MPB - Awful service - patience required.

Oh blimey, I’ve got a collection booked for tomorrow but I think I’ll cancel it after reading this thread.
 
Last thing I sold to mpb they actually gave me more money after receiving the lens than they initially offered. From receipt to payment took 10 days or so
 
ukaskew said:
Genuine question: is there a time when you're not facing a large backlog? I've used your services many times as I was there pretty much from the beginning (when you'd hear from the same person throughout the whole process, usually only one of two or three guys!), but looking back it's been two years now since you've actually met your quoted processing time.

If you quoted a more realistic time frame your customers are less likely to be dissatisfied.
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Hi @ukaskew - I do remember talking to you before about some delays you've experienced previously. We are usually very busy but at certain times of year and at the moment are understaffed with people on annual leave and sickness, but we are hiring and training new employees on our checking team to help get everything back to normal.

As you've mentioned, the company has grown a lot since when our buying team was just 2 or 3 people. I have passed on your feedback to our operations manager though as our emails should be reflecting the current turn around period as this has been the case for a few of the people in this thread.

Thanks
 
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Thanks for taking the time to respond. I think it's fair to say we all want you guys to succeed as you're usually a fantastic company to deal with, and the level of service feels a little more personal than some of the big companies that do used gear 'on the side'. I hope that isn't lost as you grow.
 
paulcamcas said:
Oh blimey, I’ve got a collection booked for tomorrow but I think I’ll cancel it after reading this thread.
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After reading the comments from MPB, I’m not cancelling. All my other transactions with them have been efficient and I’m not in a rush.
 
We are nearing end of day Friday and still no update after being told I would have my transaction looked at as a priority.

Tried calling them just now the phone call cut itself after 6-ish minutes saying they are busy. No live chat available for some reason. So I basically cannot get an update from @mpb.com or talk to the customer service.

This is absolutely ridiculous!
 
nandbytes said:
We are nearing end of day Friday and still no update after being told I would have my transaction looked at as a priority.

Tried calling them just now the phone call cut itself after 6-ish minutes saying they are busy. No live chat available for some reason. So I basically cannot get an update from @mpb.com or talk to the customer service.

This is absolutely ridiculous!
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Hi - really sorry about this! I have just messaged you on here as well - we are waiting on an update to hear when this is going to be checked and will let you know.

Thanks for your patience through this.

Clare
 
paulcamcas said:
Oh blimey, I’ve got a collection booked for tomorrow but I think I’ll cancel it after reading this thread.
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Please don’t cancel. They have dealt with me now after Clare passed my details on. Hopefully the backlog is clearing and it’ll be back to business as usual sooner rather than later.
 
Just thought I would add my recent experience with MPB sorry for jumping in on the thread. I got my quote straight away for some items and to be honest changed my mind a few times but they were always fantastic with this.
I was happy with the end valuation and the courier was arranges and the items collected. This was on Friday the 10th Aug. Got confirmation email on Monday the 13th stat8ng 4-5 days etc.
Had no reply by Monday 20th so emailed and got the email regarding how busy they are and apologies. Emailed again on Wed 23rd asking for an update or to send my items back as it was now 10 days.

Well got an email yesterday with confirmation and what they were offering which was exactly what was quoted. Sent through my bank details via their website and payment was in my bank today.

Apart from the delay and the fact that there was no communication from MPB overall he service has been fine, and to be honest same as before. If hey state 4-5 days then they should send an update if they are having delays. We would be more than likley be fine with that.

Just my thoughts, would I use again, possibly as the the collection and prices offered have been good.
 
I agree, I think they should have let people know. By email and possibly putting a note on their site so potential customers would be aware.
 
I dealt with complaints and PR for a multinational company at executive level, key to continued customer satisfaction and loyalty is communication.
No matter how bad the situation you need to keep people informed, first thing I did when things were going awry was draft a release for the press office.

Customers may not like waiting longer than expected, but a pre-emptive email or text certainly helps
 
tijuana taxi said:
No matter how bad the situation you need to keep people informed...

Customers may not like waiting longer than expected, but a pre-emptive email or text certainly helps
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That's the thing. Only MPB know what their actual average turnaround time is, but I'd be amazed if it's really what they quote (based on my own experience and that of others). Mine is 7 working days in the past year, and that's with two transactions being chased up and 'prioritised'.

