Home Brew Beer – Est. 2006

Graham

I’ve have responded to all 9 queries posted here – http://grez.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/easybrewcouk-problems/

I am sorry you have not received the service you expected, but as posted if you still have any outstanding issues regarding an order, please do contact me and I will sort it out.

Regards
Annette Ferre
Proprietor
EasyBrew

i ordered product from easybrew total cost of 62.97p,on 17th april 2008 and not got it as yet ,asked for refund on 2nd of may told it would be back in my account on tuesday 6th may,as yet no refund,do you think that i have been done,??

hi i ordered 24 bottles and they did arrive quick but i only got 20 bottles.im not goin to bother trying to get my 4 bottles. also thebox they arrived in way terrible, had a previous address on it and was very tatty, nearly fell through.

Hi, we have also been ripped off by this company. my husband has been using them for about 18 months now.Placed order and paid for it on 28th may,still not received it .contacted them last week and they said it had been dispatched.Have rang them and spoken to a male and female, on 8 seperate occasions,who both blame each other for the delay, they promise to get back to us which obviously they haven,t. We have rang them constantly today and now get an ansamachine that won,t allow a message to be left. We have now gone to a different friendlier supplier. We still havent had our order or a refund for our order.

Ordered a cider making kit on 13.04.08, numerous e-mails, not answered. Phoned calls not replied to then a promise of delivery on 30.-5.08, this is 12.06.08 still no cider kit, phone only taking answer machine messages that are not replied to. I have written to ask for a refund of the £75, do you think I will get it? What is going on at this company?

Hi all , i have also had the misfortune of using easybrew before finding this site. Its the “no stock” issue for me.
I was apparently emailed re lack of stock two weeks ago, that was news to me, only found out when I started chasing a few days ago. Have been told that the stock will take a further two weeks to arrive from supplier, then theres delivery time….. I am not willing to give them any more time and have asked for a refund. Response time to emails has been ok though, so thats a start I suppose, lets see what happens refund wise.
This has seriously screwed me up brew wise, so not a happy bunny.

I’ve been in the shop several times, having seen their stock levels or lack of I would strongly advise against ordering from them. They never have half the stuff they advertise on their website.
My guess is they rely on getting in sufficient orders before putting in a large order with the distributer hence the long delays.
They happen to be my local homebrew shop and i’d normally advocate supporting them but they can’t continue to treat people like this, it gives other mail order homebrew services a bad name. I’ve used several of the online shops and they manage to get the items to me within the week so it’s not normal practice to sell what isn’t in stock.

I ordered about £50 of stuff about 3 weeks ago. Got an email saying 2 items were not in stock. Tried to contact them – sent a dozen emails and phoned a hundred times without any answer or reply whatsoever.

I went down there on monday and discovered:

They are ignoring all phone calls and emails. The bloke was literally standing next to the ringing phone ignoring it. Also contrary to their email they actually only had 3 of the 12 or so items in stock – so a bare faced lie on their behalf.

They gave me what they had and I told them to cancel the rest. He wrote an instruction on a bit of paper to refund me – somehow i’m sceptical that it will happen.

No matter, If I don’t get the money i’m going to sue them for it. I won’t sit back and let two bit crooks do me over

Hi, same problem here. They took the money quickly enough, ordered on 15th June and told items are out of stock, I asked them to cancel out of stock items and send the order. As I never received any goods I emailed them for refund but no response. I am now going to send them a letter by recorded delivery to give me a full refund or I go to Trading Standards and possibly take legal action.

Do not deal with these people.

Graham

62 days now still waiting……….

I have also had no contact and no delivery. £90 short now
I contacted their hosting providers and told them to shut their site down. They were very helpful but told me they couldnt help, but gave me the name of the company who looks after their ecommerce site, I contacted them and they have told me they are investigating. I have also raised a dispute with my credit card company and am hopeful they will refund, I urge you all to do the same.

65 DAYS NOW STILL WAITING !!!!!!

Called trading standards and still waiting for them to call me back

Who do you report a problem with Trading Standards to ????

As at today all queries mentioned within this blog have been dealt with in full and everybody should have received an email from me advising you of this.

Regards
Annette
EasyBrew

Wish i had found this before ordering from Easybrew. Have recieved no information from them since my order and they do not seem to reply to emails.

I am hoping I can get my problem resolved. Money taken very promptly, but no goods have arrived. To try and find out about my order, I have phoned countless times to no answer, and sent several emails. No response. Am really dissappointed, and can honestly say I have never experienced problems like this before. Have emailed Annette Ferre on home address above and am hoping this can be resolved. Site should be shut down temporarily in my opinion, so that no one else loses any money and is caused unnecessary anxiety.
Claire

I ordered originally in March after many days and weeks of telephoning and emailing i eventually received some of my order late April(they said i would receive the rest of my order in 7 days as they had supplier problems)I still have about £23 of my order outstanding and have been emailing and telephoning ever since still had no response. I would advise not to go near this company as they are a disgrace. I will be speaking with trading standards re them and hopefully i will be taking them to the small claims court as this seems the only way to get your money back.

I heartily endorse all the above warnings about easybrew, they have had my money now since the 2nd of june,They did send one item at the beginning of july with the promise that new stock was expected next day, needless to say I have received Zilch since. on the rare occasions that they have answerd the telephone I get fobbed off with lies and promises to phone me back ,which never happen. I think it will have to be the small claims court and trading standards route for me as well. God bless AOB

I ordered and had money deducted from my account on July 4. I have received no acknowledgement of the items ordered, although they say one has been sent. I cancelled my order, via email on July 17, and after no acknowledgement sent another email, confirming the cancellation and asking for acknowledgement and a refund. Needless to say, no response has been forthcoming.

