Rutlands Covering Tracks

[wcndave]

I gave up on Rutlands a while back when I realised after posting about 5 product reviews on their site, that only the ones with a 4 or 5 rating ever made it onto the review page.
I contacted them about it at the time, however they refused to talk to me about it.

But I still get emails, as sometimes you get inspired by what's on offer, even if the emails are daily...

This time I noticed one that claimed a tool was voted 4 or 5 stars by all customers, and it was something I'd bought years ago, and it was total and utter pants.
Predictably my review of the product on their site was never published.

Reading the email I saw the very high trustpilot rating, and thought I might add my note that they are actually telling lies and selling products on the basis of those lies.

I put in a note saying I had genuinely bought something, that had a high review rating, however it was rubbish, and I then learned that only high rated reviews were accepted, and therefore I did in fact, NOT, trust them.

How much effort do they put into this? Within minutes Rutlands had disputed the review, and had it removed. They claimed I did not talk about the service or delivery for that particular order. So, I edited it, to include those details. Again, within minutes the review was removed from trustpilot site. Maybe if they put as much effort into genuine endeavours I would still shop there...

I noticed a LOT of other reviews, which did not mention delivery or service, which of course they have not requested to take down.

grrrrrr

/rant

 

[Rorschach]

Simple answer is don't trust reviews on sites run by the seller.

 

[wcndave]

That can be true, however what about "independent" 3rd party sites like trustpilot?

Also, reviews on Amazon and Axminster seem to be uncensored, I have put both good and bad reviews on Axi, and they all made it to the review section.

 

[transatlantic]

Speaking of which, I must say, I do find it rather annoying when people review a product also based on Delivery Time / Delivery Condition. The review is for the product itself! ..not for the quality of service provided by the courier or company selling it.

Several times I've seen a product severely downvoted, and when you look at why its long the lines of :

"Great product! ... but arrived late so only 3 stars"

or

"Great product! ... but courier was very rude!.. ONE STAR"

Very misleading...

 

[lurker]

They did the dirty on me about 5 years ago and I vowed never to use them again
Somehow I have survived

 

[transatlantic]

One tactic we could use would be to all spam their twitter/facebook feed

 

[banjerbill]

Having bought rubbish from them based on reviews I have voted with my feet and won't deal with them. It won't put them out of business but I feel better for it.
Bill

 

[Steve Maskery]

I nearly said something to them a couple of days ago. They were advertising 3 blades, "Ideal for mitre saws, table saws, portable circular saws".

Looking at the picture, they all have a positive rake, which means that they most definitely are not ideal for mitre saws.

Having said that, I recently bought 4 of the I'm-not-a-Bessy clamps and they are excellent. A bit of a knack for adjusting them, but otherwise very good. I also bought 6 of the trad sash cramps. They are OK, just. The bar bends very easily. And who wants 6 clamps? You should always buy clamps in 4s.

 

[otter]

I gave up on Rutlands a while back when I realised after posting about 5 product reviews on their site, that only the ones with a 4 or 5 rating ever made it onto the review page.
I contacted them about it at the time, however they refused to talk to me about it.

But I still get emails, as sometimes you get inspired by what's on offer, even if the emails are daily...

This time I noticed one that claimed a tool was voted 4 or 5 stars by all customers, and it was something I'd bought years ago, and it was total and utter pants.
Predictably my review of the product on their site was never published.

Reading the email I saw the very high trustpilot rating, and thought I might add my note that they are actually telling lies and selling products on the basis of those lies.

I put in a note saying I had genuinely bought something, that had a high review rating, however it was rubbish, and I then learned that only high rated reviews were accepted, and therefore I did in fact, NOT, trust them.

How much effort do they put into this? Within minutes Rutlands had disputed the review, and had it removed. They claimed I did not talk about the service or delivery for that particular order. So, I edited it, to include those details. Again, within minutes the review was removed from trustpilot site. Maybe if they put as much effort into genuine endeavours I would still shop there...

I noticed a LOT of other reviews, which did not mention delivery or service, which of course they have not requested to take down.

grrrrrr

/rant

What product was it?

 

[powertools]

It was my understanding that the only person who can change a trust pilot review is the author.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

funny you should post this today as there is also a post about a 10 clamps for 30 quid. I had a really annoying experience with Rutlands customer service some years ago and decided to vote with my wallet and use other online stores, however this clamp deal really tested my resolve. You have reminded me of why I don't use them. It's a shame really because they could be a great shop, it's like they are deliberately shooting themselves in the foot

 

[wcndave]

What product was it?

It was this Equi Divider. http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+woodworkin ... ota+dk1084

You pull one end to max distance, and the other end is still completely closed. There's nothing equal about any of it.

