On Friday the 24th September I ordered Tamiya’s 1/32 Scale Spitfire MK VIII from “Models in Motion” www.modelsinmotion.co.uk It was £97.75 and free postage of 3-5 days, it wasn’t listed as on “back order” so I expected to receive it the following Friday or Saturday. When I still hadn’t received it by the Tuesday the following week I tried to contact “Models in Motion” to find out what had become of my, not insubstantial, purchase. I emailed 3 times and they couldn’t be delivered, I had to wait until the Friday (I finish work early) and I wanted to give them more time to dliver, to phone them. Twice I let the phone ring until I was cut off! I tried phoning twice more on Saturday, today, and again no one answered. When I was, finally able to log on to their web site and go to “Track Order” it’s showing as “Order to be processed”. I have had to resort to writing a letter (snail mail [ouch]), which is going to cost me a stamp. I’ve had much better service from sellers on ebay. By not letting emails arrive and not answering phone calls it shows, to me, that they just don’t care about their customers.
My main reason for buying the kit is because I have several customers wanting masks for the “Grey Nurse” scheme and I need to check the ability of the masking material to conform to the cowling. I suppose that you could blame me for trying to save a little money in these hard times. I will not be buying from them again, that’s for sure. To say that I am pi**ed off is an understatement.

I have just tried phoning again, still no answer!

Mal,

Short of the (sole?) owner / employee being hospitaised or a family bereavement, then this is inexcusable. Clearly however, someone was available and not "too busy" to promptly process and deduct the best part of a hundred quid from your credit or debit card!

There are plenty of on-line retailers who offer excellent service (e.g - 'Plastic Pastimes' in Poole are usually very fast on delivery if they have an item in stock and promptly rectify any mistakes/probs).

Use this as a learning exercise and at the risk of preaching to the converted, buy elsewhere next time.

p.s. Don't p*ss the company off too much UNTIL you actually get the kit in your hands. If they think they have nothing to loose and as a customer you are forever lost to them, they can make it very awkward for you and drag their feet to 'teach you a lesson'.

If you paid with Paypal, apply for your money back and just go elsewhere.

Good luck!
Gary

Hi Mal

Delays happen, but not answering calls etc. is bound to make you think the worst. You don't say if they've deducted the money - if so, that would be bad, because most companies don't do so until the order is dispatched.

I hope it all sorts out satisfactorily very soon.

All the best

Rowan

Mal

I'm so sad to hear you may have been shystered by another callous and criminal outfit. I know exactly how you feel, as the same thing happened to me when I tried to deal with "MORRIS HOBBIES" in the USA.

They too, accepted my CC payment, never bothered to send the merchandise, and would not answer repeated emails or the phone. Finally, totally frustrated, I gave up and took the loss. I still have records of the emails I sent them.

Today, I spare no quarter in denouncing "MORRIS HOBBIES" and warning others not to shop there, as they are truly crooked, and cowardly.

Looks like we have the begining of a proper list labeling outfits where you should NOT shop. MORRIS HOBBIES is on that list of thieves. And Mal, I will remember what you have said, and never consider 'Models in Motion' as a viable place to shop.

Guy

Hi Guy

To be fair, Mal hasn't stated that Models In Motion have taken any money yet.




In your own case with Morris Hobbies you shouln't have to take the loss - contact your credit card company. They should reimburse you if you've not received the goods and will probably chase down the merchant. One of the good things about shopping by credit card is you have a degree of insurance.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan

You are right, and I truly apologize if I've jumped the gun early with regards to 'Models in Motion'. I should have waited for clarification from Mal.

However, it is indeed a hurtful experience to wait for a postman who never comes, to wait further for emails that never come, and finally, to have phone calls unanswered and messages not returned. The fact that multiple emails remain unanswered is reason enough for me to believe something is amiss.
The waiting for nothing turns into weeks and weeks before one finally realizes he's been had.

This was the case with "MORRIS HOBBIES", and because I'm essentially a hillbilly, I feel no shame in getting one more shot in on the shysters "MORRIS HOBBIES".

Mal, I truly hope it works out for you in the end, and that you recieve your goods. Good Luck!

Guy

Yes they took the money, via Pay Pal! I have tried to recover it put Pay Pal state that they are unable to. I guess that they aren't able to send them an email either. I tried a couple of more time to phone, letting it ring until I was cut off! I have written to them telling them thet there "Customer Service" is none existant and to phone or email me to tell me what is happening. I have said that I will have the model, or my money back. Whatever happens I will not be using them again, to take the best part of £100 and not even keep me informed is bang out of order. I will also be contacting Trading Standards

Hi Mal

I'm very sorry to see that Guy's assumption turned out to be correct! It's really bad that they've taken the money before processing the order. I'm disappointed too that PayPal aren't able to do anything in a case like this - that's definitely something to be aware of in future...

I mostly shop at Model Hobbies when buying online in the UK. They give a useful discount compared with list prices (usually more than enough to cover the P&P in a reasonable sized order) and their service has always been excellent in my experience.

All the best

Rowan

I was goint to say what a great success I hasve had getting money recovered when i used paypal, but come to think of it it was always with an ebay purchase.. Still that is one of the touts of Paypal in that there was a inusrance for such things. Possible the company went belly up. I hope for a successful resloution to this.

