Name: Gousto
Rating: 2.45

“Won't let you put on hold or cancel Total rip off”

Posted 5 years ago

“False referral discount offer changed 5 minutes after delivered I was so impress that I rated the recipes 5 stars. At the end of it I received an offer to refer my friends for 50%discount for the first 2 boxes for them and £15 for me. Of course, I immediately told 2 of my friend that were at home with me but when they tried to join, the offer was not valid, it only gives 40% for the first time and 30% after for a month. In disbelieve, I started a chat with the customer service person called Carole (8 minutes after I received the 50%off voucher) but she told me that the voucher expired on the 26th. Luckily I took a picture of it so I sent it to her and showed her it was just been sent to me (today at 2.19pm), how could have been expired? She told me to let my friends join and then, after they joined, they have to call a number to get the 50%discount applied. Now, one of my friend did that (luckily not the second one), it took 20 minute on the phone to be told that the discount cannot be applied but as a gesture of good will she will give him a discount on the first box not the second. They said that they have the right to change the offer as they are pleased. Of course, they have the right to change it even 5 minutes later they send it to you, incredible! Anyway, they surely won't have any more referrals from me, I was so happy to tell my friends about it but after both the customer service people have not granted the voucher, all the excitement has now long gone! Gousto food is really good, I have joined last week and cooked few of the recipes, they are very nice, fresh ingredients and highly organised but they need to changed the way they honour their promises. Very very disappointed, you could have had 5 stars but chose not to”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Ordered a box with 60% off, chose a date and placed order. Then a glimmer of doubt crept in my mind because trust pilot seemed to be flooded with hourly reviews with really bad reviews hidden amongst them. Came on here and saw loads of bad reviews and checked my account and they've taken the full amount. I cancelled the box and paused the subscription and now I have £47 in my account taken straight from my bank and no response to my messages. Really bad service and does not warn u that then discount doesn't apply if the chosen date is too in the future.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“First time great, 2nd time Took money, no delivery... What else can I say?!! Steer clear, utter con.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Put my subscription on pause for a couple of weeks, after checking my online banking I realised money had been taken. I emailed the customer service team who replied very quickly to all my emails explaining I could not have a refund as items would of already been picked, I did question this but excepted that when pausing my subscription I should of checked that no future orders where generating (although could be clearer on their website). The box then was never delivered to me and now the customer service team are not responding to my emails and cannot get through on the phones. Has been over a week since I have heard from them and tried to contact everyday. Out of pocket to nothing to show for it. It’s such a shame as the quality of the food is fantastic, and really enjoy making the meals.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Seriously disappointed. Tried Gousto after trying Hello Fresh. I was super impressed with Hello Fresh so thought I would check out the competition. Let's just say that if I'd tried Gousto 1st it would have been one and only flirt with an ingredient delivery service. Vegetables mouldy and could not be used for the first meal I went to cook (which was on Tuesday having taken delivery of box on Sunday), even the garlic. I didn't even know that garlic could go mouldy! I've have some in the fridge for weeks which I ended up using and was in better shape. The meat portions are also TINY. 170g for two people, but even worse, tomorrow we have a curry to look forward to with a whole 1 breast between 2, and a ramen in Friday again with 1 breast between 2. Basically we are going to have to use both chicken portions tomorrow and buy more. Don't get me wrong, the meat portions in hello fresh aren't as big as I'd have if I got it myself, but we at least had a breat each! Also, Gousto just give you crappy stock cubes, hello fresh give you stock pots - trust me, it makes a huge difference! Don't waste your money.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“They are unreliable! Orders have not arrived and when they do key ingredients are missing! I’ve ordered 5 or 6 boxes and I’ve had issues with 3! This defeats the whole purpose of the service which is supposed to make mealtimes easier! It’s a shame because the meals are delicious and the food is good quality it also saves times thinking about what to cook and purchasing supermarket quantities for one meal which may not be used again! Think I’ll try hello fresh to see if they are more reliable!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Had a bad experience with them. Got a 30% off promotion for a box with an email saying 2 days left, After order was sent realised that I got charged the full price. I then contacted customer service via chat. Their answer was that the order had to be received within the month. The only option they gave me for delivery was the 1st of october when I ordered on the 28th of September. How fortunate for them ...”

