I have ordered from Indiaweekly on countless occasions over the years. When Afzal was around, it was great and any problem that I encountered was sorted out relatively quickly.

But long gone are those days, I am currently still awaiting delivery of an order which I had placed in April. For details of my dissatisfaction, please see details below to see what has happened. I do not wish to order through them again and would like suggestions on which store would be the best alternative with wide range of titles, competitively priced and prompt dispatch & good customer service (or is all of this asking for too much?).

Details of my complaint:

15/04/2005 I placed order and requested immediate dispatch

20/04/2005 I asked for confirmation on whether order has been shipped

30/04/2005 Omprakash replied to advise that order has been posted and but it may take 2 – 3 weeks to arrive. I have almost always received my order in about 7 days (I'm UK based)

05/05/2005 I queried the delay and Omprakash advised me to check with postal authorities and with the customs department and said he is confident that order is not lost

06/05/2005 I replied to Omprakash to say that I have checked but neither have the parcel

10/05/2005 Omprakash stated that enquiry has been logged with UPPS

21/05/2005 I queried how long it would take and was told that enquiry is still on going

30/05/2005 In reply to a further e-mail from me, Omprakash said that order would be shipped again

03/06/2005 I e-mailed Omprakash for confirmation of the date that the order was resent

11/06/2005 Omprakash replied to say that my query has been forwarded to the despatch department and I would be advised as soon as possible

17/06/2005 No further word from Omprakash as yet (or anyone else from Indiaweekly) and still no sign of the parcel!!!

My 2 cents as a retailer

1. People prefer Globar Priority or airmail post over express service. USPS does not give tracking facility for these. So there is no way one can track a package.

2. Express is expensive (usually double the cost) for international shipment, but this is the safest way to send. We have had our own history of shipment lost.

3. Try to combine orders (of yours and your friends) and ship using Express/UPS/FedEx. This way your total cost /DVD wont be too much.

4. If a retailer does not give tracking number for express/ups then look for another retailer.

5. Last, if you are a regular DVD purchaser, create a UPS account and have the retailer use your UPS account. The retailer may still charge some handling fee (we charge $2), but this way you can have control over shipment!

Tee, dispute it with your Credit Card company.

But, I should advice you..I ordered a DVD from amazon.co.uk(I'm in Los Angeles) and it took at least a MONTH to arrive! It MAY just be a postal delay. If IWeekly sent it through "Media Mail" - your grand children will have grand children before you recieve the parcel!!

My issue with India weekly has now been resolved following the manager's intervention. I've been assured that a similar situation will not arise again.

As for DVD Dhamaka, you cannot expect an online store that doesn't bother to reply to the e-mails of a potential customer to be taken seriously! I contacted them on more than one occasion and told them that I wanted to shop with them and asked them some specific questions but got no reply back. That’s just ridiculous!

I do agree that they have become worst throughout the years. I've had a few bad experiences. The only reason i do buy from them is because they do have the best prices. The customer service is definitely very very bad.