As advised by the Consumer Direct website I have today sent a recorded delivery letter saying I want a response and refund within 14 days of date of first cancellation email.

Needless to say I shall have no hesitation in taking this matter further should the refund not be forthcoming.

I wish everyone success in regaining their monies, but have my doubts as to the viability of the company. It had crossed my mind there was something not quite right when no one would answer my emails/calls.

Although Annette Fere may do everything she can to put matters right after the event – there does seem to be an element of dishonesty in their trading.

I have a very bad fealing that this company has either gone pear shaped, or has no customer service at all. I have been waiting for an order to be sent for over £200 worth of items from 3 weeks ago. I was fobbed off last week when I called with a promise that it would be dispatched this week. Their phone message (second day in a row) now says they are closed and to call back tomorrow.

Thanks Rowan

I have just emailed Hampshire Trading Standards to see if they have an update on the status of the company. If they are still trading then I will not hesitate to kick off a small claims action if needed.

In the mean time, I still need to get ready for cider brewing, and therefore need some kit. My apples are looking ready to drop !!!
Any recommendations on a good on-line company to use??

I ordered £68.95 worth of stuffon 5th June 2008 and received an email saying it was out of stock on 13th June 2008. I have emailed them 3 times and rang twice, just rang about 1.30pm and they still have an answer phone message from 23rd July on there saying “email support@easybrew.co.uk an we will get back to you in the morning”.

Not impressed.

Paul

I placed an order on 5th May and have experienced the same problems as everyone else, receiving only a small part of my order after a large delay. I requested a refund for the difference over the phone on 15th July, which I immediately backed up with an email the same day, and a further request by email on 22nd. Refund is yet to materialise though.

I placed an order on the 4th of July. Have received nothing. Have contacted Easybrew countless times and have had no reply.
They should be shut down for this. A couple of complaints is ok. This many is a disgrace!

I got no responses for about a month, but Graham pointed out annette’s home email – annette.ferre@btopenworld.com – to which she did indeed reply fairly quickly giving me a refund. Needless to say I shan’t be purchasing from them again!

I made an order with easybrew date 12/07/08 since then nothing from the despite the taking the payment next day. Several emails + Phone calls to them still nothing. I shall fight to get my money returned . As for trading with them again they have no chance

Unfortunatly its the same story for me. Placed an order on 26th of June 2008, still no delivery, no one answers the phone and no response to email. I will contact trading standards and I’ll try to contact Google as they are still advertising with them. I’d recommend trying another company!

Dear All

I am extremely sorry for those of you that have been inconvenienced recently by EasyBrew.

I am now back at work full time and the shop is once again open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm as of tomorrow – Tuesday 5th August.

We will be endeavouring to sort out everyone’s outstanding orders and queries as quickly as possible as we are in the process of restocking the shop and warehouse. Within the next 10 days all outstanding orders will be despatched. By way of apology for the delays we will be including some bits and pieces free of charge to everyone.

If you require a refund please contact me at annette.ferre@btopenworld.com (my personal email) and I will deal with it straight away.

Once again, please accept my apologies for the inconveniences you have experienced and I hope to have everything sorted out asap.

Regards
Annette
EasyBrew

Well one and all,
I can only empathize with your woes here, I too
am in the same predicament, ordered on the 18th
of July, and have been ignored via the ‘customer
support’, and unable to speak to anyone on the
telephone. I am attempting to get a chargeback by
HSBC investigating the transaction, and have been
onto trading standards like many of you. I am going to take this to small claims court unless
I am refunded today (I sent a recorded delivery letter asking for a refund, and today is the deadline). It is a matter of principle to me, so that other unfortunate customers don’t suffer the frustrations that we have! Caveat Emptor guys, let the buyer beware, I have deemed some small comfort by dubbing the company ’sleazybrew’, which somehow seems more fitting…

Will Brazier-Smith

Hi,
Will Brazier-Smith here just updating with confirmation that I have been refunded, and the
annette.ferre@btopenworld.com did yield quick
results, an apology, plus an offer of a 10% discount as well. Clearly Easybrew is not a dishonest company, just a company having a few
difficulties.

Cheers,
Will Brazier-Smith

On May 28th 2008, I paid for my EasyBrew goods with good experience of Easy Brew in the past.

After six weeks, nothing had arrived. I had already called them several times and e-mailed, but still nothing. I finally got through to Annette on 21st July, who said my stuff was out-of-stock, but would send alternative kits THAT DAY. Its now August 8th and still nothing has arrived.

After still trying, leaving messages on the answerphone, still no reply. As such, I had no option but to call trading standards.

I have e-mailed Annette at the btopenworld address above today for my stuff or a refund. I don’t expect I’ll get a reply.

This is one of the worst experiences I have had with an on-line company. A total shambles. Illness is acceptable, but why continue to run a web site if you can’t deliver the goods? Its like stealing money from a child’s money box.

hopandgrape.co.uk are a MILLION times better. Use them. Friendly and reliable.

I emailed using the personal email found on this page before I finished reading the thread. Sorry about your illness and sorry I emailed before reading the entire post.

I hope your business recovers from this, and your health has improved.

Hooray! I finally got my refund from EasyBrew today of 35.98 and an apology from Annette.

