Hornby Reviews 120

Sent my black 5 loco bakc as it was not steaming , hornby had it for seven weeks , never communicated with me once in seven weeks , they time i di phone them they sdaid they would email back still waiting for that e mail. anyway after seven week they sent the train back saying there was nothing wrong with it yet it still wont steam i think they just put it to one side then after seven weeks just sent it back. i have read a few reviews about Hornby and it seems i am not the only one who has problems with this company . will never deal with this company again.

Brought 2 hornby flirts class 755 back in September 2024, picked them up from the shop in April, along with 6 hm7000 decoders as recommended by hornby to run this train, got home to find bit missing on the 3 car unit, a phone call to hornby to no help ended with go back to the shop, I explained the shop is 78 mile away and a 1 hour 45 minute drive, sorry can't help you go back to the retailer, when back retailer was excellent and swapped the unit no problem. Got home and train didn't work, another unhelpful phone call to hornby and yep go back to the shop, I have had not stop problems with this so called out of this world unit, it has just came back from hornby repair center after 7 weeks still not fixed. Rude staff telling me the problem is not the train but my cheap entry level phone, put on hold for no reason and was asked if I had calmed down yet grumpy .... and then after an hour on the phone not being able to fix or get to the bottom of the problem asked if I could call back tomorrow because it was home time.
Picked it up april and as I write this still jot fixed... their answer to this is to take t somewhere else and let them fix it.WOW just no world WOW. Gesture of good will offered 15% off another model from the website site. That's 20% more that any other retailer. I have never felt so belittled or felt so stupid within myself from after the phone call to hornby ended. No one should be made to feel this way.

**UPDATE 29.08.25** - Email sent 04.08.25 to the Head of Customer Services as requested below. No response received. You only have to read the rest of the reviews to know that their Customer Service is extremely poor.

Personally, I won’t be using Hornby ever again. I contacted Hornby for some advice as we have had numerous issues since purchasing our son his first Hornby track. It was a lot of money, however our son idolises Hornby tracks and has always dreamed of having his own one day.

The lady I spoke with was professional, warming and really helpful which gave me hope that they were willing to help, however the phone call soon changed when I was transferred to their technical team.

I could tell straight away when the gentleman took the phone call that the atmosphere of the phone call had changed, he was blunt, dismissive and rude. He was using technical terms that I did not understand and he was quite aware that this was causing confusion, however, instead carried on without adjusting his terminology for someone who did not have the same knowledge as him.

It felt as though I was interrupting his working day so I ended the phone call. My 6 year old was sat beside me at the time listening so shame on you as this was our last attempt.

Hopefully other customers will have better luck than us. I now have a very sad little boy with a track that has never brought the enjoyment he hoped.

Disgusting, the wonder works, makes you wonder why you bothered… £5 per adult to enter a shop, the full size trains that were supposed to be there do not open till August… bunch of rotten scoundrels is how I view the Hornby company now.
So what is the entrance fee of £5 per adult and £2:50 per child for, just the shop?
It took an hour.
My review stands, a waste of time, a fee to enter a shop (in my opinion) and complete waste of a journey and money…
I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY ONE GOES.

The whole returns process is an absolute nightmare I placed an order not knowing I could get it cheaper elsewhere (should have done. My research first) however less than 24 hours I wrote an email to Hornby requesting to cancel the order they wrote back stating the order was to far in the process (obviously trying to keep the order active) so took delivery and then requested to return the item which was approved so sent it back and now it’s been nearly a week an no refund absolutely appalling service definitely have learnt from this I won’t be ordering from Hornby directly in the future

Always been a very good company.
Been purchasing Scalextric, Hornby Trains and their paints for many years.
Reliable products over the years. I've got Hornby trains which are nearly 50 years old. They still look and go excellent. Just go on and on. Most other toys get wrecked or fall to bits within 2 years.
Only ever had two issues, and they were immediately dealt with.
1992. Bought a Lamborghini Diablo. Mirrors missing. Wrote to company and they sent out a whole new car
2024. Bought an i6000 train set. The box which controls two circuits, only worked intermittent. Rang customer service. They paid to have the product returned. After 10 days they had sent me a new unit. Really clever. It controls two circuits via a mobile app. No messy wires.Even let's you control rates of acceleration and deceleration .
Only thing which I don't like is the fact that they get their Scalextric and Hornby products made in China. That doesn't affect the quality though, it's just me.

This is a follow up review following the terrible customer service i received following the purchase of an expensive item. I received a very polite email which admitted the company mistakes. I also was given a partial refund for inconvenience and a discount code for a future purchase. Has restored my faith in this company i have used for years. Thank you and well done, just a shame the whole incident happened.
David Hoyle

I can't thank Hornby enough for a great service. We had an accident and damaged one of our locos, Hornby customer service couldn't do enough to assist and within 14 days we had everything fixed and running again. Thanks again!

Hornby Hobbies Customer Service/Technical Advice have been first class in advice on installing DCC
HM7000 with advice and help, thanks.

