ao.com

I selected the fridge I wanted on the website. I checked availability and delivery time. I place my order and paid. I received confirmation of my order and delivery.

The next day I was informed the item was not in stock and asked if I could I be fobbed off with another one?

I asked for a refund and was told it would take up to 5 days.

Interesting business model. It seems very similar to fraud to me.

Stay away from this site and spend your money with people who you can trust and who know what they are doing. Just my advice of course :)

I ordered an American fridge freezer! Delivery was excellent. The driver took off the fridge doors for it to be able to get into property! Cannot fault this side of the business! They successfully did a recycle too. However, the fridge freezer was faulty - I called hisense who said I would need to wait 3 weeks for an engineer. Imagine purchasing a brand new product and requiring an engineer? After complaining to AO they agreed to send an exchange.

Again drivers were amazing! They did the delivery in no time. Installation and everything went great unfortunately the faulty fridge was not collection as I had not turned it off for 24 hours. I was advise that the collection with be made the following day between 7am - 12pm. I ensured this was the case as I work with children and this time frame would be the most ideal and safe - allowing drivers to have the space to collect. I was then text with another time the following day.

After calling and raising my concerns highlighting that it was an issue. The drivers arrived after 12. I asked whether they could wear shoe covers (at present there was a young child wearing no shoes - previously drivers had not made an issue about this). They refused and, I explained it will be fine I will issue my complaint separately asking whether, they would be done in time of a nursery run. They advise they would make a call and get back to me. They left the property without speaking to me claiming there was an incident. They were very unprofessional when calling prior to coming to property.

I have highlighted safety issues to AO in regards to collection but, nothing can be done. I was misinformed and, given wrong information causing inconvenience. I currently have two American fridge freezer causing obstruction.

Dishwasher delivered today for fitting. I waited two weeks for this.
It was faulty so now need to wait another two weeks for fitting.
This is primitive customer service. Do not use ao.
Janice Anderton
AOL*******

AO.com let my housemates and I down FIVE times between the start of November and middle of January 2022 (issue still unresolved - we have restored to using another company).
Our washing machine broke in November, and after using up wfh time for five days (waiting for AO from 7am each time) over the last two months every single attempt at delivery failed:
1. AO damaged the washing machine in transit.
2. AO 'tried but no one was home' (I have since proved that I was in fact home, and actually saw the van. Approached AO and they said there was nothing they could do).
3. Job refused due to the amount of stairs (We then discussed this with AO and they promised to send a team capable of carrying the machine next time).
4. Job refused due to the amount of stairs (Same call to AO, same useless response).
5. Job refused AGAIN for the same reason (AO said the same thing despite me making clear that this was the fifth attempt. This delivery wasn't even confirmed with us - AO had scheduled without confirming with us that someone was even home - I had to call in late to work to stay home last minute).

Like I said in the title, cannot fault how friendly the AO customer service team is. However, there is clearly no communication between them and the delivery teams and they are, therefore, useless. My experience with them was nothing but apologies, empty promises and wasted time.

To make matters worse, on top of the washing machine a hob, dishwasher and oven also had to be fitted. After the hob and oven were removed our kitchen's old pipes were revealed and were, in fact, not Gas-safe (as our Landlord's personal plumber identified on a recent visit to rectify AO's installation mistakes). AO have been reported for not acting on this while installing the oven and hob and this remains ongoing at present.

Overall a horrendous experience with this company. To make matters worse the delivery teams were unhelpful and unfriendly every single time.

Delivery is always quick and efficient, the drivers are lovely, and they price match.

But beware their handling of problems. We've been without a fridge freezer for weeks following a 'second breakdown', all their attempts to try and fix the situation just made things worse.

A final offer to 'replace' the broken appliance was accepted by us, with engineer visits cancelled, however what they'd failed to mention was that the offer to replace required us to pay an additional £400... something they failed to mention when making the offer.

They've mishandled our problem spectacularly, with the result that we'll be giving them a miss in future.

This is the single worst incident of 'customer service' that I've ever experienced, if they'd done absolutely nothing we'd have been in a better position than after their 'help'.