Apology accepted. But I can’t see myself using EasyBrew again.

If, like me and others on this web site, you live in a “hot and dry” country where wine kits are ESSENTIAL for any kind of social life, waiting eight weeks for a non-delivery here in the UK is a complete death blow for any kind of social life in a dustbowl.

EasyBrew really need to get their web site in order. If they don’t stock things, the web site must clearly state “OUT OF STOCK.”

This is not rocket science, simply good honest business practice.

My refund was apparently posted last friday, still not received. Will let you know if it appears

Hey. Whaddayaknow.
As soon as I posted on here I got an e-mail with a receipt for my refund which went in the bank 2 days later. My problems don’t end here however. In the meantime I placed another order with http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk, and within the order the 2 tins of tom caxton look like they’ve been run over by the dhl van. Here we go again, lets see what they say. Good luck folks.

Yep they are a total shower, your stuff doesn’t arrive, they take your money and tell you it’s on it’s way.They have your money for weeks.
I’m dealing with http://www.thebrewshop.com now.
I get my stuff next day. If they make a mistake it’s sorted out really quick as well.
Bob

I have received my refund plus compensation today by recorded post after 1st chq never arrived. I was also offered a 10% discount on my next order (I don’t think that i will be using it though). It seems the best way is to contact Annette via her personnal e-mail. Hope you all have the same sucess eventually.

Tracey,
If you are in Kuwait you could use
http://www.thebrewshopuk.com who will post stuff to the dry countries for you!
Ha! Wish I’d discovered them earlier!
Al

Tracey I have only just seen your post here. Your order was despatched as promised, with 2 free kits with my compliments by way of apology.

Full refund and apology received. Thank god for this forum !!!

Hi I feel sick reading these comments. I placed an order worth £120.00 on the 7th August. I have tried ringing them today but the phone either rings out or it is engaged. I have tried emailing but have received no response. I really don’t know what to do. This is suppose to be a surprise birthday present for my husband.

Yes definitely count me in. I am absolutely devastated by all this. I do a lot of online shopping and I have never come across anything like this before. They are a total disgrace.

I thought my order was going to be resolved when I got an immediate response from Annette on 6th August from an email to her personally, but still have no goods. I ordered on 1st July (EBO 1604)and I see above from Sophie who ordered on 28th July that her order No. was 1973. That’s 369 more orders in 4 weeks. How many are lost to date? It looks a good business to take over! But we’ve got to get our goods or money back first. I’ve posted this now as this seems to help and will try one more email before taking “Small Claims” action and/or contact my credit card company….which is best?

A note to keep everyone updated. All queries here have been responded to.

Additionally, we have taken on an extra person in the warehouse so we can get more orders despatched every day. We are also receiving orders in every day from our suppliers.

I am also in the process of responding to all emails/queries we have received and advising everyone who has an outstanding order exactly when their order will be despatched to them.

I am confident that within the next 7 days we will have completely caught up with all outstanding orders. And we are working 6 days a week.

I have also put in place systems to ensure that this does not happen again.

By way of apology to everyone who has a delayed order I am enclosing brewing items with my compliments.

I can now be contacted on annette.ferre@easbrew.co.uk and will respond to your query.

I also received my full refund today. I agree they do seem to be trying hard to get their business back on track but only time will tell. I’m not taking any chances though I have decided to take my custom elsewhere

EBO: 1112
Oh dear. I have a considerable order outstanding from the end of May. Lot’s of excuses, no replies and the rest.

I think it is outrageous that Annette is continuing to trade – she should shut down, get herself sorted and then re-open. She’s save herself a lot of stress and reputation.

I’ve complained to trading standards, sent the registered post letter demanding fulfillment or refund – and still nothing. I guess it’s court action next.

On 15 Jul, 2008 at 11:26 a.m. I placed an order with easybrew.co.uk for (GBP) £31.71.
On the 29th of July I still hadn’t received the order even though the money had been taken from my account on the 16th (13 days earlier) I phoned the company to complain and the phone was answered by a woman who claimed that illness had stopped orders from shipping but mine was ready to go today. (Some coincidence huh?) I explained that I no longer wished to shop with them and demanded a refund on my purchase.
To date( 26th August , 6 weeks after my original order! ) that refund has not arrived.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions as to whether this is a reputable company, I know I will never use them again.
I’ve contacted them again and explained that I’m starting a small-claims procedure against them. Let’s see if that works.

I to have had problems with an order placed several months ago. I had to chase after several excuses about waiting for stock. Now waiting for delivery of a final outstanding item worth 34.99. At first the website contact emails were all bounced as invalid, then they worked but nobody responds. Telephone calls likewise, promises to respond go unfulfilled. It is a shame to have to resort to blogs like this but I play fair in my delaings, all I want is the same kind of treatment from those I do business with.

It just makes me wonder..if you are not complaining on this site what sort of service you are receiving?
Contrary to Annette’s message above I have had NO email contact from the company and my money has still not been refunded.

Simon

Your email came into my spam box and when moved to inbox shows as deleted for some reason. I have resent the refund confirmation to you this evening.

Regards
Annette

EBO 1112

I can’t work out if Annette is incompetent and useless or a liar. I fear the latter – there is a gross inconsistency with her excuses. She comments above that my order has been despatched – well I’ve not received it yet.

Simon Lewis – are you interested in a joint action? I know nothing about raising small claims actions – I’m sure the stress outweighs the benefits – but it’s the principal eh!

