CousinsUK Reviews 

Poor customer service. No acceptance that their product description is misleading. No opportunity on their website to ask questions about a product before purchase.

I would not recommend this company.

I purchased a cast iron universal clock weight which was described as having a 4mm hole. When it arrived it had no through hole to receive a hanging rod but was blind drilled and tapped each end. I didn’t complain but ordered a screwed hook and end at M4 to suit the hole size stated but when it arrived it didn’t fit. I then through trial and error found a bolt which fitted and it measured M5. So the weight was not through drilled at 4mm but had an M5 hole tapped at each end. This time I wrote to the director who deals with returns enquiries regarding the misleading description and his response stated that the item was described as having ‘approximate’ dimensions only. Clearly yes it is a cast iron casting and it’s length and dia could vary however to state it is drilled 4mm dia is clearly an error on their part if it’s a M5 tapping at each end. I feel this company and this director responsible for dealing with customer care issues is in denial of their responsibility and this is not the first time I have encountered such an attitude from this company.

I placed a somewhat sizable order with Cousins UK.
I knew ahead of time that I would be paying both VAT and transport fees, and I was okay with that, the price was still pretty good.

However, upon arrival, my rolling mill had a handle that didn't fit in the arm and two out of seven rollers that didn't fit in the mill.
After a few days of back and forth, including me making video proof of my claim, Cousins finally agreed to secure replacement parts for my rolling mill. This took them 19(!) days.

Upon finally securing the parts, I asked them to measure the rollers for the rolling mills to make sure these ones would fit as the non-fitting rollers were 0.15mm too wide. Cousins refused to measure the replacements, saying the manufacturer specified them as being the right parts. This seems like a ridiculous thing to refuse, but I could have lived with that if that was the only issue. But it was not.

I was informed that they would send the items to me but they had no intention of covering the transport fees that would once again occur once the replacement parts were shipped to me.
As the transport fees will most likely outweigh the cost of the rollers, I was not keen on this and suggested a partial refund instead. Cousins refused this.

I expressed my great displeasure with this service, and I was told that alternatively, I was welcome to send the rolling mill back to them at my own expense.

So basically, Cousins wanted me to pay to get replacement parts for defective parts THEY SOLD ME. Or they wanted me to pay to return a DEFECTIVE ITEM THEY SOLD ME.

Putting this in their terms of service doesn't make it any less of a horrible experience for me, and I can guarantee I will take my money elsewhere. I suggest everyone does the same.

Pity you can't minus the score .Beware of the quality of their budget range. I was more or less told you get what you pay for when I complained about a multi vice forming kit . They say " As previously mentioned, the item is fit for purpose, It simply has a few slight imperfections which is expected in a value, budget item " The bench block had deep pits which will transfer onto metal and not as described on their site . The bench peg is made from soft wood and snapped on first use . Cousins agreed for me to return the item but at my own cost . Also agreed to replace the bench peg but would send it with my next order, They say " All trade accounts are for regular use it is standard operating procedure to save costs (environmental & waste) to include the replacement automatically with your next order " So 3 weeks on and various messages this issue is still not resolved .

Consumer Act doesn't apply to them as they deem their business as Trade . They say "For clarification Cousins is a Business to Business (Not Consumer) Trade Wholesale Supplier "
My order did arrive quickly but their after Sales / Return policy is really poor .Having to log onto their web site to view email replies is also frustrating .

They know you are going to be charged not only vat but other taxes and still don't mention anything. Of course is also my responsibility but my educated guess is that they have more than one customer complaining about this and now they moved to the new ioss or whatever is called. Anyway you contact them to receive a: we can't do anything. I knew that but this days you are also expecting more, anyway there is no more. Useless customer service

Useless customer service, don't waste your time or money, becuase they will waste yours

On purpose there is no fully functional support service.
Waiting over 1 month for an item. No one to help.

So difficult to find out how to get in touch if you've got a query. It's four levels deep in the website. Seems like they don't really care judging by the other comments on here. I've order from them 4 times now and I haven't experienced any difficuties. Just don't go asking them any questions

I have ordered 9n their site and received the item after 3 months. Meanwhile site has no customer support and no way to contact them.

what a joke of a company. if i offered the same level of service to my clients i would be out of business which makes me surprised that they are still running.
my only advise is don't waist ya time on them and go else where.

I ordered and paid for a product which I never received, its not possible to contact Cousinsuk by email to get assistance and their phone line refuse to answer questions "Our telephone staff are not technically qualified to answer questions, enquiries or deal with returns."

