Recent Experience With Powerbuy

[Kerouacaurus]

Hi guys,

 

Just sharing my recent experience with Powerbuy with initially seemed to be a nightmare but finally was sorted out very well.

Back to the 8th of May, my laptop died and I truly needed a new one quickly. I found Powerbuy to be a good option, as they had '1-hour pickup' service. That is, you pay and can just receive the item at the shop the same day.

Due to the fact that I needed the item soon, I ordered a laptop and chose to pay over the counter at Tesco. There was one slight detail that I ignored possibly because of temptation to get it the same day. On the website, they state that they will inform you about the items remaining in stock after you make a payment. I ignored it, as my common sense told me that there must be at least several items available.

Well, I was wrong. So I make a payment the next day and I get a call in 10 minutes stating that there is no item available. This is, of course, not a huge problem, as I ordered another computer from Shopee.

The problem arose afterwards. The call center at 1324 was almost impossible to reach, just as the online chat. I believe I made about 40 calls overall and I only had a chance to contact them 3 times.

The first time, I was told that the English speaking staff will contact me around 8 am the next day. Well, they never called.

The second time, they told me similar thing.

The third time, my Thai friend called them and explained the situation, as they couldn't speak English almost at all. As I don't have a Thai bank account, she told me I could go to Powerbuy at Central World directly and get a cash refund on the 17th of May when the shopping malls opened.

Okay, so that made me relieved. I basically go there on the 17th, bring a payslip, my passport, explain the situation but they keep on calling the same 1324 calling center. I wait for 1 hour and 30 minutes. They can't reach them and tell me that they sent an e-mail. No explanation of what to expect next. So I go home.

A day or two, I decide to try my luck again and go to a different Powerbuy shop. Similar scenario there, they asked me for the order number etc., then gave me a phone to speak to someone who, again, didn't speak English, and they promised to call me this morning at 10. Well, no calls, and I was expecting that.

Besides all of this, I believe I sent 7 e-mails with what live agent asked, such as my passport and payslip, but never got a response to any of those e-mails.

Live agents typically would also tell me that they will contact me by phone in 15 minutes. No calls.

So, yes, I was desperate and I was simply tired of doing this over and over again.

In the end, the situation was resolved upon contacting their president Mr. Pauze via LinkedIn. I didn't expect anything at all, but I felt like it was my last resort. He immediately responded with apologies and asked for my phone number. Today, I was contacted and explained what to do. Went to the same Powerbuy shop I was to yesterday and got an immediate refund in cash finally after 12 days of efforts.

The lessons learnt, probably only pay for an item you receive, what I typically do, as well as don't trust common sense when you see something unusual and weird like 'we'll inform you about the items remaining in stock after you make a payment', ha ha.

[Kwasaki]

Computer don't matter where from just buy an Asus.

[Halfaboy]

I myself don't like the idea of paying first and after that being informed if the item is in stock. That would be a dealbreaker for me.

[tweedledee2]

I have used the 1-hour pick-up option and the ordering process is very clear. You choose the item you want to buy and add it to your cart. When you check out and select 1-hour pick-up, you then select the store location you want and it tells you if the selected store has the item in stock. If they don't have the item, you have the option to search for the nearest store that does have the item in stock. These steps are completed BEFORE the payment page. You also have the option to pick-up and pay in the store. I you ignored or missed the inventory available details, that's not on PowerBuy.

[tlandtday]

Unfortunatlely this is why I use Lazada and onlne services.