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Proviation customer care problems

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Old 14th Nov 2013, 14:00
  #241 (permalink)  
 
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AD = Abysmal dropshippers.

Paul..
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Old 15th Nov 2013, 08:53
  #242 (permalink)  
 
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Here's the latest one before it is spotted and removed from TrustPilot:
No goods received and no refund!

Quickest way to loose 700£.!
Placed an order on 29th of August for a zulu 2.0 headset.
Got an email the next day saying that the product was in backorder, but would ship in 2-3 working days. Nothing happened for several weeks, and it was close to impossible to get any contact with Proviation. No response to emails or phonecalls. Was lucky to get a hold on someboddy on the online chat a few times, but to no avail. Conversation was always cut off after they prommised to check on the order...... I have since then talked to them on the phone twice and received a few emails where I have been promised a full refund, but no money has made it to my account. I was so looking foreward to replace my old headset to a new one which wont give me a headache when I fly long missions, but I guess I'll have to save up again so maybe I can afford one next year. Now I will have to go throug small claims court to see if I can get my money back that way. Please save yourself from the hassle of doing business with these people!
Anders.
Also, I'd like to offer my congratulations to Bloviation for making it from 39th to 40th out of 45 in the "Hobby" category on TrustPilot.
Of course, they are still 5th out of 5 in the category, "Aviation" - Bottom of the list.

What is interesting is looking at the statistics from the other 5 at the bottom of the "Hobby" list.

No. 45 (3.5 out of 10) has only twenty reviews, very similar to those received by Bloviation but without any flagged reviews.

No. 44 (4.3 out of 10) has 12 reviews.

No. 43 (6.1 out of 10) has 1 review.

No. 42 (7.1 out of 10) has 1 review.

No. 41 (7.2 out of 10) has 2 reviews.

Bloviation has 386 reviews and scores 7.2 out of 10 - That is statistically significant. The others have very small sample sets and so the average score is greatly influenced by a small number of poor reviews.

Continuing up the list to find another company with a reasonable sample set, we don't see anything above 2 reviews until we get to No. 29 with 37 reviews and 8.1 out of 10.

We don't see more than 100 reviews until No. 16 with 127 reviews and a score of 9.3 out of 10.

No. 15 is one of only eight with more reviews than Bloviation with 470 reviews and a score of 9.4 out of 10.

These figures speak for themselves.

Paul..
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Old 17th Nov 2013, 20:20
  #243 (permalink)  
 
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Absolutely unacceptable - Caroline Thomas

Until these cowboys stops removing Trustpilot reviews , I along with others will continue to reprint them without editing.

It is about time this company started doing something different. It gives the industry a bad name.

------------------------

TL;DR, do not purchase from Proviation. Don't take the risk, don't do it.

I ordered a pilot case which was listed as 'in stock' for my anniversary on 29/9/13.

I was informed the day after, and rather promptly, that there was a "stock delay" on the order, and the delivery was anticipated in 7-10 days.

A couple of days later, I was contacted again saying that the supplier was not able to get the case. I was asked if I wanted the order refunded, which I accepted. I waited the 7-15 days, and when the refund still didn't go through on my account, I contacted the company again.

I was told to wait 24-48 hours, and respond if it had not come through.

My breaking point came today, when I have been unable to reach the company by phone and my emails began to be "rejected by the server".

Proviation put a pretty big downer on my anniversary, which was supposed to be a relaxed and happy occasion. It turned into a series of apologies and unneeded stress for both of us.

If you are reading this, do not purchase from the company.

I am a student, and I am unable to just 'throw away' the amount of money that I spent, but reading other reviews, I have no expectation of getting either the product or my money back. They have messed me around and made promises that they are unable to keep.

To Nick and Alex at Proviation: I would love to be proved wrong. I will update this review every week as the situation develops, even if I don't hear from you.

