Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Pleione and Orchidaceae => Topic started by: Alex on January 07, 2014, 04:13:34 PM
-
Does anyone have any experience with this nursery? I had a problem with a plant they sent (the only one I've ever ordered from them), which arrived very poorly packed, and which they consequently offered to replace before Christmas. Since then, I've heard nothing, and it has been literally impossible to contact them in any way - all the contact details on the website are either defunct or being ignored. Can anyone offer a ray of hope in the form of a good experience, or better still a contact email that might work? Btw, I am using the address given and not the contact form, which they say not to....
Alex
-
I'm sure you've seen the message on their web site
ANYONE WHO HAS EMAILED IN THE LAST 10 DAYS PLEASE SEND YOUR MESSAGE AGAIN TO UKHARDYORCHIDS@GMAIL.COM AS WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY MESSAGES
-
Thanks, Mark, yes, that's the address I've been using....and I've sent *many* emails to it, at various different times up to the present. The original problem which prompted that post from them was before Christmas, and I've had at least one email get through since then. The problem should have been fixed a while ago, but regardless of their IT woes, it isn't acceptable to have no means of contact at all - the phone number they give doesn't work either
-
Hallo Alex,
I also have problems with that nursery: I ordered a Pleione Confirmation which did not arrive. After four weeks I mailed them and he answered and promised to care for my issue. Then I didn't receive any further messages. Mailed again twice but didn't receive an answer.
-
Hi Ulrich,
Oh dear, not great. How long ago was that?
Alex
-
On Oct 22, 2013 I received a message stating that the plant was shipped. On Nov 21 I wrote that it had not arrived and the same day he answered and promised to email me and send a replacement if the plant was lost. But I didn't receive neither an email nor a shipment. One week later I mailed him again and did not get an answer. After I read on the website about the problem with his email account I mailed a second time to the alternative email address but didn't get an answer.
Is anyone here who knows the owner of that nursery?
-
Thanks, Ulrich - well, that's not good at all. I was also wondering whether anyone here might know Stuart Pointon (the owner I think), as the website suggests that the owner(s) are pretty enthusiastic hobbyists as well.
Alex
-
It appears this man also owns this website : http://www.plumeria2u.co.uk/contact_us.html (http://www.plumeria2u.co.uk/contact_us.html) - and they have the same message re contact- Not very hopeful news.
Registered Office
145-157 St. John Street
London
EC1V 4PW
United Kingdom
PLUMERIA2U LTD is registered in England Number: 08360084
-
Thanks, Ulrich - well, that's not good at all. I was also wondering whether anyone here might know Stuart Pointon (the owner I think), as the website suggests that the owner(s) are pretty enthusiastic hobbyists as well.
Alex
Alex,I've had a completely opposite experience.Bought seven Cyps from them,and with every order(four in total)was really pleased.The packaging wasn't the strongest,but the plants were always safe.
Just wondering if the e-mail address should be in small letters,rather than capitals?.
-
Thank you, good to hear something better, although I am not convinced it will happen to me....I've tried many different ways of writing that address, including caps and lower case, although ordinarily email addresses are not case-sensitive
Alex
-
The guy who owns Medlock Valley Orchids (which recently changed its name from "HardyOrchids" but retains the same web address) is a man called Stuart Pointon. He also has another online shop which sells certain tropical plants such as Plumeria and Adenium called "Plumeria2U".
It is not entirely obvious that the two businesses are related as the Plumeria2U website no longer has a linking Manchester address. However check out the reviews of Plumeria2U on this website: http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/7577/ (http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/7577/) -note the address.
Now check out Medlock Valley Orchids' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Medlock-Valley-Orchids/533845820042537 (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Medlock-Valley-Orchids/533845820042537) -click the map to the right of the (38) likes tab and note the address.
Read the reviews on the "Davesgarden" website but be wary as there is a suggestion that some of the positive reviews may have been written by the owner of Plumeria2U.
