Has Osborns Gone Out Of Business?

[Tachikoma1373]

Comes to something when this is my first post on this forum but others need to be aware

 

Hornby trainset bought in March. Loco faulty on delivery. Returned for repair. 3 months later still not returned.

 

Impossible to get hold of by phone (and believe me I've tried), emails go unanswered  for days/weeks on end.

 

Today they have been given 14 days to return the loco (fixed or not) or Trading standards engaged and small claims initiated.

Absolutely abysmal service.

[Downendian]

Well contrary to other posts, I’ve had good service from Osborns. I’ve recently ordered 10 Parkside Dundas PC63 26T MSVs for my stone train in two batches of 5. Delivery within 10-14 days which I’m quite happy with, plus they’re the cheapest I’ve found - important when I need a rake of 25.

Neil

[Mallard60022]

On 04/06/2021 at 11:26, Tachikoma1373 said:

Comes to something when this is my first post on this forum but others need to be aware

 

Hornby trainset bought in March. Loco faulty on delivery. Returned for repair. 3 months later still not returned.

 

Impossible to get hold of by phone (and believe me I've tried), emails go unanswered  for days/weeks on end.

 

Today they have been given 14 days to return the loco (fixed or not) or Trading standards engaged and small claims initiated.

Absolutely abysmal service.

and ?

[meatloaf]

7 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

and ?

3 months to return a loco does seem excessive, no?

[rob D2]

12 hours ago, Downendian said:

Well contrary to other posts, I’ve had good service from Osborns. I’ve recently ordered 10 Parkside Dundas PC63 26T MSVs for my stone train in two batches of 5. Delivery within 10-14 days which I’m quite happy with, plus they’re the cheapest I’ve found - important when I need a rake of 25.

Neil

Delivery within 10-14 days ? Are you in Japan or somewhere. If that’s the U.K. it’s rather c5ap.

[Craigw]

6 hours ago, meatloaf said:

3 months to return a loco does seem excessive, no?

 

It probably is. I think Mallard was asking if the matter had been resolved. The post was in June... so.. July, August, September... the final line of the post had something about 14 days to resolve

 

Regards,

 

Craig W

[woodenhead]

6 hours ago, meatloaf said:

3 months to return a loco does seem excessive, no?

 

7 minutes ago, Craigw said:

 

It probably is. I think Mallard was asking if the matter had been resolved. The post was in June... so.. July, August, September... the final line of the post had something about 14 days to resolve

 

Regards,

 

Craig W

Look at the year.....this is a resurrected thread, the issue with the returned loco was in June 2021

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

 

Look at the year.....this is a resurrected thread, the issue with the returned loco was in June 2021

Indeed, and my distinct recollection is that at that time Covid was still dominating lives and businesses. I didn't see my wife, who lives in Torquay, for nearly a year except on a daily Zoom - travel between UK and France was restricted, as were many other activities. Small firms will not have found life easy, either. 

[Bernard Lamb]

3 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Delivery within 10-14 days ? Are you in Japan or somewhere. If that’s the U.K. it’s rather c5ap.

Have you ever tried to obtain a batch of these kits?

Or any other kit in bulk from the same manufacturer for that matter.

Or from any other range come to think about it.

At a discounted price to boot.

I don't know anout Japan but I do wonder what planet you are living on.

The service seems pretty good to me.

Bernard

 

[Downendian]

I completely agree Bernard.

order placed 6/9/22 received 20/9/22 and considering Royal Mail strikes and a bank holiday in between perfectly acceptable.

The kits were also £2 cheaper than all other suppliers I could find, so effectively buy 4 get one free. 
On a broader point, smaller suppliers invariably will have suffered disproportionately more the affects of the pandemic. The supplier in question has explained this in another thread. I for one will be supporting them with my business in the future.

Neil 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Downendian

[Mallard60022]

10 hours ago, meatloaf said:

3 months to return a loco does seem excessive, no?

There was no further post to say if the situation had been resolved. That's what we want to know thanks.

[Mallard60022]

3 hours ago, Craigw said:

 

It probably is. I think Mallard was asking if the matter had been resolved. The post was in June... so.. July, August, September... the final line of the post had something about 14 days to resolve

 

Regards,

 

Craig W

Correct. The OP never followed up. useless. Probably left the Forum anyway.

[Mallard60022]

1 hour ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Have you ever tried to obtain a batch of these kits?

Or any other kit in bulk from the same manufacturer for that matter.

Or from any other range come to think about it.

At a discounted price to boot.

I don't know anout Japan but I do wonder what planet you are living on.

The service seems pretty good to me.

Bernard

 

Yup, sadly some rather rude and nasty comments as usual.

[Mallard60022]

Another Trader being slagged off by want it now people. Makes be angry. Patience is a virtue and also the way you deal with a Firm can help things along. Too many people today are too quick to criticise and then announce to one and all on a public Platform.  Give it a rest.

