"Black Tree Design, anyone else having problems? " Topic

10 days ago I opened a PayPal dispute for an order I placed in December. No response . . .

Sounds like a lot of people have done that over the last few months.

I just wish they would simply ship the orders that people have paid for.

I too have sadly opened a paypal case.I waited 3 months for my last order when it arrived minus 1 pack which they promised would follow soon!Two months on it has not followed!!!
I also got good vibes from them via press releases from them saying things had been difficult but all was getting back on track so I ordered more. That was over 2 months ago and I just know I could be waiting for another 4 months, if ever they arrive and it looks like they are no better than before. I hope to get my money refunded and sadly will not be making any more orders with them, or at least whilst the current owners are in charge!

I called them early this morning and left them a message.

One person on Facebook said their phone was not working. Perhaps a full answering machine because I was able to leave a message.

I think it's going to take many years before they recover from this…

What is going on with this company? I have an email advertising 4th July sale! Iv got my refund for past failed delivery, should I order again? Is it all sorted out now?

I just received a email from John, apologizing and issuing me a refund

Corporal Fagan, received apology today and fully refunded too, so matter closed, although it does not resolve the fact that there great miniature lines can no longer be purchased with confidence !!

Agreed!

Email for me as well, one order to be shipped tomorrow and another next week.

I did get my first order. The figures were cast well.

I just put in an order, I told them I would make payment when I got their product – lets see what happens, but I am not holding my breath……..

Torokchar, I'd be very surprised if they (or any business) sent the product before they got payment.

That said, it never hurts to ask.

(Perhaps asking if payment could be made when there was confirmation of the product being packaged?)

@wmyers

Really!? Why, I'm shocked.

That's a pity, I'd like the opportunity to tell a merchant that I've been sick for three months and couldn't pay. But, I guess if someone pulls that sort of rubbish line themselves, they're hyper-paranoid that others might also.

Actually my coffee roasters send an invoice with the order and give you thirty days to pay. I guess their theory is people who order gourmet coffee would never jeopardize their source by not paying. Of course I always pay immediately. :)

Texas Jack, that is a courtesy of a not-too-long-ago world. When someone's word was their honour and if they said they would pay, they would.

It all started to change in the 60's.

It's a two way street, though. Businesses used to sell on a lay-away program or no-interest payments. Usury makes people feel merchants are stealing from them (usury has, historically, been defined that way and that is public perception) so they do not feel so bad about not paying. Many do not even look at it as theft and only various laws seem to keep many "honest".

Wmyers….you got part of your order?! I am still waiting and have received no emails other than the general one about health issues etc. I was sympathetic to the plea for patience, but the sale adverts and mention of John sending fresh product to the UK has really stretched me to the breaking point. I have asked for my money back.

Too many good gaming companies out there (Warlord Games, Old Glory, Frontline Games……) to waste your time on this pathetic company.

BTW – never heard back from them when I proposed to pay when I got their products at my house – shocking!!!

Sausegesca: Yes, I got my order from December. My other order from the Black Friday sale in November is apparently on its way as I type this. (I was given a notification from the courier.)

How long have you been waiting? (I would be hoping the oldest orders are being filled first – unless there are some figures that are not part of the older orders that comprise newer ones.)

Torokchar, I am not surprised. I don't think anyone would do that for any business (unless that was their business model like some previous schemes but required credit cards and you would not get charged unless you forgot to cancel). So, maybe if you give them your credit card number and ask not to charge until they ship the order.

I ordered November 24….

Did you get your money back?

Not yet….no communications at all.

Have you been emailing? I am not sure if Facebook is being checked too much but I would send some emails.

Maybe ask, in the email, if you can get your figures (if you still want them).

It might be easier for John to send you figures than refund money (I think, from what I have read on here, that lots have asked for money back – they may have more figures) and if you ordered during the Black Friday Sale, like I did, you won't be able to beat the prices.

Just keep emailing – like once or twice a day.

Be the nail that sticks up.

Be the squeaky wheel!

Will do. Perhaps sound advice. Asking for my money returned has not garnered a response.

