NetPlus - avoid

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NetPlus Computers

• 

  donbot on 04/07/2014 - 16:47

  -4

  Pretty crappy the way they've handled it hanging up on you if thats what happened, but if you're not prepared to have it go missing in the post, why wouldnt you pay for insurance?

  Disclose: my only involvement with netplus is I've bought from them years ago without issue.

  • 

    This Guy on 05/07/2014 - 21:11

    +4

    Wjd paid NetPlus for a service (paid delivery of wjd's shopping) and a physical item.

    NetPlus failed to provide their paid service (because they sub-contracted it out and their sub-contractor, AusPost, failed).

    Worse, NetPlus failed to provide the item paid for at the agreed location (wjd's shipping address).

    You buy a TV from a retailer. You drive around to the loading dock (agreed delivery location). Retailer's employee drops and breaks it between the storage shelf and the loading dock. It's your TV. You've paid for it. The retailer allocated it to you. By your logic, it's your problem, not the retailer's.

    What if you paid the retailer extra for their employee to load it in your car and the employee drops it on public land? What if the retailer pay's a temp company to man their warehouses?

    How, in anyway, is this the customer’s problem? The customer paid for and item and a service. The retailer failed to provide the service and the item.

    Shrinkage is the retailer's problem. They need to adjust their prices, not extort "insurance".

• 

  scrimshaw on 04/07/2014 - 17:22

  If Netplus cannot help, that's because they have just as much information as you do. They packed it, and sent it, and gave you a tracking number which can display the whereabouts of the item.
  That's about all the information they have on hand. From my past dealings with most merchants, or eBayers, they don't have any power whatsoever on whether the parcel makes it to you or not once they've handed it to the courier.

  I suggest calling AustPost (03) 8847 9045 as soon as possible tomorrow, and ask them to start an investigation. If they cannot track the parcel, they will determine it has indeed gone missing and you ask for a compensation.

  Australia post:
  http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/compensation.html

  In some cases, where Extra Cover is not purchased, compensation up to a maximum of $50 may be payable, or we may elect to repair or replace the item up to $50 value, at our absolute discretion.

  • 

    tonyjzx on 04/07/2014 - 17:37

    fair trading have a dim view of that

    i cant see them not refunding your money if it comes down to arbitration

    • 

      scrimshaw on 04/07/2014 - 19:32

      Fair Trading website is unfortunately very vague about this.

      http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Consumers/Ways_to_shop/Onl…?

      Who is responsible for undelivered goods or damage in transit?

      Read the delivery terms and conditions before you buy from an online seller. That information usually explains how such issues are handled and who is responsible if goods are not delivered or get damaged in transit. If you are not sure whether insurance is included in the cost of the goods or the shipping charges, email the seller about this before buying the goods.

      While completing a sale, you might sometimes be given a choice of delivery options and even asked if you want to insure your goods at extra cost.

      Contact the seller immediately if your goods have not arrived within the stated time or they are damaged.

      So yeah this is a tricky issue to resolve because the law gives leeway for the vendor to set out their terms and conditions of online purchasing. However what happened here no doubt, is the courier's fault and is AusPost's responsibility.

      Another possibility for the missing package is human error, perhaps the OP typed in the wrong address and the parcel is probably in limbo and cannot be delivered, and is actually being sent its way back to the sender. Or wrose, sent to the wrong address?

  • 

    c64 on 04/07/2014 - 20:22

    +7

    the OP is not the customer of australia post, the retailer is and they should be the one doing all the investigating. it appears to be very poor customer service

• 

  neil on 04/07/2014 - 17:54

  +1

  I ordered and received the Archer D7. No problems at all.

  I can confirm that the tracking number that I got with my order tracks the package all the way to my home. Unfortunately, the next tracking status after "shipping information approved" was

  Processed through Australia Post facility

  SUNSHINE WEST VIC

  So nothing showing from Aus Post from Osbourne Park, WA until their sorting facility in Sunshine West. It indeed may be lost in the mail somewhere.

• 

  No on 04/07/2014 - 18:28

  +3

  I've always had really good service from netplus. Out of the cheap computer stores in Perth they are by far the best. Sucks that your experience has been different, did you pay by credit card?