Now check out this: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/adenium/msg050439401654.html (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/adenium/msg050439401654.html)
Does it all sound familiar?
I was very impressed by the Medlock Valley Orchids website when I first saw it. There was a remarkable range of plants -all on a very professional looking website offering a Paypal payment facility and an indicator of available stock (which would immediately deduct one's plant from the stock order after the order was placed). There were orchids listed that I had previously lusted after and though the prices weren't cheap neither were they over the top. Furthermore the website advertised the sources of its stock which includes German, Dutch and Belgian companies well-known for their cultivation of orchids from seed as well as other sources such as Holger Perner's Huanglong nursery in Sichuan. I couldn't help myself -I had to place an order for some unusual Cyps. The order was accepted and I was advised that the plants were still in growth and wouldn't be sent out until dormant which was likely to be late autumn. I subsequently placed another order as new plants appeared, then another order .....followed by an additional small order. On each occasion I was advised that there would be a slight delay before delivery as all that I had ordered was still in growth (except for some Amitostigma and Eleorchis -the delivery of which was delayed by the Japanese nursery that was the source of these plants). I was signed up for the Medlock Valley Orchids newsletter and in November I received an email advising that they had managed to get their hands on three genuine Pleione albiflora of cultivated stock the provenance of which (according to the Medlock Valley Orchids website) had been confirmed by Paul Cumbleton. .....I couldn't help myself, I had some money to burn and so placed an order for one of the plants (all three sold in under a day). Then shortly after I received an email advising of a bargain weekend clearance of Cyps -most with a few noses and at bargain prices -so again I placed an order. By this point I had a number of different orders with Medlock Valley Orchids representing a significant amount of money -all paid for in advance through Paypal -though I had yet to receive a single plant.
I then saw a Pleione albiflora for sale on eBay at a very high price. The anonymous vendor had a number of other orchids for sale that mirrored the stock listed by Medlock Valley Orchids. I began to feel a little nervous. The information included in the Medlock Valley orchids purchase details for the Pl. albiflora and the "bargain Cyps" stated they would be sent out the following week .....but they weren't! I sent a polite email enquiring as to delivery and received an apologetic reply that stated the delivery would be delayed by a week as Stuart had broken a bone in his foot whilst erecting a new greenhouse. I felt bad for pestering the guy! However the new delivery date came and went with no signs of any plants. I sent another email, then another, then another .....but there was no reply! I bought a small order from the mysterious eBay vendor and was able to confirm that the seller resided at the same address as Medlock Valley Orchids. At this point I became quite angry!
I therefore decided to raise a grievance with Medlock Valley Orchids through Paypal. Unfortunately my first order was beyond the Paypal window for raising a dispute but the numerous other orders were not and I tagged the details of my first order into the free text of one of the other grievances so that it was all visible for Paypal adjudication. The first stage in a Paypal grievance process is that Paypal encourage the customer and seller to start up a dialogue in the hope that the dispute can be sorted amicably prior to Paypal becoming formally involved. As I had raised disputes for all of my transactions Paypal decided to freeze my payments in a holding account (it would appear that the funds are claimed back from the seller's account) and would seem to have also put a block on Medlock Valley Orchids receiving any Paypal payments. As a result Stuart Pointon was very quickly in touch. He stated that he was very disappointed that I had resorted to raising a Paypal dispute and that I should simply have gotten in touch with him. Indeed the communication suggested that he was the injured party! He insisted that he had tried to get in touch with me at my work only to find that I was on a week's holiday (which was true) and that my plants would be sent out over the subsequent days -and they were. I received the orders in a number of consignments and currently now only have one single plant outstanding. At this same time I noted that this appeared on the Medlock Valley Orchids website: "ANYONE WHO HAS EMAILED IN THE LAST 10 DAYS PLEASE SEND YOUR MESSAGE AGAIN TO UKHARDYORCHIDS@GMAIL.COM AS WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY MESSAGES"
The plants I received were of generally good quality but as all are dormant I am currently unable to confirm whether all are true to name. I mention this as the Pleione albiflora pseudobulb I received was very large but somewhat squat in shape -I had expected a pseudobulb of similar appearance to humilis. I raised this concern with Stuart of Medlock Valley Orchids and he re-assured me that if any of the plants I had received from him were not true to name he would without hesitation offer a complete refund. I hope not to have the need to put this to the test!
