Hassles with Hasslefree - merged issues thread

[Silent Invader]

Sorry but you are missing my point. I did receive most of my order. The problem lies in the inability first of all to get it right (forgivable) but the unwillingness to correct the mistake is unforgivable.
It demonstrates a disregard for their customers, inefficiency and appalling attitude.
The impression I have is of a company that simply does not care and so long as wargamers tolerate it they will not change.

A misunderstanding I think as I was actually replying to Mr.J’s post, thus the quotation.  I’m not at all doubting your’s or Mr J’s experiences and understand the frustration as stated. I would not be at all satisfied if I had experienced what you have experienced. I’m not defending or otherwise speaking for Hasslefree, merely communicating my own experience, which in recent months has been good. That is all. 

[Coenus Scaldingus]

They certainly act like a cowboy organisation. Every news letter describes a torrent of issues they have been having  whilst rolling out a brand new sale leaving past customers waiting in the lurch. If this was any other industry I’m certain people wouldn’t be this tolerant.

Of course, describing a torrent of issues that explain the current state of things is also what a very transparent company would do to inform their customers. Thing is, they've built up a decent reputation in the past, so explanations can be taken at face value rather than as bad excuses for poor service. The fact that they are sending and delivering products helps too of course, they're not (all) empty promises. I'm not looking to defend their bad moments and can't criticize the way things have been handled without knowing their organizational state, but they largely come across as well-meaning people who are genuinely trying to get back on track from having been overwhelmed in the past (backlogs, personal issues and unforeseen circumstances), which is a difficult cycle to escape from. Things seem to be getting better, but I'm not sure if they're good yet (I can only speak for my own order late last year that was indeed free of hassle).

[syrinx0]

They have always resolved my issues and eventually delivered what I ordered.  That said I would never order something from them I needed asap.  They have had a lot of personal issues which can be hard on a small family company.  Hopefully that subsides and they return to previous form soon or maybe use some one like NorthStar to distribute in the future.

[dadlamassu]

It has been 10 weeks, 12 unanswered emails, 4 unanswered phone calls and still  nothing.  Yet I have had 2 "newsletters" which included information about ne releases, that winter is cold, COVID is affecting them and they are working from home.  These factors affect lots of companies.  Are they seriously wanting us to believe that they have inadequate heating, inadequate planning and operate unsafely (the heater allegedly went on fire) and so it is OK to ignore customer relations? They are certainly imaginative, perhaps the next excuse will be that they have had an alien invasion?  Sorry it sounds like it is all made up to hide inefficiency and fool  the gullible.

Yet they say that they can release new stuff but cannot deal with their customers so cold, fires, COVID, Brexit etc do not seem to affect that.  A real cowboy outfit that does not care.

[Wachaza]

I'm only at five weeks from order but still being ignored.

[Nordic1980s]

Earlier this year my brother ordered from them, emailed all the various emails they have and had no response, he contacted them on fb and again no response, eventually he put in a Paypal claim and got a full refund. At no point did he get a reply nor did PayPal when the claim went in.

It seems like extreme delays and empty apologies are very common.

I had the same experience and suggest the PayPal claim refunding method for everyone with similar issues. Having had positive experiences with HF ~10 years earlier, I was naive and even went so far as to send at my own cost a paper letter abroad to their address in UK to explain the issues, but to no avail.

[Duncan McDane]

Do they sell directly from existing stock or do they only carry limited stock and cast on order the rest of  the needed stuff. If so, that could be an explanation. No excuse though...
As with Black Tree, I'd prefer to pick it up at retailers of on shows rather than order it from themselves but as we have no shows currently... 

[zemjw]

They don't cast themselves, but do carry quite a bit of stock. Their website will show an item as out of stock and I don't think you can even order it in that case (never tried).

I've never had any great problems with them, but I have to admit that the current posts here are concerning. I have been tempted by their Viking dwarfs, but I'm going to hold off just now. There's no rush for the figures, so I'll give them some more time to settle.

Like everyone else, they've been fighting the pandemic, got hit hard by storms and the recent winter blast, so hopefully the spring will let them get sorted. It is the risk with single person companies (at least in terms of distribution), where there is a single point of failure.

