CousinsUK Anmeldelser 278

I thought I would write my experiences here.

I have ordered from Cousins at least a dozen times over the last 20 years and have never had any problems. The last order in the middle of the covid epidemic arrived within 36 hours, perfectly packed and exactly what I ordered. Naturally, many who write reviews will be motivated to do so because they have some kind of a grievance, so I thought I'd add my review as one of the silent majority of happy customers before anyone gets spooked by reading the reviews (as I certainly would have done had I not used had personal experience of using them before).

This was my first order from Cousins UK. I wanted some basic watch buckles and bars, and quite a few bits and bobs for jewellery making.

As always (sigh) I didn't read the reviews before I ordered. The site was easy to navigate and I found what I wanted without problem.

I ordered at lunchtime Tuesday and the package arrived on the Thursday.

Inside the well-sealed sturdy outer carton were my items well protected with poly beads. Each item was in its own, labelled, poly bag and the smaller items had been placed in small cardboard boxes - one containing the watch items, the other the jewellery items. A really nice and helpful touch.

The items were all present and correct. The quality seems fine (I'm no expert) and the prices extremely low.

I'm absolutely delighted with this first order. I see that most reviews on here are hugely negative but I can only report my experience. I didn't need to return anything nor contact the company so I offer no opinion on those aspects.

Ordered lot of items and one tiny item that costs £3 (millgrain wheel) did not arrive. When contacted customer services, was told that everything was shipped and CCTV screenshot of someone scanning(not packaging) item was used as a proof.

No attempt was made to fix the situation. The return policy is even worse. if you order something and return in the intact condition in the original packaging, you have to pay 15% of the item cost or £15 whichever is greater. Total ripoff. Customer service is not helpful.

If you buy something from them- make sure you unbox it in front of a camera so you can prove when things are missing. Otherwise, the video of someone scanning an item is used as a proof of shipment... As if things can not go wrong after scanning. They would be better of videoing them packaging items, at least that would be much fairer.

Awful really, no returns and no way to speak to a real person. A total brick wall when you need info advise or to talk to a human being ! It’s like trying to infiltrate the mi5. I’m not keen to return I buy off another supplier who I can call and speak too. My package damaged and no refund, I’m a small business and need to turn money over to keep afloat during covid-19 crisis, this has damaged my credibility with my customers who were waiting on me repairing their watches, no parts no repair service, I’m out of pocket and still no goods ordered,Disgusting way to treat people,Instead buy elsewhere what a shambles I have been faced with... bosses of cousins shame on you!

Ordered a bezel for my 100 year old barometer. No problem with the bezel but it was a few mm to big so wanted to return it. I had all the original packing but when I tried to return it I found to my surprise "THIS SPECIFIC ITEM IS NON RETURNABLE"
Cousins UK did not make this policy clear when I ordered.

I do not recommend this firm and will not be using it in future.

Remember before the internet, when a family business was helpful and prided itself on good customer service?
No. Neither do I.

Have to wait 3 months for a refund because their postal service gave the parcel to a third party. I paid to have a parcel delivered within nine days and now I must wait for three months to try coax my own money back out of this company. That is pathetic service. Judging by all the reviews here, they wont be in business much longer.

Really bad company. They sell cheap Chinese made rubbish that is not fit for purpose, and then don't accept returns. I have placed about 5 orders with them for various bits (tools and parts), and found about 20% of items i have received from them have been either damaged or very poorly manufactured.. I've lost about £50 with them which i'll never get back, so needless to say they wont be getting any more of my money...

I ordered many times on the site parts. They already screwed up in the past. But this time it's too much.
I ordered two parts for a total value of 18 pounds, but cousins uk did a calculation mistake and and came to a total of 160 pounds.
Because of this mistake I had to pay 40 pounds import duties.

Don't order there, it's not worth your time.

I only use Cousins for smaller items - watch straps, spring bars, small watch parts, watch tools etc. so can't speak to their business for larger, more expensive items.

But when it comes to the smaller stuff, good luck finding anything that comes close to Cousins for the prices they offer.

Their watch straps, in particular, are decent quality straps at exceptionally good prices. Yes, their good value genuine croc/alligator straps may not be quite as well finished as similar straps that cost £100 and over, but honestly, for anything between a third to a fifth of the price of other options, they are just fantastic. Genuine croc dress straps for 20-30 quid! Not going to find that anywhere else.

Same goes for their genuine lizard, calf straps, natos - good quality and truly excellent prices. Probably best to look elsewhere for watch bracelets as good value watch bracelets always end up looking exactly that in my experience and getting good fits will likely be an issue.

Also a useful place when you need to source some tools and small parts (gaskets, crystals etc.) at reasonable prices.