-
Hi all
This is my first post on here, though I have been reading this very informative forum for over a year. I have had three orders from Medlock valley, the first two were very efficiently delivered and good quality plants. HOWEVER I ordered 4 further cyps 21th November and I am still waiting for them. about half a dozen emails have only elicited one reply on 14th December "plants packed - will send tomorrow" - they have not. I have recently told them to cancel the order and refund , but I have heard nothing. Doesen't look great.
Phil
-
I suggest that anyone with an outstanding order(s) with this company review their order details. If you are not satisfied with the way your order is being handled and you made payment through Paypal then you should log into your Paypal account, identify the appropriate transactions and raise a dispute (assuming your are still within the Paypal time frame (I think it is 60 days -but you should check)).
If a few buyers simultaneously raise a dispute against the same retailer it is likely that the retailer's Paypal account will be frozen or suspended pending resolution (or otherwise) of the dispute. This is then likely to induce a response from Medlock Valley Orchids.
-
At this point (and also bearing in mind some of the correspondence I've had via PM on this), the best that can be said is that this nursery is EXTREMELY unreliable; if you are lucky, you'll get good material (fresh from the original grower), if not, you'll waste weeks emailing to be mostly ignored, and *may* get your money back eventually. You'll also probably be lied to along the way. Most of the stuff on offer is available elsewhere these days, direct from the same sources as Mr. Pointon seems to be getting it from, or from actual growers like Jan Moors at Albiflora/Crustacare (to name but one) who reliably send out great plants, so who on Earth needs this c***? I hope details of this thread and the level of dissatisfaction feed back to Mr. Pointon somehow, whether he'd care I don't know.
-
Looking at Google street view and Google earth this person isn't a grower but simply buys in and sells on
-
Oh dear,
this is bad news. I bought two rather choice cypripediums and sent them an email asking when they would be shipped. I may follow the Paypal route if necessary, thank you for raising this. :) >:(
-
Well, perhaps don't hold your breath....although some people clearly do get their plants, it is just a bit unpredictable. I've raised a PayPal dispute as well, maybe this will elicit a response...
-
Hi, I've looked at the related correspondence again and it did say delivery in April 2014. So maybe that's when I get the non cyp plant as well. Fingers crossed.
Apparently, he is waiting for delivery from Holger Perner. Next time I'll order directly from Holger. As you say, why have a middle man.
-
Maren it might be worthwhile trying to confirm with Huanglong nursery that they have agreed a consignment of Cyps have been set aside for MVO. I gather all of the Holger Perner plants will be imported to Germany in March/April and then sent out to their European customers.
If MVO have no confirmed order with Holger Perner you will find that it will then be too late to raise a dispute through Paypal.
-
Hi Steve,
at this stage I am prepared to trust Stuart that he has placed the order with Holger. When I placed my first order, I forgot something and so placed a second one. I mentioned this to him and he immediately refunded the carriage on the second order. I was impressed by that, so let's hope for the best. :) :) I usually reach him via stuartjpointon@googlemail.com.
-
Thank you for this address, I've given it a try.
I really hope you do get your plants. The Perner plants sold out super-quick, even Laneside didn't get any at all.... But perhaps Mr. Pointon was one of the lucky ones? :-\
-
Hi all,
I've no experience with order in this nursery, however the Medlock Valley Orchids did use several my photos on their pleione websites >:(. Then I asked them to remove them, shortly after my e-mail they removed all offers of pleione. ???
K.
