Buying an OSIM Massage Chair in the UK - my experience

Update: Please note the new OSIM UK store, run by Francis Leow of FK Marketing (Company Registration No. 05697926) can be found at http://www.osim.com/UK/ and is not related to this store at Bluewater or the company "Indigo Retail Ltd" (Company Registration No. 04254170 - formerly OSIM (UK) Ltd) - which this article concerns.
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I walked into an OSIM UK store in Bluewater on 4th June 2006.(their website - www.osim-health.co.uk went down shortly before this article was written) I'd saved up long and hard to buy one of their OSIM iSymphonic Massage chairs. I fell in love with these chairs in Singapore 5 years ago and I've been saving up for one over the last year to get one. This chair is -in my opinion- the best massage chair available. It measures you then massages your neck, back and legs and simply turns you into a floppy mess 15 minutes later!

OSIM iSymphonic Massage Chair

To cut a long story short, it did not arrive after 6 weeks and every phone call we met with "we can't give you information on when the chair will be delivered, only the Manager can do that and she is out at the moment". Every call to the "Head Office" was redirected to the Bluewater store (so I presume they don't have one), and the Manger never rang me back. Only threatening to cancel the order (3 times) did I get a response from the Manager and then that was either met with platitudes or promises of delivery that were never kept. Only after cancelling the order with my credit card company and getting the money refunded did I find this article at www.massage-chairs.co.uk which fitted my experience with Indigo Retail Ltd (the 'new' name for this company, changed 22/03/2006) to a tee.

It details that the customers of this company that have bought chairs with them recently have not got the chairs or their money back! Not only that but the company (confirmed by going to Companies House - Company no. 04254170) is in "Voluntary arrangement" with it's creditors. I was was very glad to have bought my chair with my credit card. (Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act gives you a lot of protection from circumstances such as these) Even so, you assume going into a nice store in a big shopping mall would ensure you are dealing with reputable people, not so!

Further investigation shows that OSIM International are distancing themselves from this company and have awarded the franchise to someone else. It is now being run by FK Marketing Ltd, headed by a man who has worked for OSIM International in Singapore for over 10 years. You can go to the new OSIM UK website here.

I rang them, explained the situation and reordered the chair with them on Thursday evening by phone. By Saturday afternoon I had received the chair! The service and communication was exemplary, informing me every step of the way what was happening. The complete antithesis of Indigo Retail.

OSIM UK Store

According to Companies House, Indigo Retail Ltd underwent "Compulsory Liquidation" as of 29/01/2007.

FK Marketing
The Weston Centre
Weston Road
Crewe CW1 6FL
Tel : 0870 7709383
Fax : 01270 25 33 99
Email : info@osim-uk.co.uk
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