WARNING about Family Land out of Australia (aka RC Hobby Creations)

[Panther6834]

I am hoping that everyone who reads this will not only heed my warning, but also warn others.

Several weeks ago, I placed an order late at night through this business' website - https://familyland.com.au - and, early the next morning, realizing that what was ordered was not needed, I immediately emailed them, requesting the order be canceled. At that point in time, the payment was still being processed, and they could have easily canceled the order, and immediately refunded the money.

Before I continue, I will also mention something about their outrageous shipping costs. What I ordered (a package of 6 bearings) was $17AU...and, for that, they were charging $24AU for 'shipping'. Like I said, outrageous shipping cost. I've ordered both parts from RC BoatBitz (also located in Australia), and paid less for shipping for even larger packages.

Anyway...moving on...by that afternoon, not having heard back from them, I contacted PayPal (whom payment was submitted through). I explained the situation to them, and ask them to contact the seller to have the order canceled, and funds refunded. Just as Family Land ignored my direct request, they also ignored the request coming from PayPal.

The following morning, I filed an online claim against the seller, through PayPal. Unfortunately, due to PayPal's limited number of "reasons", I was forced into selecting an option that, technically, was not accurate (there was no option listed even remotely close to my reason for filing the claim). Upon the seller receiving the info from PayPal regarding the claim, they immediately had a shipping label printed, thus creating a tracking number, and then reported back to PayPal that the item had shipped, even providing them the tracking number. This, however, was a LIE, as no such package had shipped.

The TRUTH, based on my order details, as shown on their website, showed that the payment had been 'processed', and that the order, itself, was 'processing' (ie. it had NOT 'shipped'). Because of the information the seller provided to paypal, PayPal decided to find in the seller's favor. Had PayPal bothered to check the online tracking through the Australia Post website, they would have easily seen that no such package had yet shipped.
This whole situation, in regards to the seller, was nothing more than a 'ruse', just so that PayPal would find in the seller's favor.

Later that day, after receiving the "claim denied" email from paypal, I called PayPal, to have the claim reopened. At this point, they changed the reasoning to "package not received", which, in turn, created a new PayPal claim number. At that point, the seller was, once again, contacted, and they were given a certain number of days in which to respond. The following day, the package was in the hands of Australia Post. However, the seller could have easily recalled it, as they had the ability to do so anytime prior to the package departing Australia. However, once again, they ignored all requests/contact from paypal, and purposely allowed the package to cross the Pacific.

This morning...which, as 'chance' had it, was also the final day that the seller had to respond...I, once again, received a "claim denied" email from PayPal, with the reasoning being that they received 'proof' from the seller that the package had been delivered...but, once again, this was nothing more than another LIE from them. Checking Australia Post tracking, it was easy to see that no such package had been delivered. According to Australia post, it was listed as "out for delivery" two days ago (5/19 Australian date, 5/18 US date).

Throughout this entire ordeal, Family Land (aka RC Hobby Creations) has PURPOSELY done nothing but ignore all contact from myself & toPayPal, and provided lie after lie to PayPal has (so-called) "proof")...and, because of these lies, PayPal has found in favor of the seller (twice, in fact).

I am not posting this for getting suggestions on how to get my money back...I am already in the process of doing that by different means. The purpose of this post is to warn everyone against purchasing from Family Land/RC Hobby Creations. For all I know, they could be an outstanding hobby shop for those who are local to them, and (possibly) even for others throughout Australia & New Zealand...but, for anyone outside of that area, it would behoove you to learn from my experience, and avoid them at all costs.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by Panther6834

I am hoping that everyone who reads this will not only heed my warning, but also warn others.

Several weeks ago, I placed an order late at night through this business' website - https://familyland.com.au - and, early the next morning, realizing that what was ordered was not needed, I immediately emailed them, requesting the order be canceled. At that point in time, the payment was still being processed, and they could have easily canceled the order, and immediately refunded the money.

Before I continue, I will also mention something about their outrageous shipping costs. What I ordered (a package of 6 bearings) was $17AU...and, for that, they were charging $24AU for 'shipping'. Like I said, outrageous shipping cost. I've ordered both parts from RC BoatBitz (also located in Australia), and paid less for shipping for even larger packages.


