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Chapter 1: What issues have Rathwood customers been facing?
I just want to pick up where we left off yesterday because on the show we were talking about Rathwood in Tullow in County Carlow. People will know it well, family business, been around since the mid-90s, very successful. But they have had issues as of late. And last year, they became the second most complained about company in the entire country, second only to Ryanair.
And it was to do with two things. One is products not being delivered and then refunds not being processed. And we spoke to loads and loads of people in both of those categories yesterday. Roger is on the line. Roger, what did you try to buy from Rathwood?
How are you doing? Ciarán, can you hear me okay? I can hear you perfectly. Perfect, thank you. Thanks for having me on. Can I just start by saying I feel so stupid to be caught up with all this, you know. The reason we went with Ratwood is, with the five-minute research that I've done before we even placed our order, is that they're an Irish company. They're a proper bricks-and-mortar shop.
they seem reputable and you know they hold large events seasonal events all the time so it was a very reputable company for me before I placed my order and now we're caught up in all this you know so I just feel so stupid about it I don't know if you feel stupid for just buying a product from a well known Irish company I mean if that makes you stupid I think we're all stupid but go on anyway yeah so anyway it was just after Christmas December 25 we placed an order for
like a high bed or a loft bed for our four-year-old daughter at the time. The bed was ordered because she was moving from a baby cot to the cot she had turned into a small bed that was kind of on the ground. So we knew that she'd be moving into big school, into junior infants, so we ordered a bed for her. She helped us pick it out.
We showed her all the options that they had on the Rathwood website and she's the one that said, oh, I like this one. It's similar to her brother's. It's like a high bed. She climbs up the little steps onto the bed and underneath the bed is like a little desk where maybe we thought she could do her homework, her paintings and all her drawings can go underneath that. So that was the idea.
We placed the order at the end of December and since now we have No delivery dates. Hundreds of emails. Well, not hundreds, but a few emails to say, once we have our warehouse, once our warehouse will be ready to be delivered, we'll let you know. We'll give you a tracking number. That's the main updates that we've been getting off them.
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Chapter 2: What specific experiences do customers share about their orders?
And have you requested a refund or are you still holding out for the bed?
For me, I've been keeping an eye on the bed before Christmas, and I was thinking to myself, maybe they'll do some Christmas sales or end-of-year sales. And they did discount it. By the time I ordered it, it was a good discount, and it was about 30% or 40% discount. So I am trying to hold out for the bed. I want my product that I ordered.
And I'm sure your daughter wants it. I mean, this is a big moment. I'm on the other side of it with my two. They've both been through this, the first bed. And that is exciting for them, isn't it?
Yeah, no, like she picked it out. She's been asking, like she sees her brother has one now as well. She's been asking like every other day or once a week at least. I have to make up excuses. She's like, where's my bed? And then there'd be little tears and all because I keep on saying, you know, like, it'd be next week or a couple of weeks. It's coming. It's on order.
Like, I have to make up all these excuses for stuff. It's not nice, but I'm still trying to hold out for it.
So is she still in the little cot? Again, lots of people would have had that, you know, you start with the cot up kind of waist high and then the bed part drops down and then eventually you take off the sides and it's like a mini bed. Exactly. And then they get too big for it. I mean, is she still in it?
She's still in it. Our kids are small anyway. She just about fits, but she's still in it at the moment, trying to hold out for it.
And so how would you describe then the level of engagement you've had with Rathwood on all of this?
So initially, we made the phone calls. I did get through to them. I was listening to your show yesterday. It wasn't someone from the Philippines. It was someone in Carlow. And all they said was very similar to what was on the emails, that once your order is ready, we'll let you know, and we'll have the tracking number over to you. We're really sorry. We prioritise you now.
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Chapter 3: How has the delivery timeline affected customer expectations?
