Claire Chapman

I had an awful first (and last) experience using Booksy UK. I booked a makeup artist for 10am on Saturday 19th July. Booksy sent me a confirmation email, plus both email and text reminders. Everything seemed set.

But when I arrived (stood on the doorstep in torrential rain) I was told by the makeup artist that she had no idea who I was or what the booking was for. Worse still, she had no availability and couldn’t fit me in.

It was incredibly awkward and stressful for both of us. I had to race home in a panic to try to fix the situation, which meant I ended up being late to the wedding and missed the ceremony entirely.

I am currently recovering from cancer treatment and had booked this appointment to reduce stress, not increase it. What should have been a simple booking process ended in total chaos due to Booksy’s failure to inform the provider. I genuinely feel sorry for the MUA, who was completely blindsided, but the fault here lies with Booksy’s unreliable system.

Absolutely unacceptable.

Avoid this platform, especially if your appointment actually matters. I'll be sticking with Fresha and Treatwell in future.

I’ve been using InPost for the last few months and have sent hundreds of parcels through them without issue, but when something goes wrong, that’s when you see their true colours.

This is now the third time they’ve conveniently reclassified a lost or damaged item to suit themselves and avoid paying compensation. This time was by far the most blatant case of rule-bending: I sent a silver plated metal money box, and they’ve rejected my claim by falsely classifying it as “glass, ceramics, or other delicate items.” Delicate? It’s made of metal, how much clearer could that be?

I’m appalled by how they try to wriggle out of responsibility, and I’ll no longer use their service. When you’re lucky and everything arrives, great... but the moment there’s a problem, you simply can’t rely on InPost to do the right thing.

Also, a tip for anyone thinking of using them: be cautious about leaving parcels in lockers for drop-off or collection. Many of their lockers are exposed to direct sun, and I’ve noticed they can get very hot inside, something to think about if you’re sending items that might be affected by heat.

I can’t recommend InPost anymore and will be taking my business elsewhere.

Where do I start?

There's been weeks where I've had missing produce, poor produce, uneven portion sizes...while nearly every week I'm missing at least one recipe card. But lately I'm lucky if I get my box at all.

Some of the produce (especially spring onions for some reason) are limp/wilted and far from fresh, while the number of recipes I can choose from have been reduced due to not being able to order anything that needs a whole chicken breast per person. The breasts are always so uneven, to the point where I've had to cube it or make goujons, but sometimes that didn't work as there was no longer enough breadcrumbs etc to coat the chicken and make the dish.

Then there's the issue with discounts and credits. My account was still showing I had 2 discounted boxes left, so I was confused when I found I'd been charged full price. But even so, if this was a full priced box my account credit should have been applied. I decided to check my credit as I know I had had at least £20 worth (given from previous missing deliveries and poor items!) but they'd disappeared and the balance was now £0!

I decided to speak to a customer advisor on the phone (later I discovered at an extortionate rate) and was told the credit had been applied to my previous discounted boxes (I checked my bank statements after this call and I had paid the same price for every box, none were cheaper due to this apparent applied credit!!). The advisor applied a 35% discount on my next 3 boxes to make up for the error. I still have no idea what happened to the original credit though as it stipulates on the website that credits will only be applied to full price boxes.

But for me the final straw really comes when I pay a company for a product or service and I don't receive it. Two out of my last three boxes haven't been delivered at all.

The first box was delivered to a completely different address by DPD. I called the courier and was told they would try to contact the driver and ask him to go back and get it, then redeliver it to me. Yep.... that didn't happen. So that resulted in a late night emergency shopping trip. Not to mention the food for 6 meals going to waste!

The second was meant to be delivered Sat 17th. I didn't get any delivery ETA in the morning like usual and there was no update until 8PM when I was informed it wouldn't be coming and it was rescheduled for the next day. Sunday came and again I had no update on my delivery window. I contacted HelloFresh (this time via online chat) at 1pm to be told they didn't have any update for me as DPD's system was down so they didn't know what was happening. I was told a member of the Logistics Team would be in touch with an update, but that didn't happen. It wasn't until 6:30 PM that I received a message to say it wouldn't be coming that day either and had been rescheduled again for Monday.

You must be kidding HF?! Where do you think I can get any food shopping at 6:30PM on a Sunday evening?? Plus do you honestly think I want food that's been sitting at DPD's Dunstable depot for 3 days?? No thanks.

So now that's 11 meals that have gone to waste and it's just not good enough.

In the current climate if someone decides to spend their hard earned cash with you, the least you could do is deliver and to deliver fresh food. Luckily I can afford to go out and replace missing meals without having to wait for a refund, but what about people out there that cant....and a week before Christmas. Such pitiful poor service.

Unfortunately your response is to just give out refunds or credit and you don't deal with the actual issues. This just shows me these problems will keep on happening over and over without being rectified. It really wouldn't matter if you offered a 100% discount on a box.... it's pointless when DPD don't deliver it. You really should start using a 'proper' logistics company like DHL, UPS, TNT, Fedex etc.... yes they are more expensive, but it's worth it. Using cheap couriers is a false economy when all that food goes to waste and you give out so many refunds and discounts. But honesty when DPD do deliver, the contents have started to be so questionable anyway.

HelloFresh seem to think a refund and/or credit makes up for the hassle and inconvenience that's caused, but it doesn't. A last minute dash around the shops for food isn't fun (if you're lucky enough to be told when the shops are still open) and that's if you're in the position to spend more money on replacements with out having to wait for refunds.

I refuse to keep giving you my money for you to keep under-delivering if you bother to deliver at all.

Waiting in for a Hello Fresh delivery with an ETA of 9:57-10:57.

At 10:50 I checked the tracking which advised it had been dropped off to me at 10:15. Guess what? Yup, it wasn't.

Finally managed to get hold of DPD on the telephone after a 20min wait only to be advised that the driver has in fact delivered it to a completely incorrect address that is not even similar to my own. They tried to contact the driver to go back and collect it but have not been able to get hold of him. So now a perishable food order is missing.

UPDATE: Another HelloFresh order was supposed to be delivered on Sat 17th ended up being rescheduled for the next day, Sun 18th. But surprise, surprise it wasn't delivered that day either... and to top that off, I wasn't told this until 6:30PM Sunday evening, so no chance of being able to go out and do an emergency food shop as no where was open. I was informed via text message my fresh food order (that's now been sitting at the Dunstable depot for 3 days) will be with me today, though it's 11:15 and i've yet to have an update letting me know an ETA.

Mmmm 3 day old meat that's been maturing at a DPD depot? No thank you. I actually hope your incompetence carries on and I don't get a box of food poisoning turn up on my doorstep.

I was sent an email advising my monthly direct debit was rising from £36 to £86 which is a increase of £50 per month! After looking at my account I also noticed the last meter reading I gave them was apparently in Jan 2021, even though my readings have been provided and are shown on another part of my account. I submitted another set of readings and asked for a correct and updated bill to be provided. I also sent a separate message advising I do not agree with a £50 per month increase in my Direct Debit and listed the reasons for my objection.

Even though I have sent several emails, tried calling and using their 'Live Chat' (which isn't live at all.... It's an automated service which advised I'd get a response to my query sent directly to my email within 20 mins.... spoiler alert.... it didn't happen!) I still haven't received a response from ANYONE at Green and it's now been over 2 weeks.

As I cannot get hold of anyone to discuss my account I have no choice but to cancel my direct debit with immediate effect and look elsewhere for a new supplier.