  • 

    lasertip on 04/07/2014 - 21:37

    Agreed. That's unfortunate for you :(

  • 

    belzecue on 05/07/2014 - 12:09

    Ditto. Never had a problem with NetPlus, have bought from them many times — however, they're close to me so I go pick up my orders. Rude customer service is inexcusable, of course.

  • 

    IamEzza on 06/07/2014 - 02:25

    Same here.
    I have literally hundreds of those pale green NetPlus invoices in a huge pile.

• 

  p1 ama on 04/07/2014 - 19:18

  +4

  A couple of things to point out here.

  I don't get the sentiment of "BUSINESS X DID SOMETHING I DON'T LIKE, AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!". It's generally not very helpful and I don't think anybody would be avoiding based on the experiences of one person. Maybe if you had phrased the forum topic differently, you wouldn't come across as complaining and people would be more willing to help.

  Secondly, if what they have said is correct, then maybe you've directed your anger at the wrong person. Why didn't you write "AusPost, avoid" instead of "NetPlus, avoid" - I doubt you've got a full understanding of the situation yet and you're already laying blame. In their current situation, NetPlus probably don't know anything more about it than you do. They probably send out hundreds of items every week and all of them probably turn up fine.

  Thus, it's no wonder that they were perplexed at your claim of not having items turn up. But either way, as long as they are able to prove that they have sent your item, PayPal will probably not rule in your favour. They have provided a shipping code and strictly speaking, they are correct.

  If you didn't purchase insurance, then that's the risk you have to take, which is why I always purchase insurance with my shipments. It's as simple as getting sick and racking up an expensive medical bill without health insurance. You'd feel hard done by as well and you'd probably feel that it's dropping money down a black hole, but it's only fair enough.

  I'd say take this up with NetPlus again and ask them what they think you should do if it was lost by AusPost, who should you contact…etc. I think that would probably resonate better than trying to lay the blame with them. If the tracking code exists and is correct, then, they have sent the item.

  • 

    MustResistPurchase on 04/07/2014 - 19:37

    +11

    No-one should have to pay for shipping insurance. It's ridiculous how they make it seem like it has to be included if you actually want the shipment to go through.

    • 

      scrimshaw on 04/07/2014 - 19:46

      No-one should have to pay for shipping insurance. It's ridiculous how they make it seem like it has to be included if you actually want the shipment to go through.

      Uh. I don't think you understand the meaning of Insurance. Insurance is simply converting loss into money. The delivery driver won't be extra careful just because you've bought insurance, the item is still just as likely to go missing in the mail.

      Buying shipping insurance does not mean it WILL make it to you safely, it just means you will be reimbursed the declared amount in case of loss/breakage. At the end of the day, you decide whether you want to risk having the item lost or broken during transit, or pay a little more to ensure you will be compensated in case of such a loss.

      • 

        hahaboy on 05/07/2014 - 19:21

        +2

        Pretty sure consumer law should require the product to be in reasonable condition when it arrives. It's not the fault of the customer the product is mishandled/damaged. They shouldn't have to be forking out more money just so it arrives properly.

      • 

        scrimshaw on 06/07/2014 - 03:38

        +1

        @hahaboy:

        If Netplus was the one who shipped the goods, using their own employees and vehicle, then yes — the Australian Consumer Law would find them liable. But are you forgetting something here: Australia Post was a 3rd party invovled in this transaction. In other words, it's the Australia Posts' liability and responsibility to ensure that the item is shipped safe and sound since they were the one who accepted to ship the item.

        However AusPost like any australian brick and mortar service provider or business, are still subject to consumer guarantee laws and is the one held liable for lost and missing parcels. The Postal Industry Ombudsman exists for this reason — it is where you make most of your complaints against the incompetent Australia Post

        TDLR: Like it or not Netplus is not obliged to provide compensation for undelivered parcels, because Australia Post was the one who provided the service of making the delivery.

        The only recourse is:

        1. Do a chargeback
        2. Open a PP dispute
        3. Make a complaint with the PIO, and if the item was delivered using ordinary parcel, you'll get $50 back, if it was registered post, you can claim back $100.
    • 

      p1 ama on 04/07/2014 - 20:05

      +1

      I agree with Scrimshaw here, insurance for shipping is just like health insurance, car insurance, home insurance, life insurance and what other forms of insurance you have.