30th of June the first order placed with Easybrew, I have tried to contact the company many times with no reply or response at all. I have today asked for my money back under Consumer Protection law. I will let you know how long it takes to get my money back thats if I get it back at all..

Thanks to Graham Dinsdale for setting up this thread

We ordered £71 worth on 23 July and, like everyone else, have been waiting ever since. 50+ phone calls, either engaged or constantly ringing (obviously with some nurd standing beside it). Actually spoke to Annette on 21 Aug and was promised delivery on 22nd or 26th Aug – surprise, surprise, still confined to barracks waiting for order to arrive! Can someone please shut down their website as they are obviously trading illegally – taking money for goods that are not available and banking it in the meantime for whatever interest they can get. Have also now contacted Annette on her personal e-mail asking for immediate delivery or refund plus compensation for phone calls and interest on my funds – watch this space ………

i got my £57 refunded,ifeel lucky ,and i realize there have been health problems ,which i am soory to hear,but bottom line is you shouldnt have been trading under these circumstances ,and then all the complaints could have been avoided,the faer of loseing customers ,have now made easybrew lose customers,if you understand,anyway got my order from brew it yourself .com here within 2 days ,order complete and £4 cheaper,wont be back to easybrew im afaraid ,darren wedge dumfries

i placed an order on 11th june told items were out of stock on 16th june and back in stock within 21 days, my last dealings with easy brew were slow which i didn’t mind as the goods came through eventally, but this time i could get no reply through e-mail or telephone, i dont mind it getting here late so long as i know. today 2/9/08 i tried but no response so i have filled out a claim to get a refund through my credit card which i have just posted, sorry to hear about your ill health Annette and hope you get better, the internet site looks as though it could have been a winner, maybe still can, i wish i could generate a web site with this high a profile, only just found this blog as i wondered if anyone else was having trouble, seems they are.
hope you get back on your feet soon.

I Quote ” Your order was despatched as promised with 2 free kits with my way of apology “…..
Not strictly true and worded misleadingly. 2 Free kits received. 4 ordered kits not received. (In stock then out of stock )… And no, there was no card put through door to say no one at home to collect package of 4( out of stock )wine kits ,as mentioned in your private e.mail.

I have just checked my statement and my money of over £50 paid out in May was refunded by Annette on the 16th August. Many thanks.

Refund now received via bank. Order placed online, tracking available – goods received today from
http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk

Their website is an absolute joy to use and we now realise what an awful service we have been getting all this time from Easybrew, even before the current problems ………… Just glad we did a search and found this forum – Cheers

I also wish I’d seen this thread before ordering!

I’ve tried countless ‘phone calls, to get an update on my order, only to get the constant ring or engaged tone.

I have now sent an e-mail from the comments page as well as to Annette’s address (as shown above)and hopefully will hear something back from them.

Obviously Annette’s personal conditions are unfortunate, however they should not be continuing to accept orders they cannot fulfil.

i would recommend you contact trading standards regarding easybrew, they are very aware of them

Folkes,

Just to say that these folkes at Easybrew should be avoided at all costs, I did get a refund but only because I shouted loudly, so complain complain complain.
Just for reference I now use hopandgrape dot co dot uk, very good selection of products, excellent service, reasonable prices.
Good luck to everyone still having problems.

EASYBREW SAID A note to keep everyone updated. All queries here have been responded to. ANOTHER LIE

I cannot believe I have only just found this site! I made a small order on 23rd May, my money was taken promptly and all I have received so far is an email on 27th May stating there is a small delay in my order. Phone calls have not been answered. The same with follow up emails so far to support@easybrew.co.uk. I feel lucky compared to some of the folk on this but still pretty peeved overall. I will follow up with the email addresses mentioned on this site and failing that go to trading standards.

I have just a received the following e-mail from Anette:

“I am extremely sorry there has been a delay on your order being despatched. Our records show that on 7th September we emailed you to advise there would be a 14 day delay as we were out of stock of several items on your order.
However, as requested I have today provided a full refund and a copy of the confirmation is below for your records”

Interestingly, I have not received the “e-mail shown” in Easybrew’s “records”, or been able to talk to anyone on the phone. I will await my card issuer’s response with interest.

I can recommend http://www.brewityourself.co.uk who, although also having items out of stock, offered an superb service from start to finish. My delivery arrived from them before the response from Easybrew!

I cant get in contact with this company, so am going to pay them a little visit. Apparantly the shop is open from 10-4pm

Oh dear!! I feel like a turkey at Christmas that has just spotted Bernard Matthews grinning at me!!! No delivery after 2wks and no answer to emails of phone calls. Never had a problem with on-line shopping before, had to happen sometime! Why doesn’t this company do us ‘honest’ people a favour and shut the internet service down!!!

I’ve also emailed Annette on her personal email as there is no sign of my order or any explanations. Wish I’d seen this website before I ordered.

Have had the same trouble recently. Got this reponse when I demanded a refund:

Please accept my most sincere apologies that there has been an unacceptable delay in your order being processed.

Unfortunately we have had problems due to my unexpected ill health recently, and this had left EasyBrew under staffed. I am now back at work and we are catching up with everything.

Your order has now been refunded and a copy of this refund confirmation is below for your records.

This situation is not something we are proud of and we are working hard to get up to date and to ensure that this never happens again.

Once again, I am extremely sorry about all the inconvenience you have been put to.

I have also heard that BBC’s Watchdog are now aware of this company and are looking into it.

