Brakes Avis 

Would love to give a zero but can't!!

Absolutely disgusting customer service.
I was a new customer when the lockdown started to lift in April. "No problem you can order day before up to 5pm for next day delivery"
Several times this was not true, without notice they would say you can't order etc.
I placed an order on Tuesday 22nd for Thursday 24th delivery, was told the depot was busy so might not be Thursday but Friday instead. Great no problem, just happy to place the order as I hadn't been able to the week before. I got the confirmation email and thought no more.
I then received an email at 4.41pm on Wednesday to say they have cancelled my order and hope I can find alternative.
I emailed my account manager 2 weeks ago when I first had an issue, who had an automated message saying out of office helping in tele-sales and not monitoring emails!!! Phoned and asked to speak to her, not available will call you back. Didn't for 2 weeks and when she finally did it was to tell me my account has been suspended due to not enough drivers in the area and I wasn't a priority. So my order will not be coming it is Friday now and I am supposed to open in the evening with no stuff.

Can still log in on my account online and the order is still there confirmed and coming 24th June apparently.

Don't waste your time, asked to close my account and she refused as in minimum of 4 weeks I might be able to order with them again. Are they delusional!? Why would I want to trade with them after they treat me like that.

Like many others on here my young business which has been using Brakes for nearly two years is now saying I'm too small to bother with! Charming that is, can't get half the supplies from anywhere else so thank you very much Brakes. I could forgive them for occasionally palming me off with near out of date stock but this is unforgiveable and irresponsible. Shame on you Brakes, I encourage any budding entrepreneurs to avoid them like the plague!

Should be zero…
After 8 years dealing with Brakes, I like many others received an email telling me they could no longer supply my business.
The reply to my email was just a cut & paste from the original email, did not respond to my questions at all.
I know our orders have been small since lockdown, but to be treated like this as a long standing customer is diabolical.
I would go so far as to say ‘cowardly’ that they couldn’t even ring & gave the bad news by email instead.
My advice take your business elsewhere, where perhaps you will be valued.
Hang your head in shame Brakes!!

Oh dear. It seems Brakes have treated us, like so many others, with complete and utter contempt. We're a small independent business. Been a Brakes Customer for 4 years - continued to order throughout lockdown. Today been told that due to high demand, they will no longer supply us and that we should shop elsewhere. Basically, our business is not as important as the bigger accounts. Shameful way to treat a loyal customer. So, you know what, I Will shop elsewhere and never, never use Brakes again. And I strongly suggest anyone else thinking of using them to think again. You are not important to them..

In reply to Brakes response:

Brakes, you miss the point completely. You have not stopped delivering to everyone. As demand has increased, you have carefully selected which accounts you'll deliver to - and which ones you will not. Despite being a regular customer (for a number of years) and despite continuing to order throughout lockdown, you have decided that, right now, our business is not as important and not as valued. If demand vs capacity is the issue then, morally, the best thing to do would be to continue supplying all those businesses that continued through lockdown (and so supported you through lockdown) and ask the others to wait until your capacity increases. Instead you've dumped us, and it seems many, many other small businesses, in favour of the bigger accounts. That is shameful. You are a disgrace.

Worst ever delivery company I have ever used, they cancelled our delivery days, so many missing items and appalling customer service

OK, brakes, worst food delivering company we had dealt with. First of all, increase the minimum to £250, then change our delivery date without telling us, blaming high demand after reopening, come on, you do know that you are not the only one who provide the service to restaurants. Other companies sticks to what they promised to their customers. Now, just got an email that they wont be able to deliver to us at all, really? Is it a joke? You do know that WE the small independent business had been supporting you through the lock down, I hope that there will not be another lockdown, you don't deserve to be in the food business. If you are a small business, steer clear from Brakes, they don't care about small business at all. Greedy company. Hope you go bancruprt soon.

I can only agree with the other customers on this website. I don't think i've ever resorted to having to search out a review page to leave a bad review but it's a last resort.

I have been placing orders with Brakes for over a year and on Friday my order didn't arrive and was cancelled on Sunday (2 days after it should have arrived!)

They have taken over £300 out of my account and all I've been told is that I will get it refunded in a couple of days. Even though part of it was for an order that I didn't even make (i'd edited an existing order.)

I ended up having to goo out and get other ingredients. We've all been busy during lockdown, I've been working 6/7 days a week since May last year. If you're too busy, don't take the orders on in the first place.

so bad service! £ 250 min crazy...

Didn’t think I would be writing those review always loved brakes never had a problem until last 3 weeks , terrible service , minimum order value of £250 not a problem for us , ordered Monday 9 am for Tuesday delivery , then ordered Monday afternoon for Thursday delivery , Tuesday delivery cancelled delivered Wednesday and Thursday delivery cancelled then Friday get a call at 3 pm to say cancelled order , who knows what will happen to Tuesdays order I put in last Tuesday!
I won’t be phoning in by the way to speak to customer service or manager already done it , was told it’s really not going to be sorted out in next couple of weeks best to go else where so I am and I won’t be coming back , supported breaks all through covid every week as still been open , terrible way of treating customers , they needed to talk to us , find better solutions and stick to when they say are going to deliver and stop emailing me promotions!

After weeks of damaged deliveries, missing items, poor communication and no notice cancellations I am sorry to say that I can no longer trust this company.