      Accidents happen when AusPost makes deliveries, I'm not saying that the mailman will steal your parcel, but what if the delivery van gets into an accident and your goods are destroyed? Or how about if it was accidentally dropped and damaged in transit? Those are all risks that you face when you have something sent through the post.

      It's exactly the same as getting into a traffic accident, that's why they have car insurance.

      Nobody is forcing you to pay for insurance, whether you should or not is up to you! It's just like nobody forces you to have health insurance or life insurance. It just depends on you and your propensity for risk.

      • 

        MustResistPurchase on 04/07/2014 - 21:06

        +7

        What I mean is that it should already be apart of the service. When you dine at a restaurant and the waiter drops your food, you don't need to claim insurance in order to get another meal. They just make another one.

        Basically what I'm saying is, there shouldn't be an option for insurance-less deliveries.

      • 

        scrimshaw on 04/07/2014 - 21:31

        +2

        @MustResistPurchase:

        there shouldn't be an option for insurance-less deliveries.

        If every delivery was insured, that would raise the costs of delivery for everyone.

        If you were shipping a $5 mug for example, you probably wouldn't care that the mug was insured or not. It's just a mug you could pick up at any old store. You'd want to ship it as cheap as possible, why buy insurance?

        Lets assume that Australia Post has worked out that in order to spread the risk to everyone who uses their service, and to ensure that everyone's losses would be compensated without AusPost making financial losses, they'd have to charge a percentage of the item's declared cost and add it to the delivery. So it would make sense that if you would like to eliminate the possibility of catastrophic financial loss you would pay a little bit more money to Australia Post to hedge against that risk. This extra cash goes into compensating others who made a financial loss — the risk is spread.

        That's essentially what insurance is — making everyone pay a little more so that the unlucky person who suffers a loss can get some compensation. But not everyone needs it.

      • 

        p1 ama on 04/07/2014 - 21:36

        +3

        @MustResistPurchase: Well if you want it to "already be a part of the service", then just always buy the insurance, if it is "already part of the service", that means you're already paying for it :p

  • 

    blitz on 04/07/2014 - 22:00

    +3

    I don't get the sentiment of "BUSINESS X DID SOMETHING I DON'T LIKE, AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!". It's generally not very helpful

    Hear hear. Especially when it comes from these drive-by randoms with no posting history and no role in the OzBargain community.

• 

  c64 on 04/07/2014 - 20:21

  what payment method did the OP use?

  • 

    wjd on 05/07/2014 - 08:04

    I used PayPal. The deal also advertised free delivery.

    • 

      mick1 on 05/07/2014 - 11:22

      +4

      If you pay by a credit card (whether via paypal or not) and the vendor is in Australia, you will normally have some minimum form of insurance (fraud / loss etc) from your bank or credit card provider automatically. Some credit cards (eg rewards cards) have more extended insurance.
      Aust Post also have an automatic insurance for registered items which gives you up to $100 compensation for lost items. Paypal also have some sort of purchaser insurance (not sure of details.)
      First port of call is to Paypal and raise a dispute. If it was me I would also raise a disputed transaction with my bank.

      I run a small online business. If I send something out to a purchaser, and the purchaser says it didn't arrive and that is confirmed by the tracking information, then it's MY problem - not the purchaser. As pointed out in a post above, I'm the one arranging and contracting with Aust Post or whoever does the delivery.

• 

  ukmark on 04/07/2014 - 21:04

  +12

  I'm with the OP, and I own a business that sells products online.

  All "Shipping Information Approved" means is that the shipment was created on Australia Post's system. It does NOT prove the package ever left NetPlus.

  The way Aus Post pick these things up is they just load them into the truck and nothing gets scanned in as picked up. If you don't lodge them over the counter, they don't get scanned in until they hit the final destination sorting office.

  I am not saying NetPlus didn't send it, but it is possible it got missed. It may have been lost or stolen by the first pickup driver, and anywhere else before it would have been scanned in next. Either way, NetPlus should wear the cost, my business would.

  The shipping my business uses includes insurance, but that is for our benefit. I would never expect a customer to wear the cost of a lost item.

