checked with the neighbours" ....


Knock knock and ding dong "hi have you had a grapvine delivered" oh yes I had a laugh or two !!!

So all I want is a seedless red dessert grapevine, maybe third time lucky seen one called "strawberry" ....

Spruce

 

Hi All last update

Ordered Saturday last week arrived Tuesday Suffolk Red grapevine , 5 star plant and 5 start packaging from

Specialist Nursery Fruit Trees for Sale UK, Bushes Plants, Soft Fruit

will use again , plus sent me a email Friday asking everything ok with the order

Happy Spruce at last just have to wait two years for the fruit

 

@Spruce I've used Chris Bowers several times, most recently this year for bare rooted fruit trees. Always found them excellent and a fantastic selection of varieties. Would certainly recommend them.