Schoolbooks.ie

DUBLIN_person

Hi,thought the best place to post this would be here. Has anyone else had problems with schoolbooks.ie recently.
There are other threads on here but they are all from a couple of years ago.
I ordered books from schoolbooks.ie on the 15th June. After hearing nothing from them for 2 weeks I rang them asking them what the delay was as it says on their website the average delivery time is 3-5 days. They said that one of the books was out of stock and that it would be out of stock until late July/early August.
Early August came and I rang again about a week and a half ago and they said that one of the books I had ordered was out of stock until November and they just never noticed that it was included in my order and that is why it was taking so long. I immediately cancelled that book, and they said the latest I would have the rest of the books was Monday just passed. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried to ring them again today. I tried the number on three different phones but it just rang out. Then when I finally managed to get on hold. I was on hold for 36 mins and then they hung up on me!!!! I then rang the National consumer agency, and the only thing they could assure me they could do is get my money back which is understandable, but that still does not get my books, which are needed in just two weeks time. I then decided to go out to their address in Dublin 12 and the person at the reception said The supervisor wasn't available but to leave my contact details with them, and they would give me a call within the hour. It is now 2 hours later and I am still waiting for that call.

Essentially, what I am wondering is.. is this a ''one off'' case or are there other people who have the same problems. I just don't want to be left out of pocket and left to pay for more books from elsewhere. If it is a common problem I should probably cancel the whole lot and at least then I would have the money to pay for the books elsewhere.

Thanks,
CB.

Thoie

They do have the following notice on their site at the moment:
Contact Details

Please Note: 4:10pm 15th Aug - We are currently experiencing intermittent outages with our phone lines due to technical difficulties Digiweb are having due to the current weather conditions. We wish to apologise for this interruption to our customer care phone service.

http://www.schoolbooks.ie/site/info/about.php


I don't know anything about the company, so you may have just hit a run of bad luck with them. Did you pay by credit card?

CarrickMcJoe

This was mentioned on Lavline with Joe yesterday. Costomers ended out driving to industrial estate and collecting their books. They got them after about 1/2 an hour waiting.

They were worried it had gone bust.

Tab10

DUBLIN_person wrote: »

Hi,thought the best place to post this would be here. Has anyone else had problems with schoolbooks.ie recently.
There are other threads on here but they are all from a couple of years ago.
I ordered books from schoolbooks.ie on the 15th June. After hearing nothing from them for 2 weeks I rang them asking them what the delay was as it says on their website the average delivery time is 3-5 days. They said that one of the books was out of stock and that it would be out of stock until late July/early August.
Early August came and I rang again about a week and a half ago and they said that one of the books I had ordered was out of stock until November and they just never noticed that it was included in my order and that is why it was taking so long. I immediately cancelled that book, and they said the latest I would have the rest of the books was Monday just passed. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried to ring them again today. I tried the number on three different phones but it just rang out. Then when I finally managed to get on hold. I was on hold for 36 mins and then they hung up on me!!!! I then rang the National consumer agency, and the only thing they could assure me they could do is get my money back which is understandable, but that still does not get my books, which are needed in just two weeks time. I then decided to go out to their address in Dublin 12 and the person at the reception said The supervisor wasn't available but to leave my contact details with them, and they would give me a call within the hour. It is now 2 hours later and I am still waiting for that call.

Essentially, what I am wondering is.. is this a ''one off'' case or are there other people who have the same problems. I just don't want to be left out of pocket and left to pay for more books from elsewhere. If it is a common problem I should probably cancel the whole lot and at least then I would have the money to pay for the books elsewhere.

Thanks,
CB.

I am having the same problem CB, they won't answer the phone, I got an email to say the books will be here by the 14th, I just sent an email looking for a refund. If there are not delivered by Friday. I am waiting 6 weeks now. I have a bad feeling about this!

Laoismother

Hi
I am also waiting for books since early july. I am not able to get through at all on the phone and have had no replies to emails. It is very strange as have used for the previous 2 years with no problems. Sent an email today requesting to cancel the order. I am really hoping this wi reach them as they have made no acknowledgement to previous orders.

