teenage engineering Reviews 29

I bought two pocket operators valued at around £140 and didn't realise I'd be stung with various fees on top of this purchase. TE already charged shipping and VAT, however a few weeks after the item arrived I got an "unpaid invoice" from UPS for almost £50!, this included a "disbursement fee", "duty amount" and "VAT" (which I'd already paid at the point of sale).

I tried to query the VAT issue with UPS by calling them. I ended up spending around an hour, placing 4 different phone calls and speaking to 7 different people, none of which could help with my issue. All call assistants were from an Indian call centre and didn't understand my issue, several of which simply hung up the phone when I politely explained the problem. Eventually I emailed and got a response stating that I would have to contact HMRC and request a refund for the double VAT!

Neither UPS or TE were apologetic and neither could offer a resolution other than contact the HMRC.

Today I received a further invoice from UPS for late payment fee!

Terrible experience. I placed an order on December 8, 2025, and it was sent to a completely random UPS pickup point 55 km away from my delivery address. Customer service told me they would redirect it to a nearby location, but I never received any confirmation or update.
I emailed them again and got no response at all. This is by far the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. A complete waste of money and time. I would absolutely not recommend ordering here.

I’m having the same bad experience as a previous reviewer. My order was delivered to a UPS pickup point in another city, about 60 km away from my location. Okay, we all know delivery companies can be terrible, but here’s where the real problem starts.

After I contacted customer service, they responded quickly and said they had redirected the parcel to my address. I waited for a week, but nothing happened. I emailed them again to ask for an update on my order—no response.

It has now been 6 weeks since then! I’ve sent several emails and received no replies at all. There is no phone number or any other way to contact the company besides email, which makes this situation even more frustrating.

I honestly have no idea how to reach the company or resolve this problem. This was my first shopping experience with Teenage Engineering, and I’m shocked at how badly it has gone. I just wanted to give myself an early Christmas present, but instead it turned into a complete disappointment.

Just incase if they are finally seeing my message over here, my order number is: 2130603

The batteries on it don’t work I’ve tried like 300 different brands

Absolutely awful shipping.

They use UPS to ship within Europe, which is almost always a bad experience because their Network in Europe is terrible, but that's not even the worst part.

I ordered with the expectation, that it would be delivered directly to my door, but that was not the case, instead my order was dropped of at the next UPS access point, which is over 10km away from me and not even in the same town. (I can not overstate how bad the UPS network is in Europe)

This was never communicated during the ordering process. The absolute worst shipping experience I even had, also general email communication is bad.

I ordered an OP XY and it arrived in less than one week from Sweden. The OP XY is an amazing device. It is very solidly built and a beautiful piece of design. It is also a very capable instrument.

Bought the ob4 - looks stunning and sounds all right. The volume knob came off, meaning it didn’t turn on anymore. This should be a warranty case clearly - but their customer support kept saying I caused it myself and made me pay for the repair… I filed an official complaint with the consumer protection agency in my country as this company scams their customers… stay away!

I CANNOT belive how dense these people are. It's taken more than a month to achieve NOTHING. They don't READ their communications and if they do they don't understand. Over and over they make the same error.
Might explain why there are so many bizarre design choices, like being able to remix the radio or any input but not including a line out on the OB-4.
Better hops your equipment comes with all the accessories advertised otherwise you're in for a surprise!

I purchased a new Teenage Engineering Opxy and immediately noticed a high-pitched noise coming from the jack input. After several emails explaining(and sending reminders) the issue and providing a video demonstration, I was eventually told to send the unit in for repair or replacement.

Unfortunately, the replacement I received had the exact same issue—clearly it hadn’t even been tested before being sent out. I contacted support again three days ago and still haven’t received a response.

Thankfully, I’m still within the return period from the retailer and will be returning the unit for a refund. Between the unresolved hardware problem and the lack of reliable customer support, this experience has left me very disappointed.

Really horrible customer service. They simply don't reply. I'm still waiting for a refund request and they haven't replied in 2 weeks time. I'll file a refund request through my credit card.