Hi Mal,

Sorry to hear about your problem. I see their address is listed on the site, perhaps a visit to their shop is in order? If not yourself perhaps a IPMS UK or Kitmaker member would be prepared to visit them on your behalf?

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Rudi

Mal

Your negative experience with PayPal is one reason I have not opened an account to sell on Ebay. Now Ebay requires a seller to have PayPal which really stinks. I've heard more negative stuff about Paypal than positive ones.
I had a negative experience myself with Eduard and their lack of customer support when dealing with lost /missing parts. After 4 emails and waiting for a month, some joker from Eduard responded wanting $30 for 5 tiny parts for a 1/48 scale Fokker DVII. That's more than what the complete kit is worth!
I hope you can resolve your problem in a positive manner.

To bring some good news into this thread:

I had two missing parts problems:

one with Revell of Germany: I lost the refeuling probe of a Rafale. I emailed them admitting that i stupidly lost it. I got no email reaction but a week later i received a small box in the mail with the missing part.

and a second one with Italeri: here they made a mistake and my Gripen was missign some parts. I sent them photographs of the sprues still in their plastic bags showing the missing parts. without any hassle i got new sprues with apologies on top of it.

Now that is SERVICE.

That's great news drabslab. Tamiya is also a pleasure to deal with regarding lost parts, great folks.

Unfortunately Mal it looks like you may struggle with getting your money back.

http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/topic/92858-info-about-model-shop-in-stevenage-models-in-motion-closed/

Models in Motion were a customer of ours until a few months ago and they had been getting slower and slower at paying our bills so I can only assume that it is true they have gone.

I will speak to some of our competitors tomorrow who were still supplying and see if I can find out any details for you.

regards

Stuart

Creative Models Ltd

Hi Stuart

Oh hell, that is bad news all round! Many thanks for the update.

All the best

Rowan

Yep looks like I have lost the dosh! I suppose that it's my fault for trying to get the kit cheaper

I must apologies, I didn't use Pay Pal (I usually do for online purchases of model related stuff, and after over 2 weeks of frustration, I just thought I had used Pay Pal). I had used my debit card, which was another mistake, as if I had used my Credit card I could have got my money back. Incidently, I don't think that Pay Pal could have recovered the money, if I had used them, as MiM had gone banckrupt and will be in the hands of the receiver. The Banks will get first pickings when all the assests are sold, including the model that I purchased!

Live and learn

Mal

Good News! I have spoken to The Hobby Company about the situation and they have very generously agreed to split the cost of the kit with us so on this occasion we can send you a kit out for free to cover your loss.

It is never good when any retailer has problems and it is only made worse when innocent customers are caught up in it.
It has been said many times before but unless people support there local shops and stop buying from overseas this situation is going to become more and more frequent.

Please PM your address details and we will get it sent straight out for you.

regards

Stuart

Creative Models Ltd

Hi Stuart

That is amazing offer to help Mal out - and a point very well made about the need to support "local" shops, whether buying mail order or shopping on the high street.

All the best

Rowan

Mal

Why can't you recover your money? My son has had several cases where he used his debit card on transactions where merchants either double charged the account (claiming accidental double charge) or just plain refused to refund his moneyf on a couple of bad deals on services. The bank issued credits and put the missing money back into his account.

That's the worst case of crooked & fake internet sales I`ve heard!
Too bad about the lost cash.

Had a mismatched experience with after-sale customer services with the same kit brand; Tamiya.
One case, long ago when the wholesaler was still a local dealer got me a fast reply and the lost piece (together with the sprue where it came).
Now, I`ve lost an engine bearer of my Fieseler Stroch, and got hung up by the new Iberian (i.e. Spanish) wholesaler... Even my local hobby shop is unable to get a response from these guys. I´m 100% sure Tamiya is unaware of this lousy c.s. Cheers Pedro

An absolutely amazing offer, which I must except as I am trying to produce masks for the Grey Nurse Scheme, for several customers. My week had been getting worse, I won't go into that, but you have turned it around

Ernie, I will try and recover the money but I'm sure, on this side of the pond, that is not possible having used a debit card.

Stuart, If I do recover the money I will let you know and it's yours. SWMBO knows about these things and she is adamant that it can't be done. Just double checked with her, and no, I can only get a refund from the liquidators now. I will still check with the bank, Stuart, she's not always right (Don't you just know that she ain't looking over my shoulder )

I too made an order with MIM . They did send me part of the order which were extra spares for my PZ micro P51, and I.ve been waiting over 2 months , I have emailed them several times and telephoned but found out today from another forum that they had ceased to trade. I paid with PayPal for my items, so I wrote to them explaining the details and they replied that they couldnt help due to the fact its been over 40 days unless there are a lot of cases that have paid with paypal. A little bit gutted but mainly for the guys that run the shop , so I'll have to find spares else where. My Mustang is in top condition but was looking for spares for the future..

Mal,

If you Debit Card is from one of the big players eg. VISA or Mastercard, you should be able to get your money back. You may just need to throw some weight around at your card issuer. I have double checked that info out and no matter where your located in the world it can be done. I have done it in the past, I had to get quite noisy at the local bank...