Photospecialist.co.ukReviews:
738 reviews in the last 12 months1,593 total reviews
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Top positive review
21 Aug 2023
Verified review
The order I made was despatched quickly and collected by the couriers you use and it arrived in the UK alright but everything has gone wrong from there.
UPS the UK side of the delivery are totally useless. They have not delivered the package yet and it has been in their hands since 08/08/2023. They are blaming a Customs hold up in the release of my delivery. They have so far sent me 14 stupid messages telling me that the package will be delivered the next day but nothing happens. It appears that the UPS staff in the UK and their computer system are totally useless. Do not use UPS UK for anything. I have made 2 phone calls to them and the staff in the UPS office just keep telling me that the package needs Customs clearance for a £14 lens hood!
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Top negative review
10 Aug 2023
Verified review
Absolutely disgraceful customer service. Firstly our first order with the company does not show in our account, having been assured it would be fixed straight away, it still does not show.
The items arrived and so far seem ok, so we made another purchase giving them the benefit of the doubt. BIG MISTAKE. Having identified our email address had been added incorrectly and not being able to update it via the website, we were told they would fix it straight away, we are now locked out of our account.
The second order we made got stuck in customs, it was very clear from the UPS tracker this had happened, having contacted Photospecialist the first day it did not arrive we were told they would fix it straight away. The next day the same thing happened, it was clear the item was still stuck in customs. We contacted their support again and after around half an hour wasted time found out not only had the previous support agent not even bothered to contact UPS, they were refusing to speak to us and refusing to give UPS a telephone call. The person responsible was hiding behind one of the girls who was speaking to me (Who we thank for trying her best) they were literally refusing to speak to us and sending messages to and from via this poor girl who was landed in the middle of all this. Our emails regarding this subject were all ignored and we received no written response regarding the issue. We were told we would be called back in two hours with a solution, when that call happened we were told they still had not contacted UPS. We went back and forth for over an hour trying to get the person dealing with this speak to us, who continued to refuse, and trying to get them to agree to pick up the phone and contact UPS.
We were continually told it was impossible for them to call UPS, a straight out lie. I informed them multiple times all they need to do is pick up the phone and call them, they continued to refuse to do that, and the person responsible continued to refuse to speak to me. Bearing in mind this is how they treat customers that have spent nearly 1000 GBP with them in the last 3 weeks.
We contacted UPS ourselves, and within 5 minutes had found out the item was indeed stuck at customs, and that it should be arriving tomorrow. Instead of Photospecialist picking up the phone to try and resolve this, it took two days of being messed around before we finally got the answer ourselves.
Photospecialist gained and lost a customer within the space of 3 weeks due to their pathetic customer service (Aside from the girl we spoke to).
Do not buy with this company, their company, website and customer support is an absolute joke.
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Reviews for Photospecialist.co.uk
31 Oct 2023
Verified review
Item didn't arrive and still no refund or replacement
Had to open a caes with PayPal
Buyers beware
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
1 Nov 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
I see that your package has gone lost and we start an investigation, where we handled a refund for you.
I am so sorry that this has taken so long.
7 Jun 2023
Verified review
Think twice before purchasing - company is not UK based (even with co.uk), customer services are not what they should be
Product I bought - brilliant. But the experience was not what I paid for and have to say it already caused me few sleepless nights. Started well with receiving estimated delivery email within few hours of purchase. But then the actual date of delivery came and nothing changed, parcel was not even despatched at that point (5 days since my order), and that made me read all the reviews on Trustpilot - I wish I read them before purchasing. As that's the point I realised the fact that the company has co.uk at the end of their website link doesn't actually mean they are based in UK as I originally thought. And for something so potentially 'delicate' such as big printer it got me worried.
Their customer services are useless, and it looks they actually spend more time responding to their trustpilot reviews than actually doing what they should do at first place - be proactive, not responsive. Phonelines keep getting cutoff even during office hours, if you do eventually manage to speak to someone, and they promise they look into the issue and send you email (no calling back as requested), they never bother responding.
I cannot even imagine having bigger issues and losing thousands of pound as some others seem to due to delivery issues, as noone seems to be taking responsibility for their actions - company and it's customer services nor the delivery company.
So my advice after this eyeopening experience - actually spend few extra quid and buy the product within UK if uk based - you're morelikely to sleep better. And if you do want to still purchase with photospecialist, at least cover yourself and pay via credit card as there's a chance things will go wrong and you want some security.