Laoismother

nonienance

Yes I had the same problems. Eventually called up. Following day collected the books. Very bad service. Met others collecting with similar stories. I have sent an e mail to joe Duffy show just this pm. I feel people should know what their service is like. They advertise everywhere. There is enough stress with back to school without this. If lots of people contacted joe Duffy at least. Next year people will know what there are like.

the boss of me

I had similar issues with Schoolbooks.ie this year. I'd used the service a few times in the past and found them quite good but this year the service is shocking. I ordered books in early July (€400 worth), and was very concerned when they still hadn't arrived last week.
However when I did eventually get through to the phoneline they were very helpful and cancelled the whole order and arranged a refund for me. Went to Easons and picked up everything on the list within 10 mins. Needless to say I will never deal with them again.

foggy_lad

Every year there are certain books that don't get printed till the last minute or printing gets delayed for other reasons and rather than send people's books out in several deliveries costing a lot more this company decide to wait until they have all the books in stock before picking orders and delivering in one go!

As said by people who rang Liveline when they called out to the place they had their books within 30minutes, if there were issues they would not have had all the books and would not have been able to complete these collected orders!

Just because they want to keep their post/delivery costs down so they can possible be around next year to provide the same service and are currently having trouble with their phones does not mean they are going bust!!

As for refunds i don't see that being any use to people who might have trouble now searching out books, while all the books thay ordered are there waiting to be packaged and delivered.


(I have no connection with this company or with any school supplies/school book printing company)

the boss of me

foggy_lad wrote: »

Every year there are certain books that don't get printed till the last minute or printing gets delayed for other reasons and rather than send people's books out in several deliveries costing a lot more this company decide to wait until they have all the books in stock before picking orders and delivering in one go!

As said by people who rang Liveline when they called out to the place they had their books within 30minutes, if there were issues they would not have had all the books and would not have been able to complete these collected orders!

Just because they want to keep their post/delivery costs down so they can possible be around next year to provide the same service and are currently having trouble with their phones does not mean they are going bust!!

As for refunds i don't see that being any use to people who might have trouble now searching out books, while all the books thay ordered are there waiting to be packaged and delivered.

Well in my case Easons had all the books on their shelves in OConnell St. so obviously the books had been printed. Problem is schoolbooks.ie is not communicating with their customers and not despatching orders on time. I used schoolbooks.ie before and always received my orders within 24-72hrs. IMO if you get bad service you take your business elsewhere.

(I have no connection with this company or with any school supplies/school book printing company)

nonienance

foggy_lad wrote: »

Every year there are certain books that don't get printed till the last minute or printing gets delayed for other reasons and rather than send people's books out in several deliveries costing a lot more this company decide to wait until they have all the books in stock before picking orders and delivering in one go!

As said by people who rang Liveline when they called out to the place they had their books within 30minutes, if there were issues they would not have had all the books and would not have been able to complete these collected orders!

Just because they want to keep their post/delivery costs down so they can possible be around next year to provide the same service and are currently having trouble with their phones does not mean they are going bust!!

As for refunds i don't see that being any use to people who might have trouble now searching out books, while all the books thay ordered are there waiting to be packaged and delivered.


(I have no connection with this company or with any school supplies/school book printing company)

Well when my husband went to see what was happening there he did not get the books. He had to make a second journey the following day. Luckily we live close!

All we wanted was for a reply to a phone call or e mail. In this time of economic. Crisis we thought they had gone bust
It's the service we had a problem with.

guppy

That sounds awful and very worrying. I've only ever had good experiences with them, but I haven't dealt with them for 2 years at this stage and a lot can happen in that time.

I hope you all manage to resolve your issues.

DUBLIN_person

Seems like everyone seems to be having the same problems! I was unaware this was a topic raised on Liveline yesterday. I went into a local bookshop this evening to find out if they had the books in stock and I was told they have 95% of the stock available, and bar the book I cancelled which is not being published until November they did have the rest of the stock up to a week ago, new stock has been ordered and should be there next week.
Thanks everyone for your input, I did hear an ad on the radio for schoolbooks.ie this morning and they are still allowing orders to be taken via there site, but that doesnt act as much reassurance I suppose.

