Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Miles Brignall

Plant firm Thompson & Morgan sows seeds of despair

Seedlings of cucumbers in peat pots.
Seedlings of cucumbers in peat pots. Photograph: koromelena/Getty Images/iStockphoto

I am writing to suggest you look into Thompson & Morgan, the mail order gardening firm. Check out its Trustpilot page which lists a host of very unhappy customers.

They mail us every few days with “offers”. They then fail to deliver. Because the orders are likely to be for just a few pounds, maybe most people don’t chase up non-delivery.

At first I thought they were just incompetent, but I now I wonder if something else is going on.

RS, by email

It was clear from looking at the Trustpilot page that the company is in some kind of meltdown because the complaints were coming in very few hours. Orders not being delivered has been the main complaint. One poster wrote:

“I ordered several packet of different seeds on 26 March with a confirmation email that they would be dispatched within seven days. Not heard anything since and still waiting. By the time the seeds arrive it will be too late to plant them.

Phoned customer service last week who told me they had my order but had not done anything with it yet and could be another two weeks until dispatch.”

The company told the Guardian that it recently rolled out a £4m upgrade to its computer system, and “teething problems” in the system have created a backlog.

“Our customer service levels have not been to our usual very high standard. We have recruited extra staff and are working 24/7 to resolve this with the expectation of our service being on target by the middle of April,” it says.

Until it sorts itself out, customers may want to use other suppliers.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.