EOE Orbis/Black Tree Design does not deliver but keeps the money

[Nordic1980s]

I have an undelivered £800+ order from EOE Orbis aka Black Tree Design with the company stonewalling me and not using my provided email address, telephone number or postal mail address to contact me as to why they're not attempting the delivery. The order has a valid address and contact details and always had them. Ordered already in late summer 2023, there was some sort of uncommunicated EU-wide customs hassle that returned the order in the autumn/early winter back to UK (apparently neither my or EOE Orbis' fault, I never got any pick-up notices), but I have the tracking code as proof that they've received it safely back in UK in winter of 2023 and never contacted me about it then. I only found about it myself much later on - should not be customer's job to do so. Both PayPal and credit card refund time windows have ended long time ago (the only consumer "mistake" that is on me).

When inquired about it, it was me who needed to renew the exchange, they did nothing with the returned delivery worth of £800+. They first replied back in the vaguest possible manner promising to do something (no shipping dates, no tracking code etc) and then kept stonewalling despite me contacting both the US and UK email addresses. Am aware of the owner's claimed health issues, but am also certain the company does have more than one person (somebody other than the owner picked up my returned order after all), so should affect nothing especially as the order was practically cast and packed already in late autumn 2023. Their own FAQ mentions "Orders to Europe usually take 7-10 working days". Have asked for either a new delivery, or a refund and got only silence in return. Was a long-time Harlequin/BTD/EOE fan from late 1990s onwards, kept ordering over the years when others warned not to (always received the previous orders in time or in the end) and now in 2024 the back of my metaphorical camel has been broken. Am thinking of police action from abroad (EU).

Will update this thread if the company in question sorts this all out. Please do not order from EOE Orbis UK and please share this message to warn others.

[Tom Dulski]

 I have ordered from the US store many times and never had a problem

[Daeothar]

That's an awful lot of money to lose indeed! 

In the past there have been many complaints about them, or so I recall; seems that situation has finally caught up with you as you say.

I can't offer anything more than my sympathies and hope that things will be resolved eventually though. Good luck... 

[hubbabubba]

Yeah, they seem to run the business like it's a hobby, something they can pick up and drop when the fancy takes them. I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for their fantastic back catalogue, they'd have disappeared long ago. Sadly, they remain the sole source for many of the treasures their catalogue holds.

[modelwarrior]

Wow,really,really sorry . Used them once and never again.

Please keep us all updated with how you get on and best of luck.

[Dice Roller]

Oof!
I imagine you wish you'd seen this thread:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=112741.0

before spunking £800 with BTD.
Commiserations and best of luck.

[Nordic1980s]

Thanks for the responses so far. Yes, their back catalogue is not only massive but also has many models from well known master sculptors e.g. Kevin Adams orcs and goblins. I own a megaload of Harlequin/BTD/EOE figures and casting quality is always excellent (no flash etc) and they seem to have switched to non-lead metal alloys lately as some of the models are more light-weight and silvery in colour than before. Was aware of the previous other peoples' problems, but had myself previously positive or neutral experiences of them. Previously if something went missing from my order, they would indeed re-send complete with extra goodies to compensate for the original error. Their overall operating procedure seems to be like a dice roll: excellent results when they want to and a total catastrophe when they don't care about.

[Quendil]

Have you tried contacting PayPal as sometimes they will help even outside the time period

[nicknorthstar]

Hello. I'm Nick, the owner of Lead Adventure Forum. I've locked this topic for the moment.
I have nothing but the deepest sympathy for your situation nordic1980s and I hope it get resolved.

People have been complaining about their service for 20 years. It's incredible when you think about it, not 2 years, 20 years. Back then it was on the TMP of course, and it's gone on ever since. All you have to do is search the archives of LAF to find complaint after complaint.