The Body Shop - A Warning!

[CliveM]

My wife has been a user of The Body Shop's products for several years, she likes them and has previously always purchased them from Physical shops. 
As she now has some mobility problems, she decided to open an online account with them and did so. Their website looks as good as could be expected and she placed an order for a couple of products a couple of weeks ago. As usual the order was paid for at the time it was placed. Since that time the following has happened:

1. Nothing has been received.
2. Emails to them have been ignored.
3. The record of this order, which initially appeared in her account as expected, has been removed. (I have a screenshot that page and copies of all associated emails)
4. I rang them to query what was going on and had what I would describe as an unsatisfactory conversation with a customer services lady who was quite evasive claimed they          had canceled the order as they could not supply the products and we would be refunded its value.
5. Nothing has been heard from them since that conversation.

One of my personal rules for online purchases from new suppliers is to never commit more money to the transaction than I can afford to lose, and it seems that is what has happened now.

I only post this here as a warning to any of our subscribers to be cautious should they wish to deal with these people.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Put a post on here...

https://www.facebook.com/TheBodyShop

Amazing how fast retailers respond when a problem gets aired on Farcebook.

[piroska]

My wife has been a user of The Body Shop's products for several years, she likes them and has previously always purchased them from Physical shops. 
As she now has some mobility problems, she decided to open an online account with them and did so.  Since that time the following has happened:

1. Nothing has been received.
2. Emails to them have been ignored.
3. The record of this order, which initially appeared in her account as expected, has been removed. (I have a screenshot that page and copies of all associated emails)
4. I rang them to query what was going on and had what I would describe as an unsatisfactory conversation with a customer services lady who was quite evasive claimed they          had canceled the order as they could not supply the products and we would be refunded its value.
5. Nothing has been heard from them since that conversation.

1)Use visa. Always, that way the bank can get you your money back.
And 2)
[b]Return Address:
The Body Shop
Attn: Customer Care Team
156 Emerson Street
Napier 4110[/b]

I am in Napier. Want me to go hassle them for you?

[king1]

sort of thing has happened to me a couple of times with different companies, buy something advertised, they have none and cant get any more, then you need to wait for them to credit you for it... Should be outlawed IMHO

[harm_less]

1)Use visa. Always, that way the bank can get you your money back.

Definitely this. I was too quick to buy a pair of shoes online a while back that appeared to be a NZ website at first glance. A couple of months later the bogus tracking info fell to bits and the excuses started so I approached Visa who reversed the charges and refunded me in full.

That was nearly a year ago and no shoes have turned up yet, nor any complaints from the seller that payment had evaporated.

[CliveM]

Thanks for the comments. I may pursue some of your suggestions in due course however there is not enough cash involved to be worth much effort. My daughters will no doubt spread the word on Facebook so I suspect that they will lose far more in business than they made out of not supplying us. I also note that they only have about half the physical outlets in this area than existed a year or two ago which indicates a dying business.

[Olive]

My husband had a similar situation buying from The Body Shop on line.   He eventually received the goods but the process was long and extremely annoying; their website didn't function properly and the various call centre people didn't have a clue.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

The only time I have shopped at the Body Shop was for their long handled body brush. I do love that thing...

[piroska]

Thanks for the comments. I may pursue some of your suggestions in due course however there is not enough cash involved to be worth much effort. My daughters will no doubt spread the word on Facebook so I suspect that they will lose far more in business than they made out of not supplying us.  I also note that they only have about half the physical outlets in this area than existed a year or two ago which indicates a dying business.

Ok, I go to a second hand bookshop in that street often, so not a big deal to pop in and ask. I can do it tactfully, don't panic.

[CliveM]

Thanks Piroska but I don't think it's worth the effort. They might come right and if so I'll report it here.

[R2x1]

Thanks Piroska but I don't think it's worth the effort. They might come right and if so I'll report it here.

If you want to light a fire under something, more people fanning the flames is usually helpful.

[Zurdo]

One of my daughters worked for The Body Shop for many years, ups and downs for her, and was a store manager for several years. There were several changes of ownership, and of course policies. She left during Covid because they were putting profit before worker safety. As a long time employee she had a real Employment Contract, with holiday pay, sick leave etc. She was part time when her daughter was younger, and later they wouldn't give her extra shifts to expand her hours, they would employ a new young girl with a contract giving them nothing. Disillusionment from a good job she'd been at for a long time.

[CliveM]

Well after a few more emails and pointing out that I was not going to go away, also telling them that I had screen shots of the whole transaction we have received a refund and an apology.
Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.

[Bryan]

You persevered well. Nice to know that someone can have a win; well done you.

[Agent_24]

I don't know how you paid but if you used a credit/debit card, it usually takes several business days for a refund to come in, even slower if it's an overseas company.

Someone I knew was accidentally charged twice for a laptop battery from Australia and it took about a week for the refund to come through.