Fraudulent web supplier?

[Mike-W]

2 days ago I tried ordering some General Finishes Milk Paint from the UK importer on the Web, my credit card transaction was declined on two attempts. I email them soon after but it was returned as undeliverable.
I spoke to the supplier yesterday who denied any problem with the on-line ordering process and told me I should try on-line again as he was not able to take my order over the phone. I made two further attempts to order on-line and came up against the same order declined message. I sent an email using a different email address asking someone from Behlen to contact me by phone as there was a definite problem with the website payment process. In the meantime I checked with my bank, they informed me that Visa had identified a possible fraudulent transaction and therefore declined the payments.

Dose anyone have any recent experience of dealing with this company as they have had 24 hours to contact me and I am now considering an alternate paint system as I now don’t feel confident about using there web based ordering process?

Mike

 

[Steve Maskery]

Mike
What is the name of the company? If it is generalfinishes.co.uk, then I can at least confirm that the company exists at a physical location. They are next door to the computer supplier I have used for years.

It's only a tiny company, the boss and a handful of staff. When I went in for something (can't remember what, but it was one of GF's products) I was told that I'd have to come back when the boss was there as they were not a retail counter. They pointed me to Turners Retreat, which, whilst in the same county, is an hour's drive away, whereas their office is 10 minutes away.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mike-W]

Hi Steve,

yes it is Generalfinishes.co.uk based in Long Eaton,Notts. I have a local-ish supplier in Didcot, but I think they only supply the smaller tins of Milk paint.

Mike

 

[RogerS]

Mike

It will almost certainly be in the credit card mechanism. Either your card company anti-fraud software is kicking in (which sounds like it based on your post)...possibl;y because for whatever reason (they keep that to themselves) it doesn't like the transaction and not the company.

Sometimes the computers in the process refuse to talk to each other nicely and you can get the problems that you are having. Credit card transactions are a four stage process and so things can go wrong.

Send them a cheque?

Roger

 

[Steve Maskery]

but I think they only supply the smaller tins of Milk paint.

Ah, so you are doing milk paint are? Don't talk to me about milk paint. I've spent the last two weeks trying different recipes. The house stinks like a stale dairy and new wardrobe looks ghastly. And I've got 12kg of tempera pigment.

I've come to the conclusion that the materials we have today (well, the milk, anyway) is probably very different to what they had 200 years ago in the US. All the recipes I've found say "skim" milk. but today that is 0.1% fat, and I bet in those days it was just full milk with the cream skimmed off - we would call it semi-skimmed. Today milk is also homogenised.

Certainly the yuk I got (and I tried 0.1%, 2% and 4% milk) gave me a very inadequate product. I even tried a recipe that converted the milk to cheese first, and had a stocking of cottage cheese dripping from the washing line. It was a lot of work for very little yield.

BTW, if you do go the route of making your own, ask before you take a stocking from an upstairs drawer. Apparently, "It'll wash" is not the point.

I did eventually get a decen t black paint, but it took several coats, and it's an "old-fashioned" black and marks easily.

I think buying the General Finishes stuff is a good idea. I won't be making any more, and this wardrobe has today been painted over with oil-based undercoat for some eggshell!

Cheers
Steve

 

[DaveL]

If you are looking for Milk Paint then you could try Classichand Tools, Mike has General Finishes Milk Paint listed.

 

[marcus]

Ha - milk paint.... I've just had my own odyssey with the stuff painting panels for a coffee table/bookcase. I learnt that it's damn hard to use, but worth the effort. I got mine in powdered form from these people http://www.lavenderandroses.net/


It's a beautiful finish if you want something with that slightly mottled look, but it took me three goes and a lot of swearing to get it right.... I found applying it with a small emulsion roller worked best, followed by very light sanding (320 grit).

Marcus

 

[Mike-W]

I have to be honest and admit to being somewhat disappointed in the apparent cavalier attitude of the importers (Behlen Ltd), I have been waiting two days for a follow-up to an email pointing out there was indeed a problem with there on-line ordering process.
I got up this morning thinking ‘sod it I will go to my local decorating supplier and get a tin of Acrylic Eggshell’ as the guy in the shop did an excellent job of running through the benefits of Oil and Acrylic Eggshell.

And there is my point, if a business is going to sell on-line they need to have first class customer service. I have been trying to order from this supplier since Tuesday: they haven’t exactly made me want to buy the product!

Thanks for all the tips guys, I had hoped to start painting over the weekend, I’ll sleep on this and maybe order from one of the other suppliers next week.

Mike

 

[lurker]

Mike,

You have leapt to the conclusion that your on-line transaction was their fault.
Its been pointed out that's maybe thats not the case.

Have you tried phoning Long Eaton for help?

If Tool Post is close, I'd give them a try.
The folks there are really nice.