Hi All
This is the first time I've posted on this site - so hope it's in the right place.
I thought I'd share this little story with you, so that others don't get "caught" like me.
Last week, I emailed my daughter-in-law to enquire what my grand-daughter wanted/needed for Christmas. She replied saying that a new winter coat would be great .... she sent a few links to web-pages for me to consider. One of these links was to the Next Directory UK website.
I saw on the UK website that Next Directory delivered to France, so I clicked on the link they provided and did my shopping (bought a coat costing 52 Euros) and was delighted to find that the price included "FREE DHL 3 day Delivery". The coat duly arrived and I was very happy with the whole experience.
BUT
When we were wrapping the coat (we're trying to be organised this year), my wife said to me "How much did we pay for the coat ?" I responded with 52 Euros ...... she said but the label says £32.
B**G*R! - Even at the rubbish Exchange Rates we get from the banks these days, it shouldn't have cost more than 40 Euros.
This morning, I telephoned Next Directory Customer Services to ask for an explanation and was told that they set their Exchange Rates 18 months ago (which I think makes things worse) and there was nothing they could do.
I told them I would not use them again and would do my best to warn others about the rip-off exchange rates they use ... they responded "ok".
I'm cross with myself for getting caught by this obvious profiteering. If you're considering using Next Directory for delivery to France please beware!
I've had similar problems sending to my family in the UK and Canada but just made a purchase from Toys R Us Canada - and was able to pay by PayPal, fantastic, no more issues about me not living in Canada. So, was wondering if you could find out who allows you to use PayPal as a payment method in the UK.
I haven't tried Next as my problem was sending Christmas presents to people in the UK and when the parcel post prices here became extortionate I tried Internet shopping. However, I found it was difficult to find a company willing to send a parcel to an address in the UK that was not my own because my address was in France and I had to have a parcel delivered to me first at my UK address (which I don't have) before they would deliver to another UK address. The only company apart from Amazon, that would send a packet to a UK address other than my own was Marks and Spencer, which, though they charge for delivery, is cheaper that the French post which is something like a min charge of €15 for a packet going abroad.
There is no such thing as free delivery, it is always built into the cost of the item and obviously it costs more for deliver an item to France than it does to most UK addresses. It always makes me laugh when you see 'interest free credit' advertised and people will go to a different shop and buy the same item at a higher price because it has 'interest free credit'.
However, I am a super fan of Next myself and very happy to pay a sight premium for the 'free delivery' as Pam says, it is significantly cheaper than the equivalent clothing here, especially for growing kids and you always have the option of checking the UK price before you buy. We have all our income in euros though, so we prefer to pay in euros so we know exactly where we are.
To be fair I always check everything I buy on a variety of sites before I purchase - parents might be interested to know that Playmobil is significantly cheaper here in France (including Amazon Fr) but I bagged myself a £99 Kindle Fire the other day by using the UK site and having it sent to my mum and dad's house - result:-)
I see your point Ian, it does seem annoying when something comes with a much lower £ price tag but like i said, it's impossible to buy the same quality for the euro price over here and even though we are charged a premium price it's still cheaper than the equivalent quality over here. It's easy enough to log onto their UK site & see what the price is in £'s then it's up to you how you buy.
Hi Pam
Thank you for your response - I don't have any issue with Next's quality or delivery, etc. Until we discovered the £32 price label on the coat, I thought the quality of service was excellent. I jusat object to being ripped off on the exchange rate.
It was extremely annoying because I could have paid in GBP on the UK website and have had the parcel delivered to a UK address.
Hi Corinne
I ordered the coat from their website at a cost of 52 Euros. The website stated that Delivery was Free and there is no delivery charge shown on their Invoice/delivery Note. I wasn't unhappy at paying 52 Euros .... it was the coat that my grand-daughter wanted. What I was unhappy about was the fact that the printed label attached to the coat shows £32 and they were plainly ripping me off on the Exchange Rate.
Am I right in thinking that coat you bought Ian (at 52 euros instead of £32) works out at an exchange rate of 1.625? That's pretty bad. I think I rather they charged for delivery and got an up to date exchange rate.
I think it's safe to call me a 'Next' fan, i bought their clothes, shoes, homewares for many years in the UK, for all my family. After moving over here a couple of years ago and discovering the price of clothing, ESPECIALLY good footwear over here, i continue to shop on Next international. I know what size fits and find them extremely good value & quality. Yes their 'exchange rate' is diabolical but it's still a damn site cheaper than buying an equal quality over here.
If i have family coming or i want something that is rather more expensive than usual then i give family in the UK the codes, send them the money via bank transfer and they order from the local store either posting over or bringing when they come.
I've also recently found that when they sent me the wrong item by mistake they were more than happy to arrange for it to be collected by DHL and returned to them at no extra cost to me. I honestly can't fault them and am happy to continue to use them and lots of other UK shops that deliver here for exactly the same reason. French shops (especially shoes) really need to sort themselves out.
Exactly, and not forgetting their charges on top of that.
Well, according to XE.com the GBP --> EUR rate today is 1.23799 so I wouldn’t say that 1.25 was being ripped off.
The same with ebay as well. There exchange rate is 1.25
I have been put off ordering from Next because of that reason. I hate being ripped off! I bet they would adjust the prices sooner if the exchange rate went the other way!!!
I’m not sure if the Next Directory Website is based in France but if so, that might explain the difference in pricing. It costs a fortune to be in business in France - that’s why a Big Mac meal in the UK is about £4.00 and it’s nearly 7 euros over here and a 12.99 KFC Bargain Bucket is not such a bargain at 23 euros.
It might be that in order to have free delivery, they have to have a distibution point here in France.
Just my 2c.
Similar thing for the Boden French website - it's cheaper to buy from the UK site and pay for delivery to France than it is to buy from the French site as their exchange rate is outrageous
Yes - this has been a complaint for many since they started Euro delivery a while ago. I think virtually EVERYTHING is more expensive. Have the UK website and French website open at the same time and you can do an immediate comparison of prices.
Ultimately it comes down to what you are prepared to pay - for example, I find kids summer shoes (lightweight daps) to be better quality and value from Next France than in the local shops and so am happy to pay a little more than if I were to buy the same pair for Next UK.
Unfortunately this is the case for several UK shops that offer 'European' delivery.