Osborns has always been OK with my orders. Bit slow sometimes but who the hell cares?

P  

[spamcan61]

13 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Correct. The OP never followed up. useless. Probably left the Forum anyway.

Looks that way:-

 

[AY Mod]

16 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Correct. The OP never followed up. useless. Probably left the Forum anyway.

 

Yes; we get seagulls who land, flap about and leave their crap but the latest antagonism (which followed a positive post) came from re-igniting a 15-month old comment. By whom?

 

12 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Give it a rest.

 

That would have been a sound ethos. Instead I'm having to look at seagull crap.

[admiles]

2 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

Another Trader being slagged off by want it now people. Makes be angry. Patience is a virtue and also the way you deal with a Firm can help things along. Too many people today are too quick to criticise and then announce to one and all on a public Platform.  Give it a rest.

Osborns has always been OK with my orders. Bit slow sometimes but who the hell cares?

P  

 

Or just people explaining their experiences with a trader to other modellers. Whilst being as nice as I possibly can Osborns have an appalling reputation. Your dealings with them many have been ok but many others, including mine all three times I tried them (I gave them the benefit of the doubt) really weren't acceptable.

[Mallard60022]

4 hours ago, admiles said:

 

Or just people explaining their experiences with a trader to other modellers. Whilst being as nice as I possibly can Osborns have an appalling reputation. Your dealings with them many have been ok but many others, including mine all three times I tried them (I gave them the benefit of the doubt) really weren't acceptable.

All Traders have issues. A few people post crap and then not confirming or updating is nonsense. 

There is far too much jumping on Social Media to diss all sorts of Services.  It's usually younger or just impatient modellers who want everything yesterday. The odd customer that has a real problem needs to get it sorted privately and not put ayet another struggling small Trader in peril of being shunned. If the cap fits, then fine.

[Mallard60022]

7 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Yes; we get seagulls who land, flap about and leave their crap but the latest antagonism (which followed a positive post) came from re-igniting a 15-month old comment. By whom?

 

 

That would have been a sound ethos. Instead I'm having to look at seagull crap.

It was reignited with a good positive comment. 

If my comments are crap,  then so be it. 

Phil 

[admiles]

20 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

All Traders have issues. A few people post crap and then not confirming or updating is nonsense. 

There is far too much jumping on Social Media to diss all sorts of Services.  It's usually younger or just impatient modellers who want everything yesterday. The odd customer that has a real problem needs to get it sorted privately and not put ayet another struggling small Trader in peril of being shunned. If the cap fits, then fine.

 

The thing with Osbourns is though it isn't just a few people. They have a long and glorious history of issues (the kindest term I can use I think).  If they're struggling it's of their own making. I can't think of any other retailer that I've heard of or read about having so many problems.

 

I back this up with my own three experiences of dealing with them. Not pretty.

 

To use your own terms in this case I think the cap really does fit...very well!

Edited September 21, 2022 by admiles

[Mallard60022]

4 minutes ago, admiles said:

 

The thing with Osbourns is though it isn't just a few people. They have a long and glorious history of issues (the kindest term I can use I think).  If they're struggling it's of their own making. I can't think of any other retailer that I've heard of or read about having so many problems.

 

I back this up with my own three experiences of dealing with them. Not pretty.

 

To use your own terms in this case I think the cap really does fit...very well!

Fair enough. Pre Covid as well?

Shame as they have some good stuff.

P

[Kris]

6 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Fair enough. Pre Covid as well?

 

From bitter experiences, absolutely pre Covid as well. I would purchase from them in person but never again on line.  

[Jonboy]

Frankly they could be difficult enough in person when based in Abingdon.

 

A memorable one was the proprietor moaning to another customer about slow trade and people not dropping in anymore, and then immediately not being prepared to reserve, pre-sell or even simply confirm when a specific item was due in, or agree to call/email when it came in.

[JohnR]

8 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

Another Trader being slagged off by want it now people. Makes be angry. Patience is a virtue and also the way you deal with a Firm can help things along. Too many people today are too quick to criticise and then announce to one and all on a public Platform.  Give it a rest.

Osborns has always been OK with my orders. Bit slow sometimes but who the hell cares?

P  

 

"Want it now" doesnt match someone waiting 3 months for something to be returned or replaced. 3 days, I can accept. 3 weeks would be a stretch. But the poster had already waited 3 months, with nothing from the retailer saying "sorry its taking longer, I'm struggling to get a repair done/replacement from Hornby". He had every right to complain after that point. 

 

And Osborns DOES have a bad reputation, even pre-covid for lack of communications and long waits for orders to arrive. 

[AY Mod]

40 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

It was reignited with a good positive comment. 

If my comments are crap,  then so be it. 

 

The positive comment probably wouldn't have led to another wave of negativity on its own. What happened after that post has. 🤬