What a terrible company this is. They don’t respond and don’t care about customer service at all. Faulty product sent, zero communication despite many attempts. Currently going through a credit card company in attempt to resolve through necessity. Don’t bother

You know, I thought my case was an isolated incident. I was careless enough to express my dissatisfaction rather sharply about the terms they offered me and about their communication. From the very first emails, I sensed some kind of disrespect, neglect, and indifference towards me and my issues.

Alright, I thought maybe I gave feedback a bit too emotionally regarding how I didn't like their approach to solving my problems and the terms they proposed, which offered me no legal protection as a customer. Okay, perhaps they decided, "this is a toxic client, we won't help him, we'll simply ignore him." Although they had no right to act this way even towards the most dissatisfied and emotional customers. There's always a reason behind customers' dissatisfaction. Instead, they simply ignore both customers and their problems.

After my extensive research into reviews, comments, and publications all over the internet, it turns out that many other people have found themselves in exactly the same situation - ignored and left without solutions to their problems. With exactly the same indifference and coldness as the aluminium of their products.

I found confirmation in thousands of comments about the following:

- Their products have numerous factory defects.
- Their products are unreliable.
- Their customer service and support treat customers terribly and don't help resolve their issues.

90% of my TE purchases have been defective. They market products that have not been completed, and the QC is non-existent.

Just look online and you'll find hundreds if not thousands of customers returning or RMA-ing defective devices, sometimes 2-3 times for the same items.

Support is slow, if you receive any at all. I've supported this company from day 1 and spent many thousands of dollars on their gear, mainly because I support new ideas and designs for musical equipment, but I've just ended up completely burnt by them. AVOID, UNLESS YOU WANT TO END UP FEELING PROFOUNDLY DISAPPOINTED AND COMPLETELY RIPPED OFF.

Extremely cheaply made flimsy products. Scratches on unopened stuff. Battery holder so bad on the operator, the battery just keeps falling out at button presses.

And now they became one of the lowest lifeforms in the internet: copyright striking small Youtubers who might want to point out the actual quality of their products, and most importantly, their complete lack of ETHICS.

Ragebait marketing for an £1500 "desk"?

Whilst their products seem to receive mixed appreciation I think their instruments are iconic and inspirational and have been a joy to use. (Op-z and Op1f). The main reason I am leaving 5 star is because their support team have been truly excellent. I am happily an advocate for this great company

Great products but never buy from their shop again, worst support ever.

Go to a reseller instead.

So far quite disappointed with buying directly from teenage engineering website as one of the products was already opened, as it has some scratches in the back. Also they forgot to sent one item and it's marked as delivered. Hope the customer service is quick to fix this.

EDIT: Received a replacement item in the end with no import fees - eventually I was able to communicate with them although it did take some time. But we got there in the end, thanks t.e.

I would suggest you buy from a third party. DO NOT BUY DIRECTLY FROM TEENAGE ENGINEERING!!!!

They sent me a defective OB-4. I asked for them to set up a return or exchange for a new one. They ignored my emails for two weeks. I luckily ordered with PayPal, which had buyer protection. Within a few hours, they responded. I can see why the option to buy via PayPal is hidden in their check out.

After a brief exchange, I was sent a shipping label and sent the OB-4 in its original packaging back to Stockholm. Even though they have received the OB-4, they still haven't released my refund back to me.

Teenage Engineering has the highest prices for its products but the worst customer service. They can't even arrange returns. It makes you think overall of the quality of their products and the honestly of their designs.

It's been over 3 weeks and I have yet to receive my refund for my order. What a terrible company.

unacceptable customer support, and broken store
I'll start by saying that I love the products of this company, but unfortunately, I can't say the same for the customer service. I purchased a product from the official store. Having completed the four steps required by entering all the data necessary for shipping, I arrive at the message asking me to execute. the payment, I pay for the product, and that's it, the store doesn't confirm anything to me, I contact support, and they dismiss me by saying with a few words and explanations, that they don't see any payment, even though my bank says it appears perfectly executed, I tried to make it again a purchase and I realize that the store concludes the payment procedure with the bank details pop up but does not record any orders, the cart remains with the item still inserted as if nothing had happened. I'm sorry to leave this negative review, but I can't do anything else because I lost money, I will be ready to give a positive review if things are resolved