Due to the amount of people here complaining about not receiving packages its likely that Cousinsuk is well aware that their shipping provider partnership is causing this but Cousinsuk have no interest in taking responsibility for customers actually getting what they order. Instead the remove all contact options after payment has arrived to avoid customer claims. I lost my money but if I can prevent anyone else from being scammed by Cousinsuk its a step forward. The authorities should investigate this company and withdraw their business licence.

Cousinsuk is fronting the "Buy with confidence"-mark that is provided from a traders union called "buywithconfidence". If you make a complaint at their website you can bring more attention to Cousinsuk´s poor reliability and business practice.

Update 2021-09-14: Cousinsuk replied below and confirmed that they offer their customers a shipping option from a selected partner that they dont take any responsibility for whether the goods arrive or not.

Its great and all that you(Cousinsuk) can show that you sent something, but for me as a customer it would be of higher interest to have the product actually arrive. Thanks for your attempt at good customer relations.

Don't waste your time - i bought ready to ship chain in the wrong link size, i wanted to send back so i could purchase a larger size link (and basically spend more money) and they refused the return for health and safety reasons? It's solid silver chain, you can stick it in an ultrasonic cleaner....
I didn't even purchase a custom cut length, it's still in it's packaging and i contacted them the next business day about it so i clearly hadn't worn it. If you ask me, it's just bad business - there's plenty of other suppliers to the trade who offer returns for the same products at equally competitive prices. I've had questionable experiences in the past with cousins - cheap flimsy tools being sent and long shipment times but this was the final nail for me. Clearly they're not too bothered about retaining regular trade customers.

Terrible customer service. Will not speak to you over the phone or directly via email. The automated messaging system on their website is complicated and you end up just getting vague and evasive responses from the "manager" which you can only read if you login to your account on their website. I am waiting for a £750 piece of machinery that I ordered 5 months ago, and no-one has chased it up or helped me to find out where the item is...

Impossible to contact

Their transport company handed the package over to 'a local delivery partner'. Which party is that??? Who should I contact???

awful customer service, bought a faulty item, they said they cannot refund it as it has been used. The fault was a serious safety issue with torch burner. The only way to have known the fault there was to have used it. Do not touch them with a barge pole.

Utterly reprehensible non-existent support.

If I could give their online support 0 stars I would.
UPS lost my delivery. Contact shipper they said.
I'm ASD/Asperger's. Their website and videos overload my sensory capabilities.
I had to get their warehouse operative on the purchase line to help me initially by talking me through how to get to the relevant part.

I sent a full support request with all salient information INCLUDING MY MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND INABILITY TO USE THEIR WEBSITE.
Their response: Use the website to make a claim.
I responded asking if they had read my previous request regarding my difficulties.
Their response: Yes we read it, now read ours, it says use website to make a claim.

Uncaring, non supportive, useless. This is how Cousinsuk treats its customers with mental health issues. I asked for someone to call me. Response: use website.
Utterly disgusting, repulsive, ignorant, repugnant behaviour.

More than happy to take the money, quite unwilling to help. And the person dealing with me goes my the name of Sam Cousins, management team.

If anyone wants actual screenshots of the conversation for verification, feel free to contact me.

The products and delivery I can’t fault.
But the amount of plastic in their packaging is unreal. I understand things need to be protected but we should be past mountains of plastic styrofoam nuggets and multiple plastic bags for everything by now.

Just don't bother. Yes it's cheaper but if anything broken or doesn't work, good luck sending it back.

My order included several clock hands that were barely protected and arrived completely bent out of shape. It isn't worth the cost of returning them, they would just expect me to pay return postage and charge me a "restocking fee" so they can sell the junk to someone else. From their T&C:

"10.2.1 Quality of products is often reflected in the selling price. As a business to business trade transaction it is reasonable that the trade buyer understands the relationship between quality and price."

"10.6 Cousins reserves the right to make a handling and restocking charge per item of £15.00 or 15% of the value of the Goods (whichever is the greater) on Goods which are returned if they were ordered in error or are no longer required by the trade Buyer. These charge values also applies as a processing charge if we ask the supplier to investigate your issue and your item is found not to have a manufacturing fault. Any returnable goods ordered in error or no longer required must be notified to Cousins within 7 days of receipt, after this period they do become non returnable."

I won't be buying from them again.

Have used Cousins many times in the past with no problems. However, the latest item was damaged on arrival. I contacted customer support and the whole thing was sorted within 24 hours, full refund given. Excellent customer service.