DUBLIN_person

Thoie wrote: »

They do have the following notice on their site at the moment:
Contact Details

Please Note: 4:10pm 15th Aug - We are currently experiencing intermittent outages with our phone lines due to technical difficulties Digiweb are having due to the current weather conditions. We wish to apologise for this interruption to our customer care phone service.

http://www.schoolbooks.ie/site/info/about.php


I don't know anything about the company, so you may have just hit a run of bad luck with them. Did you pay by credit card?

Yes I payed by Card and payment has already been taken.

DUBLIN_person

Just an update, went to Schoolbooks.ie head offices this morning, they said my books wouldn't be shipped until the 23rd (supposedley). So I cancelled the order and recieved a refund(at least I hope I did). In the time I was there, there where about 10 other people with the same complaints as myself. I wish everyone the best of luck with your schoolbooks.ie orders.

Laoismother

the boss of me wrote: »

foggy_lad wrote: »

Every year there are certain books that don't get printed till the last minute or printing gets delayed for other reasons and rather than send people's books out in several deliveries costing a lot more this company decide to wait until they have all the books in stock before picking orders and delivering in one go!

As said by people who rang Liveline when they called out to the place they had their books within 30minutes, if there were issues they would not have had all the books and would not have been able to complete these collected orders!

Just because they want to keep their post/delivery costs down so they can possible be around next year to provide the same service and are currently having trouble with their phones does not mean they are going bust!!

As for refunds i don't see that being any use to people who might have trouble now searching out books, while all the books thay ordered are there waiting to be packaged and delivered.

Well in my case Easons had all the books on their shelves in OConnell St. so obviously the books had been printed. Problem is schoolbooks.ie is not communicating with their customers and not despatching orders on time. I used schoolbooks.ie before and always received my orders within 24-72hrs. IMO if you get bad service you take your business elsewhere.

(I have no connection with this company or with any school supplies/school book printing company)

This may be true however there is no excuse for bad manners and a business is always built around good customer services which they dont have. Plus after nearly a month of trying to contact them i got through this am and suspect i was lied to by the person on the phone. I have cancelled my order and even with free delivery would not accept it. I will in future be giving the business to the local business. I will be keeping a close eye for my refund as somebody working in business i am suspiciousn on their affairs

Amanda athlone

Hi I'm having the same problem with schoolbooks.ie, I ordered mine the 4th of aug&they've took the money from my laser card, I sent two emails and have received no reply and I'm having trouble getting through on the phone, it's like the phone is off the hook most times or if I do get through for it to ring, I'm put on hold, I got the school books last year from them&i had no problems, they came when they said they would!

CarrickMcJoe

Kids should have ipads nowadays or computers, books downloaded from net and homework done on a memory stick, (easier to say, the dog ate my homework too).
These new editions and coloring in workbooks are daylight robbery.

pepperpixie

oh sugar just came across this thread, i ordered my books 31st July and queued for picking since Tuesday, but now i'm getting really worried son is starting junior infants 30/08 so i wasn't aware of how long it should take assumed this was a normal delay. after reading through the thread i'm really starting to panic. Been trying to ring for the last hour but phone constantly engaged, can anyone pm me a different number or e-mail address please??

Live in carlow so calling in is not really an option

DUBLIN_person

CarrickMcJoe wrote: »

Kids should have ipads nowadays or computers, books downloaded from net and homework done on a memory stick, (easier to say, the dog ate my homework too).
These new editions and coloring in workbooks are daylight robbery.