Oh marvellous! Why didn’t I see this thread before? Ordered for my husband’s birthday. Looks like he’ll get it next year (if at all). What the h*** am I supposed to do now? His birthday’s tomorrow!

Oh christ. I just checked my statement from, earlier this year and there was a refund from this company, and then it was taken out again. Thanks for the heads up on this Jimmy B.

They are not answering my emails or my phonecalls. They have taken money off me. These guys are crooks.

I constantly ring the phone number and it is either engaged or just rings out – does anyone feel like this is a scam , does the company actually exist

anyone else reported this to police?

Hi;

I see a few of you have had the same probs with EasyBrew that I have had. I had my money refunded then taken off my account again and then told some story about ‘a computer glitch’. Anyway I have started a thread about this at Jim’s Homebrew forum, so please if you can post your messages about refunds here too: http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16407 as I want as many people as possible to avoid this dodgy company.

Yep, Tina…I think the police should be informed.

I have had the same problems. Order 9th August £72.80 taken straight away. Not able to contact these crooks by phone so emailed several times. Eventually got a reply saying refund was on its way. Got refunded 25th Sep then money taken back out two days later. I dont’ understand why they bother to pretend to refund in the first place?Bank unable to help because it was a debit card which, it appears, gives the internet seller to take your money and not deliver! I have given up any chance of getting goods or money back but I am very concerned that trading Standards appear not to have taken action. Isn’t that their job? This company is trading ilegally. Trading standards just refer to the Consumer Advice line – I don’t need advice! But action is needed to close down their website to avoid others being ripped off so please DO SOMETIHNG!

Yes it is the same company, Ian. The ruggedroads website says that they always have stock in so that they can despatch straight away. A crock of lies. I guess people will get stung on that site too!

yeah…i’m waiting for a cheque too….oh bloody ell.

Oh dear me too I ordered £37.98 worth of goods on 18th September, it’s now 21st October, two messages from Anette saying (1) will put in a free kit then (2) that, yes, you’ve guessed it, they are now working overtime to clear their backlog (again)

Illness or no illness, this all smacks of a poorly run company who should not have a website open to take our money whilst they are seemingly incapable of delivering the goods.

***This comment has been edited by the webmaster on 22/10/2008 at 14:42 BST****

Please do not post personal information about the proprietor of Easybrew (or anyone else for that matter) here. If you have a problem with Easybrew there are legal channels etc. that you can use to find a solution to your issue.

***Note: Original comment contained an address claiming to be that of the Easybrew proprietor. I have removed this as it does not help anyone with their order issues, and could cause more serious trouble.***

Hi like many people on this site i have also been having real issues getting any form of service from this company. i placed an order with them on 23rd sept and didn’t receive it till october 20th and then when it did finally turn up was not all there. also contacted easybrew on many occasions and was given about 4 different delivery dates even got told 1 day that my order had been dispatched and would be with me by 5.45 at the latest needless to say the item didn’t arrive as it wasn’t posted till 2 days after it should have been.
I have tried several times to contact easybrew regarding my missing item but to no avail, so i have contacted trading standards regarding the company but have been told that they are unlikely to act unless they receive several complaints so as well as posting on here pls contact your local trading standards agency to try and put a stop to this poor excuse for a business before they can prey on more people trying to get presents for Christmas or save money when times are getting harder, the number given to me by trading standards is 08454 040506.
I appreciate that Easybrew may be trying to sort out the problems they are having but that is of little consolation to those left out of pocket or having to go elsewhere for presents etc. this company needs to be shut down until they get their act together and the only way to stop them is by reporting them to the relevant authorities. so pls call 08454 040506 and give them the details of your problem.

Had enough of this company and Annettes lies Im taking this to Watchdog and I will mention this forum for all the other people she has ripped off.

will keep you posted guys.

Just thought I’d update you. I sent a recorded/signed for letter to EasyBrew asking for a refund. You are fully entitled to do this if you do this within 7 working days of the order under the Distance Selling Regulations (fyi). I received an email from Annette Ferre one week later saying that the order was going to be despatched shortly with a free gift to compensate for the “computer glitch”. I replied that I did not want the order, just the refund as requested.

No reply from Ms Ferre. No refund. No answer from the phone. Have now raised it with Visa. Visa are happy to dispute payment on the grounds of non delivery of goods within the 30 day period of ordering.

Will let you know what happens.

This would be a great Carry On film if it wasn’t real……I got an email from AF on 21/10/08 telling me that part of the order was out of stock, but would be delivered the next Tues 28th & despatched next working day delivery…..then on 22/10/08 another email told me the order had already been despatched & would check in the morning of next day to confirm if this was the case……now over a week later, no confirmation & no goods either. I’ve asked for a refund will let you good people know what goes on…..

Oh Boy! Wish I’d found this BEFORE I ordered from Easybrew…Ordered on the 13th Oct, money taken from Credit card on 13th, and nothing heard since…no email replies, phone engaged or rings constantly….SH**!

I so wish I had visibility of this website before I ordered. Ordered on 25/11/08 and not received a thing. I hope I have not been ripped off as this was a present and many more orders would have followed from it.
All phone calls and emails remain unanswered.
I am appalled at the fact that on a thread on here, when someone went to the site, employees did not answer ringing phones. This says it all.

I will this week request my money back unless all items are delivered. If not surely this is theft and will have to be dealt with as such.

Add me as well.

I placed an order with them on 21st October for £85 worth of goods.
Nothing so far.
Wish I had seen this site before I ordered.
I am lodging a complaint with Trading standards, as well as watchodg. Have also copied my solicitor in on my email to Annette.
Lets see what happens.

