23 Mar 09 Coolessential.com – a review
As a retailer, I am always on the lookout to expand my shop’s internet footprint. I was recently contacted by a company, Coolessential.com – and this is a history of my experiences with them to date.
Firstly, I have had no previous contact with, or indeed knowledge of, Coolessential.com. My first reaction to their proposal was that I was interested but skeptical. The proposal was that I should register with their site for an annual fee and that they would upload my products to their portal which was being advertised in various UK national papers. Any sales generated through the site would attract a commission to Coolessential.com – and I would receive payment for goods directly into my bank account. So far, so good.
The coolessential.com representative who contacted me (Mr H), showed me how one of my products would look on the site – and this was accomplished in the blink of an eye. It appeared to be set up within a few minutes.
After some discussion with my husband, I decided it was worth a go to open up some more marketing opportunities. So, to date, coolessential.com have received my setup fee – and that was approximately two weeks ago. Since then, progress has ground to a halt.
There are some big red flags now all over this transaction – and I am waiting with bated breath to see how we proceed. My experience of phoning to progress the contract has been unsatisfactory – the service phones are certainly answered; however, no progress is visible on the publication of my product feed.
I would be hesitant to recommend the company so far.
I will keep you updated of further events.
Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com
Reader's Comments
John Harris and http://www.ccoleesential should be avoided at all costs!!!!!
Don’t be fooled by the pleasant telephone manner of John Harris. He will take your money and you will struggle to get hold of him ever again. If you are lucky enough to catch up with him he will make empty promises which never ever materialise.
Don’t have anything involvement with John Harris or http://www.coolessential.com !!!!!!
Thanks for your comment – I had a quick update from Mr H on 30 March – saying that he would be in touch again ASAP – so far, all is still and quiet.
M
I ordered goods a month ago for over £1,000 and was subsequently told they were not in stock and John Harris promised me a refund.
I have e-mailed and phoned a number of times chasing this refund and finally got a reply on 30 March to say he was looking into it. Nothing since.
Thankfully I paid on my credit card so have started chargeback proceedings.
I just added a new post about this fiasco – you can find it here http://affiliateprogramstoday.com/2009/04/07/coolessentialcom-update-7-april-2009/
M
The link below includes my comments in response to a post left by a couple of disappointed customers on Money Saving Expert, I thought it would be interesting to you all:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1437947
-Hope this helps anyone who’s had a struggle with the mentioned ‘Cool’ company…
Not sure that CoolEssential.com have also declared themselves bankrupt as a result of Cool Magazine’s bankrupty, but;
In terms of obtaining a refund try contacting your bank to enquire about a Chargeback which will only be an option if the transaction occured in the last 120 days.
I also failed to receive an invoice despite several requests, and so I have now reported this to HM Revenue & Customs and the Inland Reveue who are making their own enquiries.
Finally, report your experience of Mr H and coolessential.com to The Office of Fair Trading. In addition, Trading Standards were also very interested when I contacted them.
I’m not hopeful of receiving my refund but I am quietly confident that the regulatory bodies will catch up with Mr H & coolessential.com
I urge you all to report this company as our case will gain substantially more weight with the more complaints received.