Wool & OakReviews of woolandoak.com

I am a Kickstarter backer, and this is not my first crowdfunding project. In the past, Wool & Oak had in fact delivered on their products in a timely manner and with good backer updates, so I was confident in backing them at first and placed my order in AUGUST 2023. I am also sympathetic to Wool & Oak for their inventory issues, shipping delays and other hiccups - it comes with the territory of a Kickstarter. However, as with many others, with their newest NOVA Kickstarter, their communication and customer service was thoroughly unacceptable. Initially, they split the shipment into two batches, but the backers were never told which batch they fell into, relying on checking their inboxes daily to see if they were the lucky ones to get an email. When the first batch was held up at port, many still didn't know if their bags were affected. There were also no updates as to what had happened with the shipping container until much pressure from Kickstarter backers. I won't rehash the whole sorry experience from May till now, but (1) customer service told me I was in the 1st batch AND the 2nd batch in the same email chain on two separate occasions, depending on who was replying; and (2) I kept receiving promises that my bag would be shipped soon that a tracking email would be sent. Specifically, I would be told that my bag would be sent out either "next week" or "in the third or fourth week" of the next month. As an example, Wool & Oak informed me that I had nothing to worry about as they were filling and shipping orders for September 2023 (never mind my order was a pledge in August 2023), only for them to come back in the next email and tell me my order would not be shipped until the said 3rd or 4th week. When I asked why I was told previously that my order had been shipped, no explanation or apology was given. Nevertheless to say, I never received any tracking email nor any notification that my bag was being shipped. Their response times also dropped from within 2 to 3 working days, to a week, to nearly two weeks at a time. Each time the response would be, essentially, "we'll be shipping it soon, promise!" Meanwhile, the founder of W&O was going around on Kickstarter and other social media accounts claiming W&O had processed and shipped out 95% of the pre-orders, and that everything was going smoothly. And yet I had not received even a single email from them - not from Kickstarter, not from Pledgebox, and not even in the junk mail, which I checked daily to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Faced with this and the fact that I was rapidly running out of time for filing a chargeback dispute, I requested a refund, and was denied (as is their practice, I note from other reviewers). When denied, I contacted my bank and asked for a charge back on the grounds of undelivered merchandise. I also warned W&O at the end of July 2024 of the dispute, and their reply came TWO WEEKS later telling me that the order would be shipped "next week". Their appointed "next week" came and went, my bank called me to ask if I had received anything, and I dutifully told them: no, I hadn't. So my dispute succeeded, and I informed W&O that I had been refunded at the end of August 2024. This was another two weeks ago. Customer support today has told me that they are cancelling my order, and that they wish they had more time to resolve this amicably. Funnily, I feel like I've given them enough time, and any reasonable company would have, in light of the dispute, gotten the hint they needed to work fast and SHIP FASTER. Or at least give accurate information and follow up with the promised action. I won't call them a "scam" or a "fraud", because there are SOME backers out there who have clearly received their bags. I've seen pictures floating around in the wild. But their customer service - and whatever information they are being given - is awful and they keep moving goalposts. I won't be going back to Wool & Oak, and I advise EVERYONE - customers, backers, what have you - to steer clear of them unless they actually and verifiably have stock to sell instead of via pre-orders and crowdfunding.

Retard en tout genre, aucune explications, sur frais caché ... on adore

As a backer of several Kickstarter projects I am familiar with delays and unexpected issues so I can forgive the hiccup that occurred with a shipping container full of inventory. What I can’t forgive is the need to keep chasing customer support for any kind of information relating to my order now that the supply has been unblocked. Every email takes several days to get a response and the answer is always it’ll be sent in a few days. There has been no attempt to make amends or expedite the process which for a near $500 product is unacceptable. I asked for a refund but was told that as this was a pre-order they couldn’t offer refunds. They also can’t seem to offer the actual product so this seems more like theft than legitimate terms and conditions. Do not order from this company. If you have any issues you will be waiting a long time to get them resolved, if at all.

I had ordered a bag 5 months back and have only received false promises of deliver thereafter their email id was not working. Don’t trust these guys.

I've had the Noval Large bag for less than 2 months, and the zipper broke! I've reached out to customer support several times with no response. I'm very disappointed in the product and the level of customer support. Given this is a luxury bag...the customer service does not match.

Note that for all pre-orders, beyond 7 days after ordering there are no refunds, PERIOD. This means that once you get the bag, regardless of the workmanship, quality, or fitness of purpose, you are stuck with the bag. I attempted to cancel the order before it was shipped, and return the bag once I saw it, and was refused. I did not order it through a crowdfunding site where this type of policy might be expected, but through a Facebook ad that took me to their web page.

Inconsistent customer service experience, poorly managed logistics, takes a lot of work and handholding as the customer to ensure receipt of item - very stressful experience.

I finally received the canvas bag after waiting for many months past the promised delivery date… So disappointed in the quality of the workmanship… the zippers are sewn in poorly and it is a struggle to zip the bag closed. The bag is useless to me, I travel for work frequently and don’t have the time to struggle with the zippers or have the anxiety that perhaps I won’t be able to close the bag. I have been going back and forth on returning the bag for refund. I do not expect a replacement to be any better since this bag was QC’d and passed. Perhaps the bag “works” better in leather, but that is too much of an investment. I am now providing videos of managing the zippers and hope that a refund is in the making. Happy to send the bag back so someone there can struggle with this handiwork….Hoping for a good resolution to this situation of poor quality and awful customer service….