Having so many transactions going beyond the quoted time frame surely just means more work dealing with phone calls and emails etc. It must be possible to be a little more dynamic with average turnaround, or at least trigger an email if you've gone beyond, say, 6 working days and it's still in the checking queue.
 
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Waiting 10+ days for payment seems risky if it’s possible the company is having cash flow issues.

I think it might be possible that if they go into administration between accepting your goods and actually making payment for them you would be considered an unsecured creditor.
 
Just to update this thread I received my payment yesterday in full with Clare's help.

The customer service has definitely been very polite. They were not particularly approachable via. phone. Twice my call got disconnected because of busy line after 6+ minutes of holding. Clare is definitely more contactable and replies back within few hours.

Going by my experience alone it took them very long to get my gear checked out but the payment there after was immediate (within one working day which I consider great). So I think they are having lack of staff issues and not really cashflow problem.

@mpb.com
It would help immensely if you guys proactively notified people of delays. You'd have less people being worried and hassling your already busy customer service.
Also there is no notification once I filled in my bank details. An automated confirmation email would be nice.

Thanks for your help.
 
Hi everyone, glad to hear everything is sorted for you now @nandbytes.

Again apologies for the delay that some of you have experienced - of course there should have been more general communication (email or text updates) during the process. That would have been a lot more reassuring for you guys, especially when you're selling expensive kit, so I have passed on this feedback from you. Of course I have also passed on that we should be sending confirmation of receiving your bank details too.

Thanks again for your patience during this - as I said before, the support we get from you guys at Talk Photography does mean a lot to us, and we will be running back to normal very soon!

Clare
 
Ringing @mpb.com is a frustrating experience. Had a call from them at 3pm today asking me to ring them back before 4pm.
First call got dropped when they tried to transfer me. Tried three other times, each time the call get dumped to their voicemail after waiting 8mins each time.
 
Ste_S said:
Ringing @mpb.com is a frustrating experience. Had a call from them at 3pm today asking me to ring them back before 4pm.
First call got dropped when they tried to transfer me. Tried three other times, each time the call get dumped to their voicemail after waiting 8mins each time.
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Hi @Ste_S Sorry you've not been able to get through. I've just messaged you to ask for your TX reference number so that I can get one of our customer service team to call you, so please check your inbox on here.

Thanks,

Clare
 
Also having issues!!!
 
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Dave1 said:
Waiting 10+ days for payment seems risky if it’s possible the company is having cash flow issues.

I think it might be possible that if they go into administration between accepting your goods and actually making payment for them you would be considered an unsecured creditor.
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This.

Given up, Spent 4k in last few weeks None of it with MPB, End of year an all that. WEX had a 17 55 mint in box for same price as a damaged second hand one on here with 12 months warranty and 30 DAYS RETURN SATISFACTION policy

WEX for me for second hand gear is first port of call.
 
Just thought I'd add my experience with mpb.

Ive used them a few times in the past and it's been mixed in terms of time taken. Usually to sell stuff to them its a week from sending to receiving money though.

Having said that, I had a package collected Friday and was paid today (Tuesday), after the holiday Monday. So essentially one day turn around! Can't complain at that.
 
I have dealt with mpb on a number of occasions and have always been happy with the outcome, sometimes they seem a little slow but more usually they have been very quick last week the time between the parcel being picked up and payment received was just four days, I know I would get more selling the items individually but is so hassle free I no longer try elsewhere, trying to sell on Ebay is a joke as they always favour the buyer no matter what.
 
I recently sold a high ticket item to them, and it was flawless. I messed up on collection and they rearranged it quickly and without any quibbles, and I received payment (at the agreed amount) within a day. Thumbs up from me on the one transaction I've had with them.
 
They do seen to have dramatically improved in terms of speed lately. A few weeks back I had 6 items collected, the next afternoon they had been checked and payment processed.
 
old bloke said:
trying to sell on Ebay is a joke as they always favour the buyer no matter what.
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Honestly not had problems, one item (£25) got damaged in transit sometime back and I had to refund on return but I've recently sold some gear on eBay and made loads more than MPB quoted ... watching out for £1 max final fee offers helps greatly.
 
