island-4x4.co.uk "THE WORST EXPERIENCE PURCHASING ON THE WEB"

[Muttland]

I recently purchased part of LR on the 4island-4x4.co.uk

The payment used in this case was PayPal.

The payment was made in two parts, one for the parts and another for the shipment.

We are from Uruguay, far from England ... very difficult to make a complaint

The days passed ..... and no news of my purchases.

Some emails were sent to island-4x4.co.uk ......... No replies were received. Total Quiet on the 4island-4x4.co.uk   (?????¿¿¿¿¿)

A total lack of respect for customers.

I had to turn to PayPal to be told something.

Very bad procedure of this company

In several cases I bought LR  parts in England in differents LR Parts   stores  and never had problems with them.

I'm going to advise my Uruguayan friends not to use that supplying house

H. Enrique de Soto

Club Land Rover Uruguay

http://www.clublandroveruruguay.org/

 

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Muttland

[Island 4x4]

PayPal dispute was opened and payment held so no option but to cancel and refund the order. I am not shipping patts without being paid for them!!

We ship thousands of parcels all over the world each month.

[SPendrey]

It has been said on here before... if you are buying stuff and all goes well, they (like most other suppliers) are fine.  However, when issues arise, many of these suppliers are poor at customer service.  I prefer to use PayPal for my payments, as I did with Island 4x4 because there is some buyer protection.  I got a refund through PayPal escalation on a purchase when I heard nothing back from Island 4x4, and I have since purchased from them without issue.

[reb78]

Yep - as above. Island are good if things go simply, but I have found them slow to reply when a refund was required for a part they had on their website but didnt actually have in stock nor could obtain!

[Eightpot]

Nice to see Island 4x4 viewing & responding on here. For my tuppence worth and from my experience I would suggest that the response to queries at island 4x4 needs to be improved considerably - it sounds like the OP raised a dispute with paypal as they didn't get a timely (or any) response which naturally sets alarms ringing when buying remotely over the internet.

I used to use Island 4x4 as my primary parts supplier for the workshop but had to switch for the same reason which is a shame as the delivery time was better than anywhere else.

 

[reb78]

I find LRDirect excellent, closely followed by Britcar. Island occasionally beat them on price. 

[dave1607]

I have been buying quite a lot from Island 4x4 lately as their prices are good, they normally have an OEM option for most parts and everything always seems to get to me on a before 12:45 next day UPS delivery. I also like LR Direct as there are always lots of options of manufacturers, but they tend to be a bit more expensive.

I was actually thinking about starting a thread saying how impressed I'd been with Island 4x4, but I've never had any problems so I guess you don't know until it goes wrong. I did have to return something to paddocks once and it took 6 weeks for the refund to be issued and there was a lack of communication. I did eventually get the refund and an apology by email though.

 

Dave

[task]

Personally I've found Island4x4 to be fairly prompt on delivery, they're one of 3 suppliers I prefer to use on the web, LRdirect being one of the others.

[andy2986]

I tend to use Island 4x4 first.

Ive found them helpful in the past. That being said I haven't bought anything from them for 6 months or so.

I did have to swap out a wrong part a while ago (over 18months) and I dont remember it being a pain. They sent a replacement part and collected the wrong part.

Andy

 

 

[reb78]

Island have been a mixed bag for me. I once bought a bearmach copper rad from them for the 200tdi. I had to chase after about three weeks to find out where it was. No stock and couldn't get any. I seem to remember waiting about another month (plus more chasing) for the refund. This was a bit silly but i got the impression i was simply being a pain for asking for my money back for something that they couldnt supply (and probably shouldnt have had listed)

On the other side though, I asked them for a genuine seal once that they didnt stock, but other bits i had ordered via them had to come from LR anyway. They added the genuine seal to the order for no extra cost.

[dangerous doug]

Island 4x4 are the worst vender I have used for a long while. Communication is non existent and I'm still waiting for the money to replace pars* they lost. I would rather make an order with paddoks over the phone than use island 4x4 again!

[reb78]

They lost your Pets Doug? Why did you send such precious things to them?