- Caroline Thomas
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Old 17th Nov 2013, 20:23
  #244 (permalink)  
 
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Really bad service - Jess Dang

Potential customers have a right to know
------------------------

I ordered your bags in 30/10/2013 but haven't received yet. I contacted with you through email, telephone but do not have any respond. So, I am really disappointed.
What is an exactly date you can ship your bag to me?
I am a foreigner, so if you do not send me my order. I think that I have to call the police.
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Old 17th Nov 2013, 20:24
  #245 (permalink)  
 
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Money taken and nothing received! Do not do business with Proviation

I placed an order for an item for next day delivery with proviation. The item never arrived. I emailed them to enquire as to the location of the item and was advised that it was not in stock, even though the website offered next day delivery. My order was placed on the 17th October. Proviation promised by email to refund the charge for next delivery and deliver the item the following week once it was in stock. I think they were wrong to take money for an item and charge me for next day delivery when they did not even have the item in stock. I could have gone elsewhere and received the item in time!

After emailing and calling the office with no response I emailed the Proviation on the 28th October to ask where my goods were, as still none had been received. In my email I told them that I expected delivery immediately or they should refund me the full amount charged. I managed to chat online with someone called [Name] who said that the money would be refunded. I advised them that it was unfortunate that they could not deliver as promised, as I intended to purchase 16 of the same unit ('butt kicker) £150.49 and they could have had a good size order from me, but now after the lack of service that I had received I was forced to go elsewhere. Later that same day I received a call from [Name], he did not apologise, he was only interested in gaining the order for additional 16 units that I required. I told him to refund my money immediately. He confirmed that the money would be refunded. Following the call I sent an email on the 1st November to advise the orders department that both [Name] and [Name] had agreed to a refund. I received a reply the same day advising that my order had been cancelled and that a refund could take up to 7-10 days to show in my account. I knew that this was waffle as I have made and received refunds on debit cards previously and they do not take this long. However I decided to be patient and give Proviation the benefit of the doubt. Now it is November 12th and no monies have been received. They still do not answer the telephone. I have called them since and no answer. I even have [Name]'s mobile number but he never answers his phone when I call. Avoid this company at all costs. They do not respect or appreciate their customers. They do not the first thing about customer service. They are keen to take your money, don't' be fooled by their website and hand them any of your hard earned cash!
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Old 18th Nov 2013, 15:17
  #246 (permalink)  
 
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Bloviation's most recent scapegoat - Sagepay.
Sagepay are responsible for them not shipping orders and ignoring customers???? Really????



Paul..

Last edited by PaulKerry; 18th Nov 2013 at 17:34.
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 05:18
  #247 (permalink)  
 
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Wow.

Damn. I wish I had seen this thread earlier. I was the one with the 700£ headset. Or rather lack there off. How long can I expect for my trustpilot review to be under investgation? Nick asked me to take it down for the time beeing, or untill we could figure out where the refund went(sage pay). Guess I dont need to now. He took matters in his own hands. He actually asked me to open up a credit card dispute to get my money back... Which I intend to do today. And if that dosn't work, small claims court.
Anders.
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 13:12
  #248 (permalink)  
 
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Damn. I wish I had seen this thread earlier.
You're not alone, Anders.
When I purchased from Bloviation, he was claiming on his site that he had a 5* "Excellent" TrustPilot rating. If only I'd bothered to actually go and look at TP, I'd have seen that his website was not reflecting objective reality. That might have given me a big clue that I should avoid this shyster like the plague.

I was the one with the 700£ headset. Or rather lack there off.
I'm glad that you managed to find this thread eventually. At least here, Nick cannot simply make posts disappear into the void (as long as we respect the T&C of PPRuNe, of course).

How long can I expect for my trustpilot review to be under investgation?
In my experience, TP will probably contact you and ask you to prove that you are a genuine customer. This may take a few days or a few weeks. I would advise contacting TrustPilot and informing them that you were asked to remove your review and that it was subsequently flagged - To the best of my knowledge, companies should not be trying to influence customers in this way.
You'll notice that Nick is very quick to acknowledge positive reviews as "confirmed purchasers" but appears reticent to do so with negative reviews.

Nick asked me to take it down for the time beeing,
Yes. He asked me to remove mine, too - twice. The second time he offered me what can only be described as a bribe (probably one of his worthless vouchers). I refused and within moments of my refusal my review went "pooooof"... His claims that he is not removing reviews are contrary to the evidence.

or untill we could figure out where the refund went(sage pay).
... Delay tactics. What he hasn't told you is that you are only allowed to review each company once.