-
The address Maren gave yields *very* rapid results. My replacement plant is apparently going out today...
-
Good to know
-
Good news!
my plants are on their way too, posted 9th January. I don't know what it was that yielded the result, exposure on this forum, emails sent in the past, that phone call to baclaycard.........
Anyway all's well that ends well [presuming they arrive] I will post confirmation on here when they arrive [ possible photos if I can master the art of posting photos...]
Regards
Phi
-
I received my order from Medlock Valley. Safely packaged 2nose plants healthy and well. No explanation given to the cause of the delay. Based on my first two orders from Medlock I would have whole heartedly recommended them but this third encounter would make me think twice, the plants are good enough but its the total lack of communication with this third order that I found worrying.
regards
Phil
-
Maybe he went skiing or celebrated Christmas with his grandmother in Australia.... ;)
-
Mayhaps..........
-
I think that one problem is we are becoming used to prompt communication from the likes of Amazon, some Ebay sellers, and the like.
Many small businesses aren, t geared up to send lots of e-mails concerning every order.I am waiting for my order from Ian Butterfield, paid in October and promised in January. You just have to accept that not everyone likes sending these things.
-
It's a different situation for Ian Butterfield though - he's not online nor touting online business so no expectation from him - and no problem in waiting for promised deliveries either.
-
And I suspect it will turn up in January exactly as promised - perfect - unlike being promised something before Christmas and then not even being able to get in touch to find out what went wrong...
P.S. Fans of reasonably-priced Calypso and Pleione albiflora from source (or nearer to it anyway) may like to check E-bay now ;)
-
Hi,
I just received a message from Medlock, quote:
"I must apologise for the delay with some orders and also the delay in replying to emails for the last few weeks but just before christmas I suffered a heart attack and have been told I must take it easy for a few months so unfortunately the website was put to the side for a few weeks so over the next couple of weeks I will update the website and catch up with everything."
That explains it. :)
-
Indeed, Maren - I'm sure we wish him a full and speedy recovery.
-
Sad news- I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.
regards
Phil
-
I wish Stuart all the best for his health, but after reading through this thread and the ratings on davesgarden, I wouldn't place any high bets on his diagnosis tbh. :-\
-
Sad to say, I had the same cynical thought, partly fueled by reading online reviews of Plumeria2u
-
hi,this is my first post.i am having trouble with medlock valley is anybody else still having problems with this company.he has delivered part of my order but will not answer any of my emails of which i have sent 12 to both his email addresses.according to his hardy orchid site he quoted all remaing orders would be sent out on monday 20th january.still nothing has arrived yet. on his site he is advertising pleione confirmation for sale so he must be back selling again.pity he cannot get his buisness back in order.derek
-
The short answer is yes.
I am still due a Cyp. plectrochilum from him that I was promised in early January. I have now given up on it and as I placed the order and paid for it many months ago I am now too late to raise a dispute through Paypal. This may be an option for you however.
If you paid by Paypal and your order was placed less than 60 days ago I suggest you log into your Paypal account, identify the transaction and then raise a dispute upon it.
If you are still within the Paypal window I strongly suggest that you take measures now as this retailer cannot be trusted to fulfil your order without appropriate leverage!
-
hi steve,i paid by cc so i might be able to claim some money back from them.i also paid a large deposit to pre-order one of his rare cypripedium he had advertised for delivery in april so have no idea if medlock did place the order for these or not so i dont hold out much hope.derek
-
Hi Derek,
I hope your Cyps come through OK. If the original source is Holger Perner then it may be worthwhile trying to contact his nursery at Huanglong in China to confirm that Medlock Valley Orchids have an order with him. I know that his stock was of limited supply and other hardy orchid retailers in the UK were unable to obtain the promise of plants.
Apparently the owner of Medlock Valley Orchids had an MI some weeks ago -if true I'm sure we all wish him well. However he has since placed new stock on his website and has sent out further "special offer" emails so presumably he is back to normal business in which case he should be returning your emails and re-assuring you that your outstanding order is in the pipeline. At best this retailer is disorganised and haphazard in the way he handles his customers, at worst........ ???