[dangerous doug]

14 minutes ago, reb78 said:

 

[dangerous doug]

My fat angry fingers got the better of me lol

[honitonhobbit]

Never used them - heard a mixed bag of good and bad. Heard worse about Paddocks

I buy from my local vendor, as do a number of my friends from foreign climes. The vendor has an eBay site and can use various parcel delivery systems internationally

In the old days, Richard James Land Rovers in Avonmouth shipped stuff all over the world, to the remotest places; like Pitcairn and Bog Monsters Gaff. Now they are an international shipping company

[reb78]

Just wanted to add a further comment to this thread. I have had to place three orders recently and because of price, i placed them with Island 4x4. There was a small problem with one caused by me losing internet connection in the middle of checkout which resulted in the paypal payment going through, but no items registering with Island 4x4. This was all sorted out quickly the next day and the order re-submitted.

So, just to add some balance, pretty good service for these three orders.

[Shackleton]

Had a look just now, I've placed six orders with Island 4x4 in total, the first one going back to 2011. All shipped to Ireland and all arrived without issue. I like Island 4x4.

Dear Island 4x4. It's great that you came on to respond. You haven't addressed the actual problem though so it reads more like you came just to say "sod off". Not good for business. If the OP had gotten some communication from you he might not have posted in the first place. A simple "we're sorry we didn't get back to you in good time and we're making every effort to make sure our sales support is top notch", shows professionalism and that you care about each and every one of your customers - even if you hate the OP's guts and you're not doing squat to up your communication game. That little bit of acknowledgement would give you the chance of having his custom again, and that of anyone else who sympathises with him. Judging by their website, the OP is a member of a very active and motivated club.

It doesn't matter how many parts you send around the world if your prospective customers feel as though there's no guarantee they'll hear from you again once the order is placed. I've had no reason to doubt your service in the past, but when it comes to placing another order, of course I'll have question whether your the right supplier.

Before you tell me to sod off, I've written this because I'd like to know you're there when I need stuff, not because I want to have a go. 

George

[paintman]

Just had a load of stuff from Island. Paid by Paypal. Items as ordered & quick delivery. No problems.

[reb78]

Well, after defending Island 4x4 above, I now find myself struggling to get a refund for a seized viscous fan hub. Bought mid May, fitted a few weeks later, seized on all of the time.

I sent a polite email two weeks ago, no reply, so followed with a phone call a few days later - was promised a response that day. None came. Sent a second email last week asking for a response and refund. No reply. Tried to ring multiple times. No one picks up. Have now sent a third email asking for a response and a refund otherwise i will go through PayPal.

When they answered the phone almost a fortnight ago, they said they were busy with orders - that's fine, but don't simply ignore the few people with problems, otherwise there will be no more orders!!! I am £60 down with a failed new viscous hub in the garage at the moment! Just put a big order in for about £200 worth of parts with LRDirect - Island 4x4 will not be getting any more of my money until this is sorted.

[reb78]

Ok, so it looks like I was definitely wrong to defend Island4x4 earlier in this thread. I sent the viscous fan back over a week ago. It was received by them according to the courier 7 days ago. I have emailed asking them to confirm receipt and when I can expect my refund but I have had no response at all. I do not know the process or the timescales and £60 of my money, plus the return postage amount is sat in someone else's account. 

Island4x4 if you bother to check this thread, I would appreciate a response of some form. This isn't good enough. Despite you being cheaper, Paddocks and Britcar have just had another £200 of my cash so you are losing out............

Any other suggestions on how to deal with this? I paid through paypal.

[Bowie69]

Just raise a dispute through paypal.

I would give them one more warning via email/phone to at least give them a final chance, then you can't say any fairer.

[reb78]

Refund finally received for the part, but I am still waiting for the return postage refund!!! This whole thing has been very frustrating - I don't understand the delays or the poor communication

[reb78]

Another week on and no refund for the postage with no reply to requests for it to be processed. Useless. Its just over a fiver, but its the principle now. I assume I can't get this back through paypal as they have refunded the original item?

[supaimpy]

dont think you will get return refund if you read the terms and conditions of sale they specifically exclude that as do most other internet sellers

[Peaklander]

If you register for the feature, PayPal will refund returns. I can't remember the £ limit but they will give you several per year.

I've used this two times this year. You need to have proof of postage like a pic of the receipt. It's fairly straightforward and you can read about it on their help / FAQ pages.