Ordered a Branch saw 23 August 2015 - it arrived August 28. Opened the parcel, which was festooned with tape and looked second-hand (IE, possibly returned by another customer as unwanted). The internal packaging was damaged, parts were loose in the box, and the rechargeable battery was missing. Rang same morning asked for an 'RAC Number' to return the defective goods, which was provided. Was told to send back via Post Office - "Just give them the RAC Number". Post office hadn't a clue what that meant (why would they?) and wanted £12.98 to send the parcel. I returned home rang Eckman again and was told that Yodel would collect the parcel the following Weds 3 Sept - could be any time into the evening. Stayed in all day - no Yodel. Rang at 4pm and was told "he's definitely on his way - could be early evening". (Still no Yodel). I rang next day 4 Sept and said in view of being let down, I'd go to the trouble of sending the parcel back via My Hermes, which I did, at a cost of £7.99, along with a letter outlining the reasons for return, proof of cost of My Hermes and asking that they honour their promise of a refund in 7 days, including P&P up to £10.00. My Hermes confirmed that the parcel was received and signed for by Eckman on Monday 7 Sept 3pm. Total refund sought was £69.98 - original cost & postage, plus £7.99 My Hermes, £77.97 in all, to put me back into the position I was in before I ordered the defective goods, which were not of 'merchantable quality' as called for by consumer law. No response to my letter, no response to emails, and no refund. Waited till Friday 18 September, rang to ask why no refund? Was told that a refund of £64.99 had ben authorised - original goods less postage costs. I said that wasn't acceptable as I would be £12.98 out of pocket. Operator said he'd tell the refund Dept to up the amount of refund. A week later, 25 Sept - still no refund, so I rang and said "Please put me through to the manager of the Refund Department". A pleasant young man said "I'm not allowed to do that - I'll get in trouble for not dealing with your query myself". Huh? I said still no refund, and he too said: 'Well it says on the screen refund £64.99 so you should have it by now". I said not so, and reiterated that I expect a full refund of £77.97. He said he'd speak to his supervisor and it should be in by next Wednesday - 30 October. I'm not holding my breath, but that would in any event be a full month after I received the second-hand damaged goods with missing pats, passed off as brand new. Here's how Eckman claim to deal with complaints and queries: Quote: Queries and Complaints: 1. "We aim to respond to e-mail, faxed and written queries within 24hrs of receipt". Truth: They don't respond at all - not ever, not to e-mails or letters. "Our Customer Services can answer your telephone queries Monday - Wednesday 8am - 7pm, Thursday 8am - 6pm, Friday 8am - 5pm, and Saturday & Sunday 9am - 5pm". Sure - they'll put you in a queue, tell you how many are in front of you, then when you do eventually get through, under-pressure operators in their call centre make promises that Eckman don't keep. 2. "In respect of complaints, we will consider the nature of the complaint and will contact you within 14 days of the complaint giving you the result of the enquiries and what we propose should be done" Nonsense - All contact is one way - from long-suffering let-down customers whose representations fall on deaf ears. Note too, the wording of the above - no mention of aiming to resolve the complaint to the customer's satisfaction: 'We'll let you know what we propose should be done". All in all, they don't even comply with their own stated terms and conditions, let alone consumer legislation or good marketing practice. How silly of me to not heed the warnings of legions of dissatisfied customers and to go ahead and place an order with Eckman. I just don't understand how a firm can spend so much money trying to promote it's products, then totally destroying customer goodwill and trust in the company. What Eckman needs to realise is that Goodwill is money in the bank, and trust is like virginity - 'when it's gone, it's gone'. This isn't keeping me awake at night, but it should do Eckman. I wonder if anyone in Management is even aware of the appalling reputation the company has gained through its own actions (or rather inactions)? Makes no sense to me - with such appalling disregard for customers, treating them with indifference and contempt, they must be on borrowed time, surely? Ho hum - I'll see if I get my refund any time soon, but I won't hold my breath! If you're thinking of buying from Eckman, all I can say is 'you ride at your own risk'. Not ranting - just rambling :-) David, in Hull.