Horrendous experience from start to finish.
I ordered a Fender Jazzmaster Elemental in black from Matchetts, as no one else in the UK had any left. Not even Fender (Fender still don’t). This is due to them being a limited run.
When I ordered the guitar, I had an email confirming my order. I also had an email saying they would be in contact with me every step of the way. Only they didn’t. I rang up 2 days later to ask if it had been dispatched yet, as I had heard nothing from them. It turned out it had.
When the guitar was delivered, it was damaged. There was a crack in the finish between the control knobs. I thought about having it refinished. So I plugged it in and it played really nicely. Unfortunately, on closer inspection the volume knob was bent and the tone control was severely crackling when using it. So I emailed Matchetts and told them I wanted to send it back. I sent them videos of the damage. Matchetts said they could send me the same guitar in white, as they had no black ones left in stock. I decided to return it. They agreed to have the guitar collected and I could have a refund. They thought the body might be cracked due to the damage in the video I sent.
I cancelled my over time and waited at home all day for Parcel Force to turn up. They didn’t. I rang Matchetts again and arranged for the damaged guitar to be collected from my neighbour. Again Parcel Force did not turn up. Matchetts said they had turned up and neither myself or my neighbour were in on either occasion. However we both were. We also both have iRing doorbells. So every time some comes down the drive, the doorbell records it and the motion sensor alerts your phone. Funnily enough, the doorbell worked on the night I had off, as Amazon made a delivery and it acknowledged they were there and the doorbell rang out when they pressed it. I made the shop aware of this.
I rang the store again, they suggested for Parcel Force to pick it up again. I told them I had already lost £150 through cancelling my over time, would they pay if I got it delivered. They agreed they would cover the whole cost. So I went to the Post Office, and they weighed the guitar to be sent by Parcel Force. They asked me the value of the item, I told them and they charged me around £45 for it.
That same day I sent a copy of the receipt to the guitar store with the tracking number. A few days later the guitar had been delivered to Matchetts and I had one email saying they had issued a refund for the guitar, and another saying they wouldn’t refund me for the full cost of the guitar shipping. This was apparently because I had unknowingly paid extra for insurance to cover the guitar in case damage was done to the guitar in transit. If more damage had occurred in transit to the guitar, that would be deducted from my guitar refund (see their website for returns procedure). So they refunded me around £15. I didn’t argue, because I can’t make them do something they don’t want to do. Even when they break a promise about covering the whole cost of the shipping.
All of the communication throughout this ordeal was always instigated by me. They returned my calls 2 out of 3 times and seemed very disinterested about what had happened. Or about getting the guitar back as soon as possible, so they could refund my money. Unfortunately I don’t have over £1100 to just throw away. But they didn’t seem to care. So as well as the dissatisfaction of their service and losing £180. It has been the worst experience I have ever had buying guitars online. I have been buying guitars online for around 20 years.
Funnily enough, they now have a the same black guitar in stock on their website for the same price I paid. Fender still don’t have it in stock. So it’s interesting how they managed to get a new one when the manufacturer can’t, to put one their own website. I’d be wary of using this shop if I was you. I definitely won’t be. The service, broken promises and loss of money was more than enough to put me off. Especially as receiving a new guitar is generally a brilliant experience.
The final icing on the cake was when I did a review on Google and they replied saying they had given me tracking numbers for the collection of the guitar. They did no such thing. So I would stay well away from this shop.