-
Hi, this is not good. I have written to Stuart advising him to improve his communications and I have sent him the link to this website so that he can see for himself how his business is being perceived. I hope for positive results. :)
-
Here is Stuart's reply (it took exactly 2 minutes for him to write back to me. )
"From: Stuart Pointon [mailto:stuartjpointon@googlemail.com]
Sent: 01 February 2014 10:54
To: M Talbot
Subject: Re: Your business
Hi Maren,
Thanks for the email, I've been told about the comments.
It is from a couple of people who don't understand when you pre order plants you have to wait for them as it's says on a few plants on the website and also what did nt help is I had a heart attack in October and I am only just getting back to normal.
I am waiting for plants from Japan that need a CITES permit that has only just come through yesterday so everyone will have their plants by the end of this month as they have been emailed and told.
As far as replying to emails I always reply as I get them to my blackberry.
The email on the website isn't working as it says so I have an alternative email address on there for people to email me.
Thanks for letting me know Maren.
Stuart"
-
Sorry to say so, but I did buissines with Stuart last year. I never recieved any plants from him. In the process he had lots of excusess, like he had been away or his mobile phone did not work or he had been ill. To every one on this forum.....STAY AWAY from his buissines. Some get what they order, but to many get disapointet. ???
Regards Erling
-
The problems don't sound particularly recent to me, and long predate this heart attack. The online reviews of his previous concern, Plumeria2u, make his latest attempts at customer service look like an unqualified success, and I hope all those disappointed people got their money back. Taking all into account, avoid this dubious outfit like the plague.
-
Anyone who doesn't receive the plants they have paid for should report the matter to his local authority Consumer Standards department for investigation.
-
hi i not talking about plants which have been pre-ordered,i ordered 5 pleione albiflora from stuart,he sent 3 of the bulbs out but has not sent the other 2 out as yet.i have sent emails to stuart at the address maren listed but have had no response.so stuart if you reading any of these comments please get in touch as i find it most frustrating when people do not respond.i cannot even log into your site as it says no such username or email address.i am going to email him one last time to see if i get a response.derek
-
hi ,has anybodys had problems with the email maren published on the forum to contact stuart at medlock in which she quoted i got a reply within a few minutes.i tried with no success once again. what is the problem with stuart at medlock i just dont know why he refuses to answer my emails.he will not allow me to log into my account it just says sorry no match for that email or password which i been using for very long time until the past few weeks.seems he just wants to bury his head in the sand & forget about his customers.derek
-
Hi Derek,
I'm afraid that everything I've read on this thread and elsewhere seems to confirm that...but to be more optimistic, some people do eventually get their plants after complaining, often to their surprise!
Alex
-
Hi, I feel like an invader when my first post in this great forum is on such an unpleasant topic. I'm sorry for that. I've noticed this thread only after I had placed an order with this enterprise ,so I am very grateful for all the information I found here. Doesn't make me feel better. A parcel is supposed to be on the way to me for 10 days now...
I have contacted two of the sources MVO is advertising to sell plants of. I've got bad news for those who are waiting for a shipment from China to arrive in the UK. Hengduan Mts. wrote me that they have not sold any Cyps to Medlock Valley orchids. They didn't know their plants were advertised there.
Can anyone confirm that plants he has received from Medlock Valley orchids are true to name?
regards, Carsten
-
Hi, I feel like an invader when my first post in this great forum is on such an unpleasant topic. I'm sorry for that. I've noticed this thread only after I had placed an order with this enterprise ,so I am very grateful for all the information I found here. Doesn't make me feel better. A parcel is supposed to be on the way to me for 10 days now...
I have contacted two of the sources MVO is advertising to sell plants of. I've got bad news for those who are waiting for a shipment from China to arrive in the UK. Hengduan Mts. wrote me that they have not sold any Cyps to Medlock Valley orchids. They didn't know their plants were advertised there.
