I'd rather post in a sticky thread where people are reviewing shopping experiences but I couldn't find one. I decided to post nevertheless because Homeshopping.pk needs to fix their game. PG is a place with really good buyers that I've traded with in the past. I don't want to start a debate here and I've already gotten my refund. Mods can delete this thread if it gets out of hand. My experience is what will probably keep me away from buying on-line in Pakistan for a long time. I am definitely never buying again from homeshopping.pk at least.
So to start, I decided to give HSN a chance. I ordered an HTC One on a Sunday, 11th August 2013. I received a call the same hour asking me if I wanted to confirm the order and I did. I picked direct deposit as a means for payment and the transaction completed in the next half hour. I confirmed the transfer with HSN accounts.
After that, the series of unfortunate events started. At first they told me that they had a faulty unit left in stock, so they can’t ship right away. I let this go, although they should have told me so before the money was transferred. But instead they chose to have me wait “3 days” for a shipment to arrive from Dubai. The due date set was Thursday the 15th of August. I called in on the 15th but got the same response and that I’ll have to wait for the shipment to arrive from Dubai.
I made a formal complaint to The CEO the same day, who chose to ignore my email for two days and then informally replied with a one liner saying “You will get it on Monday”. HSN continually tested my patience and the person dealing with me this whole time was “Mr. Ahm”. After a mind boggling wait on Saturday as well, Mr. Ahm chose to not receive my calls any more and would lift the receiver to cut the call. I knew I made a big mistake of giving these people a direct deposit before receiving the product. At 7PM Saturday, my order status changed to “Shipped” without any info on TCS tracking number, which was promised to me countless times over the phone by Mr. Ahm, who also told me that the phone has an AT&T logo on it.
After the shipping status changed, the product was immediately put “Out of Stock” on the HSN product page. The whole “shipment arriving from Dubai” story was a farce. I also saw a comment appear on the page where a user asked if the product was in stock and the HSN staff responded that it was indeed available on a 24-48 period. Here's proof that as well:
Comment that was deleted:
Along comes Sunday and I receive the package at 5PM. I chose to be excited about it because the time had passed and I did receive the product on Sunday. I even commended the guys at HSN for delivering the phone on Sunday.
But then, I opened the package and I was shocked. After waiting for a week, HSN sends in a used phone covered with cheap plastic. No accessories, no warranty card and no invoice. The headphones were taken from HTC Desire and the packaging was as poor as it can get. I did not have to check any further and made a return request immediately. Here’s some photos for your pleasure:
Shitty Packaging with no Invoice, no warranty card and no HTC stuff that comes in the box:
HTC Desire Headphones:
Cheap Plastic cover on the Phone:
Proof of Usage (Zoom in on the USB Slot)
The return request process turned out to be worse. I was asked to return the phone to the RWP outlet situated in Midway Centrum 6th Road by the CEO himself over email. When I reached there, the “empty” shop was closed. I made a call to HSN Karachi office and ask who’s in-charge of this outlet and they gave me a number for “Mr. Adn”. Mr. Adn chose to make the situation even worse by telling me that he’s busy and if I need help, I will need to travel to get him. Once he received a piece of my frustrated mind, he chose to appear in front of the shop and asked me for an invoice (which was never sent to me). God was willing to help me and IMX (@iamextreme) had an outlet right next to this shop. They chose to help me print out the invoice and I gave it to Mr. Adn, who initially told me he had no internet access.
Mr. Adn calls HSN Karachi office and they have no idea if the CEO made any remarks about the return. My brother who was with me had enough of it and called HSN Karachi office to process this return immediately and refund the money. Mr. Adn continually remained unhelpful throughout this process as he neither had cash or an official return receipt to give to me. After taking a bashing from my brother, the Karachi HSN staff responded and I received multiple calls from “Mr Ahm” and inevitably the CEO. They both apologized and wanted me to give them another chance. I felt they seemed reluctant to give me a refund and that’s where my brother told them to just end this there and make the refund. They also kept telling me that it was not their fault but because they chose to trust someone for this purchase, that source made them look bad. I really wonder what was that whole week I waited for a shipment to arrive from Dubai was for? And why did Mr. Ahm tell me that the phone had an AT&T logo on it? Could this get any worse? Yes.
Mr. Adn who suddenly became aware, that his Boss is apologizing for the situation, had internet access and wanted to help me. I sent in my Bank Details for the refund and after half an hour I receive the money back into my account. After which I bid farewell to homeshopping.pk forever. I did receive a call from the CEO once again, who wanted to refund me any “other” expenses that I had made during this time. I had enough for the day and told him “it’s OK”.