So to sum up - I'll think twice before purchasing from them again as customer services don't care, so if there's an actual issue, they will be a pain to deal with.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
9 Jun 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
This is a bad situation that has happened and I truely want to offer my apologies.
We are a a company based in the Netherlands and this is mentioned on the website. Kamera Express has taken over Photospecialist and not to confuse the customer we have kept the name as well the website.
I have pulled up your order and I see that my colleague did respond to you, however something went in the system that you did not recieve the email with the information about UPS.
Due to low of staff on the customer service it takes longer to get in touch with us, but we try to help everyone. The customer service and the reviews are done by different departments. But I will take your feedback to management to imporve this.
I will send also send you an email.
25 Aug 2023
Verified review
Unprofessional, uncaring and unknowledgable customer services + poor checkout design
Honestly, one of the poorest online shopping experiences I've had in a long time. Firstly, their website checkout wouldn't accept the delivery address I wanted. I selected it *from their own address database* (which you *have* to do), but the address has a house name, not house number. Their checkout is set so you *have* to include a house number, so it wouldn't accept the address I selected, but also wouldn't allow me to edit the address (if I could have just put the house name into the house number field, there'd have been no problem).
So I ordered anyway (it was the only place I could find that had the product I wanted in stock), and got a message saying if I didn't receive a confirmation email in an hour to email customer services.
No email arrived, so I emailed, requesting my confirmation email and asking to amend the delivery address.
Too late, they'd already created the UPS label, so it couldn't be amended. Also, their system, apparently, isn't sending out confirmation emails, so Eduardo confirming my order is all I'm going to get (which isn't isn't really going to be much use for uploading a purchase receipt to my business accounting software ...).
Eduardo told me I'd be able to amend my address directly with UPS. He was wrong - UPS wouldn't allow me to change any details until at least one delivery attempt had been made. Even then, after they did attempt delivery, I couldn't amend the delivery address because they'd left it at a collection point a mile or so down the road! (I was away at the time, hence needing to use a different delivery address.)
I had some back-and-forths, saying I wasn't happy with the service and trying to let them know where the problems were with their website. Apologies were cursory and insincere and just felt like they were trying to excuse themselves instead of actually making things right. One of the people in the email conversation actually tried to blame the 'UK market' on their poor website checkout design. At no point did anyone say 'Sorry, things have gone a bit wrong, how can we make this right?' - everything was always someone else's fault, and my problem to sort out - never theirs. And at no point did they even acknowledge the things I said about the problems I'd had with the checkout. Seriously unprofessional attitude coming from customer services. Will *not* be returning at any point.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
25 Aug 2023
Thank you for leaving this detailed review.
I am very sorry to write how this had gone and I can imagine this left a bad feeling with you.
However my colleague explained we are a company based in The Netherlands and we are trying to change the website to suit the UK market better. So this would also mean the address you have to fill in on the website. In Holland we use numbers and not house names. That is why my colleague meant and I am sorry that didn't come across correctly.
I can imagine that the service you got as it is, isn't up to the level of service you need at that time and I want to offer you my apologies for this.
I will contact you via email to make sure you got your item.
16 Oct 2023
Verified review
Poor communication
Once my order was placed the dispatch time and customer service contact was not good. I was advised the dispatch timeframe would be 1-4 business days when it actually took 7 business days. Once the dispatch day went out of the 1-4 days I contacted the company to ask for the delivery address to be changed. This was required because no one would be at the delivery address anymore. Someone in CS responded without acknowledging my request to change the address. I wrote back again immediately asking to change the address (the order hadn't been dispatched yet), and yet again the response didn't acknowledge my request. So again I asked for the address to be changed, they responded to ask for the new address which I immediately confirmed. The following day my order was dispatched but to the original address!! No one changed the address even though I had asked for this to happen 3 days before (ample time for the change to happen). I now have to pay to get the order collected from the original address to another. With such high priced items you would think more care would be taken to ensure good attentive customer service.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
16 Oct 2023
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review.
I am so sorry that this has gone this way, that was no suppose go this way. And I will contact you about the extra costs.
9 Dec 2023
Verified review
Order arrived late, charged £25 for return.
Made an order that was dispatched quickly but then due to inadequacies with the sellers courier of choice, was delayed for multiple days, missing the delivery window quoted at the time of purchase.
