Be Warned: www.dronesforless.co.uk (especially if buying from the U.K.)

[Rip]

I had an email from DronesForLess last night. They've said if I'm home when delivery is attempted I should refuse delivery so it automatically gets returned to them and if I'm not home and it gets left outside then when I pick it up I should start a returns process with them. In either event they say I'll be refunded when they have it back in their hands.

I can bet starting a returns process with them will be a lengthy process as it's taken them 4 days to reply to my first email. Hopefully I'll be home to refuse delivery as if I've officially not taken delivery of it then I can't be held responsible if it never makes it back to New York.

 

[slartibartfast]

I think the onus is always on the sender to prove delivery usually by asking for a signature. For example PayPal advise sellers that they will rarely find in their favour if proof of delivery is not met. So either way you can claim from your credit card that the item wasn't received. I don't think you have to wait for Dronesforless to get it back to do this. It could get lost in transit for example so I would pursue a claim within a week of expected delivery if I were you. In my opinion PayPal is a better way to pay for expensive items, in the future, because they can directly withdraw money from the sellers account if they find in your favour and seem to be quite thorough with their dispute process. Also, given enough disputes, they suspend the sellers account which means companies have to avoid a bad rep.. usually.

 

[Rip]

I think the onus is always on the sender to prove delivery usually by asking for a signature. For example PayPal advise sellers that they will rarely find in their favour if proof of delivery is not met. So either way you can claim from your credit card that the item wasn't received. I don't think you have to wait for Dronesforless to get it back to do this. It could get lost in transit for example so I would pursue a claim within a week of expected delivery if I were you. In my opinion PayPal is a better way to pay for expensive items, in the future, because they can directly withdraw money from the sellers account if they find in your favour and seem to be quite thorough with their dispute process. Also, given enough disputes, they suspend the sellers account which means companies have to avoid a bad rep.. usually.

Yeah that sounds about right, I'll refuse delivery then call my credit card company and see if they can get me a refund. And also I'll add my credit card to my PayPal account for future use.

 

[slartibartfast]

Dronesforless have reported my review and had it removed from trustpilot along with several others. Interesting eh?

 

[Rip]

I guess TrustPilot are not to be trusted either then, what the hell is the point in a review site that removes reviews at the sellers request?!

 

[Rip]

DronesForLess have emailed me today and in all fairness everything sounds OK.

They've told me to refuse delivery so the prarcel automatically gets returned to them with the same tracking number (which is actually working now today) and they'll refund me when it arrives back with them. Even if the parcel goes missing on the way back to them I shouldn't be held liable at all as if I've refused delivery it cannot be my responsibility.

They've assured me that the parcel will not get left unattended so I guess if it does and does indeed get stolen or damaged then again that's on them for not sending it requiring a signature.

Of course this doesn't take away the fact that they've mislead me to sale in the first place.

Hopefully everything will go smoothly, I just need to make sure I don't take delivery of it, which is going to be hard because I'm working everyday AND I'm expecting other parcels this week also. In my absence from home I somehow need to make any delivery drivers aware that 1 of the 5 or so parcels arriving this week needs to be returned to sender?!

 

[Neon Euc]

Good to hear mate. But this is why I go with very.co.uk as they are great at buying. At one time I had so many issues I asked to send my drone back. They done even better.... They actually shipped out another P3A to me before I even had time to pack my old one off to them.

 

[Kcgunesq]

Curious as to why one, especially in the UK given this thread, wouldn't buy off of Amazon. At least in the US, multiple reputable vendors sell drones through them.

Usually get a few bonus items free and you get the protection of Amazon.

 

[Alex in Devon]

What they are doing is not illegal so I doubt that their web site will come down anytime soon. A surprising number of companies have this set up with shipment from another company. I have dealt with many perfectly satisfactory. It takes about 5 minutes to check out a company. If I am unsure, I always email their technical support a 'pre-sales' question to see how soon they respond.

They should state that they are shipping from outside of the UK. As for refund from the credit card company - they will send you a set of forms which you have to complete and return. They will then investigate so don't expect a refund any time in under a month.

There are regulations and statement that should be on their web site, but few do, and its impossible for trading standards to monitor.

 

[PhanSurveys]

Wow. Well I'm screwed it would seem. I paid by credit card. I've had zero response from DronesForLess, all I've had is a tracking number that doesn't exist.

