Anyone had problems ordering from Thompson & Morgan?

[chris]

Why put it on here because maybe some people might like to know what can happen

I'm sure if you search for any company you'll find complaints

Fair enough about the cost.

If their schedule says until April - I'd be prepared to wait until april. Just my two pence.

[Shroomy]

My apologies. 'However I'm not writing ranty posts on a busy gardening forum about it'...?

Lol fair enough the post may appear ranty as i am not a very well educated man i find it hard to express myself sometimes , and here comes the but
But Surely firstly (i hoped ive not misread what you have said) But is it not up to me to decide when conditions are right for my sets
Secondly lets say they hold everybodies order (unlikely i know) untill the last day of march say
Thats an awful lot of peoples money earning them intrest to what seems to me as an invalid arguement

But if you feel this is not a gripe with T&M and i am just bumping my gums over nothing feel free to delete

[GardenNinja]

Hi Shroomy, when you ordered your bulbs, there would have been a 'terms and conditions' notice which you basically agreed to prior to placing your order. This would allow T&M to decide when conditions are right to send out the bulbs, as it falls under the exception in their FAQ (link: Frequently Asked Questions | Thompson & Morgan).

I agree that describing the delivery date as between January and April may appear ambiguous for buyers as it can be interpreted in various ways.

[SarzWix]

Honestly, I wouldn't claim that T&M are perfect, and I've had the odd problem with them in the past, but on this occasion I think they're following standard practice. JBA seed potatoes hold onto orders when there's a chance of frost damage en route and so do Marshalls that I know of. Hopefully the rise in temperature promised by Metcheck for next week will get everything moving again

[Alison]

To be honest I've had major problems with T&M in years gone by with delivery of bulbs and plants but on the odd occasion that I've ordered seeds off them they've been great. I don't really use them much now as I prefer to give my money to the smaller outfits but that's a different story. However my complaints have been with regards to quality and total lack of delivery and not them working within their terms and conditions. You very rarely get plants, bulbs etc sent out immediately you order, that's just not how they work if they're seasonal.

[Potstubsdustbins]

A simple question.

Would you (a) Have them send out your shallots and have them arrived frost damaged and useless?
(b) Have them hold off until night time temps improve and have your shallots arrive in good condition?

Potty

[Hazel at the Hill]

Obvs. (b), Potty, but where I think that T&M could do better is in keeping their customers up to speed.

An email once a week or so saying 'we know that you have placed your order with us - thank you - but we don't anticipate sending it out just yet as the weather is not suitable' as opposed to 'thank you for your order' and then radio silence for up to - what - 4 months?

I suspect that it's not so much the lack of shallots being delivered that has exercised Shroomy, but the being ignored - especially if the money has been paid across already.

[Kinkdom]

I've had a (non-edible) plant order with Thompson & Morgan not arrive when the despatch was marked as "by end of February". Emailed on Saturday, just asking if there was a delay, with no response except automated acknowledgement. Will phone them tomorrow and update this thread.

My other experiances with them - blueberry plants, strawberry plants and potatoes - have been brilliant. So think it is just communication thats the issue.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Just a thought but have they not had some bad weather down their way?

Potty

[Paulieb]

......why would they wait to send sets out you can go into any garden center etc and pick onion sets up surely ? I wanted to get them in the ground before the weather changed for the better

I think I agree with your other comments regarding if you order something in Jan which says delivery Jan-Apr, then it would be reasonable to expect them before end of March.

However, it is well known (or at least mentioned on lots of potato suppliers sites) that shipping will only occur in period of good weather to avoid damage to live plants.

In that case I normally plan to buy a bag of first earlies from a garden centre, so that I can control when they get chitted and so they are ready to be planted 'early', when I want them planted.

[Kinkdom]

Just a thought but have they not had some bad weather down their way?

Potty

Possibly, which is why I think it's just communication that's the issue.

[flopsy]

i have ordered from them and it said delivery for plants up to end of February. i rang them yesterday and they said they had been delayed and were now at despatch. i said that if they were delayed they should email customers and let them know

[otherside27]

Since they're quite (very!) expensive I'd have thought they could manage an email, but I guess maybe they just assume people look out of the window, see it's snowing and don't expect to plant anything! I ordered a packet of seeds from them and it took a good few days but I had a code for free delivery so no complaints! I didn't think about the risk of frost damage whilst in transit - that's totally right of them to hold off if that's the case! If they sent out in all weather they'd get more complaints when nothing grew! Kind of a waste of good plants too this weather, eh?

[chris]

I've had a (non-edible) plant order with Thompson & Morgan not arrive when the despatch was marked as "by end of February". Emailed on Saturday, just asking if there was a delay, with no response except automated acknowledgement. Will phone them tomorrow and update this thread.

My other experiances with them - blueberry plants, strawberry plants and potatoes - have been brilliant. So think it is just communication thats the issue.

That's why in my post I said to phone them - they're not that great at answering emails - I've sent a fair few to them to never get a reply. Phone wise though, they always answer.

[ugley_matt]

TBH all of this could be sorted out with one phonecall,email or tweet to them.