  • 

    tonyjzx on 05/07/2014 - 12:30

    theres a lot of businesses i wouldnt trust buying onine

    theres a lack of protection for online buyers as you can see here

    i'd buy from netplus if i was close to their store

• 

  minniethemoocher on 05/07/2014 - 14:15

  +1

  You should have a pretty good case for a paypal "item not received" if Australia Posts own tracking shows the item was never delivered.

  • 

    tonyjzx on 05/07/2014 - 15:10

    +2

    i think however its netplus's alleged response that is more telling

    they seem to know that theres a problem with their process/system and they choose to stiff the buyer instead

    any company is great when their system works

    you judge a company based on how they handle problems

    netplus doesnt handle them well therefore the topic is apt… Netplus -> Avoid

    there are plenty of companies out there so theres no need to buy at Netplus

    • 

      p1 ama on 05/07/2014 - 17:34

      +1

      But remember here that firstly, we've only heard one side of the story and the details are scant at best.

      We don't know if OP has made any further attempt to contact NetPlus, given his earlier call cut out. That might not have been NetPlus' fault. Thus, maybe OP should continue to contact NetPlus and try to resolve it with them rather than post "Netplus - Avoid!" here on OzBargain.

      • 

        tonyjzx on 05/07/2014 - 18:05

        'I called them up and the guy on the phone was aggressive then put me on hold to "talk to his manager", after which the phone mysteriously hung up'

        thats all i need to know

        will not buy again, bad ebayer, F-

      • 

        p1 ama on 05/07/2014 - 19:04

        @tonyjzx:

        But we have no idea what he said, "aggressive" is a blanket word and there are many questions that we have unanswered such as how OP phrased the question.

        If I was working at a store and a customer called up and was aggressive/accusing to me first, I wouldn't like that either.

      • 

        tonyjzx on 05/07/2014 - 20:41

        do you think that netplus is the only company that has to put irate customers?

        i've worked retail and helpdesk and theres no excuse

        the fact that threads like this is even existing is enough for me

        but hey, its your money and $150 isnt a big deal i guess for some

      • 

        wjd on 08/07/2014 - 16:23

        +1

        I called them straight back but didn't get anywhere. He denied hanging up on me even though he told me he'd put me on hold to talk to his manager and I was waiting on hold for a minute. He said he'd never told me he'd put me on hold. Between this and his redefinition of Australia Post's delivery status terms (he kept claiming "initiated" meant they had received the package), at this point I gathered he had a very fluid relationship with the truth.

        By the end he was getting sarcastic, for example I said I'd post this thread and he said "yeah that's really cool". I'd already spoken with Australia Post twice but they just keep reiterating that NetPlus is their customer, not me, and it's between me and NetPlus. It was clear that NetPlus wasn't going to do anything about it.

        I've disputed the transaction with PayPal, NetPlus hasn't responded so far.

• 

  spliniter on 05/07/2014 - 17:48

  I got mine fine just waiting on the free wireless adaptor for tp link hopefully it does not take forever.

• 

  Mike_Mav on 05/07/2014 - 20:08

  PayPal claim should sort you out. I bought a $300 item from UK it never was received, seller wasn't helping out so I lodge dispute. Seller didn't respond to PayPal investigation so it was an easy claim and got refund in full.

  I assume Netplus need to still prove they even posted the item to you, it sounds like if the tracking info they provided was vague one would hope PayPal will rule in your favour.

• chill on 05/07/2014 - 23:19 Comment score below threshold.
  • 

    andyken on 06/07/2014 - 00:17

    1 line email reply and aggressively on the phone, yeah that is just badass customer service

    • 

      tonyjzx on 06/07/2014 - 09:41

      +1

      you cant sue for a factual account of events, even an inaccurate account of events

      he did not slander netplus

      good luck with the lawsuit

      companies who say they will sue for an internet comment from an anonymous person are obviously ones to buy from

      • 

        chill on 08/07/2014 - 20:31

        If you say so.

        Without stating the obvious you do know that you are not actually anonymous on the internet?

        Not sure if you have been following the saga over on hotcopper where they have recently dispersed over $18,000 in member donations to fund a legal fight against the directors of a company who sued their shareholders (the people they work for) for comments posted on the forum.

        Without those donations the directors would have won as the 'anonymous' posters didn't have the funds to fight the case.

