I was reading a Daily Mail online article about Billy Connolly which included an advert to his new book at a discounted price on the paper's Mailshop online. Thinking I would be doing business with the Daily Mail - a long-established institution with a reputation to protect - I initiated a purchase for the book. Partway through, it became apparent that I would in fact be buying the book from a company called 'Speedyhen Ltd'. I'd never heard of them and would normally do further research before making a commitment but - being on the website of a reputable organisation I went through with the purchase. I subsequently had reason to cancel the order and did so online within the parameters for such action as stipulated on the website. To my dismay, however, this cancellation has not been honoured and I have, instead found myself dealing with the business ethics normally associated with a gentleman in a long overcoat at a car-boot sale... Almost 18 hours after my cancellation Speedyhen Ltd contacted me to say that they had now put the book in the post and therefore could no longer be cancelled!!When I raised this issue as an official complaint with customer service at Mailshop onlne, I was told in a matter of fact way that while orders go straight through to their online partners, things like cancellation requests do not. Despite email acknowledgement to the customer, the 'procedure' was for these to be forwarded to the partner company by staff in the mailshop online office and therefore the cancellation was not passed to them until customer service staff arrive on the Monday morning. Outrageous!!!Basically the Daily Mail has lowered its ethical standards in relation to customers but is doing this in a deniable way by using faceless companies who do not have a name to protect to do its dirty work.