So... None of what you've outlined above is relevant to your complaint unless the seller listed a shipping fee that was later inflated after you had placed your order. Fine that you included that their shipping prices are in your opinion, too high... but really no foul on their part.


Anyway...moving on...by that afternoon, not having heard back from them, I contacted PayPal (whom payment was submitted through). I explained the situation to them, and ask them to contact the seller to have the order canceled, and funds refunded. Just as Family Land ignored my direct request, they also ignored the request coming from PayPal.

The following morning, I filed an online claim against the seller, through PayPal. Unfortunately, due to PayPal's limited number of "reasons", I was forced into selecting an option that, technically, was not accurate (there was no option listed even remotely close to my reason for filing the claim).


Wasn't the "reason" simply that you made a mistake in ordering the item and no longer needed it? I mean... You didn't outline here of any other reason for cancelling the order. I would have thought that PP had an option for that.



Upon the seller receiving the info from PayPal regarding the claim, they immediately had a shipping label printed, thus creating a tracking number, and then reported back to PayPal that the item had shipped, even providing them the tracking number. This, however, was a LIE, as no such package had shipped.


I hope that in the year 2022, we're all aware of latency issues including but not limited to discrepancies not displayed on our computer/ phone screens. As much as we want to feel as if we were intentionally lied to ( usually when we're already angry about something), the truth is that we truly don't know exactly what the physical status of a product is after we place that order. This can be lack of real-time updates, an item shipping before it shows 'in transit', an item in transit that is actually still in a warehouse somewhere, etc, etc, etc.

The TRUTH, based on my order details, as shown on their website, showed that the payment had been 'processed', and that the order, itself, was 'processing' (ie. it had NOT 'shipped'). Because of the information the seller provided to paypal, PayPal decided to find in the seller's favor. Had PayPal bothered to check the online tracking through the Australia Post website, they would have easily seen that no such package had yet shipped. This whole situation, in regards to the seller, was nothing more than a 'ruse', just so that PayPal would find in the seller's favor.


Again... the information that you have provided here is not a matter of outright "TRUTH" or "LIES" as you put it, but rather your assessment of what occurred. I assume that you absolutely believe your deductions and you may indeed be correct, but the fact is that you have not provided any actual PROOF that you were maliciously deceived.

Later that day, after receiving the "claim denied" email from paypal, I called PayPal, to have the claim reopened. At this point, they changed the reasoning to "package not received", which, in turn, created a new PayPal claim number. At that point, the seller was, once again, contacted, and they were given a certain number of days in which to respond. The following day, the package was in the hands of Australia Post. However, the seller could have easily recalled it, as they had the ability to do so anytime prior to the package departing Australia. However, once again, they ignored all requests/contact from paypal, and purposely allowed the package to cross the Pacific.


This morning...which, as 'chance' had it, was also the final day that the seller had to respond...I, once again, received a "claim denied" email from PayPal, with the reasoning being that they received 'proof' from the seller that the package had been delivered...but, once again, this was nothing more than another LIE from them. Checking Australia Post tracking, it was easy to see that no such package had been delivered. According to Australia post, it was listed as "out for delivery" two days ago (5/19 Australian date, 5/18 US date).


This is again, your opinion that they ignored PP's request. You could certainly be right about this but to be completely transparent, you don't know when things were actually done on their end... regardless of what status was shown and/ or subsequently updated. Maybe it wasn't too late or maybe it was. If nothing else, if I'm reading your complaint and making a decision to use or not use this company, you have provided no details that explicitly make me feel as if you were intentionally deceived. And tbh, even screen shots aren't going to make me feel 100% convinced that there was something underhanded going on due to what I spoke of earlier in regards to delays, latency, and other potential discrepancies.

Throughout this entire ordeal, Family Land (aka RC Hobby Creations) has PURPOSELY done nothing but ignore all contact from myself & toPayPal, and provided lie after lie to PayPal has (so-called) "proof")...and, because of these lies, PayPal has found in favor of the seller (twice, in fact).


And again... We are hearing only one side of this story here on RCC. It almost sounds in this last paragraph, that you feel that PP ( possibly in cahoots with Family Land) has conspired against you. It's possible that I'm reading too much into this to form such an opinion but it really sounds more to me that PP simply ruled in favor of the seller due to the information that they were provided. And yet again... at least from the details that you've provided here, I see no reason for perspective buyers to ostracize PP nor Family Land based solely on what you've provided here.