        I wouldn't want to be relying on an Ozbargain donation fund.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 06/07/2014 - 19:12

    Gearbest speaker: USD $10.

    Current wait time for bluetooth speaker: 11 weeks and counting.

    Your use of hyperbole is pretty impressive.

    • 

      chill on 08/07/2014 - 20:10

      Not sure what your point is here?

      I had an overnight Startrack (owned by AusPost) package coming from Sydney to Perth last month.

      It took 16 Days.

      Have you ever ordered anything from China before?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 09/07/2014 - 01:38

        Are you saying you're happy with the 16 day overnight express? Are you saying you didn't contact the company in question or Startrack at all or mention it to anyone, you just waited for it to show up instead of being a Startrack winger?

        I've ordered dozens of things from China. Probably over a hundred. I've never had to wait 81 days (and counting).

  • 

    OzBrogains on 06/07/2014 - 22:35

    +1

    Nice try Netplus.

• 

  daveozsydney on 06/07/2014 - 14:02

  +3

  I run two e-commerce businesses and usually when the tracking shows 'shipping information approved' or similar, it means the order has been logged with the delivery service (tracking barcode assigned) but has not been picked up.

  This can mean three things.
  1) The courier has not collected it.
  2) The courier has collected it but hasn't scanned the barcode
  3) It wasn't ready for collection when the courier turned up.

  In cases 1 and 2 above it is the courier who is at fault.
  In case 3 it is the fault of the warehouse or maybe it has been removed from the warehouse maliciously before the courier turned up.

  We have this happen occasionally and it's difficult to troubleshoot.
  We usually would reship a new order and take the loss and then investigate what happenned. We would also do a stockcheck count on the item.
  Sometimes it is our warehouse (outsourced facility) that have messed up (perhaps processing it as a return it by mistake). Sometimes the stock has just gone and it is a mystery. I have no idea what happens in these instances. We have a signed manifest for all the parcels that left but for some reason the parcel's tracking doesn't update. Perhaps with warehouses being busy places with couriers coming and going, the parcels are lying hidden in a corner somewhere or another courier has taken the item.

  It is frustrating, but if you haven't received the goods and have paid by credit card or paypal, then here is my advice. You have paid for the goods. You are not in control of their fulfilment processes or how they use their couriers and if you have not received what you paid for you have a right to redress. They also have the right to claim from their courier if the goods did not arrive but that is their concern. It is their contract with the postal service, not yours.

  Politely email the customer service with the facts (it doesn't help to use emotional language here - just state the facts - it's not the customer service agent's fault here and it won't get you anywhere being angry - you paid for the goods and they have not arrived. It's as simple as that).
  Inform them that you are a genuine customer who hasn't received the goods and that you intend to put a claim in with paypal or your credit card provider (whichever applies) within a certain number of days - I would suggest 7 days is reasonable - unless the goods turn up (replacement or the original order) or a refund is provided.

  After seven days, if nothing has happened, then put a claim in with your credit provider. They are liable as they 'loaned you' the money to buy the goods and you haven't received them from the supplier.
  They will then put a claim in with the provider and ask for proof of delivery (which they won't have if it hasn't been delivered). In paypal the funds will be frozen in their account and in their credit card merchant account they will have the transaction reversed if they cannot prove they delivered the goods.

  It may be they dropship from a third party, but if that's the case, it's still their problem and their contract is with you via your card provider and then they have to claim back from their dropship company.
  Either way you should be covered.

  Good luck!

  • 

    ThadtheChad on 08/07/2014 - 19:38

    +1

    Excellent post.

    I'd definitely buy stuff online from you dave. :)

    • 

      daveozsydney on 22/07/2014 - 16:29

      +1

      Thanks omgwtfbbq :)

• 

  KingstonTheNotSoWise on 06/07/2014 - 15:53

  Just a heads up that they may not have hung up on you, sometimes if the phones are on hold for too long they actually hang up themselves to allow other incomming calls. At least that's how the phones where I used to work, worked, usually they could be on hold for about 5-10mins then it'd hang up, it was actually pretty annoying tbh cause we didn't know how to contact the customers again, the redial functions didn't work properly and half the time caller ID didn't show up.