gramps said:
Honestly not had problems, one item (£25) got damaged in transit sometime back and I had to refund on return but I've recently sold some gear on eBay and made loads more than MPB quoted ... watching out for £1 max final fee offers helps greatly.
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I have several times. One time over 3 weeks had passed and the advert was " returns not accepted " and I heard no complaints at all in that time.
So you would think the buyer had no chance after 14 days to say it was faulty but ebay said NO, your taking a return mate like it or not and I lost the delivery money which was about £10+. Over 3 weeks
 
Caerus said:
I have several times. One time over 3 weeks had passed and the advert was " returns not accepted " and I heard no complaints at all in that time.
So you would think the buyer had no chance after 14 days to say it was faulty but ebay said NO, your taking a return mate like it or not and I lost the delivery money which was about £10+. Over 3 weeks
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That's odd surely after 14 days the buyer protection ends and you can't return the item. I am not sure if the buyer even has the option to start a case after 14 days.
Is there anything in t&c that they can use to force you to do this?
 
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If a buyer on eBay pays using PayPal, they have 180 days in which to raise a "Significantly Not As Described" claim through PayPal.
 
Contax said:
If a buyer on eBay pays using PayPal, they have 180 days in which to raise a "Significantly Not As Described" claim through PayPal.
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I was caught out by that; at day 171 with a buyer of a lens. Had to refund in full.
It later turns out the guy used my lens on safari before returning it as 'Significantly Not As Described' ... he did get some cracking images to his credit, but the expereince left me rather angry! - Whilst those terms are in place I'll never sell via paypal/ebay again.
 
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No coz eBay always sides with buyer
I sold a small value item approx 10 sent it signed for , postie got signature , 5 days later buyer claimed not to have received item even though we had a signature, they claimed it was not them who signed
had to refund
 
I sold a Nikon 85mm 1.4 on eBay and assumed all was well, a couple of months later I had a 'goods not received' claim against me, the £900 was immediately removed from my account and I had a frantic afternoon of looking for the original special delivery receipt. Thankfully they accepted that and I eventually got my money back.

MPB all the way for me, the difference isn't worth the risk.
 
nandbytes said:
And they don't have to prove any of their claims?
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Nope. And if you (as a Seller) try to make returning the item difficult, then you run the risk of the Buyer deliberately damaging the item before returning it.
 
gjhill said:
No coz eBay always sides with buyer
I sold a small value item approx 10 sent it signed for , postie got signature , 5 days later buyer claimed not to have received item even though we had a signature, they claimed it was not them who signed
had to refund
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If there's a signature showing proof of delivery then you should be recompensed.
 
Contax said:
Nope. And if you (as a Seller) try to make returning the item difficult, then you run the risk of the Buyer deliberately damaging the item before returning it.
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Seeing as the vast majority of sales on ebay are via paypal, then thats a moot point.
 
Reading all this makes me very concerned about selling on eBay via. PayPal for expensive items.
 
jakeblu said:
If there's a signature showing proof of delivery then you should be recompensed.
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Be aware that eBay are talking about rolling out a new process which will mean that the Seller will need to upload the tracking information to eBay BEFORE any Item Not Received (INR) claim is opened. If an INR claim is raised, and there is no tracking information already loaded, then the Seller will no longer be able to defend it by uploading the tracking information.

Both eBay and PayPal are very process-driven (and automated) organisations, and anybody using either of them to buy or sell expensive equipment really does need to understand exactly how they operate. Sadly the scammers understand this all too well :-(
 
Contax said:
Be aware that eBay are talking about rolling out a new process which will mean that the Seller will need to upload the tracking information to eBay BEFORE any Item Not Received (INR) claim is opened. If an INR claim is raised, and there is no tracking information already loaded, then the Seller will no longer be able to defend it by uploading the tracking information.

Both eBay and PayPal are very process-driven (and automated) organisations, and anybody using either of them to buy or sell expensive equipment really does need to understand exactly how they operate. Sadly the scammers understand this all too well :-(
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Having been a business seller on ebay for years, I'm really pleased to be out of that game now.
 
nandbytes said:
That's odd surely after 14 days the buyer protection ends and you can't return the item. I am not sure if the buyer even has the option to start a case after 14 days.
Is there anything in t&c that they can use to force you to do this?
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First I knew of it they had opened a case and I politely explained that because over 14 days had passed with no complaint that I would not be accepting a return.

So they left the case open until ebay stepped in and I was notified that ebay had sided with the buyer.

I`m as shocked as anyone that it happened to me and I wont forget it either
 
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