So, if I told him it was OK, why am I narrating this here? Because I want this HSN episode to be a reminder for everyone out there and because of the embarrassment and inconvenience I had to bear because of the all the lies that is homeshopping.pk.
So to start, I decided to give HSN a chance. I ordered an HTC One on a Sunday, 11th August 2013. I received a call the same hour asking me if I wanted to confirm the order and I did. I picked direct deposit as a means for payment and the transaction completed in the next half hour. I confirmed the transfer with HSN accounts.
After that, the series of unfortunate events started. At first they told me that they had a faulty unit left in stock, so they can’t ship right away. I let this go, although they should have told me so before the money was transferred. But instead they chose to have me wait “3 days” for a shipment to arrive from Dubai. The due date set was Thursday the 15th of August. I called in on the 15th but got the same response and that I’ll have to wait for the shipment to arrive from Dubai.
I made a formal complaint to The CEO the same day, who chose to ignore my email for two days and then informally replied with a one liner saying “You will get it on Monday”. HSN continually tested my patience and the person dealing with me this whole time was “Mr. Ahm”. After a mind boggling wait on Saturday as well, Mr. Ahm chose to not receive my calls any more and would lift the receiver to cut the call. I knew I made a big mistake of giving these people a direct deposit before receiving the product. At 7PM Saturday, my order status changed to “Shipped” without any info on TCS tracking number, which was promised to me countless times over the phone by Mr. Ahm, who also told me that the phone has an AT&T logo on it.
After the shipping status changed, the product was immediately put “Out of Stock” on the HSN product page. The whole “shipment arriving from Dubai” story was a farce. I also saw a comment appear on the page where a user asked if the product was in stock and the HSN staff responded that it was indeed available on a 24-48 period. Here's proof that as well:
Comment that was deleted:
Along comes Sunday and I receive the package at 5PM. I chose to be excited about it because the time had passed and I did receive the product on Sunday. I even commended the guys at HSN for delivering the phone on Sunday.
But then, I opened the package and I was shocked. After waiting for a week, HSN sends in a used phone covered with cheap plastic. No accessories, no warranty card and no invoice. The headphones were taken from HTC Desire and the packaging was as poor as it can get. I did not have to check any further and made a return request immediately. Here’s some photos for your pleasure:
Shitty Packaging with no Invoice, no warranty card and no HTC stuff that comes in the box:
HTC Desire Headphones:
Cheap Plastic cover on the Phone:
Proof of Usage (Zoom in on the USB Slot)
The return request process turned out to be worse. I was asked to return the phone to the RWP outlet situated in Midway Centrum 6th Road by the CEO himself over email. When I reached there, the “empty” shop was closed. I made a call to HSN Karachi office and ask who’s in-charge of this outlet and they gave me a number for “Mr. Adn”. Mr. Adn chose to make the situation even worse by telling me that he’s busy and if I need help, I will need to travel to get him. Once he received a piece of my frustrated mind, he chose to appear in front of the shop and asked me for an invoice (which was never sent to me). God was willing to help me and IMX (@iamextreme) had an outlet right next to this shop. They chose to help me print out the invoice and I gave it to Mr. Adn, who initially told me he had no internet access.
Mr. Adn calls HSN Karachi office and they have no idea if the CEO made any remarks about the return. My brother who was with me had enough of it and called HSN Karachi office to process this return immediately and refund the money. Mr. Adn continually remained unhelpful throughout this process as he neither had cash or an official return receipt to give to me. After taking a bashing from my brother, the Karachi HSN staff responded and I received multiple calls from “Mr Ahm” and inevitably the CEO. They both apologized and wanted me to give them another chance. I felt they seemed reluctant to give me a refund and that’s where my brother told them to just end this there and make the refund. They also kept telling me that it was not their fault but because they chose to trust someone for this purchase, that source made them look bad. I really wonder what was that whole week I waited for a shipment to arrive from Dubai was for? And why did Mr. Ahm tell me that the phone had an AT&T logo on it? Could this get any worse? Yes.
Mr. Adn who suddenly became aware, that his Boss is apologizing for the situation, had internet access and wanted to help me. I sent in my Bank Details for the refund and after half an hour I receive the money back into my account. After which I bid farewell to homeshopping.pk forever. I did receive a call from the CEO once again, who wanted to refund me any “other” expenses that I had made during this time. I had enough for the day and told him “it’s OK”.
So, if I told him it was OK, why am I narrating this here? Because I want this HSN episode to be a reminder for everyone out there and because of the embarrassment and inconvenience I had to bear because of the all the lies that is homeshopping.pk.
