Hey all,
  Just thought I'd share my recent (and ongoing) experience with dabs
customer service with you all.

  Back in June this year, we bought a wireless access point from dabs
along with some other bits and pieces. All was well, order arrived the
next day, everything functioned fine until october.

  I got in from the pub one evening to be greeted by my bother saying the
access point was dead. I went to look at it and sure enough, it was dead.
I put a meter across the PSU and discovered that was at fault (it's a
cheap wall-wart affair). So the next day I try and contact dabs.

  At this point I find out that dabs have now discontinued all their
telephone contact numbers. If you call the old number, it tells you that
you have to contact them by email and hangs up. So I find the contact
address and send an email explaining the problem and asking if they can
replace the PSU.

  No reply.

  A week later, I try again. Two or three days later I get a reply saying
that I have to obtain an RMA and return the complete unit for repair. So I
request an RMA.

  No RMA arrives.

  A week later I email to ask why I've not received a reply.

  Two days later, an email arrives appologising for the delay and that an
RMA has been issued. The RMA says it can take 4 to 6 weeks for a repair
and that we should pay £8.99+VAT for return carriage. Then in small print,
if we wish to use our own courier, see this URL.

  So I email back stating that I will deliver the unit back to them by
hand and would like a replacement for the faulty unit.

  Three days later I get a reply stating that they have no facilities to
deal with the public and that they will not offer a replacement. All goods
are send for repair which can take 4 to 6 weeks.

  So I box it all up, print out a delivery note on our usual duplicate
paper and head up to dabs. (I had to take a faulty UPS to scan, who
replaced it on the spot, no hassle at all. Scan are only 5 mins from dabs)
I take the box to goods in at dabs (this is the "national logistics
centre" in bolton, where I was instructed to ship the item to). Give it to
the bloke in the warehouse, get a signature  and date (06/11/03) on my
delivery note and head back to await some progress.

  Four weeks pass. Nothing from dabs.

  So I email them to ask where it's got to, why it's taking so long and
when they're going to return it. I also complain about poor customer
service, etc.

  Two days later I get a reply. "Dear Sir/Madam" (odd - every email
I've signed with my name, they've quoted them below - why can't they read
it?) "Repairs can take 4 to 6 weeks. Your item was received by us on
12/11/03. Regards, so and so, customer services executive".

  So I reply asking why it's taken them six days from the goods being
delivered for them to be booked in, and when the item will be returned as
they didn't answer that.

  Today (four days later) I receive another reply. "Dear Sir/Madam,
thenyou for your email. <url>. we appologise for any inconvenience.
Regards, so and so, customer services executive." I look at <url> and it
says "Dabs do not repair or replace goods. Goods are dispatched to the
manufacturer for repair" (I'd worked that much out when they said 4 to 6
weeks) "Dabs recommend customers try dealing directly with the
manufacturer to get a quicker response time". Why the hell didn't they
tell me that in the first place. I should point out this url isn't
anywhere obvious on the website when you try to find customer services
contacts. If I'd known that, I would have gone direct to the manufacturer,
who would probably have just sent me a replacement PSU, without having to
return the whole unit. I have replied to dabs again to try and get some
sense out of them, but at this rate, I'm not expecting much.

  They've now had my access point for five and a half weeks and don't seem
to have any idea where it actually is or it's state of repair.

  Dabs seem very happy to take your money and ship you the goods, but
their after sales service is possibly the worst I have ever encountered
and I highly recommend that you do not give dabs your future custom.

-- Matt

*UPDATE Monday 15th December*

MD phoned a dabs sales line and complained about customer service - they
hung up. Tried again and was given a contact email address for the customer
services manager. So I composed a long e-mail explaining exactly what
happened and asking when we could get our access point back. We also asked
for contact details for the manufacturer, so we could try and follow it up
with them.

Received an auto-response saying he was on holiday and not back until 4th
Jan. Forwarded the e-mail to customer services.

