Custom Iron Error with Mizuno - Is this normal

[Max Pickle]

Hi everyone,

First time poster here. I might just be venting or maybe just seeking some sort of second opinon but two weeks ago I ordered some custom Mizuno JPZ Irons from Affordable Golf. I was notified 4 days later that the standard version was out of stock until end of July so enquired about upgrading to the Pro version. It had been a 50:50 decision for me so rather than opting for the safe option this forced my hand and I went for the Hot Metal Pros - wish me luck on the course. The extra was paid via a second invoice and at the time I asked for an update on expected delivery but nothing was recieved. Eventually about a week later I rung them to be told end of this week with us and with you early next week. All okay so far if a little slow - maybe this is normal for golf - I would not know.

Then the very next day I was told, via email, my clubs would be delivered the following day (Thurs), so I cancelled a tee time, moving it to the following day (Fri), and waited at home expectedly.

Now this is where it gets interesting. The clubs arrived and I open the box to find a 7 piece set of left hander Mizuno Pro 241 on graphite shafts. Remember my order was for a 6 piece set of right hander Mizuno Hot Metal Pro 923s on steel shafts! Since then I have contacted AG and it seems to have been almost impossible to make progress towards a resolution. The clubs and paperwork in the box are wrong. The label on the outside of the box is correct - it shows my club order. Affordable Golf cover this label upon receipt with them and then post them onwards. Someone, somewhere is either waiting for clubs or looking at a pair of right handers! I have been asked to send photos which I did last week. Then chasing up this morning I suggested we could possibly get the ball rolling by them collecting the incorrect set and their response was to ask me how I would like to do this. I explained it was not my responsilbility to return incorrectly sent clubs and they should arrange collection. I've now been asked to provide more photos - like the previous ones didn't show the problem clear enough!

Is this normal and am I just expecting too much. Affordable Golf don't seem to be very proactive and are just pushing everything onto Mizuno. Mizuno seem a bit chaotic.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Max

 

[Burnsey]

Follow their returns procedure, as stated on their website. Get refund. Buy elsewhere.

 

[nickjdavis]

So basically you ordered a set of right handed golf clubs and the retailer sent you a set of left handed clubs of a different model?

It is not normal.

Your "contract" is with the retailer who should be sorting this, not Mizuno. If they dont progress to your satisfaction then involve your credit card company (assuming you paid by CC) to get a refund then go and spend your money somewhere else.

 

[Max Pickle]

Thanks for the replies.

We did purchase on CC and I did mention this to them today that if we didn't sort it I'd want a refund. I guess the sticking point is they are custom order built by Mizuno and if I went anywhere else I'd still wanting to get the same clubs so would still be dealing with Mizuno. Maybe thats my mistake? Mizuno were definitely the ones who stuffed up putting the wrong clubs in the wrong box. It just feels like AG could care a bit more. If I was in their position I would be shouting at Mizuno. Although I did try and contact Mizuno direct and spoke to someone who gave me an email address. Apparently all custom stuff has moved up to Scotland and they are not yet on the phone(?) I mean do we even believe this!

Anyway, thank you for making me feel like I'm not being unreasonable!

 

[Alan Clifford]

Thanks for the replies.

We did purchase on CC and I did mention this to them today that if we didn't sort it I'd want a refund. I guess the sticking point is they are custom order built by Mizuno and if I went anywhere else I'd still wanting to get the same clubs so would still be dealing with Mizuno. Maybe thats my mistake? Mizuno were definitely the ones who stuffed up putting the wrong clubs in the wrong box. It just feels like AG could care a bit more. If I was in their position I would be shouting at Mizuno. Although I did try and contact Mizuno direct and spoke to someone who gave me an email address. Apparently all custom stuff has moved up to Scotland and they are not yet on the phone(?) I mean do we even believe this!

Anyway, thank you for making me feel like I'm not being unreasonable!

I would say, do not deal with Mizuno. I think the retailer has legal responsibility for everything and they shouldn't be trying to make you deal with their supplier.

As you paid by credit card, after a couple of weeks, send the credit card company copies of all the times you've tried to get the clubs you have ordered, and ask for the payment to be reversed.

Edit: Sorry, I seem to have repeated message number 3.

 

[Max Pickle]

I would say, do not deal with Mizuno. I think the retailer has legal responsibility for everything and they shouldn't be trying to make you deal with their supplier.

As you paid by credit card, after a couple of weeks, send the credit card company copies of all the times you've tried to get the clubs you have ordered, and ask for the payment to be reversed.

