Summer houses from Elbec
63Elbec (for garden buildings)
Hey all you garden and sun worshippers out there please be careful when purchasing a summer house for your garden this year. Don't make the same mistake as me and order one from Elbec. They will quote you 10 to 20 working days for delivery. However I just had to cancel my order after waiting 30 working days with several broken promises of delivery, and they now cannot give me a guaranteed delivery date not even a week when it will definitely be delivered.
I'm just posting this blog on my experience with this company (for want of a better word and avoiding what I really want to call them) so you can learn from my experience and make up your own mind.
It's only my opinion and I'm not calling them a bunch of cowboy's I'm just thinking that they could have been honest when they took the order (and my money - oh yeh they grab that straight away not at the point of shipping like reputable companies) and they could have been more honest when making delivery promises. Remember it's just my opinion after being messed around for six full weeks (they don't count week-ends as working days no matter how late an order is) they must think I'm some sort of mushroom but I seen the light and I'm not taking any more manure from them.
I hope my comments help you make an informed choice before you order and leave you to enjoy the summer in your new summer house.
The summer house in question
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Dear Customers
We are very sorry to hear that you have not received our usual high level of service from elbec. The increased lead times highlighted has only affected our Shire range and has been caused by demand exceeding supply.
Shire products are in high demand due to unrivalled quality and price and indeed our competitors in the industry acknowledge this.
Based on the fact that the UK was in a recession, Shire were naturally cautious at the start of the year. What in actual fact happened was an unprecedented deluge of orders for our Shire products. This in turn put a great deal of pressure on scheduling deliveries resulting in a lack of information to pass onto our customers.
We sincerely apologise some customers have been left disappointed with extended delivery times however we can assure any customer experiencing delays that every effort is being made by Shire to catch up with back orders by increasing production to record levels in response to exceptional demand without compromising unrivalled quality.
I can assure our customers that elbec set very high standards and in exceptional circumstances where they are not met, work very hard to ensure similar problems do not happen again.
Please accept our sincere apologies that you have not received your order in the time expected.
PLease take extra care when ordering from these prople as mistakes can be expensive.
We ordered a Badminton summer house, only to find when checking the contents of the delivery (which was also delayed) that the door/windows were built into the narrow end of the structure (odd) and the door height was only 1.63 metres high (great if you're less than 5' 3" tall)
To be fair these details were shown on the website, but were not noticed by us.
So, rather than erect something which was always going to be a disappointment, we decided to take advantage of the "Money back guarantee". This cost us £175 for the collection charge.
Please check EVERY detail of the item you order - and if your tall - please check again.
I ordered a £1580 log cabin from elbec back in July, after being told for 6 weeks to wait for a delivery call I eventually was told they were out of stock, they sugested an alternative and that after two weeks was then also out of stock, Ive now been waiting a week for my refund, and when I called about that I was told they were waiting for a call from the accounts department. Im starting to consider that I need to go to citizens advice. I am a student and cant afford to lose this money! Im absolutely livid with the company, I had to take out a loan to pay for the thing!
I ordered a summerhouse from them in 2008,(now 2010) sides were different heights, wood very poor quality, full of knots which popped out, bent twisted beams. It is now rotting at the bottom. Extremely poor quality. Wished I'd inspected goods before purchasing here on the net. Office assistant extremely argumentative...showed no regard for Trading standards regulations. BEWARE and be warned. Workmanship very poor and shoddy.
thank you for all your comments. i am pleased that you all took the time air your diappointments. we too were going to purchase from this company. we have now decided to go elsewhere even if the other company is more expensive.
Ive got nothing but praise for elbec. I purchased a summerhouse from another company but returned it due to poor quality. The Shire 8 x 8 summerhouse that i decided to purchase from elbec is brilliant. im glad i did, it is loads better than the one i sent back.
I can only agree with the majority of the unfavourable comments posted about Elbec's track record of late deliveries.I received my summerhouse 47 days after ordering.
I totally agree with the derogetary comment being made about Elbec. I purchased and paid £720 for a 15' x 10' modular shed 15 months ago which, when erected had a badly sagging roof due to their being only one roof support in the centre of the shed, but I decided to live with it after I put in additional roof supports but when I awoke one morning I found the roof had collapsed under the weight of snow.
When I complained to ELBEC they didn't want to know stating the shed was outside the one year guarantee period and I should have complained earlier as if I could predict the substandard material used in the shed construction.So beware do not purchase from this company you will be ripped of!!!!!
I bought one of elbecs professional sheds just a few weeks ago. A Bison 10 x 10. I got it up just before the snow came. It is super strong and the snow has caused no problems at all. Its a bit more expensive than your average shed but you get a lot more than your average shed.
A few years ago my greenhouse was damaged due to high winds and so I claimed off my insurance. Elbec recomended an elite greenhouse to withstand the weather and it still looks brand new 2 years later. Thats why I wnet back to them when I needed a shed.
I have looked at the other comments and can honestly say they have supplied me with quality products and they give good advise when you speak to them.
Very very poor experience, wish I never bought from them.
Laura 3 years ago
I am having the same problem. Been 6 weeks since making an order and I still haven't had anything delivered. Its a different story everytime you call them and after booking a day holiday after being promised a delivery date it still didn't turn up! I am wondering if I will ever recieve my order that I have been charged for!