If you remove your review, it may be that you are prevented from posting another review for the same company. Don't hold me to that though.


Guess I dont need to now. He took matters in his own hands. He actually asked me to open up a credit card dispute to get my money back... Which I intend to do today. And if that dosn't work, small claims court.
That is probably the best action all round. If the credit card companies get many such charge-back claims, they may black-list him. It is about time that they did. You should also report your experiences to the Trading Standards authority in the UK (I think you'll need the Luton office) and direct them to this thread and to the TP reviews so that they can see the history.

I hope you get your money back sooner rather than later.

Paul..
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 17:56
  #249 (permalink)  
 
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Problems with Proviation continues

Well, I had ordered an item in May and still wait for the refund. If I would have seen these posts before, certainly I would not have ordered anything with these guys. Though it might cost me a bit of money in legal fees I will do the utmost to launch an inquiry into this Company. If somebody would like to support with their particular problems, please mail me to [email protected]
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 19:42
  #250 (permalink)  
 
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I have been looking around to find the trading standards authorety online but I'm not sure that I'm looking at the right place. When I find it I'll make sure to report the company. In the mean time I hope the Visa card dispute goes well so I can get my money back...

Anders
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 20:07
  #251 (permalink)  
 
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Anders

See post 185

http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...ml#post8038474
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 23:17
  #252 (permalink)  
 
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My experience with the local trading standards was not a good one.....I wound up taking direct action myself after they messed me around for several months and hid behind the "data protection" excuses.
Small claims court, Defendant, (as is his right) had case hearing moved to his local court.

Won my case, maximum compensation plus the plaint fee plus an expert witness report....on top of that, defendant had been using a solicitor to try to intimidate me into backing off.....those costs are NOT allowable, so I sent lots of letters to his solicitor. sweet victory.

If I had a crystal ball, I'd say a company that was extremely tardy with refunds,would probably be short of cash and waiting to get enough deposits in to use to refund to the loudest shouters.......a bit like Bernie Madoff ,really.

Send a letter to company's registered office (email would probably be OK) giving notice that unless refund is IN YOUR ACCOUNT within 7 days, you will issue proceedings.......as soon as you issue a Plaint (summons) the defendant is answerable to the Court (even if the cheque really was in the post).... if he loses ....which he undoubtedly would, he'd still owe the cost of the plaint and certain other limited costs.

Just go ahead and act before the company folds and there's nothing left for you!
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Old 20th Nov 2013, 06:47
  #253 (permalink)  
 
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those costs are NOT allowable, so I sent lots of letters to his solicitor.
That had me thinking for a while... Well, it is first thing in the morning here in the UK.

To start with, I thought that you meant that you complained to his solicitor because the costs weren't allowable... Then it clicked... The more letters you send to his solicitor, the more time for which he charges his client, the more it stings the client in the pocket. BRILLIANT !!!

Paul..
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Old 20th Nov 2013, 07:33
  #254 (permalink)  
 
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Here is the latest review on trustpilot. Won't be long until it's gone I guess.


I've made an order on a date 17/10/13. The item was a flying suit. The moment i've made my purchased i received mail from them that i successfully made the payment. On the same day i received second email from them stating that i've selected a tailor-made garment and this order and my details will be sent to their tailors for completion. They needed at least 7-10 days to get my ordered flying suit be completed. Now today is 20th November 2013 and almost everyday i check my email and order status from their website but still no update was given.

Proviation, please take note on this. I was expecting your service to be very fast and meet customer satisfaction. Till today i'm still waiting for your hopefully positive reply.
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Old 20th Nov 2013, 13:43
  #255 (permalink)  
 
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The latest review has disappeared although not flagged.
This would suggest that the user was brow-beaten or bribed into removing it.

A quote often attributed to P.T. Barnum springs to mind...

Paul..
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Old 20th Nov 2013, 16:48
  #256 (permalink)  
 
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A thought from afar

Has anyone actually gone and knocked on Mr. Proaviation's door and demanded their money back?
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Old 20th Nov 2013, 17:18
  #257 (permalink)  
 
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I don't know but I have the address for his one-bedroom flat in Dunstable from which he runs his "business".