In the past i have brought numerous items from AO and the drivers were helpfull and polite but tonight
We had a driver that was so rude he said that he had just been working for AO for two weeks and was not willing to take the freezer out of box to see if it went through the door has in his words did not pay for
Insulation so would not help in any way my wife was shaken by this experience and had to wake me up
From bed has she felt uneasy by his manner this made me phone AO and a lady by the name of jessica was so helpfull but we could not get a guarantee we would not get same man again we cancelled the order has my wife could not put her self through meeting the driver again

New washing machine delivered paid…
New washing machine delivered paid extra £50 for disconnecting re-connecting and removal
They have left me with a machine that is leaking under the sink where they connected the pipe to the cold water!
I rang them within 10 mins of them leaving to advise they have left it leaking to be told they would come back after their next delivery this evening this was at 5:23pm it's now 8:28pm
They have not returned and When I have rung the number it now says no record of my order!
APPALLING SERVICE
I have had to turn the water off can't use the washing machine and have been left with a leak CAUSED BY YOUR CONTRACTORS
PS: don't use the weather as an excuse!
AVOID THIS COMPANY and please read all the other reviews on other review sites
You take £50 and don't provide a service
You have left me with a water leak! By bodgit and scarper

I had appalling service from AO.com.

I ordered an electric cooker to replace a gas cooker. It was for my mother who lives in a 3rd floor flat without a lift in London. The reason I went with AO is because they clearly state that they can replace a gas cooker with an electric one when you order. I even called up after ordering online to clarify that they can do this and that they would be able to deliver to a 3rd floor flat. I was told that while an assessment needs to be done on the day by the delivery team, there should be no problem. My mother is unwell so I had to travel to hers to receive the delivery, hence why I needed to make sure the delivery would be smooth.

1st attempt

The delivery team didn't fancy it. I got a call from AO to say that the delivery team didn't think it was safe to deliver up the stairs. But they would reschedule the delivery in the hope that another team wouldn't be so work shy. To put into context, the flat has appliances as do all the hundreds of flats in my mum's estate and all the flats in London and the UK that do not have a lift. They must have been delivered somehow. Currys had just delivered a washing machine a couple of days before with no issue. So this delivery team that works delivering appliances in London with its many flats without lifts just couldn't be bothered this time. AO apologised to me, saying this was rare but they couldn't force the team to do it. While I wasn't happy, I accepted the reschedule only because AO seemed to be the only firm that said they could deliver up stairs and replace gas with electric.

2nd attempt

I called AO in advance again to make sure there would be no issue. The representative clarified that there wouldn't be a problem disconnecting a gas cooker and replacing it with electric. He clarified that they can do stairs without a lift, subject to review on the day. On the day of the delivery, the delivery team called on route. He asked if there was a lift. I said no (so he didn't get my note then). He then queried what my existing cooker was. I said gas. He said he wasn't a gas safe engineer so couldn't disconnect it. SO WHY DID THEY SEND HIM! He apologised and said there was no mention of a gas cooker on his instruction. When I spoke to someone from AO, they said there was no mention of a gas cooker on the delivery instructions. This despite the fact that when we order an installation and replacement, you are clearly asked what the existing connection is!

I cancelled my order with AO, they mucked me about twice. In the end I got an independent gas safe engineer to disconnect the existing gas cooker, then I ordered an electric cooker from Currys. They delivered up the stairs and took away the old gas cooker without issue.

I will never order from AO ever again.

The most rubbish experience I have. Staff are very rude blaming each other and at the end after loads of hours of staying on hold they send a,, email" to find out... that when the dont hang up. I made a claim for a phone replacement 3 weeks ago and since then I call them every day to find out what the problem and nobody knows anything. Do not use this company's for any of there services. Just dont. Is not warfet.

Waiting in all day, taking time off work. I live in a flat an AO, according to a neighbour, knocked on my door an went away in no less that 30 second! I am a flat, how can I hear someone knock on the entry door? No phone call, nothing. Slot booked for 11-15:00, nothing. See photos.

The delivery of the washer/dryer was already a problem. The first time the driver refused to deliver, although I had put on the delivery note that my flat was on the fourth floor without a lift. When the appliance finally arrived the packaging was dented and the enamel was chipped. AO offered to replace it, but after the difficulty of delivery I declined and they promised me some compensation which to date has not arrived. When a few weeks later I ordered a fridge/freezer I had my doubts but the person taking the order was very friendly and assured me that he would put it on the delivery note of the driver that my flat was on the fourth floor without a lift and that this time there would be no problem. Unfortunately on the day of the delivery the same thing happened. The driver refused to deliver. Customer service was this time not very courteous. They said the only solution would be to deliver to the ground floor and I would have to organise people to bring it upstairs. I said that this was not the agreement I had made with AO when placing the order. The only reply was an email stating their delivery conditions. I replied that it was strange that they could delivery a heavy washer/dryer a few weeks before, but not a lighter fridge/freezer. AO did not even respond. I cancelled the order and bought the appliance from John Lewis for the same price. Will never again order from AO.