  Unfortunately it's not entirely the retailers fault by that I mean once the product leaves their hands it's in the hands of AustPost and by some odd rule yours, it's AustPost's fault it went missing. I'd say contact AustPost and NetPlus. Get AustPost to track it and find out where it went, NetPlus while not at fault should be investigating it as well, not just for the customer/you but if I ran a business and the delivery company lost a parcel I sent I'd say they stole from me just as much as they stole from the customer, it can make your business look bad. Assuming no out of control circumstances like an accident or something happened. So they should be doing everything they can to help you retrieve the package at the least.

  Some advice in future though, if you're purchasing from any online sites, especially infamous 1s and you see postage insurance as an option, it should raise some red flags. Not about the retailer, but about the delivery service they're likely using.

  • 

    tonyjzx on 06/07/2014 - 17:34

    +1

    apparently they dont have the ability to call the customer back

    funny that

  • 

    ukmark on 07/07/2014 - 11:10

    What phones are these? That cannot be by design.

    A much more likely scenario is the phone system has a feature to ring the phone of the person who put the call on hold, after a set period of time - designed to stop people being forgotten about on hold. It is then good practice to pick up the phone and say, I'm still looking into it etc, then return the customer to being on hold.

    I have known these systems to treat an unanswered hold callback as an unanswered call (and possibly dump the call), but they shouldn't. Or the member of staff wasn't ready to talk to you again, and picked up and hung up the call without putting you on hold again.

    Either way, if they had your phone number, they should have called back. Unless they genuinely thought you hung up on them.

    • 

      KingstonTheNotSoWise on 07/07/2014 - 11:35

      I don't know what phones they were but knowing the company I used to work for they were probably the cheapest they could find. If a customer was left on hold for a certain amount of time the phone would start beeping really loud, after a few minutes the beeping would stop and the call would be dropped.

• 

  OzBrogains on 06/07/2014 - 22:30

  +1

  Netplus need to get off their arses and do more to help you. They have a business account with Australia Post so it is reasonable to expect they have more leverage than you in getting service from them in case anything went wrong. Not to mention it is the only the SENDER who can raise lost parcel enquiries, not the RECEIVER.

  I recently had a parcel "lost". I contacted the sender, who (to his account) sent about 20 emails to and from Australia Post chasing up a lost parcel, after they lodged an inquiry. This kind of pressuring meant AP got off their arses to try locate the parcel, and 1 week after expected delivery date, AP found it and I received it.

  Netplus have absolutely no excuse to not do anything regarding a lost parcel and is an indication of how they treat customers.

  If they still don't budge, speak to your Credit Card company and raise a dispute for a charge back. You will likely need to sign a stat dec but if you are truthful that you didn't receive the item, you should have no qualms in doing so.

• 

  dvd107 on 07/07/2014 - 11:11

  +1

  You will win the paypal dispute.

  The onus is on Netplus to prove the item was delivered. If they can't, you get full refund as per Paypal protection.

  Crossing off netplus from future buy list

  • 

    wjd on 21/07/2014 - 23:17

    You were right, PayPal refunded me the money today. NetPlus never responded to the dispute in the two weeks it was pending.

    I still don't know if NetPlus never posted the item or their courier never delivered it to AusPost. But I think I'll be sticking to MSY or PCCG.

    • 

      tonyjzx on 22/07/2014 - 13:19

      pleading no contest tells you where they really stand on customer support and whether they actually sent the item or not

      their expectation is that many people wont dispute it and let it go… and then… free money to Netplus

      apparently thats what 10yrs+ of sales gets you

• 

  omnipresent on 07/07/2014 - 15:08

  +1

  I've gotta say my personal experiences with Netplus are generally very positive, but I know that issues like customer service and disopute resolution are not their strong points. I've only really had one issue and it was a bit awkward, but nothing on the level of yours.

  • 

    scrimshaw on 07/07/2014 - 15:42

    +1

    This is because people who work in small computer shops like MSY, Umart and Netplus generally aren't so great at customer service since they will most likely be university part timers taking the front desk. What kind of seasoned salesperson would work at a msy branch?

    You can expect the same of managers who are relatively unskilled, have no selling skills and therefore know nothing of providing good after sales service.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 07/07/2014 - 18:47

      +3

      The lady at the front desk who does the majority of sales at Netplus and has done for the last 10+ years cried quietly into her packed lunch after reading this.