I ordered a Middy Keepnet Combo from Bosfish a week ago and received a confirmation email telling me it was receiving their "urgent attention". Today when I rang to see what had happened to it I had a pretty surreal conversation:

Me: So when will my order be delivered?
BoS: There was a delivery today.
Me: Here?
BoS: No, here.
Me: So when will I get it?
Bos: Dunno.
Me: Why not?
BoS: It wasn't in the delivery.
Me: Why not?
BoS: Middy haven't got any.
Me: But they make them!
BoS: Yes.
Me: So when will I get it?
BoS: There's another delivery on the 10th.
Me: So when will I get it?
BoS: Dunno.
Me: Why not?
Bos: Because there's 25 things that can go wrong.
Me: Like what?
BoS: Dunno but the delivery driver might be thick....
Me: (Thinks) Why is it so easy to believe THAT bit?
Me: So if it comes in on the 10th, when will I get it?
BoS: Dunno.
Me: You DO know the season starts on the 16th?
BoS: Yes.
Me: So do you intend to deliver it before then?
BoS: Dunno
Me: So you're selling something you don't have and you've taken the payment from my card but have no idea when, or if, you'll ever deliver it?
BoS: Yes.
Me: So what happens now?
BoS: Don't worry, we always keep our customers fully informed....


Pinch me, someone - am I dreaming?

Why didn't you go to your local tackle shop?

I did - he was my first stop, as I always like to support my local shop. He then checked with Middy, who wanted him to buy 15 of the combos. He told me that I might as well stick with with BoS for this deal!

Mind you, he also didn't seem too concerned when I told him that my new landing net handle had exploded while netting a 1lb roach....

I had exactly the same thing 2 years ago with these pratts, they took my dosh for some lures they could supply.
I will never use them again

Same problem ordered a few seperate items at the same time one had not come in so they did not contact me or offer to send out the other items. When i rang week before my trip they did not seem to care so i cancelled the items and drove around a hundred miles to 6 diffrent shops that had the items.
As with Tom will never use them again.

Very sorry to read these posts.

I very have fond memories of Bennets from my early days of fishing, they sold me my first glass fibre fly rod, reel, line and starter kit of bits over 30 years ago on the basis of 50p a week instalments when no-one else was even thinking of selling fishing equipment on credit terms, let alone at discount prices and by mail order. The service and help given to me on the phone as an ignorant pimply teenager trying to teach himself to fly fish from books was invaluable.

If they have allowed the years to erode their customer service skills to this extent then it is a matter of very very great regret. I hope someone might perhaps print off these posts and refer them to Bennets MD....

I ordered stuff from Askari which arrived 7 days later.This came from Germany.I have been in touch with them by E-Mail and they were very helpful.Worth a try.

Recently got back into fishing and bought quite a bit online, but now prefure to go to local shops.
See what you are buying, the right size, the right price and in stock.

I always try to buy from my local shop the only problem is the are more match orientated so i struggle for some things and have to buy online

Bennet's + Customer Skills =

An oxymoron (or should that be a pleonasm?)
similar, but not quite equal to:

Military Intelligence.


Either way, it is better by far to support your local tackle shop, as we have discussed on numerous other threads; it could be a case of "Use it, or Loose it"

I ordered a rig case and digital scales from bosfish back in December. They phoned me the next day to say that they are sending the rig case but the scales weren't in stock. They offered me a different set but wasn't digital. I said not to worry and cancelled the order. Then 2 months later a set of scales turns up and £35 taken from my bank account! I didn't really too much but it's the fact that they just assumed I still wanted the scales. To be fair though I've ordered from them before and never had a problem.

I cant fault Bennets !

as it is fairly local to me, and they have a huge amount of tackle on display in the shop, I use them as a showroom. Check out the gear in Bennets then try and find the thing I want cheaper in the more local smaller shops.

I'm sure anyone from the Sheffield area will tell you they do, or have done, the same.

Having said that, years ago, Bennets always had the reputation of having the biggest stock range but at the highest prices. These days, as the business has grown (mainly due to mail order) they are also now very competitive and I have bought quite a few things from them.

i've had my problems with them aswell .how they win awards i don't know its jks or fishing shows.

I bought my first decent rod from Bennets by mail order in 1967. They were as I remember very efficient in those days, I still have it, a Milbro Trophy which was the cheap edition of a Milbro Enterprise..I have bought the occasional mail order from them since then but as is allready said, the service has gone down a bit. All in all, I cannot complain, although you can get cheaper if you shop around.

Same experience as most on this thread. I ordered on-line, got an email back saying "your order is receiving our urgent attention"
then nothing. Stuff either doesn't arrive, only partly arrives or arrives weeks after I ordered it, with no explanation, even after emailing them (they don't reply). the reason I ordered from them is that I am quite busy and don't really have the time to shop around or visit the tackle shop, which isn't local anyhow. But saying that I am definitely shopping around on the net now (and getting bargains!) and most certainly WILL NOT EVER order from them again!!!

I've bought stuff on and off over 4 years, even at its worst it's better than local tackle shops with fat gits smoking continuously, yapping/swearing about this weekend's match on muddypool commercial cr@p pool, 'assistants'ignoring me and gasping in disbelief at my weird requests for Kamasan B983's like I've just grown a new head. I worked in specialist retail for 15 years, Angling retail needs a kick up the @rse of huge proportions..

having read these replies, it seems if you come from Yorkshire you get good service, but if you are outside Yorkshire then its stuff you jack.....Ive noticed this before so keep my business down south.

i ordereed a middy keepnet combo from BoS in the summer with a new pole

i got the box but no keepnets

so i foned up and they sed it wud cum in like a week i think

it never came so i foned up again

they said that they wouldnt be recieving any more of the combo but they would send me the same stuf but not in a combo, so without the net and they sent me the keepnets and a differnt landing net.

but by any chance would it be the middy dna carp and silvers net combo for 35quid

if you need the nets just ask them to send you the stuf but not in a combo

thanks guys cos i was jst abt to order sme thing frm them but the sounds of things i shudn't thanks agen

I used BOS a lot in the 60s and 70, great service absolutely no problems, mind you I use to use Jessops around that time too. I think these shop get greedy over time and it cost them in the long run. These days everyone seems to want to make a quick buck, goodwill stands for nothing these days, i doubt it even gets written into the balance sheets anymore