And you know they have two websites as well, do you? I wasn't sure when I bought it. They have ratwood.com and then they have orw.ie. Initially, I thought, Jesus, there must be something... I did wrong here, I could have got scammed, but I did ring them up. Initially, I did ring them up and I got through someone in Carlow to say, no, that is our website as well. The rw.ie is part of thatwood.com.
Yeah, so they're two different portals, but essentially they're the same thing. You end up in the same place. Yeah, and when you're on that website, like I say, there's... There's an announcement of, or rather a statement to the effect of what we've been sharing with people here, you know, supplier issues and don't worry, we're working through it.
But there's an awful lot of working through and not an awful lot of refunding yet, it appears, happening. Now, hopefully... That'll change for people. So you're holding out anyway, Roger, for the bed. No sign of it yet. 0818715815, if anybody else is holding out as well for their product or if they are looking for the refund.
Like I kept saying yesterday that we asked very pointed questions and they weren't answered by Rathwood. They did get back with an updated statement and they didn't answer the ball. But they did answer one. Specifically, we did ask whether they're in a financial position to actually refund people.
And they said, unequivocally, Rathwood is in a financial position to fulfil orders and issue refunds. So they're quite clear that they can fulfil these orders and that they can and will issue refunds. The question, I guess... most people listening to this who are waiting on either will say is, well, when? When might we see either of those? And again, we'd love to hear from Rathwood directly.
We keep saying it as well. I mean, nobody wants to see the demise of any Irish business and I know them well. I've been there myself. I'm a great local employer and have been for 30 plus years now. But there are questions, I think, that need answering and lots of people getting in touch with this show want questions answered. Lillian is on the line.
Lillian, you also have somebody waiting on a bed, do you?
Absolutely. Absolutely, Ciarán. You wouldn't be any good at a bit of carpentry, would you?
I'd be utterly useless.
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Chapter 4: What are customers' feelings about requesting refunds?
It's not like I'm buying a bed off Timu and it arrives and fits in the doll's house. You know, I know that this will be, you know, a good product and I trusted them.
Yeah.
So we had picked out, I was waiting to see, just before Christmas, we were waiting to see would there be a sale and we had picked out, maybe we had narrowed it down to three, my daughter and myself, and eventually decided on this beautiful high sleeper It would have a little wardrobe in it. The steps up to it were going to have drawers in it.
We planned out the room, mapped it all out on the floor and moved everything out of the room and I started painting and we ordered just at the beginning of March.
Yeah.
So her birthday's coming up in May so the promise was that she could have her first sleepover with her little bestie on the 16th of May because that's her birthday.
Yeah.
So she said,
Oh, we seem to have lost Liliana. Oh, Liliana, are you still with us?
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Chapter 5: What communication challenges do customers encounter with Rathwood?
So... Then we heard about you having the article yesterday. So we listened to that and I felt even weaker. I said, get on to them straight away and cancel the order. So this was about half eleven last night and my husband went on and cancelled the order and then asked, will we be refunded and when we'll be refunded?
And they said, an email did come back and it said, yeah, it will be within 14 days. And that's it then. That was the last.
Okay. So you're technically in that 14-day waiting period then for your refund.
Yeah. Now, the only thing is we paid via Klarna. I don't know if you know what that is.
Oh, that's the buy now, pay later. You pay in installments, yeah.
Yeah. So we have two installments paid and there's 168 left. So we've contacted Klarna to say hold off on the last installment.
Okay.
But they still have You know, they still have over 600 euro of our money.
Yeah.
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Chapter 6: How do customers feel about Rathwood's customer service responses?
It's like if I was to start selling, I don't know, T-shirts, but I don't actually have them here, but I'm ordering them on Teemu and then I'll sell them to you.
Well, actually, last autumn, Rathwood announced as well a big partnership with, I think they're a US technically headquartered company, Anhai Modern Living, but they've got about 300 factories in China and Vietnam and Malaysia. So, And if you look them up, you'll find them on Alibaba, the big Chinese resale website.
