Cadet Direct Reviews 33

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

3.3

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The website is user friendly, shows stock availability and now they also allow you to select a postage service based on how fast you need the order. They are my go to store for my cadet gear

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

no point, you order they won't wait, they auto cancel it then keep your money after you inform them that the card you originally used has expired and a refund to it is nit possible. Your problem see... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Having purchased a pair of boots as a Christmas gift for my son, they suffered a split across the soles in the last week. It took only one phone call to Andy on Wednesday 5th, which resulted in a r... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The quality of the Combat Patrol boots we bought here was so poor that the insides disintegrated after only 13 days of wear (26 x half-days at CCF). Cadet Direct refused to refund or replace them as... See more

Company details

  1. Uniform Shop

Information provided by various external sources

Next day delivery from Cadet Direct the UK's leading supplier of Army Cadet uniforms, Air Cadets uniform and Sea Cadets uniforms, footwear and equipment.


Contact info

3.3

Average

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

33 reviews

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1-star

Hasn’t replied to negative reviews

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Over the last few months I have ordered 2 items from CadetDirect. Excellent service both times.

5 March 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Prompt and helpful

I've now placed three orders with them and always had delivery within a couple of days. Any questions I've had have been answered promptly. I would happily purchase from them again.

9 September 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

It's 1 star because I cannot use 0

It's 1 star because I cannot use 0, I made an order a week ago which, was not sent for next day deliver as described.

Now because their courier (Parcelforce) are failing to deliver for week, their email autoreplies and they don't answer the phone, I don't even know if I'll ever receive the item.

Also, I've sent cadetdirect and email, but they're so professional and their customer service is so good, that they didn't bother to reply...
It's obvious that the moment they take the money, the same moment, they forget that you exist...

1 October 2021
Unprompted review
Cadet Direct logo

Reply from Cadet Direct

Dear Mr Vasilakopoulos,

We are very sorry for the trouble that you have had with your delivery. Unfortunately, whilst the consignment was passed to Parcelforce for a next day delivery, some parts of the country are struggling with local depots being unable to maintain workload, which may explain why Parcelforce was non responsive, but we can't speak for them.

The tracking detail on the Parcelforce website is limited to a certain number of events, but the tracking history still shows attempted deliveries on 28/9, 29/9, 30/9 and 1/10 with you collecting your item from the depot on 2/10. I can see that you live in an apartment building where it is not appropriate to leave a consignment in a safe place.

Having searched our emails, I have not been able to find any correspondence with you apart from your dispatch notification. We will email you to confirm further details. Our sincere apologies for your experience.

Kind Regards,

Andy Salmon, General Manager.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding Customer Service

Ordered a pair of cadet boots on Tuesday, they were dispatched on Wednesday and arrived Thursday - I emailed Andy to ask a couple of questions and he replied almost immediately - I could not be happier with the service, price and quality - thank you I will definitely recommend you to other parents of cadets

15 July 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Well I'm most surprised at the reviews…

Well I'm most surprised at the reviews here for Cadet Direct. Which also trades as Survival Aids. (Not the original Survival Aids company of Penrith, these are in Crowborough. South East UK.)

This is in my experience of ordering from them a very good company. Where I've encountered any problems they have been very professional in getting back to my enquiries, customer service wise. Delivery was ok on my order and mostly what I ordered I got. Only thing outstanding is on back order with their suppliers. Other than that good experience. And I'm a returning customer of years coming back again years later I should add.

There's confusion on Trustpilot listing a bogus company ripping people off for survival bags and linked or labelled here as Survival Aids . Org. That's not the Survival Aids of Cadet Direct at Crowborough, which is a reputable great company I have found. ( They're not this lot mentioned here at Trustpilot entry trustpilot.com review survivalaids . org for the record. )
I will be ordering again from Cadet Direct, also AKA Survival Aids of Crowborough.

SITREP. Update. It sure took a while to come but I did finally got the outstanding item waited upon being a Highlander waterproof jacket. Some months back ago. Worth the wait. And since have ordered again from them. Now just waiting on my new order, having encountered an unexpected problem out of the blue today suddenly. First time ever experienced this kind of a problem. Will wait and see what happens. Could depend upon my future ordering. Good outcome from Post Office. Got mymissimg parcel. Happily.