A wasted day hanging around and an utterly unfair rebooking system. Having had all works in the kitchen carried out ready for the removal of the old cooker and installation of a new one, the whole day went to s#@t. Atrscking update showed progressively later ETAs. From 1pm to 10pm in two hour increments. Called and left messages with the driver twice with no response. Called AO's excellent and hard-pressed customer services team (which in meant a wait of over 20 minutes in the queue). They couldnt get a response from the driver or AO's 'Expert Logistics' team. No, it didnt get delivered and what's worse is that you then go back in the system for the next available delivery, some 2 weeks after AO's first failure (which means that the cooker will have to be removed, stored and reloaded significantly increasing the risk of transit damage) - and no, you're not a priority, you just get the same service as anyone buying a product and booking a delivery on the day. My two previous purchases with AO were perfect, but they were delivered by DPD. So, if it doesnt get delivered again, I'll vote with my wallet and cancel the order and I'll exercise my right not to ever buy from them again.

EXTRAORDINARY BAD EXPERIENCE that caused me frustration and anxiety.
On 7th of Sept 2021 I ordered a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (£409). The package was delivered by DPD which failed to handle it to me personally. They backed themselves with a picture of my flatmate leaning towards the package. However the package received back by the driver which then denied everything. My flatmate never stole a package.
I contacted ao.com Customer Service and after fully cooperating with them to open a Police case they attempted to pass the matter to Police, ignoring their responsibility to issue a replacement or a refund for the lost package.
I emailed John Roberts, the CEO, and my case was delegated to Customer Resolutions team which in turn placed more obstacles in the way of my resolution due to their investigations with DPD. After 3 weeks I still don't know if I will recover my money back (£409). All I know is that I was subject only to delay, deter and frustration from this company since they refuse to take responsibility for failing to deliver the package to me (according to Consumer's Act).
Probably only the Court will do justice in this case, but nothing can repay the anxiety, stress and deter caused by this company's internal procedures.

Too much time wasted to write much but avoid Haier machines and avoid AO. On machine 3, so many days off work, engineers don't turn up or do but make it worse and then customer has to go back and mess around. The given voucher to say sorry but wasted time on chat and with phonecall and can't use it. Try to complain online and cut off after divulging more GDPR info than I share with my neighbours!

I bought a dishwasher BOSCH Series 2 WiFi and I booked a delivery date and failed to deliver because their truck broke down, when it was finally delivered I was excited I opened and water was running everywhere, connected my machine and it come up with E31 error, which means the heating water pump is broken down. This means I have to book engineer to fix a broken dishwasher & still not workinGGGG.

Received a microwave not working and a month after I still didn't get any new microwave or any kind of compensation. Very poor customers service by Becki, didn't try to engage at any point, Asked in several times for a manager call witch I never received. Avoid!

Ordering was easy and communication up to the day of the delivery was excellent. I was given a 4 hour delivery window the night before, and this was then updated throughout the following morning until a one hour slot was specified between 11.30am and 12.30pm. So far, so good, well done AO.

Unfortunately the last mile has really let AO down here. The delivery driver tried to call twice at 11.05am. I couldn't answer because I was on a work call, and knew that the delivery wasn't due for another 20 mins anyway so I could call him back. I tried to call back at 11.11am and again at 11.17am but the phone was engaged. I then got a call from AO logistics at 11.20am saying the driver had been looking for our house for 30 minutes (it's very easy to find) and was going to have to reschedule for another day. She advised calling the driver to see if there was anything he could do.

To say the driver was rude and condescending when I spoke to him is an understatement. He wasn't delivering and that was that, even though the delivery window hadn't even opened yet. To be spoken to like that having just spent £1,200 with AO was extraordinary.

I'm not having someone like that come into our house so I called up to cancel the order (despite having made several other arrangements based around this delivery). To be fair to AO Customer Service, the person I then spoke to to cancel the order was excellent, and very helpful. Such a shame that an otherwise good service is let down by the only bit that actually really matters, the delivery. Sadly won't be using AO again.

Tried to order a tumble dryer 3 times they never took the payment or contacted me! Absolutely useless!