+1 on this completely agree but for now we have to buy the books required

Princessamzs

I am having the exact same problem. I received an email from them a couple of weeks ago saying that everything would be sorted out by the 14th Aug. I have sent them two separate emails and got no reply back. I have tried calling them numerous times and it just goes to engaged. I don't live close so I cannot drive up and collect my items. Wonder if I cancel my items will I actually get a refund?

bosker

I have been corresponding with <SNIP> at schoolbooks.ie today regarding cancelling my order (scooling@schoolbooks.ie) placed three weeks ago. Like everyone else, I received no response to calls, emails or a fax, but <SNIP> contacted me through a message I left on facebook yesterday. At least she responded to my emails and called me today (although I missed the call and of course no way of calling her back as the line constantly engaged). Now whether I get my money back is another matter - if this company isn't on it's way out already it will be very soon as few would ever order with them again. I have reordered the books on schoolbookshop.ie and confirmation said I should receive them within 2/3 working days. (This has been more stressful than waiting for a plumber to turn up every day for two weeks!)

papadocjunior

We ordered our school books mid July with the same experience(non/delivery/can't contact/no information/already paid) as others on this thread. Given our experience this year I can't see how this company can survive, who would use them or a company ran by the same people again? Does anyone know if dispatch on the 23rd is a hard date that the company have promised to meet?

raheal

Hi
Am also in the same boat ordered books 31st July , got email to say there was a delay and all books would be delivered by 14th Aug. Today nothing and no replies to telephone or email. I paid with laser am I guaranteed a refund if I cancel? thanks

Nwm2

So what is the best on-line alternative to schoolbooks.ie?

Gypseey1

I also ordered books early July, rang them when they didnt arrive within 7 days, got some story about a book being delayed & holding order til it came, I said I would have appreciated an email to say as much, anyways still no books & then an email to state there was a shipment issue, & books would be sent by 14th.... We all got the same story !!!!
I rang numerous time, no ring tone !
The website has wiped all the contact info...
I found a Facebook page that has email addresses for the customer care people direct so I mailed them today & cancelled my order & asked for a refund ??? Now I have to wait & see what happens, I'll contact the bank on Monday if a refund has not been issued !

kinlou

I have had the same problems. Ordered books many weeks ago and when they weren't dispatched I tried to ring and E-mail but no reply. I have applied for a refund and purchased them elsewhere, but still no one picking up the phone or replying to any of my many E-mails. I can't believe however that they managed to take the money from my credit card straight away, no book delivery and they say they are out of stock of items such as pencils, copy books - every corner shop manages to stock them! And absolutely no communication. I am raging and will never use them again and make sure I tell everyone I know to avoid them.

The Bishop Basher

Was just about to order books but couldn't find a way to ask for them to be covered at the online checkout. Tried calling all morning with no luck. Thought i'd do a quick search on boards and viola !!

Really glad I did. Going to revert back to the old way now and head for the shops with my list. It's a shame as I was a first time potential customer and will probably never be comfortable using them now.

Gypseey1

Gypseey1 wrote: »

I also ordered books early July, rang them when they didnt arrive within 7 days, got some story about a book being delayed & holding order til it came, I said I would have appreciated an email to say as much, anyways still no books & then an email to state there was a shipment issue, & books would be sent by 14th.... We all got the same story !!!!
I rang numerous time, no ring tone !
The website has wiped all the contact info...
I found a Facebook page that has email addresses for the customer care people direct so I mailed them today & cancelled my order & asked for a refund ??? Now I have to wait & see what happens, I'll contact the bank on Monday if a refund has not been issued !

I just got an Automated Type email from them .... Should have mon or Tuesday
Strange. Since I've been waiting a month and cancelled my order today !!!

Princessamzs

I finally got an email back from them after sending them about 6 emails, my final one saying I was cancelling my order and wanted a refund. I paid on Laser so wasn't sure if I would get a refund. Anyway, received not one but two emails off them this morning saying my order has been cancelled and I will get a refund in 3-5 working days. Never using them again!:mad:

The Bishop Basher

Got onto Doherty's in Bray and ordered them online. 10% off or free covering. I've used these guy's for years and never should have looked elsewhere. Always on the ball.

I ordered online yesterday and subsequently discovered my sister had ordered (the same order) weeks ago and hadn't gotten it, when she spoke to someone they told her they would be with her monday just gone, no sign, so she cancelled the order the day before yesterday and got a refund. I've emailed them cancelling mine. I ordered this morning from www.abcbooks.ie and they have already dispatched them. They have a promotional code of abcfbc for free covering of all books.