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Posted 5 years ago

“You believe to have your account on pause. Yet they still send boxes that were not ordered. Be very careful. When you complain you are ignored.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“System is flawed, customer service is terrible. Fresh ingredients? Think again, ingredients are often mouldy or unusable. As smaller delicate ingredients are slung in bottom of the box whilst larger heavy ingredients are flung on top. Do not care about customers or their allergies. They will play with your money without your knowing so you get trapped. Not worth it at all. 0 customer care or service only smart arse answers.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“System is flawed, customer service is terrible. Fresh ingredients? Don't count on it, ingredients are frequently mouldy. Small delicate ingredients are slung in at the bottom of boxes whilst all heavier items are flung on top of them to damage and bruise ingredients below.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“We have ordered 5 boxes in total now from gousto, the first didn’t turn up, swift refund so let’s move on. The next turned up but was missing a key ingredient, again a small refund. 3rd box came no issues, hurrah! 4th box didn’t turn up, complain get told we will get a discount.... no discount applies to our 5th order. 5th order also didn’t turn up! Failure on 4/5 boxes. If you are after an easy, hassle free way of midweek dining then this ISNT for you... it causes more stress, we pay for late night deliver as we are both at work all day so when the box doesn’t turn up by 10pm it is then too late to go to the shops. Telephone lines close 7:30 so you can’t even talk to someone on the day. They then don’t respond to emails so you call, they then don’t honour their agreements (missing discount codes) and their refunds are straight to their online accounts so you are hooked in with no way of getting your hard earned money back. Fail Gousto! Hello Hello Fresh!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Broken items in box, food out of date, items had to be thrown away. Customer service did not reply to email or any contact. Avoid this company. Looks like they are more interested in the idea of their brand than actually following through with the company ethos.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Got conned into a subscription service when I thought I was buying a on-off gift. Customer service is very poor. Do not use this service.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Took advantage of a sign up offer. I did not receive the food but instead received an emailing offering a discount on my future order. I'm not signing up as this company doesn't seem very trustworthy.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I ordered my first box with 3 average meals. In a week time I noticed that £29.99 left my account again for another 3 meals. I believe I chose the 'one off option', therefore quickly checked my account to realise that they not only charged me for recipes that I did not choose or want, but it is coming in 3 days time and I cannot do anything about it. I straight away cancelled my account and requested a refund explaining the situation. Joshua out of the customer service team answered me saying that it was well explained what I signed up for and that I received an email to choose the new recipes, but as I did not choose anything, the chef went ahead and chose the new meals based on my preferences. He also said they are unable to give me a refund, but could give me 30 % back as a good will gesture. First of all: I chose a one off order, therefore no it is not fair to go ahead and charge me every week for something that I did not sign up for. Also, when I got an email to choose the meals I thought it was just them trying to get me to order again. I would have never imagined that they have the cheek to choose recipes for me and go like: since you did not choose, here you go. And the cheekiest of it all is him saying 'based on your preferences'. My first box only consisted meals that are vegetarian and pescetarian, because that is what I am. Then they chose spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry and say it is based on my preference is a bit out of order and very disrespectful. I will not take the box, thank you very much. They can keep my money, if they need it that much, but no thank you, I do not want to receive something that I DID NOT ORDER. What should I do with meat? Highly unprofessional. If the box is attempted to be delivered, I will refuse to take it. Disgusting customer service. It is a shame because I might have given it another go at some point, but now I will tell everyone how ridiculous of a company this is.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I ordered my first box with 3 average meals. In a week time I noticed that £29.99 left my account again for another 3 meals. I believe I chose the 'one off option', therefore quickly checked my account to realise that they not only charged me for recipes that I did not choose or want, but it is coming in 3 days time and I cannot do anything about it. I straight away cancelled my account and requested a refund explaining the situation. Joshua out of the customer service team answered me saying that it was well explained what I signed up for and that I received an email to choose the new recipes, but as I did not choose anything, the chef went ahead and chose the new meals based on my preferences. He also said they are unable to give me a refund, but could give me 30 % back as a good will gesture. First of all: I chose a one off order, therefore no it is not fair to go ahead and charge me every week for something that I did not sign up for. Also, when I got an email to choose the meals I thought it was just them trying to get me to order again. I would have never imagined that they have the cheek to choose recipes for me and go like: since you did not choose, here you go. And the cheekiest of it all is him saying 'based on your preferences'. My first box only consisted meals that are vegetarian and pescetarian, because that is what I am. Then they chose spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry and say it is based on my preference is a bit out of order and very disrespectful. I will not take the box, thank you very much. They can keep my money, if they need it that much, but no thank you, I do not want to receive something that I DID NOT ORDER. What should I do with meat? Highly unprofessional. If the box is attempted to be delivered, I will refuse to take it. Disgusting customer service. It is a shame because I might have given it another go at some point, but now I will tell everyone how ridiculous of a company this is. Like someone else here said: Robbery at daylight.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Ordered a box last night supposedly with 60% off. Checked my bank account and I've been charged full price. Contacted your customer services team via email and all my emails bounced. Finally managed to get in touch with someone and they have no record of my order despite the money leaving my account. No idea if the food is actually going to turn up or not, and the company don't care. Daylight robbery and shockingly poor service. Avoid at all costs!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Got some credit for referencing my friend. The credit had no expiration date, but they took it off anyway after 3 months. First they tried to convince me that I always knew the credit would expire. Then, when I showed them the email that they sent me saying otherwise they conveniently stopped replying. Too bad, I was happy to turn a blind eye to their many shortcomings (discussed in the many other negative reviews), but not this kind of shady behaviour”

