We’re not a happy bunch at Wirefresh after learning that we may have lost over half a grand courtesy of some shady goings-on at the High Street photo chain Jacobs Digital who are now in liquidation – and hanging on to cash for goods they have not supplied.
Order taken 4th May, item listed as in stock
Our sorry tale starts at the beginning of May this year when we ordered an Olympus 9-18mm f4-5.6 lens for £510.99. The item was marked in stock for immediate delivery.
The order went through on the 4th May, but after receiving no confirmation for several days, we wrote to enquire about the status of the item’s delivery on the 9th May.
Not actually in stock at all
We were then told that item was in fact out of stock, with delivery at least 7-14 days away – although that didn’t stop Jacobs swiftly trousering the cash out of our account on the same day.
On the 11th we informed Jacobs that such practices were unacceptable and asked for the order to be cancelled and the money immediately refunded.
The same day we received this reply:
[The] Order has been cancelled/refunded as per e-mail request.
Fibbers
After waiting weeks for the promised refund to materialise, we wrote again to the company and got this back from Vishal Dattani, Supervisor of their Mail Order Dept today:
On the 1st June 2012 Cecil Jacobs went into administration and so any orders outstanding before this date cannot be refunded.
We have been advised that you contact you credit card company for a refund and advise of the situation
Whilst I am sorry for the inconvenience caused, I hope you get the matter resolved
You can also email the administrators on ceciljacobs@uk.pkf.com
Stay clear
We’re still not sure why they took the money without despatching the goods in the first place, but they clearly lied when they said that the money had been refunded a month ago, and for that reason alone we urge readers to stay clear of this company.
Still up and running
Interestingly, the Jacobs Digital website is still up and trading and asking for your money ( and we note that the Olymus lens isn’t even listed any more).
There’s nothing on the website warning visitors that the company is in serious financial difficulties, either.
Stay away
Based on our experiences – and our wallet being £510 lighter – we strongly recommend that you don’t buy as much as a lens cap from this slippery bunch of feckers.
On a positive note, the bank says that we should be able to eventually get a refund, courtesy of credit card protection. We’ll keep you posted about any developments.
Glad you are covered, mate.
Bad news, and proving no one is ‘too big to fail’ at the moment…..
I never had a problem with them.
Probably because they hadn’t gone into administration after you’d placed your order and kept the money!
I have been chasing an order since February from them which I have not received. After numerous promises of chasing up this order I finally got the same email last week.
Just disgraceful.
Mike D – sorry to hear that you’ve been equally ripped off. There’s a thread on our sister site discussing some of the legal ramifications:
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/do-not-buy-anything-off-jacobs-photos-company-in-administration-orders-not-honoured-cash-stolen.294680/
Not very fair to mention that particular member of staffs name is it? I worked for the Jacobs mail order dept for 3 years, and I worked with the fore-mentioned supervisor who was a good man. Anthony and particularly Elliott Jacobs were greedy, selfish, and arrogant employers who had us run the department in this manner. We all, including Vishal, disagreed with the way we were forced to run the department, but a job is a job. Luckily I left before the administrators came in, but I think it’s very unfair of you to use Vishal as a scapegoat for this badly managed family run business. They deserved everything they got, but Vishal is a good, honest man and does not deserve this kind of attack.
What “attack”? I’ve simply stated the facts of the matter.