As a result of the courier delaying the item and also giving incorrect information on when it would be delivered, I had to find the product elsewhere. I returned the late running order to Photospecialist but I am now being charged a £25 return fee as the item is not at fault, even though the reason for the return is their courier errors, not mine. Questioned why I was being charged for a return in this circumstance but yet to receive a response
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
11 Dec 2023
I am sorry to read that the courier took so long, we are not going to charge the £25. I will send you a message so we can resolve this nicely. Sorry for this inconvenience.
7 Aug 2023
Verified review
My printer was delayed (which isn't their fault) but after it was bought I found out that this was a European version requiring a special plug adapter and when it did finally arrive,all the instructions were in Dutch or aanother language that I don't understand.
If this was made clear at point of sale, I would have looked elsewhere.
When an Internet company has a "co.uk" domain name it is reasonable to expect them to be in the UK.
I have suffered a stroke in the last 2 years and needed this to be a simple transaction and set up ect ....it hasn't been.I still haven't set this up - a giant waste of money
Jonathan
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
8 Aug 2023
I am so sorry to read that the item arrived a little late.
It is indeed true that our warehouse is in the Netherlands, we have also mentioned this on the website. Annoying that it does not succeed in setting it up, I would like to get in touch with you so that I can help you further.
17 Aug 2023
Verified review
Wrong item sent. I'm sorry but I still feel I was sent the wrong item. The lens I was sent was too large even though I tried it with the FTZ adapter which it needed. Looking on the web, the shape was wrong and, instead of tapering at the ends, it was the same width for the full length. I have been living in America and they would rectify this issue immediately but I was told to return it at my own expense which was £38. I feel a bit resentful about this and will be looking elsewhere for the item providing I am given the refund - I'm waiting.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
18 Aug 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
I am so sorry to read that it has gone wrong and I will contact you via email to see for a fitted solution for this.
13 Sept 2023
Verified review
Disappointed customer
We were pleased with the delivery and binoculars, but noticed the the side of the eye covers had been damaged. We reported this straight away and sent a photo. A couple of days later we received an e mail saying that they would need to check with the supplier to see if they could just replace the part or needed the whole boxed item returned. Since then, 2 weeks ago, other than an automated e mail responding to my progress e mail, we have not heard anything. I am extremely disappointed and annoyed.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
16 Sept 2023
Thank you for leaving this review.
I am so sorry about this, due to staff, we weren't able to send it yet.
But I have send you an email this morning that it will be on it's way today.
18 Dec 2023
Verified review
Its been 3 weeks since my order and they haven't sent the item. Further more, they haven't got back to any emails regarding this and the phone number doesn't seem to ring?
This telescope was supposed to be a Christmas present for my son and therefore I have had to make a second order elsewhere. I'm currently trying to contact them to cancel this order but they aren't replying to my emails and again, the phone option seems pointless.
If I could give them 0 stars I would. Absolute joke company.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
19 Dec 2023
Sorry to read that it went the way it did. I see that we did request the delivery time, but with the mail to you it didn't go quite right which meant you never got a message from us, Sorry about this!!! I see the order has been cancelled. You will get a refund soon.
17 Sept 2023
Verified review
Order not delivered without telling me any reason for delay
I had ordered a tripod head from the store, however it got stuck with the courier (UPS). I have spoken to Photospecialist every other after it was stuck in same status. They were good and responsive however they did not tell me why the order is stuck neither gave me any ETA, this went on for a week but no resolution.
To my understanding the order is stuck in customs but they are not saying so, finally I asked for refund and there is no concrete answer from them yet.
Not sure what to do
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
18 Sept 2023
How frustrating to read that your package is so delayed, at the moment there is pretty little we can do as it is fixed. I will look into this further and contact you to resolve this.
17 Oct 2023
Verified review
Poor After sales Service
Bought a downloadable software package for £75.00. They emailed the serial number along with a link to an other firm where I could actually download the software. Unfortunately I couldn’t get access to the download. . Despite phone calls and emails no one seemed or wanted to help. Fortunately I contacted Pinnacle software who were very understanding and gave me a link to their web site and I managed to download the software from them. Very poor service
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
18 Oct 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
When it comes to a download, there is nothing we can do. Pinnacle is the one that can have access to your account and can see what might be the issue and solve this for you.
BB
Bob B.
St.Ives
18 Nov 2023
Verified review
Really bad customer service on returns
Bought an Orca bag and they sent the wrong one. Emailed 3 times and heard absolutely nothing in over a week. Had to return the bag and that cost me £40 still heard nothing from them. Very very poor customer service and very disappointing as a loyal customer. Not sure it takes a lot to reply to an email these days so why over a week to respond. Hoping they will refund for the bag and the postage and make an apology .......fingers crossed.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
19 Nov 2023
Thanks for the review, I am afraid you missed emails from us, you received a return label from us early last week. Has this one arrived ?