Call your credit card company and tell them the company is not responding to your e-mails or calls and you have not received a tracking number (if you have and the item is late getting to you let them know that too). Tell your credit card company that you want your money back and that this company is not treating its customers right. It will then become your credit card companies problem and you will get a refund.

On a side note, as an American, we don’t trust New York companies either, they are always shady.

 

[Numone]

There are many businesses with .co.uk addresses and 0203 phone numbers. In fact, the 0203 number is the biggest giveaway; this is a "virtual" London number service, which is sold to companies to give them a London presence to - ahem, shall we say, "enhance" their company image. So, when you see a business with a London 0203 prefix, always do some digging to ascertain reality.

 

[Bazza.]

Has anybody on here had dealings with Drones Direct in the UK. They supplied me with a P4p "open box" but sent 3 P4 batteries instead of the pro ones. It's annoying because the fuss of returning them makes it hardly worth the effort. I wont be using them again though.

 

[Numone]

Has anybody on here had dealings with Drones Direct in the UK. They supplied me with a P4p "open box" but sent 3 P4 batteries instead of the pro ones. It's annoying because the fuss of returning them makes it hardly worth the effort. I wont be using them again though.

Drones Direct are a legitimate UK based business.

 

[Darren Roach]

1. Bloody hell I'm shocked. I have made 2 orders totalling £2600 and both orders turned up exactly 2 working days later. All sealed boxes and everything working perfectly. I totally agree that they should be honest in where they are based. I thought I was dealing with a uk company as kit arrived 2 working dsys later from placing my orders

 

[MementoMori]

I also bought from Drones for less, I initially didn't know that they shipped from NYC but did make sure I phoned them with all my questions and concerns, yes they are difficult to get hold of but once I did all my questions were answered, I was told after I had made my purchase that I would get an email with a tracking number etc.
The next day I still hadn't received this so I was a little worried, back on the phone I went and eventually got an answer, they sent me the email with tracking number while I was on the phone so I could check to feel safer.
Within 48 hours I had my drone and was able to track it every step of the way until it was delivered and signed for, part of the deal included a GPC case that was advertised as being out of stock and would follow in a couple of weeks, a day after delivery I received another email with a tracking number from Drones for less, the following Monday I received the case, it took a week from the first phone call to when I had the complete deal that I purchased.
Other than the problems getting hold of them I didn't have any issues, I have tried to phone and email them since though to purchase a Spark and didn't get much luck so bought from the UK instead.

 

[The Roach]

This information is publicly available using a whois lookup. The guy unfortunately didn't mask his name and address. https://whoislookup.ninja/whois/dronesforless.us

The guys name is:
Brian Frees.
1302 N. Linwood Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
+1.714.836.5336
[email protected]
Google Maps

Sorry to say I'm on the sane cost and can't help with a knock on the door.

 

[Kcgunesq]

Call your credit card company and tell them the company is not responding to your e-mails or calls and you have not received a tracking number (if you have and the item is late getting to you let them know that too). Tell your credit card company that you want your money back and that this company is not treating its customers right. It will then become your credit card companies problem and you will get a refund.

On a side note, as an American, we don’t trust New York companies either, they are always shady.

Except for the well known exceptions. Adorama, B&H, and a few others are solid.

 

[Chris Abram]

I too got caught by Drones ForLess and got suckered into paying over £1700 for a P4P and extras. I could have bought everything for £300 less by going to a local UK dealer.I tried to get some answers from them thinking they were London based but ended up finding out they were in USA.
My suggestion: buy from a UK based dealer and GO to their premises. I have since been put in touch with Lee at Quadcopters.co.uk and received magnificent service from them, even though I didn't buy my drone from them. I will buy my next one from them. They are based in Euxton, near Leyland in Lancashire.

 

[Neon Euc]

Keep saying so many times. If your in the UK go to very.co.uk as you can buy drones and pay 12 months later or pay in instalments at 0% APR for the first 12 months. Argos does the same too which may be better as you can exchange it the same day if anything goes wrong. Maplins does buy now pay later too but I think you have to put down a deposit

 

[Neon Euc]

And if it helps... My credit rating is shot to pieces... But very still took me on. Argos didn't tho. (Maybe cause I owe them £5000 and paid it off in £1 a month... Lol I will be dead by then) not sure about maplins for bad credit ratings tho