Avoid VACUUMS DIRECT on OnBuy!
Firstly, some house cleaning (!) is required for a company using slightly different names. This company is trading under the name "Vacuums Direct" on OnBuy [Giving its company name in the 'About' section as "Vacuum Cleaners Direct Limited" and company number:15367786] and "Vacuums Direct" and "Vacuums Direct UK" on its website. All sharing the same address: Unit 3, Wood Street, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 1PW. And the currently registered Active Director is Gary Lee DAWSON [not a million miles away from Dyson, ironically!]
Secondly, my complaint, refers to Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] using false advertising in the form of professional manufacturer/factory photos rather than photos of the actual products they are selling. They do this on both the OnBuy platform and their own website, vacuumsdirectuk. However, my complaint refers to my trade with them on the OnBuy platform.
Thirdly, I also hold OnBuy partly responsible for facilitating Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] as a seller on their platform, and therefore I will address the same complaint, described below, to both "OnBuy" and Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] on Trustpilot:
I was looking for a vacuum cleaner and the search engine came up with a very competitively priced "refurbished" Dyson from OnBuy. The vacuum looked immaculate, exactly as new, in the photo, for around £100 less than the average new selling price, although the description seemed to read like small print and say the product may have signs of wear like scratches. That should have been a clue.
The item that I paid for and received bore no resemblance to the item pictured in the listing; the front brush was dented and damaged, the hose pipe was discoloured, the cap on the end of vacuum tube was loose and fell off, the wheels hadn't been oiled and squeeked. So much for "refurbished"!
OnBuy, in fact, was selling "refurbished" vacuums from Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] without requiring the seller to provide images of the ACTUAL vacuum being sold.
THIS IS CLEARLY FALSE AND MISLEADING ADVERTISING, and should be referred to Trading Standards. But it wasn't just my vacuum cleaner.
In fact, ALL the vacuums being sold as "refurbished" by Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] were using professional factory pictures [were these licensed - unlikely - or stolen???] so this wasn't a one off or exception.
While Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] are responsible for providing the misleading photos as the seller, the platform is surely responsible for vetting listings and ensuring customers on the platform are not misled.
However, when I wrote to Customer Support at OnBuy they made no apology for this lack of oversight or seller's deception.
Further, in spite of advertising on the OnBuy website that there is "30 Day Returns Plus purchase protection" on the main page this appears to be a pencil thin promise.
Three days after the vacuum was collected by Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] and I stilll hadn't received a refund in spite of contacting them twice, I emailed OnBuy Customer Support.
Their response was dismal. They replied that they couldn't follow up with the seller until I provided proof of return. I wrote back, how am I supposed to provide proof of return when the vacuum was collected by the company's courier and I was given no booking information? They replied asking me to contact the courier for the booking information and tracking number. I replied I am not even the courier's customer, so why would they provide me with any information? All I was asking for was my money back and they wouldn't even contact the seller!
In summary, how many stars can you give the OnByuy platform and Vacuum Direct that falsely advertises and misleads consumers, makes false guarantees of "buyer protection" and offers zero customer support? Unfortunately, you can't give zero stars so it will have to be one.
AVOID OnBuy and Vacuums Direct [Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd] like the plague. I still haven't had my money back. You have been warned.
Update 3-04-26
After complaining here, and repeatedly to OnBuy, I was finally given my money back by Vacuum Cleaners Direct Ltd. However, they are still using factory photos of their vacuum cleaners on OnBuy, their own website and other platforms, instead of photos of the item actually being sold which is very misleading.
28 March 2026
Unprompted review