I am not posting this for getting suggestions on how to get my money back...I am already in the process of doing that by different means. The purpose of this post is to warn everyone against purchasing from Family Land/RC Hobby Creations. For all I know, they could be an outstanding hobby shop for those who are local to them, and (possibly) even for others throughout Australia & New Zealand...but, for anyone outside of that area, it would behoove you to learn from my experience, and avoid them at all costs.


Okay.

I actually do hope that you find some resolve to this situation and I ( as a potential RC parts buyer), appreciate that you've shared your experience here. I'm simply providing a different perspective from someone reading your complaint... that this whole thing doesn't necessarily come across quite as nefarious as what you're going for. Bast of luck.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

I actually do hope that you find some resolve to this situation and I ( as a potential RC parts buyer), appreciate that you've shared your experience here. I'm simply providing a different perspective from someone reading your complaint... that this whole thing doesn't necessarily come across quite as nefarious as what you're going for. Bast of luck.

My purpose is to warn people (not from Australia or New Zealand) about ordering from this business...nothing more, nothing less.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[DRED805]

I ordered some Tamiya parts from them when I couldn't find them in the states, and needed them asap. Shipping seemed reasonable. Nothing negative to say about the experience. I didn't try cancelling an order or anything, though.

[70ford390]

Seems like some people create their own problems.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by 70ford390

Seems like some people create their own problems.

If you're attempting to claim I created my own problem, you don't understand anything of what happened. The difference between my situation, and DRED's, is that he didn't cancel (or even try to cancel) his order. That, right there, makes ALL the difference.

If you had placed an order (through ANY online entity), and then immediately went to cancel, and all attempts to have the order cancelled were completely ignored, how would you take it? Even worse, how about if that same entity lied (multiple times) about the order having already been shipped (when, upon checking the supplied tracking number, shows NO package in the carriers possession), or falsely claiming the order had already been delivered (when said tracking shows no such delivery)? These are the points I'm talking about.

I did not "create" any problem...Family Land is, wow clearly, the "cause" of these problems. They purposely ignored all attempts (by myself, and by PayPal) to have the ordered cancelled while payment was still being processed. They falsely claimed the order had been 'shipped' (by providing PayPal a tracking number), even though the other hadn't even been picked/packed at that point (ie. they were still 'processing' the payment). Then, once the claim was escalated, while the package was still within australia, they could have easily recalled the package, but purposely chose not to. On top of that, they purposely ignored all contact from PayPal, only responding once they had confirmation that the package was within the US...which also happened to be on the final day that they could respond. Put another way, they were purposely delaying responding until the package was within the US, and beyond their 'ability' to recall it.

I had a smaller situation several years ago, with the seller on eBay. Turns out, that seller had pulled the same garbage on enough other people that he/she/they got removed from eBay. In regards to Family Land utilizing PayPal as a payment service, the one thing I do know is that I am not the first to file such a complaint/claim against them. My policy, PayPal cannot disclose to me the number of previous complaints against Family Land...but, they CAN, and DID, disclose that there have been previous complaints.

At this point in time, the only thing that matters directly to me is that PayPal is refunding the money to me.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[Panther6834]

FINAL NOTE...and, this is a real "kicker". As I previously mentioned, PayPal has told me they will refund the money (out of their own pocket, not taking the funds from the merchant). Interestingly, the bearings were delivered today...and, they're NOT EVEN THE RIGHT BEARINGS.

I ordered (same, again, tried to cancel) a 6-pack of 4x9x3mm bearings. What was shipped/received was a 6-pack of 4x9x4mm bearings. They couldn't even get the order right. I'll be calling PayPal, to update them. This way, instead of refunding the money from their own funds, they can take the funds from the merchant.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[high plains drifter]

Panther- I just want to clarify where I was coming from when I scrutinized your OP. We all know how tough it is for small shops/ businesses to compete these days with Amazon and the other RC super-stores. I think it's positive for all potential customers to hear legitimate bad reviews from others. But when I read your post, it simply didn't convey to me that this was a horrible company that deserved to lose sales... not from the points that you had outlined. Anyway... no disrespect was intended to you, rather as I mentioned, my interpretation of your rant didn't leave me necessarily thinking that they were without a doubt, as awful as you were suggesting.