Farnell UK Reviews 1,037

Required a couple of parts to repair a tumble drier PCB, ordered, dispatched late that day & almost too much email as to progress!
Happy customer & a tumble drier saved from the tip!

To begin this review I would like to emphasise that had my experience with this Company been based on the overall support I received from them they would have been lucky if I had awarded them 1 star, however due to the tremendous help and experience of one member in staff in particular (Kosta Milojevic, one of their very experienced Customer Service Representatives) which finally led to a very favourable outcome, I can award 4 stars, but more about this member of staff as I progress through my review. I purchased a very expensive Weller soldering station from this Company back in July 2024, less than 7 months ago, and found I was having many problems with it. I initially phoned the Company with the details on 4 February 2025 and explained about the problems, after numerous telephone calls, emails and lots of frustration on my behalf I seemed to be getting nowhere. I was transferred from pillar to post, from the Sales Department - to the Technical Department -to the Customer Service Department, back and forth each day I would speak to someone different who seemed to have a different idea. I had trouble actually trying to understand what many of the members of staff were actually saying to me, I was beginning to wonder if I actually still lived in England, and I do not mean to sound disrespectful but it is true. Some members of staff were quite rude, and one actually just cut me off on the phone. I was determined however not to give up, and eventually and very thankfully the member of staff mentioned earlier, Kosta answered my call and from then on things seemed to move in the right direction. He very clearly explained the procedure of a return and that by returning the soldering station I would very soon receive a refund. At that time I was expecting a replacement soldering station once the faulty one had been returned, however apparently it is now Company policy that you have to pay for the replacement prior to the return of the faulty one, then once they receive back the faulty one they will refund you. I was not happy with this, so Kosta explained that I could just return the faulty machine and receive a refund which is what I opted for. Once the collection had been arranged with UPS and the machine had been returned, I am delighted to say that a full refund was issued to my original bank details - all due to the very helpful assistance of Kosta. However, one member of staff does not make a perfect Company, everyone else who dealt with me was very unhelpful.

So, if Farnell make a mistake and send only half the number of items you ordered (3 instead of 6 capacitors, say, part of a larger order), when you tell them, instead of them sending the missing ones, they issue you with a credit for the missing ones (amounting to just pence). Then they say that if you still require them you will need to raise a replacement order for them. (Why would you not require them - you just ordered them !!) Then, when you point out that this will inevitably mean you having to pay a handling charge of £9.99 for this tiny order, they say that if you let them know when you have received the replacement order they will issue you with a credit for the handling charge, so you will (eventually) get a refund. STUPID COMPANY !!! Any normal company would have just sent the missing items, there being no stock shortage. But then, when you write to the management, pointing out what an unreasonable and ridiculous way this is to treat customers, it being Farnell’s mistake in the first place, they just ignore you (so far). If at all possible, I will never order anything from Farnell again.

MY RESPONSE TO YOUR REPLY - This is not very joined up ! My order number was supplied with my review, and I have had a considerable amount of communication with Farnell since. Farnell have said they will send my missing items for free (now received, thank you), and I have suggested ways that they could better handle this kind of situation in future.

i have ordered few raspberry pi5 and they send me some plastic connectors.

i wrote them - they said to send back the connectors and they will solve the problem.

never again receive anything from them. so few hubdreads € gone …

I placed an order for a couple of relays and bases, which were the same parts I have ordered from Farnell’s several times in the past and which arrived the next day without a hitch.

On this occasion after placing this order which was around lunchtime on a Thursday I was informed that one of the parts was out of stock until May, at the time of ordering it listed as three in stock. So I tried to cancel that part of the order through the online account and also called them but to no prevail.

Later in the afternoon just before five o’clock I received an email informing the order was on hold as they wanted ‘more information’. I sent them an email asking what other information did they need? The next day I had a reply informing me they wanted my surname which was already listed on the account details. After sending then a further email and phoning them with all the relevant information they needed and also explaining the parts was for a breakdown on a boiler in a retirement home and was required urgently, they could not be bothered to shipped the parts before the weekend!

The certainly are not the cheapest but I have used them in the past for the next day delivery service when you needed something quickly, this is obviously no longer the case and I will certainly be thinking twice before ordering from them. It is a shame they do not provide the same level of service as CPC which is an intermediary company of Farnell.

