The problem with Pixmania

2011-08-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

I hate Pixmania.

And if you have found this blog, you probably hate Pixmania too.

Why I personally hate Pixmania

I bought a tv from Pixmania. It was relatively cheap. I thought: "Buying stuff on the internet from a large, well-known company is pretty safe these days, isn't it?"
Well, isn't it?
The TV arrived with two large holes through it (forklift truck).
Pixmania refused to come and retrieve their damaged product. I supposedly should have opened the box IMMEDIATELY and inspected the product IMMEDIATELY. I made the fatal error of drinking a cup of tea and eating a chocolate biscuit before inspecting my LCD TV.
After three weeks of phoning three girls in Romania (Radia, Admina, Dragana) who represent Pixmania's 'Customer Services Department' on a premium-rate line which shuts down over the weekend and after sending various emails to Pixmania (all ignored) and to their parent company DSGI (also ignored), they finally came round to the fact that sending me a damaged TV wasn't part of our deal.
Even after they'd agreed to the fact that the fault was their's (it only took two months to achieve this), I still had to chase them again for another fortnight before they finally sent someone from Curry's to pick the TV up (Curry's is in cahoots with Pixmania, but not in a useful we-can-actually-do-something-to-help-you way).
I opted for a refund and waited another few weeks as no refund was forthcoming.
I phoned Radia, Admina and Dragana, whom by now I'd spent more time talking to in 2008 than friends and family and was told the refund had been made (it hadn't).
Weeks passed.
I phoned again. And again. And emailed. And phoned. And begged. And wept. And pleaded.
Finally, after three months of emailing, phoning and pleading with this company on an almost daily basis, James Felix (Pixmania's 'Customer Service Director' - hard to imagine what he does all day for a company whose 'customer service' consists of three Romanian women answering calls in a prefabricated shed near the village of Voinesti) sent me an email to say that "The reimbursement will be available on your account in 30 business days".
Thirty business days to make a bank transfer!?!
So, it's win-win for Pixmania it seems. They deliver damaged goods. They hold my money for three months, get me to pay fifty pounds in phone calls to their premium lines, and when they finally return my cash to me, do so in a ridiculously contorted and drawn out manner, making further interest on my moolah.

This is why I hate Pixmania.

If you hate them too, join me in warning the world of their crapness (this can be done in the Comments section).

(BTW, I hate James Felix too. Hard to get angry with the Romanian 'customer service' ladies, though. Especially when you find out that Pixmania is only paying them about 10p an hour for putting up with our pissed off ranting and raving.)