HS18 Getting Too Big To Care

I write this post to share with fellow consumers my growing disappointment with HomeShop18 that used to be my favorite till recently.

Being an IT enthusiast I have been trying out most of the online shopping sites since long.  Some like Indiatimes and Rediff were a disappointment right from the first transaction.  But HomeShop18 (HS18) was a site that I loved for their prompt response, quality of merchandise and, above all, wonderful post sales service.  It was for this reason that even if a merchandise was a little expensive on HS8 compared to other sites, I would prefer to shop from HS18.

What I said about post sales service is based on two incidents.  In one case a neighbor complained about bad stitching in an outfit bought from HS18 and not only did they refund the amount but also apologized profusely.  In another case a defective item was to be returned by me.  As I was going to be away, they even agreed to pick it up from another address.

But things have changed now.  HS18 has grown big, perhaps too big.  Sometime ago one of my relatives purchase a dinner set that was being offered at a discount.  She kept it in packed condition for gifting it to a friend.  Later on she learned from the recipient that one of the casseroles was found broken.  When she lodged a complaint with HS18 they refused to replace the defective item on the pretext that a complaint must be lodged within 48 hours.  Mind well; they say 48 hours and not two days!!  They insist that this clause has been there all along but it is only recently that they have started invoking it.

On another occasion they offered premium rice at a heavily discounted price on purchase of 10 packets of 1 Kg each.  The advertisement running on the TV proclaimed that they will accept a return if the buyer didn't like the produce.  However when my wife called up for placing the order and sought confirmation on the proclaimed return policy, they negated the advertisement!  Despite this she went ahead and placed an order.

When ten one-kg packets of rice arrived, we found that except one packet all others had a small cut along the crease and plenty of rice grains were lying scattered around in the box.  The rice turned out to be of exceptionally low quality and wasn't worth even half of the discounted price.  We gave a feedback to HS18 and they chose to remain silent in the matter.

The latest incident is about about a set of six bedsheets, pillow covers and towels that we purchased from them.  As the sheets were taken out one by one we found that one of the pillow covers was torn in one place.  A complaint was sent to HS18 and replacement for only the defective item was demanded.  A photograph of the torn pillow cover was attached to the mail.  HS18 had just one curt reply - the complaint has not been lodged within 48 hours!!  The goods were delivered on 03/03/2015 and a complaint was e-mailed on 12/03/2015.

This brings out the following:

• HS18 has gone very lax on quality control while upping advertisement decibels.
• They are hiding behind a 48 hour clause to avoid liabilities on defective goods sold on their site.
• Their attitude has gone from helpful to callous, and
• They now feel that they are too big to care for an individual buyer.

Hope this feedback will be found useful by the readers.  The link is also being sent to HS18 and their reply, if any, will be posted here.