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Posted 5 years ago

“My box didn't get delivered, twice in a row. Gousto told me they'd issued a refund but did not, I suggested they provide me with some credit for the error, and Gousto then tried to avoid even giving me the refund. I attach part of the conversation, shortened slightly, with customer service below, so that you can see for yourselves how they dealt with it. After a whole hour, I got the refund and some account credit. James 8 Aug, 11:12 BST Chat started: 2019-08-08 09:05 AM UTC (09:05:20 AM) James: I haven't received a refund (09:05:25 AM) *** Renee joined the chat *** (09:05:29 AM) Renee: Hi James, your refund was processed successfully on the 1st August so it should be with you by now (09:07:52 AM) Renee: I would advise double checking with your bank (09:08:12 AM) James: could you confirm which refund you are referring to (09:09:24 AM) Renee: for £33.43 where you were charged twice (09:09:33 AM) James: this is not the refund i am referring to. i am due another refund after this one, because my box last week was not delivered, and that is the one that i have not received (09:10:19 AM) Renee: my apologies (09:10:24 AM) Renee: I'll be right back (09:13:25 AM) Renee: I do apologise for the delay in receiving this refund, it should be with you in 3-5 working days (09:14:30 AM) James: so just to confirm, not only have 2 boxes now not been delivered, and no discount offered on the late/non-delivery of these boxes, but in addition to this, the refund that i requested for goods that were never actually received was not processed, meaning that had i not been proactive in seeking this refund, it never would have even been received (09:15:35 AM) James: and in addition to this, on several occasions i have not been automatically provided with the discounts promised by the company for being a referred friend or referring a friend (09:15:49 AM) Renee: It was accidentally missed. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused (09:17:23 AM) James: i dont think accidentally mishandling customers money is a valid reason, as safeguards should definitely be in place to find this. (09:18:28 AM) Renee: I do understand your frustration and we will do everything we can to ensure this does not happen again (09:19:23 AM) James: that doesn't account for the amount of time i have spent talking to customer service trying to resolve these repeated problems, and every time i have spoken to somebody they have said they'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again. (09:21:05 AM) James: by not providing a refund you are in breach of chapter 24 of the consumer rights act 2015 under UK law, which means i am entitled to either compensation or a discount on further purchases. (09:29:24 AM) James: Is there any reason for the lengthy delay in response to my previous message? (09:30:36 AM) Renee: We are providing a refund in this case - it was a human error which has caused a slight delay in the refund being processed but it has now been resolved and the money will be back in the account shortly (09:32:41 AM) James: You failed to provide a refund on request. The refund would have never been received had I not realised and contacted you again, costing me even more time. You don't agree that this is absolutely terrible customer service and worthy of any kind of compensation or credit to my account? (09:42:31 AM) James: Again any reason for the delay in replying? (09:43:00 AM) Renee: We are just investigating, apologies for the delay (09:43:21 AM) Renee: We issued a refund of £33.43 28/07 and £33.43 on 01/08 so both should be with by now (09:43:28 AM) Renee: apologies for the mix up (09:43:52 AM) James: the refund in question was issued on 02/08, and I have the transcript to prove this (09:45:00 AM) James: would just like to note here that the number of refunds is a credit to how terrible the delivery service has been (09:48:20 AM) Renee: Yes that's correct, I have notified management of this and it has been processed. In terms if credit there isn't much we can do in this instance (09:48:26 AM) Renee: I do apologise (09:49:00 AM) James: so to confirm, you just tried to not give me the refund AGAIN, and you are now saying that you WILL provide the refund? (09:49:54 AM) Renee: There was a mix up with the dates but yes the refund will be provided (09:50:45 AM) James: And you are also saying that despite now on 2 occasions trying to prevent me from getting a refund that I am entitled to, you are also saying that you refuse to even provide credit to my account to acknowledge the significant inconvenience this has caused me? (09:52:15 AM) James: And you consider this to be an acceptable level of customer service? (this continued until they gave me some credit it acknowledgement of their mistake)”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Average Delivery Time	Within 5 Days
On-time Delivery	Greater than 45%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 60%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour

Gousto Reviews