Sessholvlaru

After many successful orders I finally taste the bitter truth that is HK customer support. On December 1st I placed a large order (~$300) of batteries, ESC's and some hardware. Hilariously, a buddy of mine had recently also gotten burned by HK but I actually defended them since my experience was 100% at that point. He went in with me on this order since I use Paypal and could therefore "dispute" any problems easier.

So I track the order religiously and within a week it is in NJ at the foreign package center. So I'm thinking I'll have it in a day. I check it again the next day and see that it was returned to the sender because of an "incomplete address." Great. I call the center, package is already gone. Great. I have used the exact same address with every order (it is saved in HK's database) so this was not my fault.

I jumped right on HK Online Support (since no one ever answers the 800 number) and they tell me that I can either get a refund or have them send the order back to me after they receive it. Good enough. I opt to wait since I needed the parts. In hind site I should have taken the refund.

So now it is 41 days since I placed the order. HK claims they have still not received the returned package and I have no way to track it. I have tried a few times and they will not just send me another order, nor will they refund me until the package arrives. Again, HK knows the package was returned to the sender. Today, "Zoe" even had the nerve to blame the returned package on me saying that "I entered the shipping address at checkout."

So I opened a Paypal dispute. At this point I hope I just get my money back. I understand the shipping error probably was not HK's fault, but they can see that the shipment was on it's way back. Why not ship me out a new order? Or just refund me so I will buy more stuff?

pdm52956

My Feedback: (1)

You know, I'm sitting here reading your post and thinking to myself (with NO disrespect intended), you've obviously seen and heard plenty of complaints about them so why subject yourself to what is inevitable?! If it were me, I'd almost be embarrassed to proclaim my misfortune if I had defended them to begin with.

Sorry to hear you got grabbed and I do hope you get it resolved but it is what it is.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

It's a gamble every time you order and when you get the items and everything is working/in one piece , consider yourself lucky. Never spend more than you can afford to throw away and expect something in the order to be fouled up.

K-Bob

My Feedback: (1)

I bet you saved a lot of money.

DadsToysBG

My Feedback: (35)

Which is why LHS don't carry these items any longer because of the cheap prices they can't match. O' wait you would have walked out with the order. Dennis

Sessholvlaru

I always give my LHS's business when I can. I just won't spend $200 on a Li-Po than I can order online for $50.

cutaway

Returned mail isn't likely to go air freight. That package is probably in a cargo container somewhere in the middle of the pacific right now. Depending on how many stops a freighter makes before reaching your package's destination, it could take at least a couple of months on the surface. I've sent stuff to Australia from Florida on the surface, and it normally took about 45 days to get there.

If it arrived here in CONUS and was returned, then there was probably something wrong with the customs declaration, address, or the package was found to contain materials the carrier was unwilling to handle.

I know if you want the USPS to be reliable, using a "normalized" Zip+4 printed in a 20pt monospaced courier font almost ensures success. I've shipped 500+ packages around the world and to the USA and never had a single one go missing.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Good point. If the order contained lipos it would have been shipped Swiss Air.

DadsToysBG

My Feedback: (35)

I agree about the pricing. My point was you can't walk into HK and ask for your money back. You can get help with a short order from US based companies. You can get missing parts sent the same day from US companies. You don't have to weigh, photograph and wait. This is why it's hard to feel bad when things like this happen. Want cheap and no service that's fine, but you can't complain about it. They have his money and he have no order. Who wins. They don't care. People will still buy and get shorted and buy again. Dennis

init4fun

Bottom line here , , , and without even a hint of "I told ya so" in my reply , , , Im sad to see yet another fellow RCer get ripped off by these clowns . Really .

outdoorhunting

How many bad results will it take for you guys to give up on them. I was born & raised on a farm. I stepped in a pile of do-do & I told my brther. Ya know he NEVER did step in a pile !! Let's see, a pile of do-do & HK, do we see a resemblance ???? the only difference I see is the smell !!!!

PLANE JIM

My Feedback: (109)

Good Luck with paypal

MetallicaJunkie

i have made several small orders with success.... its always best to buy from the USA warehouse if you can

Tarasdad

Simple rule, never spend more on an order from Hobbyking than you're willing to lose.

topspin

First of all they should have received the package by now but you are correct, a reputable company would have sent a new shipment as soon as they saw that the first one was on the way back to them. Obviously they are not reputable.

The customer service bot accusing you of the error is a total insult and should be enough for you to say never again to HK.

I hope you do get it sorted out with them but if I were you I would look elsewhere, there are lots of other low cost Chinese suppliers (if that's what you really want) that are far more reputable than Hobby King. Best of luck and please let us know how it turns out.

bullseye000

I also wouldn't rule out the geniuses at the US Post Office. I haven't ordered from HK much but the last time I ordered it was the Post Office who wound up being the monkey with a wrench. They kept my order for almost 5 weeks in NY to "make sure it was safe". Their words no kidding. Unfortunately once there's been a ripple in the force and it starts back to China there's no hope but Paypal.

topspin

That may be but in this case I think he already established that the vendor screwed up and should make good on it. The US post office has been known to make mistakes but not very often. If the PO is holding it it really doesn't matter because they have notified HK that it is on it's way back to them. How long that takes is not Sessholvlaru's concern and quite simply HK should have sent a duplicate order immediately after the Post Office notified them of the return.

They have no regard for the customer with their you bought it you own it attitude. That is one of the primary reasons why I don't do business with them but certainly not the only reason.

cutaway

Flakey customs declarations with sketchy contents descriptions can cause stuff like this. You may also have been caught in a political pissing match. All countries use "slowing down" transactions with other countries as tools for political/trade leverage.

For a while with the Japanese it was Aluminum baseball bats. There was political tiff and Japan demanded that all US made Aluminum bats be individually inspected.

mscic-RCU

My Feedback: (6)

Welcome to doing business with a Chinese company