Why I cannot recommend Tek N Toys

[Shaun Stuart]

I have had a very poor experience dealing with Tek N Toys - I thought it would be useful to share it with you in case anyone is having similar problems or is considering a new purchase.

In February of this year I ordered an XDA2 backpack from Tek N Toys. Some of you may remember that there were problems with shipments being detained or going missing and we had to be very patient with Tek N Toys to try and get the matter resolved. Following lots of correspondance telling us "they shouldnt be much longer, they are on the way etc" I finaly lost patience. Over two months had passed since my original order so in April I decided to cancel it.

This was the first time I had tried to use Tek N Toys, I appreciated they were new and so I didnt complain too much that they had held on to my money for two months - when I canceled my order they told me they would send my refund immediatley and I believed them.

Unfortunately, "immediately" for Tek N Toys appears to mean something different - I waited throughout the rest of April, May, and June but nothing materialised. I didnt complain because by this time I had picked up through this website that Tek N Toys were struggling a little but working hard to sort themselves out. I eventually received a check for my refund in the middle of July. Great - at least I have got my money back - or so I thought.

The check was rejected by my bank and here is where I really begin to lose patience.

I emailed Tek N Toys on the 5th September to inform them of this. I waited but received no reply. I thought that maybe I was using the wrong email address so I obtained another and emailed them again on the 27th September. I waited but still received no reply. During this time I was still receiving sales emails from them advertising other products - they must still be trading I thought. Last weekend on the 2nd October I emailed them again using the sales email address. I have waited all week, but still no reply.

This is where it gets interesting - yesterday I received an email from them advertising engineering samples of the new motorola MPX. I thought it was time I changed my approach - So I emailed them asking for more details on the MPX. I did not mention anything about outstanding money or the problems I had been having.

I sent the email at 00:08 (GMT)....... I received a response at 00:39 (GMT) 30 minutes later. The email answered my questions regarding the MPX.


To say I am dissapointed would be a gross understatement. They owe me money, so they ignore me - they want me to buy something else and they cant wait to get in touch.

I have written to them again this morning and hope they will have the decency to look in to this. While I understand that some of you may have had better experiences with them, and the whole company shouldnt be judged just on one bad experience, I will never use them for anything again.

[Darius Wey]

Wow. That bites! Why was the cheque rejected by your bank?

Have you considered giving them a call? I find you can't really express yourself in emails and if you give them a call, hopefully you can talk to one of their staff one-on-one and explain your problems. Hopefully, they will listen.

Mailing Address
Tek n Toys
#201, 610 - 17th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB
T2S0B4 CA

Phone/Fax
Phone: (800) - 815-2761 OR 206-210-8111
Fax: (800) - 815-2837 OR 403-770-8217

Email
[email protected]

[Shaun Stuart]

I tried phoning them once but got no response and because I live in the UK I dont want to waste more money on international call costs.

[szamot]

What you should consider doing is "delegating" someone in Calgary to pay them a visit on your behalf. It might sound drastic but at least it will be an actual person getting in their face. I can see how they don't care about you, it is not like you are going to jump on the plane and fly here to do it yourself. That is truly sad and I must say I am ashamed to be associated with this provice just for that.

[JustinGTP]

So you have found out that they are really ingnoring you when you are asking for your money back?

What is your next plan of action?

[JustinGTP]

That is truly sad and I must say I am ashamed to be associated with this provice just for that.

You have got to be joking, right? Alberta is not based on the reputation of ONE small retailer!

[szamot]

That is truly sad and I must say I am ashamed to be associated with this provice just for that.

You have got to be joking, right? Alberta is not based on the reputation of ONE small retailer!

I am sure you would have different attitute if it was your money. Aren't you from Calgary? Why not make this right and zip up there in your civic and get this fixed for our fellow PPCT reader?

[Ripper014]

Does Jason not have a working relationship with Tek N' Toys...???

Maybe he would be willing to look into it for you...

[juni]

Maybe they are going out of business and want to gather as much money from new orders (hence the answering emails quickly when asking for info on new products) as possible before vanishing?

