Nothing to do with the Dave Clark 5 (for those old enough to remember!).  I am looking for a company called Bits and Pieces in Manchester (they make novelty jigsaws amongst other things).   Everywhere I look (their website, Yell.com) it refers to their 0870 number for customer services.  Despite sending three e-mails to them, I have had no respnse.

Anybody know them?

Can you supply us with some more details please? Their address, website and 0870 number might be a good place to start.

http://www.bitsandpiecesuk.com/

For Customer Service, please call us on 0871 989 7962.

I managed to get access to an "office" phone yesterday afternoon, called the number and there was a lot of pre-recorded announcements, only to end up finding that the office closed 5 minutes earlier.

Why is this not surprising? An American company it seems - have a 1-800 number for their USA operations, and an 0871 over here!

What was the number of the "office" phone you found?

Sorry, we are slightly at cross-purposes!   The "office phone", is one that I could use for ringing out to an 0870 number.  For obvious reasons I don't want to use my home phone, particularly if there is a recorded announcement you have to listen through.

Oh sorry! I thought you meant you had found an office phone number for them.

Hmm... did the precall announcements sound American because if they did, then it is likely their calls go abroad...

Don't recall.  I had one lot of announcements, then a "live" Englishman who said he was going to transfer me to Customer Services (didn't say that they were closed), and then the recorded announcement started again, which included the time CS were open until (5 mins before I rang!). It was annoying that I had to listen to them twice.

I rang off, on the basis that the department I wanted, nobody was going to be there.

The 0871 number is owned by Thus plc. There are a few ranges in Manchester owned by Thus, but that doesn't necessarily mean their number is in those ranges.

Have you tried emailing their American arm to see if they will give you the number? They won't be able to ring the 0871 number so might be willing to give you an alternative....

Sorry for the late response (bed called !!!).  I will try that.   Needless to say there is still no e-mail from them this morning.  I wonder if they even bother to monitor their e-mail box.  Thought would be to keep "plaguing" them with e-mails until they respond ... alternatively they may put a filter in for me, and delete!!!

I will try the American arm, but I don't hold out much hope there.

(Out till later this evening).

Tried their 0871 number again  yesterday (not from my phone!).   After getting the "calls may be recorded and if you don't want details passed to a third party ..." message, you get the ringing tone.

After a while another recorded message, "our office hours .... and sorry to keep you waiting ... your call is important .."
I sat there for almost 10 minutes with  no reply.  

Maybe if our calls are so  important, they would employ staff that can answer the phone  !

Did you have any luck with their American arm? Sounds like their UK arm is a complete shambles, and their 0871 number is there merely to make money from you...

Oh, I'm also of the opinion that if a company has an NGN, and they can't be bothered to answer it within a reasonable time (about 2-5 minutes) then they aren't worth dealing with.

I must admit I didn't try their American office.  What is NGN ?

I have just received an e-mail from them this morning saying that the product I ordered has been discontinued (they promised it would be back in stock today).  Great.   I am sending them a rude e-mail back, complaining about their 0871 number, and incorrect  information.

NGN = Non Geographic Number. Like I said, if they can't be bothered to answer the phone promptly, and they insist on using an NGN, then they aren't worth your custom. Especially now since they've "discontinued" your product.

Hi Guys,

Possibly not strictly on-topic, I know but I hope you will thank me for the warning!
I ordered (most of my) Christmas presents from www.bitsandpiecesuk.com and paid them over £170.00
via Debit card online.Nothing has arrived to date, nor will it, apparently- after sending their Customer "Service" Dept  twenty or so emails, and receiving not one reply,(apart from a confirmation email which contained no order number or referece number!) I too reluctantly HAD to phone
their 0871 989 7962 line and was told that their "dispatch company " had gone into liquidation and that I
would receive a full refund. No apology, no email again, no phone call. Rang back a week later and spoke to another employee who did not know the name of the company that had gone bust,  was not interested in looking up my file and was generally unhelpful and unknowledgeable, possibly evasive, too.
Awaiting reply from Manchester City Council trading Standards at present. An internet search of their parent company, www.bitsandpieces.com revealed a string of similar events and complaints. I too, have spent many hours looking for a geographic number for this outfit, but without success.
Hoping this advice reaches you in time, sincerely.

Sorry Horace about your experience.   I managed to get a similar product to what I wanted in a retail shop in Portsmouth.

I am sure it is no consolation to you, but they did refund my credit card account with the amount paid.

Horace...I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but if you had paid by credit card you would have got your money back from the credit card company

Hmm........I know!   Trouble is, credit cards can be too tempting, you know, buy now,pay later.
At least with debit cards, you can't have what you can't afford!
Now it looks as though I can't have what I CAN afford!
Thanks to all anyway,  and I hope this all serves as advice to anyone currently thinking of purchasing
currently from the company I mentioned.

I recently heard that, like credit cards, you do have some buyer protection and claim back some money from companies that have gone bust or haven't provided the goods you want. I'd contact your bank to ask them about it. It might also be worth a complaint to Trading Standards perhaps.

Hey, thanks for that tip about the banks system. I'll check it out & post back when I find out. Proof of the pudding and all that................

Awaiting replies from Manchester & local Trading Standards.

STILL no contact from bitsandpiecesuk.com..............Just terrible. I'm ringing them again today (Friday).
Perhaps  you NGN phone wizards know how much calls cost to an 0871 number? I shall be adding the cost of these calls to my final tally if I have to make a legal claim against them.

Thanks for your help.