Poor HobbyKing service

[mark christopher]

Had several purchases my self with no problems, but I did set up an account

[Frecklychimp]

Sounds to me like they have run into problems with Paypal,

Paypal would still accept payments if account was locked down but account holder cannot give refunds or withdraw funds etc.

it still happens to high volume large turnover businesses as it does to small businesses and personal accounts.

Potentially they are not sending stock out whilst paypal account is locked as they don't want to potentially lose funds for 6 months if account is locked or hacked?

[Danny Harrison]

Worse case scenario I'm out of pocket 50 quid, which sucks. But at least I didn't bite the bullet and order a quadcopter set up from there!

I get very pissed at things like this but I feel better now Ive had a rant and see others have had similar problems.

[Lowie]

do I understand this correctly?
You made an online order, payed via paypal and the money was transferred.
So they (HK) do have received the money but ask you to contact paypal for a refund?

If HK recieved the money, it would only be logical that HK does the refund?!??

(Or did HK never received your money and paypal didn't pass your £ to the HK-account ? In that case it's Paypal that has your money and that should refund you, no?)

[sticky]

In my case the money has been taken through PayPal, no goods, have to wait for PayPal to hopefully refund as HK won't!

[jo90]

Having read through all this is would seem HobbyKing are crooked. The way in which PayPal works meens that once the transaction is complete then the money will sit in HobbyKing's account. They can EASILLY transfer this back or even cancel accepting the money which forces the money back to you, the buyer, but to your PayPal balance, not bank account. Either way they should be able to do this style of refund.

It does sound more like there is trouble at HobbyKing, either be it cash flow (in which case they cannot get the stock in and still take the money hoping they can accumulate enough to then buy stock) or something else affecting PayPal (which may be a legalised thing hence we arent aware of it). A good example was a company from a few years ago who kept taking money for orders that didnt arrive or simply took months to come through, and they where 100% UK based. They traded under one name (i believe it was liquidated) noly to then pop up as another, and yet under the new name the same practice continued. I found out by means that there where cash flow issues with orders coming into them, hence parts where not even on the shelves.

This does hark back to us buying from the UK again in respect of 100% UK shops being where we order from. Yep, it is true that at times we have to look overseas as some items are simply that much cheaper we have to (given the £'s in our pockets are getting fewer). However it also shows that some goods are 'to good' to be true. If you are going to buy overseas then I recomend 2 shops that i trust. RC Market and RC Mushroom. Great service, sure slightly dicey comms (as their english isnt really very good) but the service is excellent. Saying this though of late, with customs clamping on items over a set £ mark, alot of stuff can now be got in the UK as cheap, or maybe a few quid more (but with that safer feeling that it is only coming a few miles, than in a plane or boat overseas).

I do hope you get this resolved. It's crap how PayPal wont help when it's clear they could easilly, but lets not forget they are probably making interest out of the monies sat in their holding accounts !

[bodgit]

If you use a credit card to fund your paypal then you should complain to your card provider. They are more likely to act faster than paypal or HK.

[RichyUK]

I've been using Hobbyking for maybe 5-6 years now, I have used them a LOT, firstly when I was into RC heli's, for batteries and chargers, and now I use the UK site for batteries (I have around 15 packs of Nano Tech cells) and cheap servo's. I've personally never had an issue with their service.

I've had some lipo's turn up puffed, but I always fill in the warranty numbers on my account when I receive new packs, but after a couple of e-mails and pics of the puffed packs along with the warranty number they quickly sent a new set out. And a friend has had a similar experience.

It does seem odd on the paypal thing, they really should just go onto paypal and send the refund, maybe they can't access it right now? Not sure, but I certainly wouldn't say they were crooked in any way.

[jimmy noke]

I had a similar problem with Durango I placed an order and paid via PayPal got the email notification to say its been paid so I waiting for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks I started writing emails to Durango and ended up phoning them as the money had been paid to the but under my account @ Durango it was still showing awaiting payment...
Eventually Durango refunded me the money and asked that I place the order again which I did paid in the same PayPal account and no problem...

[sticky]

HK first said they couldn't see my order, then that I had paid the wrong people (despite it being done automatically through their PayPal account that shows they have the money, same details as previous and subsequent order that were correct), then they've refused to converse with me and I must await PayPal refund.
As I said, HK then asked me to reorder then contact them to check order, then contact their accounts dept to check payment!....

[andys]

Sorry you guys are having problems.

Sounds like PayPal have the money and the errors occurred before the money was sent to Hobbyking for you at least Dan.

Personally I'm a new Hobbyking customer. I've had the odd problem - wrong item shipped in one order - it did get sorted though - just slowly !