[dadlamassu]

Just had a look on Trustpilot and out of 18 reviews 10 give 1 star (some have given zero if that had been an option).  This is a company that has 56% negative and has not responded to negative reviews for over 12 months.  https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.hfminis.co.uk

The problems of no communication, missing figures/orders, appalling customer service date back years not just this year.  Covid and winter weather may be getting used as excuses but it is a long term issue that has not been addressed.   A reputable company would be doing something about it.

I wish I had read them before ordering. 

[Mr.J]

Yes Covid/winter is just the most recent excuse after a number of others than span several years.

If you check their fb page out you will find lots of comments demonstrating the long delays and lack of/poor comms.

It really is a shame as they have some gorgeous minis, of which I have quite a few, but I wouldn’t touch them at this point.

[Shardifier]

I hate to be a Moaning Myrmidon/Mitrailleuse/Mamluk but here's my recent tale with them:

* Ordered three minis on December 4th 2020

* Got three minis... but one of them was wrong. Contacted HF, got a response on Jan 15th - "Good morning, sorry I only just saw this.  Please accept my apologies for the error, I will copy this over to Dameon to resolve for you."

* Not hearing anything after this, I email again and get a response on Feb 1st - "Hi Robert has this arrived now?" (it had not)

* I email back, and several times again - the order has taken so long to arrive I have in fact moved in this time to another part of the UK, which I informed HF of (when Goblin Games had to delay a shipment I let them know about the move and those guys were brilliant, updated address no problem!)

* I last contacted HF on 3rd March and mentioned I may have to launch a financial dispute. I'd love to support an independent but this is *ridiculous*. I am happy to delay getting some minis as like everyone I've got a lead pile, I have heard nothing from them for over a month now.

* I have also tried calling the number on their website, as well as contacting them via Facebook. I really wish I'd paid attention when someone mentioned HF had a reputation for poor service - and have since found this thread, as well as the following:

- http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?66710

- https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk

- https://uk.trustpilot.com/evaluate/www.hfminis.co.uk

All I wanted was a cool space dwarf! But hey, at least it was a good lesson in always research who you're buying from I guess

[Mammoth miniatures]

(when Goblin Games had to delay a shipment I let them know about the move and those guys were brilliant, updated address no problem!)

Unrelated but Goblin games are great. I ordered some stuff from them that their site said would take two weeks - it arrived 3 days later and they still apologized for the delay.
I used to order from them when i was working at dark sphere because I didn't want to give DS any of my own pay! 

[Storm Wolf]

For myself I have never had a problem with Hasslefree even last year.

But I feel sorry for all of those who have had or are having problems.

In the past Hasslefree was indeed Hasslefree, shame that is not always the case

Good luck everyone with your outstanding orders

Glen

[Mr.J]

Newsletter this morning:

Slight Delays at Hasslefree HQ

Hello Everyone

Just a quick announcement to let people know we currently have slight delays. A combo of a few annoying things in a row.

First up, I was sick for a few days, nothing too serious but enough to be off work. Second up was the first day back at work saw me spend half the working day trying to fix a problem with our software caused by a Windows Security Update (a known issue online, but didn't help solving it). And then lastly ...

Slight Disaster


I came home from work this past week to find water coming through my living room ceiling.

A valve had broken near the boiler upstairs, and it has proven a nightmare to get fixed. I've had to macgyver some plastic bottles from the valve to buckets etc to stop thewater further damaging the living room ceiling and other things.

It's pain of an issue as the valve is behind the boiler and very difficult to reach, a plumber has semi fixed it but a real fix isn't happening until tomorrow.

This means I haven't been able to get to the warehouse, as the macgyvered fix could go wrong at any time and a new flood start (or the semi fix could come undone). I've had to be here to keep an eye on it.

What Does This Mean?

Other than the 'slight delays', not a lot. I haven't been able to answer some people questions etc because the answer is at the warehouse, so also some delays in communication.

We should be back to normal this week.

Other News

One of our metal casters is off sick, this delayed pre orders from last week to next week.

So 'please' check if your order has a pre order in it before emailing about it. A lot of people don't seem to have noticed this and I have spent a lot of my work time letting people know that they have ordered a pre order (Which is why we don't normally do them ).

Almost all orders should be caught up with this coming week ( couple of the pre orders are from a different caster, and I don't have a firm date on those yet).

And if you are after an answer about an order, please use BWARTEMIS at GMAIL dot COM.

That's it! I hope anyway ...

Arty.

[Wachaza]

I'm only at five weeks from order but still being ignored.

Three weeks later and still being ignored. One last attempt and then paypal dispute.