How can they go bust, with so many people wanting to buy from them.
Thats just really bad management.

Well they’re certainly getting the cash. and with no outlay either. Either poor managers or very smart. Collect the money in, pay back those who complain, and pocket the money of those who don’t.

Well the site’s back up now so I guess a few more victims will be notched up. I shudder to think how much money is going into their accounts, it seems everyone is spending £50 plus, my order number was well over 3000 so I’m guessing they’ve raised quite a bit from this scam!

I really can’t believe this is not being closed by trading standards or the police.

Has anyone managed to contact mwa who power the site, I would be interested to hear their view on this but they don’t pick up their phones either!? Is mwa another sham company?

…and has anyone heard back from trading standards yet?

I have phoned, emailed and sent letters re. cancelation and requesting a refund. No response. Now contacted “consumer direct” (details on net). I have now sent a legal letter requesting a refund as per “distance selling regulations”. Trading standards have thus been informed of this company (many times by the sounds of it). Ill await this and then it is Court proceedings – This I am informed is not that expensive to undertake !!

It may be worth looking into the possibility of a joint legal case against them. I.e. lets all combine forces and take them to court, as one large law suit.

I have raised an objection on this purchase with my Card services. They are looking into it now.
I will check with the Hampshire Police next week to see if they can look into this. The court route will come into play if they don’t reimburse me in the alloted time. Additionally they have “our” card details and cannot be trusted as they cannot even be contacted ! This too is unacceptable and I will contact via legal letter re this next week.

hi everyone in the same boat as you all ordered my stuff end of sept and taken payment by credit card for E150.00.EURO still no reply from her wish i now looked at this site wont make the same mistake again

I to have been shafted by this company. Placed an order on 02/10/08, recieved an e-mail 09/10 appologising for the delay claiming the delay was due to the volume of business they were doing and that my order would be dispached. Complained by e-mail on 17/10, got a reply saying my order would be dispatched etc etc.
E-mailed them yesterday asking for a refund and informing them that I would be writing to Trading Standards regarding poor customer service.
Don’t hold much hope, but I will keep you informed.

Personally I think Easybrew need to be stopped from trading as soon as possible, this has gone on long enough.

There are very few homebrew trade distributers so I would suggest contacting them to let them know what’s going on. Hopefully by cutting off their supplies they wont be able to rip off anymore of their customers.

I’m sure the following companies will be interested to find out what’s happening.

Youngs
enquiries@youngshomebrew.co.uk

Brupaks
brupaks@brupaks.com (Clive Donald)

Ritchie Products
info@ritchieproducts.co.uk

Muntons
linda.arthrell@muntons.com

For what it’s worth Brew it Yourself have upset their share of customers but there are plenty of very good homebrew shops with online services out there, all with a good track record for delivery.

The following are all excellent homebrew shops…

Leyland Homebrew
Art of Brewing
Hamstead Brewing Centre
The Home Brew Shop
The Hop Shop UK
Beer Tech (online only)
Hop and Grape (probably the buisiest home brew shops and small delays in delivery reflect this).

Compare prices before buying as no one shop is the cheapest, they all have their own deals.

I’ve found if you phone Leyland Homebrew, The Hop Shop or Hop and Grape they are all willing to give very good advice over the phone too.

Good luck everyone.

Hi folks;

Sorry to hear that people are still having problems with this terrible company. I did manage to finally get a refund out of them but it was a hassle. I sent them a letter (by special delivery not recorded) telling them to pay me by a certain date. They then got in touch with me via email (at last) with a bunch of lies. I then had the maount credited back to my Card by the requested date. Only two days later EasyBrew took the money back abd then claimed it was a ‘computer glitch’. More lies. Easybrew then sais they would send me a cheque by recorded delivery for the next day and gave me the recorded delivery reference number to check online. The cheque did not turn up the next day or the day after and when I checked online it said ‘the letter was being processed’. The cheque finally turned up a week later and guess what? It had not been sent via recorded delivery. So more lies from EasyBrew.

Just keep emailing and demand a refund by a certain date. Mention this site and also threaten them with Watchdog, Trading Standarads and even a visit to the store (if you can get there and find it open).

Also you may interested to know that the woman at EasyBrew runs another company (www.ruggedroads.co.uk) which is the same address, phone number etc etc, so it is not just homebrewers who are falling foul of this company.

Best of luck everyone

DG

Consumer Direct called and they are passing on (my) case to Trading Standards in Hampshire. Checking up on Small claims court proceedings in readiness (they have 30 days from my letter date to refund fully – legally). An email (not a refund) has arrived stating they will send me a letter from Easybrew – the only thing that will stop me is a full refund not a letter.

Thanks Chris – have written to Protx.

I have done a bit of digging, and it would appear that there may be an innocent albeit very annoying reason for all these problems that we have been having. It would appear that Ms Ferre and her other half have spent most of 2008 on various road trips ove rthe UK and Europe on their rather natty (and expensive) cross country bikes. Furthermore, she seems never to be away from cross country bike message boards.

There is of course no excuse at all for this teenage-style behaviour from a 44yo woman. If you want to run your own business, take people’s money and be a director, you have legal and moral responsibilities to fulfil.

had an email today saying see has looked into my order and is sorry that neither easybrew or their/her suppliers have my product.and that I should of had a responce stating as much(you think?)

contrary to an email 4 weeks before stating that the products where in and on the way to me.

apparently a letter is on the way with a refund(we’ll see)I did threaten to make a personnal appearance and may yet do.

