chocololita
in
egl
Honeycolor.com webshop review [NEGATIVE]
( review posted under permission of milkteamilk)
Hi!
I had a pretty bad experience with the eye lenses online shop www.honeycolor.com
So I decided to share this with the community, in hopes to alert potential buyers.
It happened some months ago but I had not much time to write a complete review until now.
I found discordant online reviews about this webshop so I honestly don't know what to think... I buy online since ten years ago so I don't think I had overreacted, I just felt genuinely scammed and their behavior has been really shady and unsupportive.
English is not my first language, so don't hesitate to point out mistakes or unclear steps.
*Please note most copy-pasted e-mails are cropped (I deleted "greetings/thanks", personal infos and such stuff)*
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Here's the hystory of events:
- 14/03/2014: I made the order and paid. The items were in stock both so everything went smooth.
- 19/03/2014: The order is shipped by Registered Airmail as requested. Tracking number can confirm the shipping method: RRxxxxxxxxxMY
The shipping time is 20~30 days approximately according to their website, and they told me I can check the path on the Malaysia Post website by this link: http://www.pos.com.my/emstrack/search_Meltrack.asp?x=%27MelTrack_v1%27
I check the tracking code after some days and the last update said the parcel has left Malaysia to the country of destination.
Until now everything went fine.
- 16/04/2014 (a month later): Still no updates on the tracking website. Lastest update was yet "the parcel has left Malaysia to the country of destination", with Italy-Milano Roserio (where the main Italian customs office is located) specified as destination.
In their website they says to offer support in case the parcel seems lost, so I sent a support ticket through Honeycolor website:
"Hi, my order #100140594 has been shipped on 20th of March and today nothing arrived yet :( Here is the tracking on Malaysia post website:http://www.pos.com.my/emstrack/viewdetailMelTrack.asp?parcelno=*MYTRACKINGCODE*
As you can see there are no news since the 25th of March.
Also in my local post website the tracking code does not show result, you can check here: http://www.poste.it/online/dovequando/home.do (just paste the tracking code in the empty form and click the yellow button).
I'm starting to worry about my order... Do you know if other italian customers had the same delay? I hope the package didn't get lost... :( I never lost packages with tracking number starting with RR because they are safe usually. So should I wait more days or call the postal office?"
- 19/04/2014: 3 days later, I didn't receive any reply: this was strange considering they always replied to me in 24h. So I choose to sending an-email instead of another support ticket, copying the same message and asking again if this delay is normal on shipping from Malaysia to EU countries.
Same day, I received an automatic e-mail confirming they received my inquiry.
- 21/04/2014: I received a pleasant e-mail from Honeycolor support:
"Richard - HoneyColor Customer Support, Apr 21 03:37 PM:
We aware of your shipment delay and is currently checking the issue with Pos Malaysia. If the package could not be located or is lost in transit, we will take full responsibility by set up reshipment via DHL express or issue full refund, at customer choice.
I will revert to you by 23 Apr 2014, appreciate your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
Richard
Customer Support Team
HoneyColor Online"
I felt better after this kind e-mail so I replied that yes, I'll wait for his news in the next days and meanwhile I'll try to contact my local customs office.
- 25/04/2014: Still no news from the support, but I contacted customs as promised, so I sent an-email to keep updated the Honeycolor customer service:
"No news from the Italian customs office, it looks the package never arrived in customs :(
Do you have any news from Pos Malaysia?
If the package cannot be find by Malaysian Post too, I'd really appreciate your offer to send my order again by DHL."
- 27/04/2014: Still no news from customer service. So I checked their website and FB page and I saw updates posted in the last days, so I excluded some kind of technical issue or unexpected holiday XD
The Paypal protection was going to expire so I decided to open a dispute and I sent an e-mail to customer support explaining my worries:
"I felt obligated to ask for Paypal dispute because I didn't receive any news by you as promised.
I'll be very glad to recall it because your shop is great and your lenses choice is amazing. But I'm sorry, your email replies are way too slow :( and customers at the first purchase could feel scammed.
Let me know if you contacted Pos Malaysia as promised, and if they told you some news about my parcel.
As I said in the last email, I'll be very glad to accept your offer to sending the parcel again by DHL.
I'll close the dispute when I've received the parcel and I'll leave you a positive feedback. Most important, I'll surely buy from you again if the issue will be resolved (next time I'll choose DHL as first XD)."
- 30/04/2014: No e-mail from Honeycolor support. They ignored the Paypal dispute and they didn't any action on the PP counterclaim too. I sent another e-mail to the Honeycolor customer service:
"Please let me know something about the situation.
I'll keep to send you alerts every 3/4 days because I didn't receive any email from you SINCE THE 21st of April. You cannot need 9 days for sending a reply by email :(
Please read my past emails and let's try to resolve the issue in a quick and positive way."
- 01/05/2014: I decided to convert the PP dispute to a claim, explaining to PP staff what happened (a summary of the facts above) and asking for a refund because the seller disappeared and my parcel is still lost somewhere.
On the same day, I left a message on Honeycolor FB page board to check if they would ignored my messages also there (my message is the middle one):
- 04/05/2014: Of course I didn't receive any reply on FB, BUT...the message has been hidden on the FB board: I could still see it, but others don't. I asked to a couple of friends to check the Honeycolor board and they confirmed my message was disappeared (sorry if I crop the head of this poor girl XD):
I updated Paypal staff by e-mail about this shady behavior (they replied to contact them by phone for this kind of updates, but whatever...)
- 12/05/2014: Still no e-mail from Honeycolor support, no replies in the Paypal claim, no updates in the tracking website... so Paypal refunded me the full import. It ended well, fortunately.
In conclusion:
I think the parcel has been lost for real (not because their fault...I guess) but I didn't receive any support from Honeycolor's staff. Also, they clearly promised a refund and then they disappeared.
They ignored all my e-mails and they hidden my message on their FB board to keep their page free of bad reviews and angry customers :P
All these facts are enough for me to avoid this shop and leave a negative review.
Do you think the same? Should I give a "neutral" instead of a "negative" feedback in your opinion?
Did someone have a similar experience with this shop?