It may, mysteriously, find its way to BBC Watchdog before long.

They love dealing with rogue traders.

Paul..
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Old 21st Nov 2013, 19:33
  #258 (permalink)  
 
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I see that Bloviation have changed their TP categories.
They've removed themselves from the "Aviation" and "Hobby" categories and added themselves to the "Recreation" category which places them 35th out of 45.

The lengths these fools go to in order to make themselves look good yet can't actually do what is necessary - ship the goods which are advertised for sale in a reasonable time. I bet if they actually listed what they really do stock, their website would be rather sparse.

It's all about image with Mr. Ross. Image before reality.

I've also contacted TrustPilot about his habit of asking people to remove their reviews - he certainly should not be doing that.

If you've been asked to remove your review (especially if you've been offered one of his "good-will gestures") prior to resolution, please contact TP and inform them.

Paul..
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Old 21st Nov 2013, 21:07
  #259 (permalink)  
 
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Here's the latest one-star rating:

Problems delivering to Norway!

I ordered a Dual XGPS150E on 30/04/13 (order no. O-19672) but it is still not recieved. They seldom respond to my emails.
The usual story.

Paul..
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Old 22nd Nov 2013, 09:58
  #260 (permalink)  
 
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Here's another one.
I think this one was removed and has since been reinstated.
It makes it quite plain and clear that Nick is still attempting to bribe customers into removing reviews.

By Alan Johnstone.
(Now flagged for "referring to other companies or websites" - Which it does not, at least not by name)

Order Cancelled After Non-Delivery, Still No Refund

On 9/10/2013 I ordered and paid for an item. According to their website the item would be dispatched within approximately 7 days. On 15/10/2013 in response to my email, I was told that the product hadn't yet been received. On 29/10/2013, following numerous unanswered emails, I was told that they still didn't have stock. So I finally cancelled my order on 4/11/2013 and was advised by return email, that a refund had been processed. I have sent many emails saying that the refund has not been received with the occasional response asking me to check my bank again in 24 to 48 hours. To date I have still not received a refund.

Update - 21/11/2013

After only receiving sporadic responses to my emails, I was amazed to receive the following email (reproduced verbatim other than personal information) from the owner literally within minutes of posting this review:

From: Owner
Sent: 19 November 2013 14:42
To: Reviewer
Subject: RE: Your Order Update for order no. O-23714 GoPro HERO 3+ Plus Black Edition

Dear Reviewer,

I was about to respond to your email - but I have just seen your review come in, too.

Could I ask I huge favour of you, please? I guarantee to make it worth your while.

We have had issues with refunds going through, and I must stress it is not because of anything we have done here.

It is the response of a billion-dollar card processing company, which in turn is causing people a nuisance and resulting in reviews like yours.

I am really trying to contain any kind of panic resulting from this, and to stop any spread of bad feedback online, since it will insight [sic] others. Yours is not the first failed refund, you see.

We are a small family run company. We do want to resolve things in-house before bad things hit the internet. I can't tell you how important it is to me, especially as reputation is everything in the online world, especially for smaller companies like ours where every sale counts.

With the market the way it is, I do feel I owe it to myself and my company to at least ask if you would re-consider leaving this review on Trustpilot.
You are of course welcome to re-publish in future, and taking it offline in no way stops you from being able to re-post it. It just means you'll be really helping me to contain a headache and permanent blemish on my company.
These things stay online for perpetuity.

I will spend my time this afternoon putting this right.

If you can see fit to take this down for now, while you have my full attention, I will try to see you right. I'll send over an SD card for free, perhaps? Or a floaty backdoor housing?

Best wishes,

Owner

When I didn't do this my review was reported in spite of having provided an order number. As of this afternoon, I have still not received a refund despite being told that it would be put right that afternoon.

Having owned my own business I know that things go wrong, but customers tend to judge you not on the problem, but on how well you resolve it. I would not have been in business very long if I had treated my customers the way I have been treated.
Paul..

Last edited by PaulKerry; 23rd Dec 2013 at 13:35.
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