Over promise and under deliver

I have relocated from Cape Town to Johannesburg and found EcoBox online. On their website they offer clients the option to rent storage boxes for a period up to 2 weeks.

Part of the conditions to using their service is that you must pay a R500 refundable deposit.

During the time that I was browsing their website, I added 3 boxes to my cart and withheld my purchase until I had shopped around for other quotes.

It is then that I received emails from EcoBox, probing whether I was still interested as they had noticed I had left the items in my cart. I then went to ask questions regarding the move and logistics and to my surprise their response time was fast as lightning.

My emails were attended to in less than 8 working hours and we decided to complete the purchase.

The boxes were delivered to our house on the 4th of January and up to this point their service was faultless.

During the course of last week I contact EcoBox to request that they come collect their boxes and also made inquiries about their refund process. They only responded to confirm that the boxes would be collected on Saturday the 13th of January. Conveniently my questions about the refund were left unanswered.

On Saturday morning I went on to call their offices to follow up on the collection time as their drivers were running late (note: I explicitly selected the collection time to be between 09:00 and 11:00) they only arrived after 12:00 but in their defense they do have a disclaimer on their website for customers to allow at least one hours leeway.

But on my phone call I then asked about the refund process and was advised that on a Monday the 15th I’d be sent an email from EcoBox with a form that I would need to complete to process the refund. I was then told that once I return the forms my refund would be paid into my account this coming Friday.

Alas, Monday came along and I sent an email requesting the above-mentioned form but no response (the complete opposite of the expectation they had created when I first encountered them and obviously with less sense of urgency). I went on to call their offices but my calls rang to voicemail.

This is unacceptable and what a disappointment to find that EcoBox was more than willing to take my money but will not afford me the same level of service when it comes to my refund.

My advice?? If you’re moving or relocating. Stay very far away from these people. It’s all too good to be true. It’s stressful enough and they will only add to the stress.

I’d rather recommend Boxman and regret not using them as I have used their services before