[Don Tolson]

Unfortunately, I have had the same experience with Tek n Toys. I ordered an SD Memory Card, but they phoned back later to say that it wasn't in stock, but would be in a couple of weeks. A couple of months later, with no further contact, I cancelled the order (by phone). They acknowledged, and said a refund would show up on my Visa. After waiting 2 more months with no refund, I contacted them by email (their phone was no longer working), and was informed they were 'switching banks'. Since then, I have emailed them 4 times asking for an update, with no response.

And yes, I too have been getting the marketing emails from them as well.

I've given up.

[maximus]

I am sure you would have different attitute if it was your money. Aren't you from Calgary? Why not make this right and zip up there in your civic and get this fixed for our fellow PPCT reader?

I thought bad checks are considered criminal offense in civilized countries ?

[szamot]

I don't know if Jason has a "working" realationship with them, after all it is him how pulled them off the hardware list. But if I had to hazard a guess Jason does have a good influence in the PPC community which means that they can effectively not sell a single piece of equipment to an "INFORM" user. :twisted:

[szamot]

I am sure you would have different attitute if it was your money. Aren't you from Calgary? Why not make this right and zip up there in your civic and get this fixed for our fellow PPCT reader?

I thought bad checks are considered criminal offense in civilized countries ?

They are if you have willingly written one knowing full well that it could not be covered.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Isn't there a Canadian equivalent of the "Better Business Bureau"? Maybe you could file a complaint with them. In the US, the BBB generally launches an investigation, which usually gets the problem solved quickly.

I'm really sorry to hear what's happened to you guys. I'd also recommend you all call your banks and file claims. This will get the bank on the company's tail.

[alexm]

I’ve also dealt with Tek N Toys at the end of last year when I was hunting for imate. And I also was very frustrated by their terrible response time and endless promises. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to get my refund back. I’m very sympathetic to those that struggle with such terrible companies like Tek N Toys. My opinion: customer service in small companies should be especially good. That’s because while dealing with small companies, customers deal with the same people over and over. And if these companies allow themselves to lie to one of us – they will do it again – and there is no guarantee that it won’t be you!

Jason, what do you think about creating a poll for different hardware/software vendors?

[ctmagnus]

I was going to order a Sandisk 1GB Sd card from them for ~$205CAD before taxes, shipping etc but then I found a Lexar for ~$160 including all that stuff. Good thing I waited!

[szamot]

Isn't there a Canadian equivalent of the "Better Business Bureau"? Maybe you could file a complaint with them. In the US, the BBB generally launches an investigation, which usually gets the problem solved quickly.

I'm really sorry to hear what's happened to you guys. I'd also recommend you all call your banks and file claims. This will get the bank on the company's tail.

Participation in the BBB scheme in Canada is voluntary, not only that you have to pay to become a member. I am guessing that if TnT in the business of making empty promises they will have little or nothing to do with BBB, which in Canada is well a joke for a lack of a better word.

[Hx4700]

I tried phoning them once but got no response and because I live in the UK I dont want to waste more money on international call costs.
Don't waste your time trying to call. When I tried over the past few weeks - all the numbers have a phone company disconnected message.
Ron...

[JustinGTP]

Todd of Tek n' Toys never showed up at our Calgary Pocket PC Meeting either....

-Justin.

[maximus]

Todd of Tek n' Toys never showed up at our Calgary Pocket PC Meeting either....

-Justin.

I guess he knows that it is unsafe to appear in general public, especially after seeing this thread. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

For what it's worth, I don't do business with Tek 'n Toys any more. Too many broken promises, too many negative customer stories (like the ones in this thread), and they owe me $1000+ in affiliate fees from months ago. You will not see any Thoughts Media site link to any Tek 'n Toys product again, period (unless something were to drastically change for the better). We linked to one of their phones on Smartphone Thoughts a couple of weeks ago, and it was a disaster (which is par for the course). :?