Now, listen, lots of companies, I should say, not to have a go at, loads and loads of companies you'll find in Ireland. You know what I mean? That's the big manufacturing base on planet Earth, effectively, these big Chinese provinces. So lots of the stuff we use every day is coming from there.
If you're ordering from there, you could say, well, it might take the 28 days. We'll wait.
Yeah.
But not when you're ordering from an Irish company. I assumed that they'd have it in stock.
Here in Ireland. Yeah.
Thinking back, though, there were quite a few beds on their website. You know.
It'd want to be some warehouse, maybe.
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Chapter 7: What actions are customers taking to resolve their issues?
what's going to happen? How are the company going to pay all that out in a very dark space? So, you know, it's just, there were nearly more questions than answers at that point.
Yeah.
So, anyway.
It's worth, yeah.
So, I'm a happy camper, but, you know, it shouldn't have happened.
Yeah. Well, it's like, I'm glad you got sorted, but you shouldn't, people, it goes without saying, you shouldn't have to go on Liveline to get the refund that you were legally entitled to. Now, just in terms of the money, again, it's worth repeating because Rath would have, you know, gave us an updated statement. They said they're absolutely there. They're unequivocal on this.
We are in a financial position to fulfil orders and issue refunds. So... And other people out there still waiting might say, grand, OK, but when? When is that refund coming? So they managed to do yours fairly quickly once they heard you on the radio.
And I have to say, you know, when I spoke with, it was Jess, you know, really nice girl from Rathwood. And, you know, we just had a lovely conversation after how she was doing. Because I understand, you know, she actually thanked me for being there. nice to her. You know, because I imagine people are angry when they get on to speak to the representatives there. But, you know, it's not her fault.
And very, very tough situation for them all. And maybe perhaps they're worried about their own jobs as well, you know? So, yeah. You know, there's a lot of, as I said, a lot more questions than answers. And, you know, yes, I'm happy, obviously. 768 euros. But, you know, it shouldn't have happened. And I think it's highlighting...
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Chapter 8: What is the overall sentiment regarding Rathwood's service and refunds?
But I was happy and my nappy that the 219 was on its way back. On the 14th, which was the 14 days after my call, there was still nothing there. So I phoned and got through to a guy. And just like the fever trigger, I was always very, very conscious when you're talking to people, when you get through to them, you know, they've got the job from hell.
So there's no point in shouting and screaming and rapping and roaring at them. You know, they're just, they're programmed, they've been told, this is all you can say and so on and so forth.
Did he get your 219 back to you?
No. The 209 is a long story. What he told me was at that stage, he couldn't pass me on to any managers. There's no managers available. He was basically the only person there. So I phoned my credit card company at that stage and said, look, what's the crack? And I gave them the tail of woe. And they said, look, we take it up with the shop, but it could take about three months to get started.
So I'm just conscious of other people as well, Robert, who are waiting in the wings here because lots of people are still getting in touch with us. It seems this is a big problem for Rathwood and their customers. So what's your situation today? Do Rathwood owe you money today?
No, I'm sorted. We actually, we drove from Bay down to Rathwood on the 15th of December and dealt with a lady there who processed both refunds. Oh, they're in person? They're in person. We actually called down. And I checked the following day and the two amounts, the 206, 65 and the 209 had both been credited. So happy days, thought that was great. We then said we moved House down to Cagney.
So I didn't actually get looking at the statement again until, what do you mean, sort of mid-January. And that's when I noticed on the 23rd of December that the 219 had been charged back.
Oh sorry, so they refunded both but then they clawed back one of the payments, the first payment.
They did. So I hopped into the car, drove from Kilkenny to Toler this time and what I hadn't picked up on the statement was for the £265 refund, the second order, there was a reference there to Rathwood, refund Rathwood. The other reference was chargeback. So what the refund I got on the 15th of December for the 219 was back from the credit card company, which I didn't twig that at that stage.
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