I ordered a pre-owned watch from WF on Tuesday morning and paid via an online account. I was told I would be contacted later that day by the despatch dept. to confirm my delivery address. This didn’t happen.

I progressed the order yesterday and did get a call around 14:30 to say the watch was ready to be couriered out overnight.

At 17:30 I got a call from one of the sales team. He told me the watch had been “pulled” from the post because there was a problem with the crown and would be looked at by the service centre.

Now bearing in mind the advert for the watch had this preamble:

“This Omega has undergone a thorough inspection of water resistance, accuracy, functionality and condition to determine the level of reconditioning required to meet our strict standards. It has also been referenced against technical documents and manufacturer records where available to ensure authenticity and a clean history.”

I found it unsettling to hear that a serious fault had been discovered just as it was about to be sent out to me. The sales guy told me he would update me this afternoon.

I had a think about it last night and decided to cancel having lost all confidence in the watch and the supplier to be honest. IMO, the watch wasn’t in a fit condition to be offered for sale.

I rang to cancel this morning and was treated very curtly as if I had let them down!

The money has been refunded and the matter closed but I had heard good things about WF and am disappointed.

Any experience out there?

IMO, the watch wasn’t in a fit condition to be offered for sale.

They agreed, which is why they didn’t send it ?

Can’t really see what the problem is. They found a fault while checking it before dispatch. And delayed dispatch to put it right. And informed you of exactly what was happening and why.

Sounds like a company that can be trusted if you ask me.

Sounds just like the car trade. Car come up for sale all the time with glowing adverts and only when you go see them you realise that they haven’t been prepared for sale yet.

What about the preamble? It claims the watch has already been inspected and proven. That’s why I bought it.

Would you complete the purchase of a car that was claimed to be fully tested and RAC approved and then when you went to pick it up was told there was a major gearbox problem but they’ll sort it and get back to you?

I can understand where the OP is coming from. I know that a few of my mates have ordered from WF, and been very happy with the items bought, and it shows they care, that they held up the dispatch to fix the fault, but if you’re spending a lot of money, it should have been thoroughly checked before it went up on the website. Frustrating.

The preamble is the same for every single watch they sell.

I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. Just that it looks like they obviously only do the checks and corrective action when they have a buyer.

Lots of places like this don’t incur costs for repairs until the item is sold. They may have a list of what needs doing and will carry out those jobs when they know they have a buyer. Downside is when they make a sale they may find a delay in getting a part to complete the repair which is what might have happened in your case. On the plus side you know the work has recently been completed rather than years ago and sat on shelf since then waiting for a buyer to come along.