Julie
Absolutely the worst buying experience…
Absolutely the worst buying experience I have ever had. I ordered two sets of Stern tableware in grey on the 25th of August. On the 26th of August I received notification from a courier service that they were expecting a parcel and the Vancasso website said that my parcel was awaiting dispatch. Of 3rd of September when I still hadn't had any further communication from Vancasso, their website had not updated and my parcel had not arrived, I tried to find a telephone number on which to call them. However, despite searching the Internet, I couldn't find a number, so I sent them an email enquiring where my parcel was. On 5th September they replied, saying that the courier had not collected my parcel and that I should claim on the shipping insurance and when the insurance money was through, they would use that money to send me a new parcel. At this point I'm thinking if the courier hasn't collected the parcel it's still in their building somewhere so why on earth do we need to claim it on the insurance? They just need to call the courier company and arrange for them to collect it. Then, literally a minute after that first email a second email came in to say the courier had not collected my parcel and would I please be patient for another three days and if the parcel had not been delivered by then, they would send me a new set. I was patient and I waited another 7 days. When I hadn't heard anything from Vancasso within that time and my parcel still hadn't arrived, I sent them an email asking what was going on and advising them that if I didn't get my items within the next five days, I would be seeking legal advice. I got no response from Vancasso but my parcel did arrive within the five days. Unfortunately, two of the small cereal bowls were broken. I wrote to Vancasso and explained this and they replied that they don't keep a stock of replacement items in their warehouse but they would refund me £7.80 instead. I advised them that that was not acceptable and that if I had wanted a set of tableware with missing pieces I would have just kept my old plates and dishes. I queried what I was supposed to do with a four-piece setting that had two missing bowls - tell two people that they couldn't have cereal or a dessert because there were no bowls? I got no response to this but today, I received a complete set of Stern tableware, which would be great, except that two of the bowls were again broken. This is not a problem because I now have the two bowls from the original order and the two from this replacement order so I have the four bowls that I paid for plus some extra plates. However because of the poor packaging and the broken bowls, which were in a lot of small shards, my husband did cut himself. This experience has been a nightmare but here I am on the 20th of September, nearly a month after I first ordered this crockery, with two complete sets of crockery and some extra plates and shallow bowls. I would also like to point out that the crockery doesn't match - so the shallow bowls and the side plates are much, much lighter than the small bowls and the large dinner plates. The small bowls and the large dinner plates are virtually one colour inside and out -a very dark grey, whereas the large/shallow bowls and the side plates are a dark colour on the outside and a much lighter almost steel grey on the inside. This doesn't matter to me, as I consider that they tone rather than match however it might matter to some people. Altogether my experience with this company has not been good
Response from vancassoDec 10, 2025
Dear Customer, Thank you very much for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. We truly appreciate you pointing out these issues, as it helps us improve our service. Regarding the delivery process, our website works with SEEL shipping insurance to ensure customers are fully protected in case of unexpected courier delays or last-mile issues. In such situations, SEEL may require a claim submission so they can verify and compensate accordingly. We understand the process may feel inconvenient, and we will review how we communicate this more clearly in the future. We also apologise for the mixed updates you received. Our system recorded new logistics information around the same time, which unfortunately caused two different messages to be sent. We are currently refining this workflow to prevent similar confusion. We are very sorry to hear that some bowls arrived broken, and especially that your husband was injured while handling the shards. We sincerely hope he is doing well. Although our packaging is regularly tested, we understand that breakage can still occur during long-distance transport, and we are reinforcing our packaging standards based on your case. As for the colour variation, the Stern line uses handcrafted reactive glaze, which may lead to tonal differences between certain pieces. While this is considered a natural characteristic of the collection, we understand that some customers may prefer a more uniform appearance. Your feedback has been shared with our product team. Thank you again for highlighting these areas for improvement. We are committed to enhancing our logistics communication, packaging safety, and overall customer experience. If there is anything further we can assist you with, please feel free to reach out to us directly.