I’ll let people know if I’m successful(doubt it)

A letter to protx is on the way

CONTACT ANNETTE FERRE DIRECTLY.

contacting annette ferre via easybrew obviously seems to not work. however after discovering her personal email address and mobile phone number i did manage to speak to her. although i think contacting someone via private contact details would normally inappropriate, her absoloute disregard and lack of respect for her customers warrents it. this is a copy of the email which was sent to her home email address:

annette ferre,
i have gotten this contact address for you after investigating you and your business on the internet. i wish i had of done this before i ever placed my order with you as you appear to be a despicable company. i have found hundreds of testimonies as to how awful your business practices are. i have made repeated attempts to contact you, all in vein. i absolutely demand a refund. however i am aware that this is a demand you are probably used to so i am also taking this up with hampshire trading standards, hampshire police and informing my bank of your fraudulent activites. i gather you are also in the habit of debiting people a second time once you return their refund to them. if this happens to me i shall purse the matter through court whether i have to take out private action against you or whether it is pursed through the criminal courts. i would also recommend that you cease trading immediately before you end up in jail/fined for fraud.

i also conatcted googles advertising department to explain they were running advertisements for a very unscroupulous comapny, i contacted the host company at: James.Batty@ukfast.co.uk, and i contacted hampshire trading standards who seemed to be aware of her activites. they can be contacted at rsadvice@hants.gov.uk and if they receive enough complaints they should intervene. probably the most effective part was calling her on her mobile which, yes, low and behold, she answered! the number is 07828 691741.

through employing all these methods i did eventually get a cheque in the post from her. and as a precaution i ordered another bank card, because i dont trust this company with my card details on iota. i recommend using all the above methods, and make sure you contact trading standards its the only way she will be closed for good! i also asked them to treat my case as related to any other complaints about easybrew they might have had. good luck!

Unbelievable!! Just checked the easybrew website, and guess what, Annette is now offering free delivery on all orders in November!!!! Trading Standards really do need to put a stop to this – how many people need to lose their money before they’ll take action?!

After weeks of countless unanswered phone calls and emails, a letter arrived out of the blue on Saturday morning from Annette, apologising that EasyBrew has been unable to fulfil my order in a timely fashion and explaining that this has been due to her having a sudden serious illness.

Looking back at this thread I find that very hard to believe as it seems she’s been giving the same excuse for months – if her illness has been that detrimental to her ability to trade she should have suspended all activity a long time ago!

I’m cancelling my card as I don’t trust her with my details.

I have been trying to get a refund for ages now. I was promised a cheque, but nothing has yet been received (8 days ago). How long did it take for your cheques to arrive?

All you guys that thought you’ve landed lucky and received a cheque in refund watch out!

I placed a £91.99 order in mid October, received the standard “out of stock, 10-14 day delay blah blah”. No delivery, no contact, no patience, found this forum, letter sent, cheque received as full refund. Written apology “been seriously ill….sorry….got behind” and that old bollox.

Anyway cheque paid into bank account Monday this week. BOING! damn thing bounced.

Luckily I had contacted my bank’s fraud department and they charged the debit back to my VISA DEBIT card today. I feel lucky to have got away with this.

Even if you paid by debit card, get onto your bank. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Oh boy what a bunch or crooks. £98.00 they had off me in September and not a sausage! Hope i do get a refun and they try to take the money again i will take this company to the cleaners. I am investigating having the web site shut down. An injunction on them trading and once i have evidence of freud that too. Many people intodays climate are turning to home brewing because of the credit crunch. They are just taking the piss!

I have today received my order and the free 30 kit promised for all my problems. I placed my order on the 30th September. Thank you Annette for finally resolving the issue. It is a shame i had to get heavy handed to get my goods!

Hi, I too have a problem with easybrew. I ordered some replacement wine filter pads and received a full filter kit. I was advised by annette to post the kit back minus the filter pads (at my own cost) and they would credit me or send me goods to the value. I have an order EB9804 which has handwritten on it send one muntons pilsner kit + £3 but unfortunately it was not part of that delivery and still has not been received. I can’t get an answer on the phone and emails are being rejected. hopefully posting here will get an answer

Like everyone here I had similar problems of delivery and refund. Sorted now but I would reccomend visiting http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk in future, I’ve used them for the first time and the customer service was fantastic.

I would certainly recommend them over chancing your luck again with eb…

Hi All,
It seems I also did not see the warning signs. I made a purchase on 30 Sep, 2008 for around £65 I got the usual email and have sent a few asking for the money to be returned. I did receive some email stating that the charge had been reversed but it has never reached my account. I even got hold of the guys at http://www.protx.com their payment gateway. They could not help me.
It looks like I’m going to get some legal advice on how to recoup my money through the courts. I have given easybrew every available opportunity to repay the money. Companies House still seems to be awaiting easybrew returns. I’m sure they will be interested to know easybrew has been making a tidy sum this year. It’s not so much the money but the principal of the matter. These are the sorts of companies that give small traders a bad name.
Cheers

Hello there,
Wish I’d found this thread before ordering on Dec 3rd instead of after Christmas when I was left present-less. Having received no reply to my emails and telephone calls, I contacted trading standards http://www.hants.gov.uk/regulatory/tradingstandards/consumeradvice.html who sadly seemed familiar with the name and repeated the advice about sending a recorded delivery letter. I also did a check on the companies house website http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/123c6e78d8a49b8a01b395b19a47ca36/wcframe?name=accessCompanyInfo which revealed that they are about to be struck off, which *i think* means they will be liquidated (providing there is no objection) and those left with outstanding orders treated as unsecured creditors.
Although they only owe me £30, I will be pursuing the amount on principal as I am disgusted at the quick removal of the money from my account and the complete lack of communication and throughly disappointed at being left without a gift to give someone at christmas.