I notice that some reviewers are complaining about returns policy - never had the need to return anything, so I guess I have been lucky. And even if I did, I mostly just use them for lower value items, so even if I had an issue with a return, honestly, I've still saved significant amounts of money by using Cousins over other options over the past 2 years so it wouldn't be a big deal. Obviously may be a big deal if you've purchased high value items and then hit return issues.

Overall, having used Cousins on at least 25 different occasions, the shipping has always been exceptionally fast, and the prices are frankly unbeatable for straps, small parts, small tools etc.

And no, I am not management or in any way connected with anyone who has ever worked with or for Cousins (as some reviewers seem to suggest about any positive reviews). I'm just a guy who needs fast access to a good selection of decent quality small parts and straps for watches at reasonable prices, and I keep coming back to Cousins - I've yet to find anywhere else that offers such a good convergence between price and quality.

Supply faulty goods and then cite small print in T&C's as reason not to refund or replace. Completely unacceptable.

If I could rate zero I would do!
I purchased a horotec flashtest online from CousinsUK and it didn't work from the off. It cost £325
I contacted them after 3 weeks and 2 days and they told me it was the manufacturers responsibility.
I protested and asked them to accept responsibility and arrange a return and full refund.As an online seller they are duty bound to accept legal responsibility, but they refused.
They point blank refused.
BEWARE COUSINSUK AND GO TO A TRUSTED SELLER

Never received parcel after 7 weeks !!
Was only ever offered a docket number with no details of even being posted and after a long conversation was offered no help or assistance in tracking the parcel or any form of compensation just a bad attitude from Sam Cousins !! Horrible customer service !! Steer clear - rubbish business !!!!

Despite the bad reviews on Trustpilot, I couldn't resist the unbeatable prices in their catalogue, so I took a chance on Cousins UK. I was glad that I did. I have made four separate purchases so far. All orders were despatched the next working day, all orders were acknowledged immediately via e- mail, and I was notified immediately when all orders were despatched, all orders were 100% correct despite being multiple and variable in content - and all this despite the covid19 crisis. I have saved myself a lot of money by using Cousins UK, and had no hassle whatsoever. In fact the service was impeccable.

Received a clasp for a metal watch strap and the clasp had not been assembled properly, it was in bits with the relevant bits loose in the packet. When I tried to do a 'return' I got this message -

"Unfortunately if we tried to send your item back to the manufacturer they would refuse to accept it stating these items are not supplied faulty and any damage must have been caused after sale.

As much as this puts us in a difficult position with our customers, this has to be our position as a trade wholesale supplier.

We are very sorry we could not be more helpful.

Kind regards

Cousins Management Team"

That is a brilliant way of supplying parts not fit for purpose and wriggling out of any responsibility

Don’t buy from Cousins.
If you need to return a faulty item they will not refund you and find every excuse under the sun to avoid a refund. On returning an item they claim packaging was damaged, parts were missing or scratched. We returned a not fit for purpose item as it didn’t work, all parts were returned and in the same condition as we received them but Cousins used all the above excuses not to refund us.
Don’t believe you don’t have consumer rights because it only sets up business/trade accounts, you still Have consumer rights.

Look at the reviews on this site, most have had negative experiences and wasted money. What other company gets that much negative feedback!?

All I can say is avoid buying here, there are other similar companies who offer better products and after sales, Cousins don’t do afters sales but are happy to take and keep your money when there is an issue. Don’t let them get away with it. Don’t shop here and if you are one of the unfortunate ones who have and lost money go to the Small Claims Court.

I purchased some dapping and swage blocks, a bench organiser and some other bits and bobs and I'm happy. The quality of the desk organiser is good and the dapping and swage blocks are also good quality. The packages came collectively in one and protected with more than enough packing peanuts so nothing was damaged when it arrived. All in all a good purchase after reading a fair amount of bad press about CousinsUK but I'm satisfied with what i've seen.

BE WARNED!

I have bought items from Cousins before and had no problems so beware because once you do have an issue they refuse to acknowledge there is a problem, put the blame solely you and refuse to send out a refund. There is no customer service and with businesses needing customer support during this time of Covid 19 they need to get their act together. I will never buy from them again. As others have said, there are other and better companies out there.

Any positive review you see here is the management posting themselves. Don’t believe it!!! STAY AWAY!!! Honestly the worst customer service I’ve ever encountered. Ordered a movement from them and out of the box the movement was not running at all! You can’t contact them via email or anything, and apparently they don’t have any returns for movements. If you read the other reviews this is not the first time it’s happened to people. Take your business anywhere else

They offer a large range of prices and the quality is every time present. The only difference between expensive and inexpensive products is the precision in finishes.

In one of my orders, I had received a damaged product in the transport and they just proposed to refund me the next day I ask.

When I ordered a second time the same product, it was packed inside 3 different packages to make sure it didn't get damaged again.

I highly recommend.

PS : One of my orders was shipped during the coronavirus crisis and it was delivered 1 day before the minimal estimation of delivery.