It's got 2 x 5 star and 1 x 4 star reviews. My 1 star review was never published.

It was my understanding that the only person who can change a trust pilot review is the author.

It seems that as they have "partnered" with trustpilot, they are able to flag a review as not meeting the guidelines, and it's removed.

They wrote this:

"Sadly we must report this review as it is not a review about your buying experience with Rutlands Ltd, nor the communication or delivery of your order. The Trustpilot guidelines dictate that reviews on website layout or product/website reviews cannot be tolerated. As a result we must report this review to the Trustpilot team."

However if you click the trustpilot link on their site, the first few reviews include:

"ordering of the intnet is very good. I like the company, the tools are very good when put to the test on using them."

"worth a visit. great for jij hardware and tracks"

They hardly seem to meet the guidelines either. but they are 4 and 5 star reviews, so they've not challenged them.

They have a rating of 9.4 our of nearly 2 thousand reviews, but, as with their own site, they're clearly pruning them. More intent on keeping bad news away from potential customers, than actually doing the right thing.

You have reminded me of why I don't use them. It's a shame really because they could be a great shop, it's like they are deliberately shooting themselves in the foot

Thing is, that I really don't mind that they sell what they sell. I bought a lot of stuff off them until last year - several thousand pounds probably.

I bought 12 very cheap 60" clamps, that were very cheap indeed. I assumed they would be lowish quality, and they were. but they absolutely got the job done. I don't need a lot of clamps that length very often, maybe a couple of times in a year I need one. So I can't complain. However the description says they are "Heavy Duty", and I can tell you that using them on a laminated top caused the aluminium to bend, and the jaws are thin plastic hollow ones.

I wanted to write a 3* review saying "cheap and cheerful, get what you pay for, no regrets, but definitely not heavy duty", and they rejected my review.
I asked why, no answer
The product currently has a review of 4.5 from 8 reviews.
Maybe there were 50 reviews with 3 or less, I want to see them, or others who may be more naive about cheap goods to see them.
The fact that they ignore them, I find dishonest, and the fact that they email me every day with a 5 star product, which I know very well probably isn't rated 5 stars, to me that's just outright lying and probably against some consumer act somewhere.
Now they are clearly spending a lot of time policing and doctoring their trustpilot reviews, and then putting that at the top of their emails to say how 5 * trusted they are...

 

[Selwyn]

Well over the years I've had some good deals with them - quangsheng planes, worksharp etc. all good value indeed. I would say some things look trinkety though.

Anyone know if those f clamps are any good then?

 

[skipdiver]

I've never used them myself as a lot of their stuff looks cheap and nasty. If they are selling known quality brands like the Quangsheng planes mentioned above at a good price, then fair enough but a lot of what they sell (with seemingly dramatic price reductions) looks like tat to me.

 

[wcndave]

Well over the years I've had some good deals with them - quangsheng planes, worksharp etc. all good value indeed. I would say some things look trinkety though.

That's my point. I've had good deals, but don't hide reviews, send out emails that mislead, and try to remove reviews from "independent" sites.

 

[Copes]

Getting back to if you can trust online reviews from 3rd parties, absolutely not.

I've had talks with trustpilot in the past as my day job is ecommerce and it boils down to the more you pay them, the more control you get.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I tend to view it like virginity: you only lose your integrity once.

Rutlands's photography is brilliant though. Whoever said a picture is worth a thousand words wasn't wrong.

 

[Hemsby]

I am not a die hard supporter of Rutland’s and my purchases since 2014 have been for both branded & own brand products. In all cases my reviews have been published both positive and a few negative.

My last was in June 2016 for brad point bits DK1318 there were 12 reviews total, I gave 3* there was also a 1* & 2*

Another 3* I remember posting was for their Bench Morticer

I always read reviews before purchasing only out of interest, and have seen many low ratings.

It seems odd that they do not publish some negative reviews more to the point will not enter into discussions to explain their actions

Like most if I received this sort of treatment I would just shop elsewhere.

 

[wcndave]

I am not a die hard supporter of Rutland’s and my purchases since 2014 have been for both branded & own brand products. In all cases my reviews have been published both positive and a few negative.

Wow, you're right. That's the first time I have managed to see a below 4 rating on there.

I spent some time trawling through random products trying to find any, and had come to the conclusion there were none.

However your products still get an overall rating of 4.2 and 4.8 respectively, maybe they allow them when the average does not fall below 4...

If only they would be open, or respond to enquiries about it.

 

[AndyT]

Back in January Transatlantic found a one star review on the Rutlands site and I found another one.

look-what-i-found-t94433.html

Possibly not there now though...