Edit: Sorry, I seem to have repeated message number 3.

Hey Alan,

No its all good. Every confirmation is a good thing.

I only tried to contact Mizuno because I wanted to see if I could close the loop. I had sent photos to AG on Thursday but was being asked for them again today so hoped I could confirm they had all the information they needed.

I failed anyway - my email bounced - I'm guessing because of the image zip. I'll give everyone a couple of days and hopefully they will come good. I just hate it because I'm normally one of those loyal customers.

By coincidence, we ordered some made to measure curtains a couple of weeks ago and having heard nothing I checked over the weekend. No emails from them but the order on the website says cancelled and the money was returned to our account. This evening - apparently the curtains have been dispatched!! I'm surprised some of these companies stay in business!

Anyway, thanks again. Have a good week.

 

[Slab]

Since then I have contacted AG and it seems to have been almost impossible to make progress towards a resolution. The clubs and paperwork in the box are wrong. The label on the outside of the box is correct - it shows my club order. Affordable Golf cover this label upon receipt with them and then post them onwards. Someone, somewhere is either waiting for clubs or looking at a pair of right handers! I have been asked to send photos which I did last week. Then chasing up this morning I suggested we could possibly get the ball rolling

just curious but what is the time frame between 'since then' (club delivery) and 'this morning' (you chasing AG)

 

[Max Pickle]

just curious but what is the time frame between 'since then' (club delivery) and 'this morning' (you chasing AG)

Probably not long enough for some but its part of the wider picture of how terrible the communication with AG has been so I'm just now chasing by default.

"We will let you know when we ..." 2 days pass - I call "Did you get this' they response 'Oh yeah we did" but then they never fulfilled on the 'we will let you know'.

AG keep saying we will know later today and you should have a message this afternoon or tomorrow. Mizuno work weekends so we should know tomorrow. So when I chased it was 3 working days or 5 days later.

I guess I was surprised that given the clubs were always going to have to be returned to them (AG) first they just didn't start this ball rolling on Thursday. Why do we need to wait until Mizuno acknowledges their mistake. The clubs are wrong and anyone who sees the photos and compares it to my order will be able to see this. I'm aware that someone else is probably waiting for their very nice new clubs and I'd like to get them to them ASAP. Lets get clubs back with AG and speed up the process.

 

[Slab]

Probably not long enough for some but its part of the wider picture of how terrible the communication with AG has been so I'm just now chasing by default.

"We will let you know when we ..." 2 days pass - I call "Did you get this' they response 'Oh yeah we did" but then they never fulfilled on the 'we will let you know'.

AG keep saying we will know later today and you should have a message this afternoon or tomorrow. Mizuno work weekends so we should know tomorrow. So when I chased it was 3 working days or 5 days later.

I guess I was surprised that given the clubs were always going to have to be returned to them (AG) first they just didn't start this ball rolling on Thursday. Why do we need to wait until Mizuno acknowledges their mistake. The clubs are wrong and anyone who sees the photos and compares it to my order will be able to see this. I'm aware that someone else is probably waiting for their very nice new clubs and I'd like to get them to them ASAP. Lets get clubs back with AG and speed up the process.

I can well imagine the frustration to get it sorted asap. I know if I want a club/s and they offered teleportation delivery I’d be smashing that button. But because your situation doesn’t impact me I can look at it a wee bit different

There will be reasons not just to collect the wrong uns’
Firstly that doesn’t speed up delivery of the right order
Secondly Mizuno may want pick up/delivery done by same van (economical and better for environment script)
Further until AG hear back from manufacture maybe they’re just guessing at timings based on previous cases and saying things to get their (over) eager customer off the phone
Mizuno wont just resend the order without establishing what went wrong (you might just end up with another leftie set if they did that!)
And as a custom order they can’t just get off the shelf stock anyway so will need to go through most of the original order process again, so timings are pretty much set by that

Hope they sort it soon and beam them to you sharpish

 

[KenL]

Probably not helpful but I always by clubs through my proshop. They match or beat Internet prices and customer service is first class.

 

[clubchamp98]

Yes buying off these internet companies is fine.
But when things go wrong it’s a nightmare.
AG should be busting a gut to sort this out ,to find out where yours are for a start.
as you don’t have your money or the clubs you paid for.
Tell them you want your money back, and to sort collection of the wrong clubs.

 

[sjw]

*Gets sent the completely wrong clubs*

"Is this normal?"