14 May 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Well below what was promised. I wont use them again.

Made an order which, was not sent on the same day for next day deliver as described.

Now because of a mess up with the courier they use I'm not going to receive it until next week, and because of the bank holiday means it will be almost a week for something that should have arrived next day.

Have requested a refund, will see what happens.

Just wish that if they advertise next day that they follow it through - they set the time frame for the order themselves. If they cant stick to it then dont offer it.

30 April 2021
Unprompted review
Cadet Direct logo

Reply from Cadet Direct

Hi Daniel, I have also replied to your email. We are very sorry for this delay and you have our unconditional apologies. We will learn from your experience and endeavour to do better. In short, we were struggling with the volume of orders last week, dispatching the day after you placed your order and then the courier (Parcelforce) was also similarly overwhelmed with workload in your area , so whilst your item was out for delivery on Friday, ultimately they ran out of time and it was returned to the depot instead, with delivery scheduled today due to the Bank Holiday.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Maybe a hasty response

If I am wrong I apologise and on this occasion I feel I may have been a little hasty! After the weekend (obviously situations are different during covid times) cadet direct resolved the issue with a thorough explanation which I feel was true and appropriate, it is therefore correct that I amend my feedback accordingly!

It would be a zero but unable to do this! Ordered jetboil 100g gas canister on 9th February, by 19th no contact no delivery! I contacted on 19th no response apart from an email saying dispatched 24 hours. Ok so I accept a mistake may have been made no problem I thought! Then, however; I had a cheap alternative sent, was charged £7.46 per can plus delivery so was charged £22.39 for two gas canisters available on other websites and camping shops at £2.50 a tin! To say I feel ripped off is an understatement, I did try ring cadetdirect.com for an explanation however same as yesterday I got their answerphone! Do not use this company

20 February 2021
Unprompted review
Cadet Direct logo

Reply from Cadet Direct

Hi Kathryn,

I emailed you yesterday but have not received a response.

I am disappointed to hear of your experience and I apologize unreservedly.

Your chosen gas was out of stock until the end of March which was communicated to you by email on 10th February. We are not able to locate any other communication between us since that date.

We managed to source an alternative brand of gas and rather than keep customers waiting for their goods, the alternative was dispatched instead. Gas cannot be carried by a standard postal service and an additional amount is attached to the gas products to pay for a dangerous goods courier delivery.

I have arranged a partial refund and of course, if you wish to return the gas we will supply a full refund. Our Customer Service department is not currently staffed at week ends.

Hopefully, you will see from the explanation that it has never been our intention to mislead you, in fact our intention was to supply goods as swiftly as possible. I accept that in hindsight we should have contacted you to see if you would be happy with the alternative gas and that is a process that we will learn from.

I am sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Andy Salmon
General Manager

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolute shambles

Absolute shambles, placed an order, a week later no delivery, I emailed Cadet Shop and then phoned them, got a reply the next day apologizing and saying they will send out the order again, a week later I asked for a full refund as I still had not received the order, another few days later I received a full refund, I have no idea if they ever sent anything in the first place but I have never had this happen before.
shocking!

26 October 2020
Unprompted review
Cadet Direct logo

Reply from Cadet Direct

Sorry you had a bad experience Gavin - but we're not Cadet Shop or Cadet Kit Shop - we're Cadet Direct Ltd. You may want to post your comments with them instead.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Didn’t dispatch next day.

Ordered a sleeping bag with next day delivery. When the item never arrived, I called to enquire where it was. I was told that it had just been dispatched (a day late). The tracking reference showed it hadn’t been collected until after my call. It appears they had forgotten about the order until prompted.

13 August 2020
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have been waiting nearly two months…

I have been waiting nearly two months for a backpack and have now asked for my money back. When talking to them over the phone, they spoke to me like an idiot telling me I can have my money back 5-7 days. Go elsewhere people. Not good these lot

17 July 2020
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great service in difficult times

I was sent a fabulous carry case for my birthday but it was the wrong size.
When I called the company, Andy managed to get a replacement to me in no time.
That was difficult for him to organise during the coronacrisis. Letters take longer to arrive these days. But he was really friendly and super efficient.
He didn't even laugh at my choice of the hot pink.

28 June 2020
Unprompted review

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