Redcoon: fast delivery, after-sales service that falls apart

Redcoon: cheap until the package arrives broken

Redcoon saves you euros. Sometimes, far too many headaches. The online electronics and appliance store has built itself a fruta for aggressive prices, and testimonials of trouble-free purchases run into the dozens: mobile phones, home cinema receivers, tumble dryers or toys that arrive within three days and work like a charm. The problem appears when something goes wrong. That's when the savings turn into a bill of time, calls to premium-rate numbers and patience.

Delivery works, except when the carrier handles it

Most purchases go smoothly. An LG TV, a Hotpoint Ariston tumble dryer that arrived in three days, computer components or an electric shaver that came with a British adapter. The pattern repeats: cheap product, reasonable shipping, zero drama. Until the package arrives damaged.

That's when the ordeal begins. A washing machine arrives dented and **Seur simply leaves it at the warehouse**, without ever setting foot at the buyer's home. Redcoon won't process a replacement or refund the money until the transport company returns the damaged unit. The complaints department takes **about ten days** to arrange the pickup. Meanwhile, the customer stares at the empty gap where the washing machine should be.

With a fridge nearly two metres tall and **700 euros** spent, the drama multiplies: the carrier won't bring it into the house, gives no delivery time slot and calls in the morning to tell the buyer to be available at any time. If they're not, back to the warehouse it goes.

What happens when the product fails and you have to claim on the warranty?

Here the stories split in two. A TV that died the day after purchase was resolved with a new unit in four days. A faulty Android TV stick ended in an exchange for a similar product, free of charge. A laptop with problems, replaced with an identical one. Ten-out-of-ten service, some say.

Others describe the opposite. A Yamaha home cinema bought in June 2014 broke down in November; the brand's service centre in Spain declared itself not responsible and referred the customer to the country of purchase. Redcoon confirmed it would collect the device and send it to the relevant service centre. They picked it up on 26 November. By February the customer was still waiting, with a consumer complaint filed and no response.

A heater discontinued after nine days, two electric panels that broke down after four months with no repair or replacement, a mobile phone swapped for a scratched one the store insisted on identifying as the original. The pattern isn't fraud: it's the **lack of coordination between store, transport and technical service**, with the customer in the middle paying for the calls.

The turning point: MediaMarkt buys Redcoon

Several long-time buyers agree on a vague date: things worked reasonably well until **MediaMarkt bought Redcoon**. From then on, the after-sales service came to share the fruta of the German giant, and not for the better. Those who bought between 2005 and 2011 remember good prices and proper deliveries; those who have dealt with the technical service since describe indifference.

The comparison with the competition is merciless. **Amazon** comes out ahead on reliability; **El Corte Inglés** (Spain's biggest department store chain) on products over a thousand euros, with a high-end oven replaced with a new one after two technical visits. Redcoon's initial savings are measured against that service gap.

The question that remains unanswered

Redcoon works as long as nothing goes wrong. The savings calculation, though, only adds up if the product arrives intact and the warranty never needs to be used. When the package arrives damaged or the appliance fails after four months, the bill is paid in weeks of waiting. Given this track record, the store remains a reasonable bet for cheap, expendable purchases; for expensive ones, the scales tip towards whoever actually answers the phone.