I did set up an account right at the start - and it logs / tracks all my orders. I'm on my 19th order and I would highly reccomendations them for items you simply can't buy elsewhere.

I buy all my car gear from MB models - but the quadcopter gear I've bought is not available locally - if at all.

I've never had an error whilst ordering online - but I use a Mac with Safari - id never shop online on a windows PC - or worse still use IE !

Hope you all get sorted - but I for one think Hobbyking are a good thing as long as you know what you are ordering - also the Hong Kong orders come though reasonably quickly - around 3 to 4 weeks for me. If you want something in a rush - look elsewhere

[knighthawk]

As with most subjects we can only post our experiences and views !

Mine to be fair are of great a service and products ( for the price )
I ordered 6 x lipo packs for my Carisma GTB

Ordered them on Sunday Evening, Delivered on Wednesday Lunchtime.

Again as others have said, I have an account with them ( Maybe this is the issue )

[djmcnz]

Originally Posted by jo90

The way in which PayPal works meens that once the transaction is complete then the money will sit in HobbyKing's account. They can EASILLY transfer this back or even cancel accepting the money which forces the money back to you, the buyer, but to your PayPal balance, not bank account. Either way they should be able to do this style of refund.

I wouldn't make that assumption.

It's not just plausible but entirely likely that their order and dispatch systems are only connected to PayPal via API's (probably via a separate payment gateway). The operators are highly unlikely to have direct access to a corporate PayPal account. Their access is probably limited to managing orders that exist in their system.

They're possibly just offering the best advice they can.

I do think if this is a common occurrence HK should put in a procedure to manage it. Creating a manual order or reversing the transaction at their end seem to be obvious candidates.

Doesn't mean HK aren't to blame either, or perhaps PayPal failed to communicate a complete transaction, we simply can't tell.

It still sucks for people impacted and I hope it works out for you.

[mattr]

FWIW i've had a paypal transaction hang for a few days before now. Money had gone from my bank account, cleared paypal and disappeared. The recipient had a failed order on their system. (Not Hobbyking BTW)

Paypal refunded eventually (week or so). It was their issue, no one elses.

[Danny Harrison]

Originally Posted by Lowie

do I understand this correctly?
You made an online order, payed via paypal and the money was transferred.
So they (HK) do have received the money but ask you to contact paypal for a refund?

If HK recieved the money, it would only be logical that HK does the refund?!??

(Or did HK never received your money and paypal didn't pass your £ to the HK-account ? In that case it's Paypal that has your money and that should refund you, no?)

HK have acknowledged reciept of the money but there system has not generated the order.

They wont generate the order for me or refund me. I have to go through paypal for it. For first 20 days I have to try resolve with seller, who wont refund me or send me my order....

Then paypal allow 30 days to decide the outcome, sometimes longer. :/

[Danny Harrison]

New update...

We really do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. However as much as we would like to continue with the order the payment was sent to an account that we are no longer using that is why you are not provided with an order number. What we can do is you may open a dispute with Paypal regarding the payment and place another order and you may send it at accounts@unitedhobbies.com

The order was placed using the hobbyking website, now its beginning to sound crooked Financial difficulties seems plausable now. Paying again to an email not even through a website. That would be very unwise me thinks...

[sticky]

Originally Posted by Danny Harrison

Now I have to wait 20 days until I can escalate and hobbyking wont refund me. Surely this isnt on?

Originally Posted by Danny Harrison

New update...

We really do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. However as much as we would like to continue with the order the payment was sent to an account that we are no longer using that is why you are not provided with an order number. What we can do is you may open a dispute with Paypal regarding the payment and place another order and you may send it at accounts@unitedhobbies.com

The order was placed using the hobbyking website, now its beginning to sound crooked Financial difficulties seems plausable now. Paying again to an email not even through a website. That would be very unwise me thinks...

That's what they've said to me :-(.
They've now appologised and said they have no order from me.....Goal posts keep moving!

[traffman]

Sadly it seems they are relying on Paypal to refund your money.

They will in turn be in the red with Paypal. Slightlly crooked way of dealing with problems .

Experiences i have had , Paypal seem to support the buyer more than the supplier.

However everyone has a different view , so dont take this as gospel.

[jsw123]

Originally Posted by Danny Harrison

New update...

The order was placed using the hobbyking website, now its beginning to sound crooked Financial difficulties seems plausable now. Paying again to an email not even through a website. That would be very unwise me thinks...

If the original payment was through their website, and they're now asking for another payment to an email, I would be very cautious/suspicious.

[sticky]

PayPal have just refunded me, thankfully!!!!