Mike H

United Kingdom

Placed an order on 6th August for a 850kg bulk bag of Cotswold Buff chippings. Selected delivery on 11th August between 8:00am & 6:00pm. They had a box that you could type in 'special instructions' so I requested that the driver park in the road outside the house & lift the bulk bag over the fence into the garden (easy access). They took immediate payment. Made sure someone was around all day to accept delivery (the very person who is going to lay the chippings). I received an email at 11:27am to say that it had been delivered to the local hub & delivery would be completed within 24hrs (I thought that was a little odd but then thought maybe it was just a standard notification & I was working so could not act on it anyway). Delivery had not taken place by 4:45pm so I thought I would give them a call to find out if it was going to be delivered by 6:00pm on the 11th August (Tuesday). After explaining my concern that time was running out, the female at customer services said, there has been a delay & it will be delivered on Thursday (13th August)! I then asked why I wasn't notified & she replied "You would have notified via email that it had reached the hub" to which I replied that it had at 11:27am & said that it would be delivered within 24hrs. She then said "yes, on Thursday" to which I replied, but that's more than 24hrs anyway but more to the point, why was I not notified that it would not be delivered as specified at point of order & payment. She then replied "there are delays due to covid". Now, whilst I can appreciate possible delays, they should not have allowed me to choose a specific delivery date in my opinion & they have no excuse for lack of contact. I then requested to cancel the order as they had failed to deliver on time, she that there would be a cancellation fee of £50.00 (could even have been plus VAT). I then said "but surely you have breached the contract"? she then replied "there is no contract" to which I replied "I think you'll find we entered into a contract the moment you accepted my online order & took immediate payment". She was quite adamant that no contract has been entered into (I need to look into this). She then said that it would also just be a kerbside delivery as the lorries sent out do not have cranes. I then asked what is the point of allowing customers to type in special instructions & once again, why wasn't I contacted with regards to this to which she had no real answer. When I referred back to the non-delivery on the specified date, she then replied "that is your desired date but delivery on this date is not guaranteed"!!! She then threw up the terms & conditions saying that the delivery date is not guaranteed, kerbside delivery only & an order cancellation charge is all stated in the terms & conditions which I agreed to when I placed the order!!!! I have requested a phone call from a manager tomorrow (12th August) because they were all 'in a meeting today' (yes of course they were). All I can say is avoid, avoid, avoid.

No surprise that I didn't get a phone call today (12th August) from a manager as I requested when I was lucky enough to speak to someone on the 11th. I tried to call them three times during the course of the afternoon even selecting 'Sales' & 'Customer Service' to no avail, the phone just ringing for around fifteen minutes each time! It is abundantly clear then that this company will gladly take your order & your money while blatantly making false promises but if you have a problem (like myself & so many), don't expect to be helped. What they will do is hide behind their terms & conditions which I was informed I should have read word for word before placing the order. This is despite the fact that when you visit their website & scroll to the bottom where it says "why choose gravelmaster?" They proudly say "enjoy your superfast free 48hr delivery.......". I see this as misleading/misrepresentation because in fact, it is only when you do read their terms & conditions, you realise they have a 'get out clause' for just about anything!! In particular, under the Delivery section, pay attention to: 4:1: Gravel master will make every effort to deliver products on the agreed date, but if for any reason the company is unable to deliver then no liability whether in damages or otherwise for delay of whole or any part of the goods ordered arising from any cause whatsoever. The date chosen is a desired delivery date not a guaranteed one orders cannot be cancelled because of any failed deliveries. & 4.8: The Company will not accept any liability for late delivery of the goods and delivery time will not be of the essence of the contract. Interestingly, when I spoke to the person at Gravelmaster on the 11th August & suggested that they had breached the contract because they had not fulfilled the order on the agreed date of the 11th August, her words were "there is no contract"!!! of course I disputed this. So in reality, this company will quite happily take your money & quite proudly tell you that you can 'enjoy free 48hr delivery' or you can expect it on your 'desired' delivery date but......Don't expect delivery when promised, don't expect to be able to speak to anyone & don't expect any phone call back because this will not happen. I am still waiting for the stones to arrive & let's see if they appear the same as on their website...........that is, if they ever arrive.

So, the stone has finally arrived today (August 13th).....not before trying to call them again twice without success (phone just kept ringing for around 15 minutes each time). The product is fine (the bag dumped on the side of the road as promised). A nice product let down by everything else then. Would I use or recommend Gravelmaster to anyone......most definitely not. It is also worth noting that people should read the reviews on another review site too before committing themselves to an order (it would be unfair to mention the site on here but just type in Gravelmaster UK reviews).