A huge order scheduled and confirmed for Friday 11 June, simply didn’t arrive, after so many attempts to find out where my order was I got a phone call at 4pm telling me due to a lack of drivers my order would be cancelled! 4pm on a Friday, every item we needed for weekend service. Left me high and dry.

To top it off, they debited the money and now over a week later I am chasing refunds.

Absolutely avoid this company. I would rather drive around and pick everything up myself than trust Brakes to actually deliver what I pay for.

Such a shame.

I always believe that all business should be given a fair chance of putting things right as all businesses suffer from tough times. During the pandemic, we have always ordered from them and I felt that I was actually a customer. Since then, they have gone from ok to bad to frustrating to worse to nonsense!

From wedding catering that was half baked because of them, orders being missing and then charging it and orders being promised on a certain date, then moved back NOT ONCE, NOT TWICE, NOT THRICE BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES!

Now they are enforcing a £250 minimum order saying that this will help, what if I order within the minimum and it doesn't arrive? Who loses out? All you get is an automated phonemail saying 'due to unprecedented demand, we....'.

No account manager calling, apparently working flat out to help. If Brakes are really doing something, why isn't it getting better?

Instead of me getting a survey call from a company you pay about how we feel about our delivery, maybe you should spend those resources into getting more staff or drivers!

We businesses don't want false promises or false hopes, we have a livelihood to run and frankly, you are affecting it! We businesses don't want to hear any apologies, we want solutions! Just because we are a small business doesn't mean that you should prioritise the big companies that brings you more money! That's greed! Remember, we were there when they were not!

For those thinking of joining Brakes, think carefully, I don't discourage or encourage you. You need to decide for yourselves. Just remember the points I have raised because I was in your position before!

If there are other companies there that treats all business equally, whether they are small or big, please do message me.

What a shambles of a company, they don't care about small business (just demanded a £250 minimum order value). They rolled my delivery 2 times and then lied about when it was coming and got told the driver had returned to the warehouse (2 mins later he drives down the road and finally delivers), they double charged me as they failed to cancel the first order which then also meant their drivers turned up when we were closed. Getting through to your own account manager or have them respond to an email is virtually impossible and then when you call to complain you get told your being rude and they hang up (no swearing or being personal to them). Its okay for this company to treat customers (I'm a new business trying to build a reputation) like absolute dirt and not even as much as a small credit note just more empty apologies and lies.

If you are looking to join Brakes as a customer I would strongly suggest you look elsewhere.

Latest news just in Brakes to rename there brand to BROKEN. I got more satisfaction out of the England game last night than I have with the whole experience with brakes lately, totally rubbish, delivery days changed without being told, missing products when they do decide to deliver. When placing an order on line they say all products are in stock and on the day of our limited one day a week delivery the order has change like magic to crosses on our order saying not in stock!! And today we have an email saying a minimum order must be above £250. Well we would be able to spend that amount but you never have the stock!! With no customer service and no stock they will have no business soon and when that happens I will smile. We have been a customer for 20+years and now we are moving on. Why should we put up with this just because we are a small independent restaurant, the divorce papers are in the post and you can stick your nectar points where the sun doesn’t shine.

COMPLETELY USELESS AND BLAMING THE "UNPRESIDENTED" PANDEMIC. YOU KNOW - THE ONE THATS BEEN HERE FOR 18 MONTHS. AND APPARENTLY NO ONE TOLD THEM THAT 75% OF HOSPITALITY WAS REOPENING ON MAY 17th. IT WAS A SURPRISE THAT AFTER 5 MONTHS OF LOCK DOWN HOSPITALITY OPENED AND THEY NEEDED FOOD. ITS NOT THE PANDEMIC THATS THE PROBLEM. ITS THEM. WE'VE NOW GOT NEW SUPPLIERS AND I REALLY CANT WAIT TILL THEY COME KNOCKING AND WANT OUR BUSINESS BACK!! I WILL DELIGHT IN TELLING THEM WHERE THEY CAN STUFF THEIR SPECIAL OFFERS.

Total rubbish! For the second time this week I have received automatic text message that my goods won’t be delivered. Items that I need for weekend they will deliver on Monday. Total joke.

*Updated Review* Service has been brilliant from start to finish, the online ordering website is very easy to use and the item arrived the following day.

I had previously wrote a negative review as a member of our staff failed to communicate with us that the item had been delivered which led us to believe it was Brakes fault, the member of staff has only just told us that the item arrived (moral of the story, don't jump until you look)

Apologies for the misundertsanding and look forward to doing continued business with yourselves, Love Sea King Fish Bar x

Dont bother to deliver
All week Brakes did not deliver to us.
Amazing.... no customer care at all.
Pointless to contact custumers care.
Spend hours on the phone and they can't do anything..
Even area manager had no answer for that extremely bad service..
We have to give the face to our custumers and apologise for others...

Such a bad service.every time they mess my order and delaying though order early and confirm with them

Absolutely disgusting service, taking orders & confirming delivery day, then failing to deliver on the day with no notice, avoid this company if you care about your business

Shocking service lately. Tried to place an order two weeks ago by the temporary, earlier cut-off as requested. Order wouldn't go through and when I called I was told they'd decided they weren't going to deliver to smaller business for the next couple of days, dropping my business right in it.

Now today I can't get on their website to place an order and can't get through on the phone.