Presto Classical - anyone else had problems?

[Petrushka]

I 'pre-ordered' the new Haitink box from Presto on October 28 and they took my payment on the same day. The set was finally released on Friday, March 10 but
am still awaiting despatch. The 'my account' section confirms the status of the order as of now.

I attempted to contact Presto this afternoon via their Presto Music Chat option but got the message that 'all our agents are offline etc...' I thereupon sent them an email which got the usual automatically generated response 'we are experiencing a high volume of queries etc...' From experience they probably won't look at it for two or three days.

Has anyone else had problems with Presto? It doesn't seem right to me that they can hold on to my money for five months, very nicely helping their cash flow.

Going back to my days at work in Credit Control, it was always a bad sign when a company made it difficult to speak to anyone and sent 'fob off' messages. While I realise that this is now pretty much standard customer (non) service procedure, I expected better from Presto.

Has anyone else experienced problems with them? I will not be ordering from them again.

[Joseph K]

Yes, I got a very bad impression of their customer service when someone on this forum alerted me to the fact that the cheap complete Haydn symphonies download had a missing movement, and when they eventually got back to me they said I could either get a refund or wait. I stupidly chose the latter option, foolishly thinking they (whoever 'they' are) might 'find' the missing movement.

It struck me as pretty shoddy. But I have ordered from them again, mostly because I dislike amazon, irrespective of their superior customer service.

Sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds frustrating.

[Petrushka]

Yes, I got a very bad impression of their customer service when someone on this forum alerted me to the fact that the cheap complete Haydn symphonies download had a missing movement, and when they eventually got back to me they said I could either get a refund or wait. I stupidly chose the latter option, foolishly thinking they (whoever 'they' are) might 'find' the missing movement.

It struck me as pretty shoddy. But I have ordered from them again, mostly because I dislike amazon, irrespective of their superior customer service.

Sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds frustrating.

Debating with myself whether to cancel the order, get a refund and order from Amazon. Presto's price was better than anywhere and I've had no trouble with them before so everything looked ok. Whatever you think of Amazon, and I've been with them since 2007 without much trouble, you have to say that they are better in every way.

[Petrushka]

I've cancelled the order with Presto and have ordered from Europadisc.

Very disappointed with Presto and won't be returning. Just hope they promptly do a refund.

[richardfinegold]

I use them primarily for downloading. Not much they can muck up there. I did have a problem with their app. It used to let you play everything that you ever purchased for free. Now that they started their streaming (paid) service it supposedly will still listen to your purchases, but it didn’t work. I also tried the free trial of the paid service, but it wouldn’t load on my Android phone. I suspect that they are spending their resources trying to get the streaming service up to snuff and not many are minding the shop for the physical media, because the money is in the streaming

[Petrushka]

I use them primarily for downloading. Not much they can muck up there. I did have a problem with their app. It used to let you play everything that you ever purchased for free. Now that they started their streaming (paid) service it supposedly will still listen to your purchases, but it didn’t work. I also tried the free trial of the paid service, but it wouldn’t load on my Android phone. I suspect that they are spending their resources trying to get the streaming service up to snuff and not many are minding the shop for the physical media, because the money is in the streaming

Terrible customer service is everywhere in the UK right now. No-one seems to care and things just get worse.

[gurnemanz]

I also now use Presto mainly for downloads, where they have an excellent range, many very well-priced. Occasionally there have been discrepancies in the downloads, eg mis-labelling or missing tracks. Even if this has not been their fault, I have found that it has beeen dealt with promptly, thoroughly and efficiently. Since 2009 I have ordered a lot, also CDs and sheet music for our choir and found the service to be generally excellent.

[Bryn]

I also now use Presto mainly for downloads, where they have an excellent range, many very well-priced. Occasionally there have been discrepancies in the downloads, eg mis-labelling or missing tracks. Even if this has not been their fault, I have found that it has beeen dealt with promptly, thoroughly and efficiently. Since 2009 I have ordered a lot, also CDs and sheet music for our choir and found the service to be generally excellent.

The problem of missing parts from downloads and streaming is by no means restricted to Presto. I have encountered several such problems on QOBUZ, some of which are dealt with satisfactorily, and some of which are not. In general, they appear to be down to a lack of quality control on the files they are sent by the recording companies.

[MickyD]

I know that I am an old stick-in-the-mud, but the more I read about problems such as these, the more reticent I am to get into downloading or streaming. I honestly wouldn't have the patience with mislabelled or missing tracks etc. I'm happy to stay with CDs.

[Bryn]

I know that I am an old stick-in-the-mud, but the more I read about problems such as these, the more reticent I am to get into downloading or streaming. I honestly wouldn't have the patience with mislabelled or missing tracks etc. I'm happy to stay with CDs.

Never had a faulty CD?

[vinteuil]

.

I'm really sorry to hear of Petrushka's recent unhappy experience with Presto. I've been using them for ten years or so, buying many CDs, and have seldom had anything go wrong : once or twice something proved unavailable and they informed and reimbursed me rapidly. The stuff usually came swiftly, well packaged.

And it was always a joy not to have to use the amazon behemoth...

.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Never had a faulty CD?

I’ve had just one. That was an early BBC Music Magazine Bruckner disc that had a digital dropout for about a second. But it turned out to be manufacturing error that affected every disc, and these were all replaced without fuss.

[pastoralguy]

I’ve used PRESTO for many years and have found their service to be exemplary. One of the big attractions for me is that I can listen to my cd purchases on my ‘phone whilst doing tedious jobs at work. Friday night is a particularly tedious so I’m looking forward to listening to the new Artemis Quartet’s new recording on my two favourite Mozart Quintets as I count innumerable pills! I also enjoy listening to the cd when it arrives a few days later since I’m familiar with the interpretation in less than ideal sound before listening to the new recording in all its glory on the posh system.

Occasionally, when a cd has been delayed they have always offered a refund which I’ve rarely accepted. With regards to the Haitink set, it seems similar to when I ordered the Henryk Szeryng set when it was first issued. It was delayed several times and I’m sure it wasn’t PRESTO’s fault since there does seem to be issues with some of these ‘big boxes’.

[MickyD]

Never had a faulty CD?

Maybe I am just lucky, but I have to say that I haven't had one for years and years. The only real problem for me in the past was the bronzing issue, but as most will know, Hyperion replaced all returned discs with great efficiency.

[Bryn]

Maybe I am just lucky, but I have to say that I haven't had one for years and years. The only real problem for me in the past was the bronzing issue, but as most will know, Hyperion replaced all returned discs with great efficiency.

Indeed, Hyperion has a fine reputation regarding replacements. However, they were not the only label hit by the problem. Other companies have been less cooperative. I hope Universal continue Hyperion's replacement service. I still have a few which reveal themselves as bronzed with time. I have far too many CDs to go through them systematically, checking for those which have now become faulty due to their slower development of the bronzing.