I have sent my train in to be repaired by Hornby's technical team, they need a serious lesson in customer service. I have never spoken to people who are as rude, unhelpful and generally not interested in their jobs as them. You get a grunt and and moan from them if you're lucky. My train has been with them for a week without even a courtesy email, to say that it's been received safely. Sort it out Hornby.

HORNBY it's not it's TRIANG really its a fraud Hornby was originally MECCANO LIMITED based in Liverpool these lot ROVEX started in Margate in 1953 so this company it may have the Hornby name but was never founded by FRANK HORNBY he founded MECCANO LIMITED

Hi this isn't so much a review of the company more a review on how a wonderful person called Jessica delt a with a very long and drawn out issue I had with my Dutchess of Montrose loco. Jessica once informed delt with my issues quickly, professionally and in a very reassuring calm way and now I have a new loco among others things that arrived over the weekend.
So thank you Jessica you are a real asset to Hornby and I hope you are fully appreciated.
So if you gave problems speak to this lady she's amaizing
Now a very happy customer 😀

Phoned customer service , really not helpful got a grunt from a Hornby representative . Can’t help loco too old , same motor is fitted to current loco they sell. Not happy and they really need to focus on customer support , quite happy to let you purchase £300 locos but really Hornby. Perhaps the rep today got out of the bed wrongside however no excuse for poor customer service

Great customer service, problem sorted out very quickly.

Worst company in the world. Did not received the item 5 months waiting for the refund. Send them emails and never respond.

I see a lot of bad reviews regarding trains and train sets, l can’t comment on that, (don’t do trains) what I can comment on is the Batmobile I bought from them. Sent my money got my product in a timely fashion, and was happy with the quality. I have no comment regarding customer service because I didn’t have any issue’s were I would need customer service.

Absolutely dire website. You sign in, move to another page and have to sign in again. Over and over. Tried a number of times to get in at first but nothing happened. Tried setting up a new password a few times but the link didn't work properly etc etc etc Just garbage.

Appalling customer service. After two interactions directly with Hornby, I'll never bother again.

First time, they tried to take away my statutory rights as a consumer. That is illegal, and their customer service staff/management team might need retraining to make them understand that.

Second time, they have a loco that I bought that stopped running withing a few weeks, so as requested, I sent it back. Three weeks later and I decide to check on any progress, and they can't even find the loco.

With both interactions, Hornby staff have been rude, obstructive, and arrogant. That's me done with this shocking company with an amazing history, that now sell cheap quality, expensive Chinese trash. If I don't get my property back, I will resolve through small claims court.

If the founders of Hornby could see it now, they would be ashamed.

UPDATE: Now the fools tell me that the loco has been lost, and that 'This time only, they will send a replacement'. What a bunch of idiots! You lost it, and you'll replace it because the law says you have to, not because you're doing me a favour. I have honestly never dealt with such a bunch of useless amateurs in my life. A worthless company, whose staff are utterly and completely useless. Give up Hornby, your company is doomed to fail with the operating systems and staff you have in place. I very much doubt I'll get my loco through Hornbys own efforts, so will likely have to resort to small claims court action. Very, very sad.

I sent an email to say that the loco had been posted. It was sent to the address I was told to send it to, with the job number on the outside of the box, plus allvrequired info included inside with the loco. Some fool signed for it, and that was it. Three weeks later, the fool that I sent the email to couldn't even be bothered to chase up the job that had been created and confirmed as despatched. A day after being told the loco was lost, and that Hornby 'might' replace the item, I was told I would get a replacement 'this time only'. I emailed back to ask when this would be. No reply from Hornby at all to this polite enquiry. I then get a notification to say that a courier will deliver the replacement loco the next day. And what turns up... my original loco that has had a replacement motor put in. Don't try to push a corporate response out, and imply that I got a new loco, because they either lied about having it, or actually did some leg work and found it, which is what should have happened in the first place. I simply cannot believe the level of incompetence and ignorance from Hornby, consistently. I am a new hobbyist that would have spent thousands with Hornby. I will never buy from you again. Do you really wonder why the company is only around still because someone is willing to throw money at it. Try standing on your own. The company would be gone in a year. I'll take my money to companies that deserve it from now on.

absolutely appalling customer service. Waited 2 years for a loco to be delivered, 10 months and still in warranty, when a part fell off the engine Hornby did everything possible to make it difficult for me to get it repaired. Rubbish company- I will buy from elsewhere in future.

I am new to model trains, having always loved the real life heritage trains and railways Hornby are a very well known brand. I saw an advertisement through Facebook for a Coca Cola Holidays are Coming train set.

A train for Christmastime has been on my list for a number of years, now was the time to make it a reality. I know the brand, let's give them a try. I joined up, receiving points which I could put towards the purchase there and then (which I did). The item even came with free P&P. I ordered on Thursday and the item was delivered on Friday, couldn't believe how quickly I received my first train. 🚂

I am now a member of the collectors club, let's see how things go. A good experience so far. 😊