I will contact you!
17 Nov 2023
Verified review
Parts missing, slow resolution
I ordered a item and when it arrived there were parts missing. After a week of chasing I was told they were checking if it was lost in the warehouse.
No one returned any calls.
After a month I finally managed to get a refund, and a new product delivered. And I had the same issue, the battery was missing.
Eventually I had a replacement part sent out, but not after a lot of phone calls and emails to sort the whole issue out.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
19 Nov 2023
I'm sorry to read, I'm afraid things didn't go quite right with our supplier then. I will start looking into this and get in touch with you to further resolve this nicely with you.
19 Dec 2023
Verified review
Order still not arrived after 2 weeks
Photospecialist.co.uk processed my order in good time and I got a notification from UPS that they had collected my items.
Two week's later and the items are still stuck at the UPS depot awaiting clearance information.
The UPS update is "UPS initiated contact with the sender to obtain clearance information." so why hasn't Photospecialist provided the requested information?
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
20 Dec 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
I am so sorry it takes longer then expected. Your package was wrongly scanned with the courier and was hold up at customs. We have sovled this issue and it will be delivered soon.
29 Dec 2023
Verified review
Terrible customer service
Tried to order cameras on 2 separate occasions over 2 weeks before Christmas and due to their abysmal customer service (no contact to say they had no stock until I called them)and website (shows “in stock” when they don’t have any) I had no camera for my wife and almost £900 out of pocket 5 days before Christmas. By this time I had to take what I could and ended up paying double what I intended. STAY AWAY!!
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
2 Jan 2024
Sorry to read that this happens, due to black friday and the hustle and bustle around that and the holidays we were indeed a bit slower in responding. Sorry for this.
I see there was contact 1 day after your email and we eventually cancelled the order.
14 May 2023
Verified review
There's no detail of shipping time when making a purchase and they don't send a notification of shipping with the invoice. It took 4 handling days before the camera was shipped and because they use UPS there was no extra options to have it delivered to a alternative address or left in a safe place. All in all, shipping took so long and gave little information that I had to re-order the camera through amazon
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
15 May 2023
Thank you for this review.
Normaly you would get the email with information the day after you order, but something went wrong in the system.
UPS is the only carrier for England that we can use, so that is why they are the ones that would deliver your order.
I am very sorry to hear that everything too long and you had to find it somewhere else.
28 Jun 2023
Verified review
Very poor service
I have tried to return a camera bag because it is too small. Because I am in the UK the courier requires their VAT number and some other reference number and all Cameraspecialist keeps saying is fill in the return form and post it off. I can't because the courier won't accept the package without these reference numbers ad they continue to not provide the information !!
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26 Aug 2023
Verified review
abysmal
delivery of items has gone smoothly in the past but this time the item is stuck at uk customs, this would suggest that either photospecialist admin has changed something or uk customs has changed something. PS sent email that item would be released the next day" but it was an empty promise as the item is still going no where.
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
30 Aug 2023
Thank you for leaving this review.
I am so sorry this has happened. We have found the solution and are working hard to get everything delivered for you.
You have recieved an email last week about this.
Again I am very sorry about this.
19 Aug 2023
Verified review
Untrustworthy
Little to no communication about my parcel delays, errors providing correct data for customs clearance, lack of respect for consumer protection laws in countries they trade in. Treat customers with contempt. Trustpilot and Google reviews bear this out quite plainly. Photospecialist cannot be trusted nor can UPS
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
23 Aug 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
I am so sorry to hear you haven't recieved it yet. UPS is having difficulties with customs. Of course we are doing our best to get this solved ASAP.
I will contact you via email about this issue.
19 Aug 2023
Verified review
Great price.....SHOCKING delivery policy
Great price.....absolutely SHOCKING delivery service because they use UPS. Nearly 3 weeks on since my order and no parcel, and now just been told that UPS are returning my parcel to the sender as they didn't provide the information needed for my parcel to clear customs.
Just don't bother - not worth it....
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Answer by Photospecialist.co.uk
23 Aug 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
I am so sorry to hear you haven't recieved it yet. UPS is having difficulties with customs. Of course we are doing our best to get this solved ASAP.
I will contact you via email about this issue