Let The Buyer Beware

**rollerboy_1979** · 25th August 07, 10:43 PM

Kilted Brothers,

I have been patiently waiting for my formal Prince Charlie ensemble for over 13 weeks now, and I am beyond frustrated. Since I frequently deal with Internet companies, I had no reason to believe that my order would cause me so much grief. I will not name the company, primarily because I don't want to do anything that might further delay my merchandise. I only mention this so that others will not fall victim to an Internet company that collects your money, then keeps you totally in the dark. The delay is not what has me concerned, I fully expected to have to wait for a custom made product, but in 13 weeks I have had only two communications from the company, one email and one phone call, but only after repeated attempts to contact them. They do not answer their phone, do not reply to emails, and the owner's cell phone says "mailbox full"; needless to say, I'm nervous. Luckily, I paid for my outfit with my Visa card, so I called Visa and told them that I never received the merchandise. They immediately credited my account for the full amount and said it is now up to the company to make good. I sent an email telling them that I denied the charge and suddenly my Prince Charlie jacket & vest showed up, and then a day later my Ghillies and sgian dubh. Both were drop shipped from various suppliers. I'm still waiting for the rest of the items. The moral of this story is.......buy from a brick & mortar shop you can communicate with, a reputable Internet company that advertises on this website, or at the very least, use a credit card so you have some recourse. I hope to report a positive outcome, but that remains to be seen!

**Freedomlover** · 26th August 07, 06:22 AM

I can understand lengthy delays on custom orders, but there is no excuse for lack of communication.

**McMurdo** · 26th August 07, 06:33 AM

I hope it works out for you, I always deal with brick and mortar stores if at all possible.

**demobud** · 26th August 07, 07:03 AM

Unfortunetly for me, there are no brick and mortar stores near me (that I know of), thankfully all of the vendors I have dealt with form this forum have been top notch.

**rollerboy_1979** · 26th August 07, 07:48 AM

In addition, don't be enticed by prices that are $200-$300USD lower than others, that simply means there is no staff to pay salaries to and lower overhead in general, which usually translates into NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. The aggravation won't be worth the money you think you're saving. Their promise was that when the order arrived in their CA store (where no one answers the phone), they would call me to go over the order before shipping it in its entirety, now it's being drop-shipped from various suppliers. That tells me that they must have lost the original order, or, they're just sending me a few things to keep me quiet; perhaps if they had started doing that a few months ago I may not have worried so. Lessons learned. Kudos to Visa for acting on this immediately and putting the onus on the business to make it right. Cheers!

**Ozman1944** · 26th August 07, 08:09 AM

Am keeping my fingers crossed for you. I seem to be in the same boat, but also used my Visa Card, so still have an option as a last resort. (Once I get "beyond frustration", as it were; not yet, I still have a few days of patience left, six weeks so far!)
Lack of communication is the most frustrating. Makes you feel like you are of no importance whatever. Take a few deep breaths and sweat it out. We CAN get through this!

**pdcorlis** · 26th August 07, 08:26 AM

Unfortunately many of us live far from any brick and mortar store - so buying online may be the only viable option for us. We need all the help we can get regarding who to trust and who not to trust with our orders. That is one of the reasons we come to this forum. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience but information you provide may help other XMarks members avoid the same heartache.

**Livingston** · 26th August 07, 08:31 AM

Sounds just like my experiance. The company I purchased from was Clansman Knitwear and I would STONGLY advise against ever purchasing from them.

**MacWage** · 26th August 07, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by Livingston

Sounds just like my experiance. The company I purchased from was Clansman Knitwear and I would STONGLY advise against ever purchasing from them.

(Edit: the following has been proven incorrect. The owner of Clansman Knitwear, a Ralph Neilson, was passing himself as representing St Kilda itself, when he is actually just a vendor who carries St Kilda stuff. I stand corrected. I have left the ORIGINAL text to reflect what my impression WAS. However, for the sake of St Kilda's name, I am adding this provisio to the the "accusation" post- which is NOT correct in its connection of entities.)

Just a "heads-up," Clansman Knitwear is part of the St. Kilda (kilt and accessories)/Viking Technologies (web supply)/Tartan Web (info) group (which also own all the ----- Themes internet shops). All in all, I thing the "group" has 17 different entities involved. They are also the MANUFACTURER of many OTHER companies' stock as well. So, their stuff itself is pretty decent.

From what I have been able to tell, the main Group is under some sort of reorganization, at least in the US. I wonder what the final result will look like.

I met Ralph Neilson at the Greenville Games down here in South Carolina. He was running the St Kilda tent. I ordered an Argyle and vest, in Barathea (sp?) wool. They didn't have my size, so it was going to be shipped to me at the same show price for just the Argyle ($275, shipped). He kept in touch with me as to when their expected shipment would be expected from Scotland. So, I had no customer assistance issues AT ALL.
When it arrived:
I ordered from St Kilda USA, was billed from Clansman Knitwear (how I know of the connection), and it was shipped from Gaelic Themes in Glasgow, Scotland.
The product looks great, is tagged "St Kilda," and seems to be worth what I paid. So, I have no complaints.

**rollerboy_1979** · 27th August 07, 08:08 AM

I ordered from St Kilda USA, was billed from Clansman Knitwear (how I know of the connection), and it was shipped from Gaelic Themes in Glasgow, Scotland.
The product looks great, is tagged "St Kilda," and seems to be worth what I paid. So, I have no complaints.[/QUOTE]

This is the way it went for me: I ordered from CLANSMAN KNITWEAR, it was shipped by Gaelic Themes, and the jacket has a St.Kilda tag on it. The leather soled Ghillies, and sgian duh were shipped from Locharron in NH. The items I rec'd are top quality but the sgian dubh is not the one I ordered. The products I have after waiting 13 weeks are good quality, but that does not make up for the aggravation and the wait for the rest of it.

On a lighter note, I've been to two highland games, the Braemar Gathering of the Clans in Scotland (mid 1980's) and saw the Royal Family there, and the Canmoor(?) games in Alberta, CAN. I wasn't quite bitten by the bug yet, but the seed was planted. The sight of all those Bravehearts wearing their clan tartans was awesome to behold, and I'm not even Scotch! My lineage is Italian and Polish, but I love Scotland and its history, "Bloody" Mary, Loch Ness Monster, et al. Are there other XMTS members who are not of Scottish ancestry?
I'd love to know.
Cheers! RB (maintaining a positive attitude throughout this ordeal!)