PFD NIGHTMARE

I have been venturing out to the big blue for a while and really keen to do some big down wind runs so wanted a pfd.

I bought two, one for my paddle buddy's birthday, from a shop in SA and they have never arrived.

How long is fair to wait before your funds should be returned?

funds deposited and goods sent 13th May

told 3 weeks for delivery

its now 3 months

tracking number stops at 21st may in SA

so frustrated

and disappointed as the shop is saying its not their problem

i live in Oz so dont know how the SA system works but here they'd be before the consumer affairs tribunal.

I'd love some advice

James

It takes 3 months for surface mail (war canoe not ship ) from South Africa. I assumed 4-6 weeks ...WRONG!

Have you checked yr local post office?

SAPO tracking is useless as it only has an intial entry and does'nt track along the route for all handling of the parcel.

I had another jacket to use whilst i waited and waited and waited for my Mocke to arrive.

BTW So far the Mocke jacket has been great.

Mate you should post the name of the business that you bought them from! If they are happy enough to take your money and send it to Oz they should back up the sale with some decent service.

In the age we live in with a lot of purchases done online and products bought from overseas I would have thought that the sale wouldn't be complete until you received the items.

They should have insurance that covers them for goods lost in transit.

Tell us who they are so we can vote with our feet!

Hi,
I had a similar expeience. I ordered a Mocke PFD from the SA manufacturer. I got a quote and and estimated shipping time of 3 weeks with SA Post. Reliabiltity of the postal service should be OK and I would recieve a tracking number. So far everything sounded fine.
Money was transfered 23. May. I notified the sender of the money transfer the day after.
After almost 4 weeks and no delivery I contacted the sender and, oh surprise, they did not register the incoming money and therefor did not send the goods.
The goods where finally send the next day. I did not recieve an upgrade of shipping service and was told to wait another 4 weeks. Because the delay upt ot that point was clearly the senders fault I had expected an upgrade to express delivery service.
The tracking number was useless as it does not allow tracking internationally. After 4 weeks I had not recieved delivery.
Finally today, which is almost 12 weeks after the money was transfered I recived my PFD.

Unfortunately, although a great product, I cannot recommend to order a Mocke PFD from abroad.

Cheers

Rolf

Madgus ...I don't believe the shop in South Africa should be given a hard time when essentially its a postal service issue. Like the shop i ordered my PFD from we both assumed 4-6 weeks delivery time.

What the local post office eventually told me is that the ship stops at all ports on its way around to Sydney, 12 - 13weeks. (I would've thought it unloaded at Perth then a 2-3 day road trip using Aus post but that was another wrong assumption).

If you want it quick from SA then you have to pay for air freight.

Incidently the company i dealt with in SA have been excellent and I could highly recommend them, but id use air not surface mail if i was in a hurry.

There is obviously a market and oportunity for a supplier to get on board and stock the Mocke product in Australia. (Just hope like most things when this does happen we dont get ripped to hard).

rojo

where are you based may give me an idea how long i have to wait>>>

didnt want to mention the company just yet but sounds like im not the only one:dry:

Hi, the PFD was shipped to Germany. Time with the postal service was approx. 5 weeks. Another few days till I got notification that customs proceedures where in progress. Some more days till the parcel was ready for pick-up.

I did accept slower delivery because the cost of air freight were prohibitive.
In my case a delay was clearly caused by the sender and estimated shipping time was off by 2 weeks.

Good thing is that the product arrived and except for the annoyance nothing was lost. The annoyance is quite big though because I had to race a 300km event with my old PFD which caused a lot of chafing and pain. I am still licking my wounds.

cheers, Rolf

I got my Mocke PFD from the ladies at Quiver. No problem with the transaction and I got what I ordered on time. Im from Manila, Philippines. (Im wearing it in my avatar, pic at Manila Yacht Club)

I also ordered 2 Mocke pfds through Karen at Quiver in June 2008. The transaction went through a paddling shop in Durban because I paid with a VISA card. Took about 2-3 wks to get the VISA transaction done, and about 2 weeks for the 5-7 day air mail delivery. Lots of back and forth emails to get it done. No complaints, though.

I paid via telegraphic transfer. Problem I encountered was the lack of details from their end. But this was quickly resolved when I told them what the bank needed.

These are the following info needed for Telegraphic transfer:

1. Bank Name:
2. Bank Account Number:
3. Recipient Name:
4.Receipient Address:
5.Bank Code (swift code):
6.Bank Address:
7.Branch of Bank:
8.Telephone (Bank):

I choose t/t as some banks do offer a low transaction charge. I also get mine for free so that's a big plus.
: )

I hope merchants in South Africa find a way to make it easier for overseas customers to purchase. Online can really make big sales if its easy to buy.

just got back from being away

the pfd have finally arrived

wrong colour but after three months of waiting for something I was told would take 3 weeks I don't think I will send them back!

If a company don't know, or dont inform the reality of delivery times with the services they employ the customer is left furious.

I am happy to pay for quality goods and happy to pay to get things in a resonable timeframe. I thought three weeks was too much (& questioned it)

but three months is a JOKE!

I won't deal with this company again.

The lack of follow up, the failure to reply to my last 3 VERY frustrated emails and the lack of any care as to whether their products had been delivered amazes me!
(not to mention the wrong colour again!)

In this age of internet and international trade the job is not done once the goods are posted, service is expected long after, at least until goods have been received.

That a world champion would use amateurs to sell his products is very disappointing and no doubt a costly mistake on his part.

Product is great but I most certainly won?t encourage my paddle friends to be buying from SA anytime soon.

Sad

James

James you still have'nt said if you ordered air or surface shipping.

Sending 3 very frustrated emails won't speed up the 3 months it takes once the PFD is on the ship.

Have you sent SA post an email as they may be giving out the 3 weeks shipping time to their SA customers??

But i do agree on a lot (not all) of backwardness.....Fenn's unfinished website springs to mind

Next time use airmail

stupidly on my behalf i didnt check which way it was being sent..

when i was told it would take three weeks.. i asked if it was going to the moon?

so i had assumed it was going airmail

i was told the SA post wasnt the best but three weeks i could cope with.

i suppose i sholdnt have been so trusting and believed what i was being told and insisted that it be couriered airmail with a known courier company..

but i did have faith and trust and that all got shot off at about the 23rd of 54 emails!

Glad i've got the gear now & paddle partner has his birthday present 2 months late but hey

Hi James

Pity to hear about your order nightmare!!! I ordered a couple of Mocke PFD's from Cape Town (Quiver) for use here in Dubai, paid with TT and had them couried via airfreight. Although the air is more expensive, you are sure it will arrive in max 2 weeks from order (same as any order I have done from US, UK, Germany, etc)

I would therefor blame the SA post service and not the supplier for 90% of your nightmare. I do hope that this will put the trust back in some SA online orders!!!!!

Cheers
JB

I've read a lot of issues with regards to purchasing from SA via online transactions. I may have been lucky with mine (well Im a persistent guy also).

Everything needs to be detailed and the seller should anticipate what the buyer needs to know and expect. Seller should look after what's best for the buyer.

Sounds like a business oppurtunity to me.... Someone in Aus should order a container of the PFDs and sell them locally.