*UPDATE Friday 19th December*

Received an e-mail from customer services appologising for any inconvenience
(still addressed "Dear Sir/Madam". The e-mail stated that repairs take four
to six weeks and the item was received by dabs on the 12th november.
(Blatently not true - they received it on the 6th. I have a signature to
prove it). The e-mail also says that they are unable to provide supplier
details.

I look up contact details for actiontec, they include a UK phone number for
technical support. MD phones actiontec to find out if they can help at all.
After a long conversation with a friendly customer service operator, it
transpires that actiontec support is based in california and that if dabs
have returned the unit, that is where it will have gone. Actiontec have a
policy of telling vendors to swap out goods when faulty and were astounded
to hear that dabs have handled this the way they have. The tech support guy
said he would follow this up further and try and chase up our access point
from his end. He couldn't tell us any details about it without an RMA (which
dabs refuse to give us). The computer system didn't show any indication of
correspondance from dabs about returning the item either. Which means dabs
most likly just sent it back.

So now we're waiting to hear something from dabs. If we don't hear something
by the end of monday, CS are getting another email to ask where it's got
to. They've had long enough already.


*UPDATE Monday 29th December*

No reply from dabs, so I've sent customer services another email asking
where the unit has got two. They've had over six weeks working on both our
date and their date for receiving the goods - we should have had it back.
Maybe there'll be a reply by the end of the week, but I'm not holding my
breath.


*UPDATE Friday 2nd January*

Wow! Not just one reply, but three! All sent within the space of 5 hours.
The first says "I have forwarded your mail on to our returns department to
see if they can get me an update. I will contact you again as soon as I here
back from them." Well, at least they've decided to follow it up now. Why
couldn't they have done this in the first place, when I asked where it had
got to.

The next says "I have just received a mail from back our returns department
advising that they will issue a refund for the item today due to the time
elapsed on the repair. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience
caused." Well - that's definatly progress.

The final e-mail, which I presume is just an acknowledgment that they *are*
going to do it, really, honest guv, says "Dear Sir/Madam Thank you for your
email. We have not received the item back currently. Due to this I have
arranged for a refund to be issued. This will be processed shortly. i
apologise for any inconvenience"

Well, isn't that something. I presume that this means they've lost it, but
they're refusing to admit it. It'll be intresting to see how long it takes
this refund to be issued. I presume it'll just be a credit note, that we can
then use to buy a replacement from them, rather than a refund to the credit
card so we can buy a replacement elsewhere. Who knows - we might even see
the original back, but I seriously doubt that. At least we'll get an access
point back at some point this year!


*UPDATE Thursday 8th January*

Had a reply this morning, which stated "Thank you for your email. The
refund should show any time. Our apologies for any inconvenience."

Then later on this morning, there was an e-mail sent to the address dabs
have on file for our account stating that "regrettably our merchant service
bank tells us that your card issuer has declined to take the transaction."
This is intresting. The MD (the cardholder) called our card issuer and asked
about this. They don't have any attempted transaction from dabs on their
system. Obviously the details dabs have *were* right, after all, they
managed to take the money in the first place. So we've now e-mailed dabs
asking what's going on.

*UPDATE Wednesday 21st January*

Still nothing from dabs. Credit card statement arrived today - no refund. So
the MD has rung dabs sales and got a number for the accounts people. The
number is constantly engaged. So he's sent another email.

*UPDATE Wednesday 22nd January*
MD phoned sales again and got a different number from accounts, the guy in
sales even transfered the call. Unfortunatly the person he was put in
contact with kept saying he had to e-mail webaccounts, which he's done
repeatedly, to no response. So now he gets to e-mail Steve Minshull
(customer services manager) again to try the whole thing again.

*UPDATE Thursday 23rd January*
HOORAY! E-mail from dabs credit card manager - "Your refund was authorised
to your card ending...". So finally - we draw to a close. (Oh, and I ordered
a replacement access point from e-buyer yesterday - it arrived this morning,
so I even have an access point!)