Can anyone confirm that plants he has received from Medlock Valley orchids are true to name?
regards, Carsten
Did you ever receive your plants?
My email inbox is full of invitations from Medlock inviting me to partake of special offers!
I'm still waiting for a Cypripedium plectochilon that I ordered last September.
The only special offer that Medlock have delivered was of the buy one, get NONE type!
-
hi steve,i managed to get my remaining pleione bulbs from medlock but these came direct from germany & not from medlock.my problem now is i pre ordered one of the rare cypripediums from holger for delivery in april.i have already paid over £90 deposit the remainder to be paid at a later date.i presume others have done the same i only hope the plants will be delivered & i only hope i dont have to go through all the problems again. .i am unable to log into my account at medlock it says no email address or password exits,yet he has just sent me 2 emails saying he is giving discount on orders on sunday gone.it seems my account has been blocked maybe because i have been complaining about medlock on this site.derek
-
Derek, see my post above. It is unlikely that he has Cyps from Holger since he hasn't ordered any. My advice would be to try get your money back asap. Glad to hear you've gotten your Pleiones, at least.
I've opened a case with Paypal and I hope to get out of this without being hurt. I've received four emails from Stuart Pointon after the case was opened, announcing that parcels were send (never arrived), tracking numbers provided (never happened), replacement parcels send (if I was the Royal Mail I've felt pretty much offended if I was accused of loosing that many parcels every week) plus special offers every time. None of these mails adressed any of my questions or requests I'd made to him.
-
Erwinia,
seems I have fallen prey to this impostor, too. After all I've done to present a balanced picture to save his reputation, I feel absolutely gutted and taken for a ride.
I ordered and paid for 2 x Cypripedium plectrochilum, total £84.99 and am still waiting; lots of promises and excuses and no delivery. I checked with the Perners and no order had been received. No wonder he can't deliver.
I have now reported this to Paypal. Of course, the Paypal time limit for complaints has long been exceeded, but they still want to know in case they need to protect other customers. I wish they did. Paypal are going to extend the time limit for complaints to 6 months, but not until July 2014.
So what are we to do? how can we get redress from this fraudster? >:( >:( >:(
-
Small claims court?
Police???
-
Maren I am sorry that you have had problems though I'm not at all surprised. As Carsten (Erwinia) posted earlier this guy did not have an order with Holger Perner.
I sent Medlock V.A. a strongly worded email about 3 weeks ago as they (he) mis-sold me a Pln albiflora sending me a humilis instead. I also still had a Cyp plectrochilum outstanding. He replied as if he was the injured party stating that there was no need to come in heavy or to make threats as he was more than happy to deal with any customer relations issues! He explained there would be a few days delay in sending the Cyp as he was in Eire due to family illness. The Cyp was duly sent but was delayed by the Easter bank holiday weekend -on arrival it was clearly well into growth and had turned to mush in the post. Stuart also promised to refund the £125 cost of the Pln. albiflora .........I am still waiting!
Interestingly he told me that he could not understand how I had received a humilis rather than albiflora and blamed his supplier -Christian Schreiner for this mix-up. I'm sure Hr. Schreiner will be very unhappy to hear that he is being blamed for MVO's crooked dealings.
-
Perhaps the organisers of these plant fairs
http://www.flowerpowerfairs.co.uk/ (http://www.flowerpowerfairs.co.uk/)
Would be kind enough to tell an enquirer which ones MVO are booked into… (If indeed they are actually booked into any!) That would give the opportunity for a face to face discussion with the outfit!!!