Order placed 7th October. Main item continued to be delayed. Called on the 9th Jan saying, "Too late. I've bought elsewhere". They said, "Too late, we've got it and it will be dispatched. 13th Jan, I receive an e-mail saying they've created a label with UPS. I told them that they are in breach of the consumer contracts regulations 2013 and the consumer rights act 2015... that the goods belong to them until received. They had ample time to cancel this and believe that their company policy of no returns and no refunds, trumps consumer legislation. Now I'm getting ready to file a dispute with the bank once the transaction is completed and the parcel has been refused. This shouldn't be happening. Will close my account and never deal with them again once this is over. Disgusting attitude.
Edit after receiving reply - It is understandable that some items are not in stock and an ETA is given. For that deadline to continue to be extended into months and then when the customer gets fed up and goes elsewhere, forcing them to take the goods and telling them that they can't return or refund... that's a nasty taste in the mouth. So far, contact with customer service has resulted in no change in this situation. I don't expect anything to change, and have to take the initiative regarding the goods and the money. Not a happy bunny.

Court action taken for refund
Abysmal company revived two badly damaged and faulty torches heard nothing back after one email so posted them back still no refund
Robotic script responses Court action taken - avoid !

If I could give zero stars I would have. After paying expensive shipping and handling for my products (more than the value of the goods oredered), I received them very fast, however one important part was mis packaged. After phoning customer services I got told to send email with pictures of problem part. I replied along with note to say please rush me the correct parts. I received a message to say the issue has been escalated to their concern team. 3 days later I get a response to say refund issued, with no explanation as to refund or why replacements were not sent. Contacted them and got told because I paid via PayPal and do not have a trade account that they cannot send replacements?! Contacting again to ask for a refund on the handling fee and was told if i needed the part I would need to reorder it. So a 62p refund and would need to order it again would cost me 5 pound in posting and 10 pound in handling charges! I have since had to pay out another £3 for an eBay purchase to get the parts needed instead. Appalling customer service and attitude to a proper resolve. Will never use again. Stay clear if you don't have a trade account and intend to pay via PayPal.

Very good, had the exact components that I needed.

Quick dispatch parts arrived promptly easy to use website

Quick turnaround, wide ranging stock

Recently purchased some components and on completion of the order I was advised that some of the order was on back order, so I received 1 item of the 5 that I ordered and as I was needing two components I ended up sourcing elsewhere and cancelled my order, however was charged for the five items and on enquiry regarding a refund I was effectively informed that the goods were delivered and the charge would stand.

I would certainly recommend this company. The item description and delivery time was as stated and their after sales service was swift and helpful after a delivery problem with Royal Mail.

Woeful. This company is probably the worst you can imagine. They give you no help or assistance, and just like politicians, they never give you a straight answer. I advise giving them a wide birth and buy from someone else.

Ordered on Tuesday ~1:30pm expecting same day dispatch, which did n't happen. UPS Tracking shows pickup on Wednesday. Thursday: package is at facility but delayed. Friday: package is out for delivery but then shows delayed again at 1pm. So the best I can hope for is Monday but I recognise this pattern with UPS as it has happened before where a packge took a week to be delivered and the destination is London of all places so hardly a backwater.

Now you can say this is not Farnells fault, but they must know by now that UPS is less than reliable yet they advertise "Next Day", granted it is not guarenteed but I'd wager that they are using UPS's cheapest "best-effort" service.

The irony is that if I ordered from Mouser, it would have been cheaper and I would have the parts today even though they ship from the US!

I will not be bothering with Farnell again.

Do not rely on their "next day delivery", and expect no useful help from their customer service team.

I placed my order on a Wednesday, a few hours before their "next day" cut-off. No delivery the next day: they blamed UPS for not collecting the package from them!
Now it's the Tuesday of the following week and the UPS tracker still has no delivery date.
Farnell customer service makes the average GP receptionist look positively helpful. They just send me the UPS tracker link. Great!

Thankfully I've now noticed their major competitor has a trade counter a few miles from me. I'll be going there in future.

Farnell mostly has what I need
Good range of products etc
Points for improvement:
1. Even though I choose parts that are "in stock" it's really random when they turn up
2. The selection filters on the website are often not useful in getting to the part you need.

Excellent company, great range and a source of parts.
Unfortunately too high minimum order, as an R & D department it is very costly, often we pay more for handling and delivery than the parts themselves.

Ridiculously high handling charge when small items could be sent by post for a fraction of the cost, as has been repeatedly requested. As a micro R&D business, trying to avoid using this company as a result.

Efficient and a good selection of genuine parts at realistic prices.