Cheers

John has always been a very open and seemingly honest person. I have ordered a lot from BTD, far more than any other company and I have always gotten good service; albeit sometimes longer than I would have hoped.

However, I have always gotten my figures and the couple times I have had a mistake (once there were 4 Roman archers instead of 5 in the bag) it has always been quickly amended!

@wmyers you are one of the few. It's truly disappointing that these guys can't get it together. What a shame.

My $.02 USD.

I placed an order in February of this year and was charged forthwith. I then got the email in March regarding his family and health issues, and the follow-up in May. In the meantime I received notice that my order was about to ship, but nothing came.

I followed up via Facebook with no success and a "contact us" email on their website went unanswered, too. I then responded direct to John's email saying my order was in line to ship and finally received an answer.

With an apology he said my order would ship that day. It did and i had it in hand in two days. I can commiserate with John, as my father was recently ill as well, but I also feel everyone's pain here, because we expected fast shipping and communications.

I guess I would preach patience and suggest direct contact with John in order to get your stuff.

Finally got a reply to my emails and seemingly a shipping confirmation. John was apologetic and I hope the figures arrive soon now. I suppose the sad thing in all of this is that a great range of figures will be off the table for so many people due to the complexities and delays in dealing with BT.

I'm glad you heard back from John and have a shipping confirmation!

AND that you are getting your figures (no one orders figures they do not want – most of us order figures we do not need, though).

I am sure BTD has lost a lot of business.

I've ‘only' been waiting for an order since late June but the lack of response to several emails and a message via their website is frustrating, to put it mildly.

First time I've had a problem with BTD (I'm in the U.K.) but it's annoying to get FB messages about the latest sale offer and even replies to them are ignored.

The BTD Facebook page has not been updated since May.

I have posted on there I got my orders as I know there have been a LOT of posts about/from people who are disgruntled and waiting for their orders.

I imagine the backlog is quite extensive and may take a while to work through.

I have also noted there have been less emails promoting sales.

Any updates from you guys?

I got this in my in box on 23th Aug.

Hello All,

This had been a really rough year all round. Due to a myriad of Personal and Family problems, I really dropped the ball and dug myself into a huge hole. We have seen massive delays with orders and a shocking lack of communication. We are taking steps to ensure that this never, ever happens again.

We have made great strides in sorting out all the problems but unfortunately we have still have a ways to go. I estimate that we have sorted about 40% of the backlog and expect to clear the remaining orders over the next 2 – 3 weeks. We are continuing to dig ourselves out of the hole but sometimes the dirt drops back in :(

We finally managed to get back on Facebook and we have started sorting out your messages and questions. We have begun on the personal messages and will continue until we have answered them all.

Please contact me direct if you are still waiting on an order, perhaps waiting to have a problem solved or even if you would like to have a moan. Send me a Priority email to

I just saw that on Facebook.

Looks like a start, but a very long way to go.

I never had an issue when I used to order from Black Tree UK. Stuff arrived at the Woolshed in 2-3 weeks which is about right. Once there was some bits missing and two weeks later I got another package with missing bits and a bunch of other stuff.

Hopefully they will sort their stuff out and get back to producing some great minis at good prices.

I have just received my order from November 2018. The figures look pretty clean so I think they may have new moulds. Ah well, better late than never. Here's hoping they have got over their problems.

Looks like they're getting back on track after a difficult summer – I received my order (placed late June) in early October, accompanied by several free packs by way of apology, as well as a couple of emails during September explaining and updating me on the progress of the order – good communication is all we need in situations like this.

They lost my business a long time ago!!

In the interests of fairness I have to note …

put a trial order of a few bags of WW2 Russians in the other day, for delivery to a UK address and got them less than 1 week later.

searching BTD on TMP I can see that there have been on and off problems for many years with BTD so I don't claim all is good, and please don't blame me if it all goes wrong again, but the operation seems to be running again.

EC

Ordered from them a month ago and no word. Then again, ordered from Warlord Games a month ago and nothing and that was just five in stock items. They're incredibly slow for one of the bigger players. Foundry still has the best turn around.

It's more off again off again. If you actually get something you purchased from these clowns it's like having a unicorn and a Sasquatch sighting in the same day.