 

[Neilds]

*Gets sent the completely wrong clubs*

"Is this normal?"

Not normal, but it does happen - people make mistakes, no biggie. But what is important, and seems to have failed in this situation, is how the seller deals with the issue. As mentioned, the contract is with AG, not Mizuno and they should be sorting things. Unfortunately, you really only see how good a company is when things go a bit wrong.

 

[Max Pickle]

Probably not helpful but I always by clubs through my proshop. They match or beat Internet prices and customer service is first class.

Hi Ken,

I really tried but for different reasons was let down by the four different fitting places I tried.

1. First place only fits for performance increases. They won't spec on the basis of you just wanting something newer than a 10 year old secondhand battered set with missing bits.
2. Second place didn't clear the last weeks traces on the flightscope so it was impossible to see what I was hitting.
3. Third place only did 2k+ fancy irons and would not fit me any of the main brands.
4. Last place got me to use the Mizuno shaft clip for 6 shots but then didn't have anything for me to actually test as they were retiring.

It felt really dispiriting but in the end I got enough information from those fittings to feel confident in ordering my own from AG. Maybe in the future when I've progressed further with my game I'll travel up country to somewhere with a decent performance centre and have better fortune.

 

[Golfnut1957]

So, what's happening? Did you get sorted?

 

[Max Pickle]

So, what's happening? Did you get sorted?

Hi Ken,

Thanks for checking up - its appreciated. We have made progress. Yesterday Mizuno agreed it was their mistake but they had not said what they are going to do about fixing it and didn't give any time frame!

So AG were chasing them for further update, I'll probably chase AG tomorrow and will hopefully have an ETA on when it will be resolved. All rather tiresome.

Although good news is that our cancelled and refunded curtain order turned up You can't make this stuff up!

I'll update you when I have more news!

 

[Klimski]

Under European consumer law you can return any product ordered online within 14 days of receipt - oh wait, Brexit...

 

[nickjdavis]

Under European consumer law you can return any product ordered online within 14 days of receipt - oh wait, Brexit...

...has had no effect on this particular legislation which still stands in UK consumer law.

 

[Max Pickle]

Good morning all!

Thanks for waiting. I hope you have not all been holding your breath!

My last post (July 4th) I was waiting on a update from Mizuno via Affordable Golf.
On July 8th I called for an update and was told they had heard nothing but would try and call for an update from Mizuno.
On July 9th I was told the Mizuno Rep was coming in and would provide an update. The following day I was informed he had not turned up but had emailed to say "He would look into it"
On July 11th I had reached enough was enough so gave them a 48 hour window to provide tracking, a refund or some sort of concrete update or I explained I would raise the issue with our CC company.
On July 15th We began a credit card dispute to get the money back.
On July 26th I was contacted with an apology and a promise I would have an update soon. I said it was too late and please could I have a refund or they can deal with the ongoing CC complaint. This morning I have recieved a refund.

In total this was 7 weeks. my complaint is not the time taken to deliver custom items. Its the over-selling and under-delivering - promising 5 to 10 days against a competitors 30 days. Its the poor communication and lack of customer care shown by both Affordable Golf and Mizuno - leaving the customer in the dark and not giving them an idea of the timeline or resolution. Much of this could have been delayed had they checked the order before sending it on to me.

To end on a high, on Thursday last week I visited an American Golf fitting center attached to a range in Bristol. I had my reservations because my last visit to a American Golf (exeter) was a waste of my time - didn't clear the last weeks traces on the flightscope so it was impossible to see what I was hitting. However, Neil at the Bristol Golf Centre was amazing. He listened and understood what I wanted from the fitting. We spent a lot of time on shaft and shaft length before looking at club heads. Although we could have made some lie adjustments we stayed with the neutral with the plan my improver swing can adapt. It was a bit of a toss up between +0.25 or +0.5 but in the end we opted for the latter. Fingers crossed they will work for me. They felt good on the day. I hit some of my best range shots so I feel confident I can work with what arrives. Oh, they are the Titleist T350s.

Thank you to everyone who commented and kept me sane whilst I dealt with this.

 

[Alan Clifford]

On July 15th We began a credit card dispute to get the money back.
On July 26th I was contacted with an apology and a promise I would have an update soon. I said it was too late and please could I have a refund or they can deal with the ongoing CC complaint. This morning I have recieved a refund.

I'm surprised the credit card company didn't reverse the transaction well before the 26th. Enjoy the new clubs.