In Shaun's case, I believe I've already talked to Todd on his behalf, and was assured that it would be taken care of "right away"...beyond that there's nothing I can do since they owe me money too. <sigh>

[andrei]

From the Tek 'n Toys Site
http://estore.shopplex.com/shopplex/tekntoys/

Dear Valued Customer. On the 3rd December 2004, Tek `n Toys Inc. ceased trading. A series of unfortunate events has forced the company to take this decision which we would like to assure you was not one taken lightly. As a highly valued customer we felt obligated to ensure that your warranty issues, returns and continuity of service were in some way preserved. In order to facilitate this, Tek `n Toys have managed to secure an agreement with AGB Global to take over the responsibility for your care and continued support.

AGB Global is a UK based company specializing in windows mobility based solutions. They have been trading for over fives years and have a successful track record with offices in UK, Europe, India, New Zealand. Their expansion into North American was planned for January 2005, but have agreed to expedite this in order to ensure continuity of service for the existing Tek `n Toys customers.

Once again, we thank you for patronage and wish you well with AGB Global and AGB North America for all your future purchases.

I wonder why the hell somebody would merge with a company that broke so many promissed and managed to destroy itself in such a short time, with all the great support it had from communities such as Pocket PC Thoughts.

[Jason Dunn]

I've been following this one pretty closely and I think (and hope!) that this will be a good move for everyone involved - I've been in touch with AGB for several months now (they sent us a phone to review on Smartphone Thoughts) and they are very competent. That's a good sign. :-) You may see us promoting some of their stuff later this month - let's give them a fair chance, shall we?

[andrei]

... let's give them a fair chance, shall we?

I just hope you're not going to run into the same troubles again. Good luck anyway!

[Jason Dunn]

I just hope you're not going to run into the same troubles again. Good luck anyway!

Trust me, I'm more concerned about a repeat than anyone else - the things that happened with Tek 'n Toys were more regretful and frustrating than anyone here realizes. Getting involved with them was, with no exaggeration, the single worst business mistake of my career and something I wish I could change. :? And, yeah, I know some of you are thinking "I told you so!" - but please don't anyone say that. :lol:

AGB has been great to deal with over the past few months, and the people I've dealt with have been accurate and trustworthy thus far - so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and see what happens. And Fabrizio designed their new site, so it looks pretty cool. 8)

People here need to understand that places like Amazon.com won't work with sites like Pocket PC Thoughts with any degree of effort, so we need to turn to smaller, more specialized vendors that can work with us closely. That benefits you guys because it gives you access to the coolest devices as soon as possible...when things go as they should of course (and Tek 'n Toys wasn't a good example of that....<sigh>).

At any rate, I'd ask that everyone give AGB a fair shot.

[Deemo]

Hhhmmmm...so that's why Todd isn't showing up to the User Group meetings anymore.
And I thought it was just my "skinhead" comment :devilboy:

[dh]

I'm not at all suprised that this bunch is out of business.

My only experience with Tek n Toys was bad, although I didn't lose any money. I would not buy anything again from a company that Todd was associated with. If he is involved with this new company, they better start looking for someone else.

Since I live in the US, I don't buy from Canada very often, but I do have a success story. I'd been wanting to get the little remote for my Nikon D70 which is hard to find here.

I found it at a company called Henry's which I think is in the Toronto area. It was just like buying in the US, no problems, good price and arrived right on time. Very nice after the Tek n Toys fiasco.

[Jason Dunn]

I found it at a company called Henry's which I think is in the Toronto area. It was just like buying in the US, no problems, good price and arrived right on time. Very nice after the Tek n Toys fiasco.

Yes, Henry's is quite good - I've purchased a few things from them before and they were very nice to deal with. :-)

[sxt1173]

Sean, having read the post, contact AGB see what they can do. I am sure there arent any promises, but it cant hurt.

[JustinGTP]

AGB's site looks similar to the Tek 'n Toys site - this may lead people to beleive it is the same company, although it is not....

I think that changing the fonts on their site would make a difference, and maybe loose some of the bubbly look.

Good site though!

What I found frustrating with Tek 'n Toys was the problem with hardly any information on the site and about products...


-Justin.

[Paragon]

Hhhmmmm...so that's why Todd isn't showing up to the User Group meetings anymore.
And I thought it was just my "skinhead" comment :devilboy:

Deemo,

I can't picture you saying anything bad about anyone....funny remark though. :)

Dave