This company stink, and I am going break into her shop and take the items I am owed.

I originally placed a fairly substantial order back on the 2nd October 2008…….

I dont even get the excuses anymore!!! I could understand the situation if the business had gone bust but amazingly it continues to “trade” if that is the correct word.

As it happens she will shortly be receiving a visit from the court-appointed bailiffs on my behalf so it will be interesting to see what cash or stock they can seize…..

I will get my money back one way or another, formally or informally, but what a pain in the butt!

Goods ordered 6 October 2008. Letter saying one item out of stock, would be a delay. Nothing then until I spoke to Trading Standards. Complaint reference SE623789. Then the apologetic letter alleging illness, promising refund within 7 days. Since then nothing. Recorded Delivery letter today 21 January. Will see what happens. Not holding my breath, but determined to follow this through.
Wonder whether BBC’s ‘Watchdog’ would be interested? If she has other trading outlets, a ten minute item might well appeal.
On a positive note, found everything I needed at Harveys in Fareham, and son (for whom the gear was a prsent) now brewed and beer conditioning. Harveys VERY knowledgeable, very well stocked, and will use him for the future, as I visit children down there quite regularly. He also trades on Internet as http://www.4U2BREW.CO.UK for those of you can’t visit. I would use him. An idea NEVER to use Debit cards for Internet purchases. A credit Card can be charged back and money returned without question, in fact owner has to demonstrate that goods have been supplied.
Happy brewing.
Frank Allinson

Cheeky bitch promises to refund u, never does. I cant believe how she has done this but she has another business operating from the same location:

http://www.homebrewingandwinemaking.co.uk/shop/page/1?shop_param=

Hi Annette,

As a previous dissatisfied customer of Easy Brew’s I’m intrigued – why does it require a different web address to allow this new payment method?

You know me my wife ordered a kit from you for Christmas. It arrived without the concentrate no insructions, 2 plastic bukets, a bit of hose. Fanatastic value at £127.00. You told me by email last week I would get 2 kits this week with your complements. Well what a surprise NOTHING. See you in court.

I suggest people owed money get the bailiffs in quick if she has packed up the business. Alternatively, you can find the directors details at the link below if you invest a £1 in downloading the annual return.

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/d1415dfb0e4cabf48dd7b5efc898704e/compdetails

There are decent non-company assets to be had – I have checked out her gaff myself.

Amazingly, I have received a refund. This followed my sending, Recorded Delivery, a letter prompted by Consumer Direct concerning ‘Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 – Goods. You can use their template to construct a letter.
Good luck to the rest of you.
Needless to say, I won’t be using, or recommending this supplier.
Frank Allinson

4u2brew.co.uk is awsome, efficient,quick and reliable, highly recommend.

still no refund of my £200 order ,it was placed last september,sent another email today,but not holding my breath.

Home address
ANNETTE C FERRE
22 ELLERY GROVE
LYMINGTON
HAMPSHIRE
SO41 9DX
01590 679123

Thanks for putting up her address me and a few other pissed off customers will be visiting very soon.

I placed an order with easy brew on the 29th October. The item cost £105 however, i have not yet received the item or been refunded. I contacted the company on several occasions who state they were late receiving the goods, but they would send the item once they had received it. Almost 4 months later still no goods. i have numerous emails from this company and receipts for payment if proof is needed.

thanks Emma

Further to my earlier postings, I received a full refund after following the advice of Consumer Direct using the Distance Selling Regulations. They provide a template, you just fill in your details. Send this letter, Recorded Delivery, to Easybrew, and copy it to Julie Gallagher, Trading Standards Officer, Montgomery House,Monarch Way, Winchester. SO22 5PW.
She is on the case and will help you.
Also tell everyone you know about your experiences. The word will get around. Just refer them to this website, and within weeks they will be out of business.
Another thing, don’t lose your temper. You’ll live longer!
Best wishes,
Frank

Following my comment of 10th of Feb. I contacted my bank (Halifax) who were great. I filed a ‘Non-fraudulent dispute’ with them and had the money refunded 3 weeks later. Not sure how they got the money from easybo##ocks but they did.

I ordered some wine from Easybrew back in October 2008, again numerous phone calls, letters, emails to be told that the product is out of stock and will be sent to me asap. I contacted them a few weeks ago, by letter and email to refund my money, I actually got to speak to a lady who took my card details for the refund and was told it would be in my bank 4-5 days later. I am still waiting. Taking advice and going down the Consumer Protection, Distance Selling.

Those of you with outstanding problems with Easybrew may be interested to know that Annette Ferre is now declared bankrupt.

Notice of the bankruptcy and details of the offical receivers are listed in the London Gazzette here:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/59041/notices/797237/all=easybrew

If you are still owed money by Easybrew don’t give up just yet. My friends have just had their £71 refunded by their bank. This was from a debit card transaction as well. So it’s worth a try. Tell the bank the full story with dates etc and how many times and by what method you triied to contact EB. Copy any letters to the bank that you have sent EB or Trading Standards or even the Receiver. Never though I would say “Well done, Barclays!!”