Tim DH
-
So what are we to do? how can we get redress from this fraudster? >:( >:( >:(
Maren - if you actually have an address for this person then everyone who has paid for plants that have not been delivered need to write or send to the County Council where he lives Trading Standards Department - if there is a sufficient number of complaints and it can be shown that he is taking money and not supplying goods then they will take action against him. So if you have a home address for this guy - look which County Council area he is in and send it to trading standards - if you can co-ordinate everyone on here to do this the more the better - they will need documentation
Also it may also be worth reporting him to HMRC as well because if he is fraudulently charging people and not supplying goods you can be damn sure he is not declaring the 'income' he is receiving for tax purposes. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/hotline.htm (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/hotline.htm)
He won't want a visit from either of these agencies - he will be rotating paypal accounts and websites so he does not go over around £4,000 in income transactions to stay under the radar - if you can compile a list of websites & e-mail addresses he has used they will be interested in these
-
Hi Graeme,
the address given on the website is:
Medlock Valley Orchids
26 Derbyshire Road
Clayton Bridge
Manchester
M40 1QN
07847819817
I shall contact the Manchester County Council Trading Standards Department and see what they say.
-
This morning I contacted Manchester County Council Trading Standards Department, which referred me to their Citizens' Advice site for making a complaint. This has been done.
It looks to me that one has to make a separate complaint for each instance with a different date. Since I have not had deliveries for Cypripedium plectrochilum paid for on two different orders, I shall have to raise another complaint.
I'll let you know what transpires.
-
Maren
can you post a link to the website page they pointed you to as this will help other people who have been defrauded
thanks
-
Hi Graeme,
I shall do that as soon as I have had a positive reply. I don't want to send people down a blind alley.
-
Hi,
Just to add my two p's worth: I ordered £45 of orchids from this supplier. On my account the order was marked as posted by Royal Mail. I did not receive the order within about two weeks, so e-mailed. No reply. Opened PayPal dispute. Found in my favour, I assume no response from seller to PayPal. The mentality of people who apparently operate a business in this fashion is beyond me.
Regards,
Nick
-
Hello Nick - you would wonder, wouldn't you? I can only assume it's because they find it easier to get away with than mugging folk on the street. :(
-
I wish I had found this topic earlier; it would have saved me having to add my own woes.
Unfortunately I didn't, I placed two orders with Medlock & have heard nothing since.
Eventually I got worried & started searching for any reviews of the company, which led me to this topic. Luckily I did so before my Paypal deadline arrived & after another attempt to contact him, I raised a dispute accordingly, which is currently being processed.
I decided to join the discussion in order help build the case against trusting this company in the hope that it will help prevent any more people being affected.
Note: The word is spreading http://www.orchidforum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8459 (http://www.orchidforum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8459)
Has anyone noticed that his website has been "under maintenance" for some time now; hopefully it means that no-one else should be affected, although it wouldn't surprise me if appears again under another name.
-
In the mean time I have my money back, from paypal!!
I have never heard nothing from this company. Don't ever order there orchids!
>:(
-
The other issue with this company is when they actually send the plants purchased, many (?most) are something other than those ordered. I have a few Cyps that are clearly not what they should be and paid a fair bit of money for a Pleione albiflora which on flowering proved to be a Pleione humilis.
-
I was just about to order from this company, thank goodness I saw the mailings first. He used to, or perhaps still does sell on E-bay, yet another seller to beware of!
-
Result PayPal have concluded their investigation into my claim and have found in my favour. They have retrieved the money from Medlock and paid back into my account.
Although I am happy to get my money back I'm still cross that I was ripped off in the first place. Perhaps if enough people put claims into paypal they will freeze his account.
-
hi,i paid a deposit last year for one the rare cypripedium he was advertising from holger & i emailed him reguarding when he would deliver the item & his reply was i have the item at home & will post it after the bank holliday monday.as everybody has said he had not even placed the order with holger in the first place & i have had no contact with him at all reguarding this phantom delivery he has promised. he is a total con artist & he is lying about everything.i have spoken to trading standards & they advise the usual about taking him to the small claims court which in my opinion is a waste of time.every time you try & contact him his site goes down for maintainance & he will not answer any emails.derek