Hamleys Reviews

I ordered some items online for my family in USA. Ordered 7th July. Received nothing. Asked customer services on 18th July for an update and was told not to worry they will be shipped in the next day (some excuse about stock take). Get the email a few hours later (coincidence?) with only a couple of the items on it. Queried again and was told oh no sorry, that's all we have in stock, you won't be receiving the rest of your order. More excuses about stock take gone wrong. No communication about any of it. Really, really bad customer experience. I will never ever buy from Hamleys ever again.

Ridiculous! We have 21 century and they processing my order from past 7 days. When I tried contact customer service on the phone first couple of calls no answer, finally when I catch someone they told me that I have to wait for couple more days before order will be processed and send. This is a joke ! And the biggest one is when you are calling them and you can hear : The finest toy shop - really?

Was really worried after i made my order as I saw all the bad reviews
But my experience was very good and simple
Ordered late Thursday evening got my parcel Tuesday afternoon and had regular emails on updates most days

My daughter is a massive Harry Potter fan and when we were in Hamleys she saw a Slytheryn jumper which she set her heart on. It was the only one of that particular style in her size. I paid a staggering £85 for it. A few weeks later I found an identical jumper (marked at full price, not reduced to clear or in the sale) in an official Harry Potter shop for £44. While I appreciate that Hamleys would have put their own markup on it I wasn't expecting it to be nearly double. I feel that i've been well ripped off and won't be going back to Hamleys in a hurry.

Brought a rolling hamster for £18. Took it out of the box to realise it looks cheap and tacky and is made in China. It looks like something that could have been brought in Poundland. It is incredibly difficult to work out where the battery goes and there are no instructions. When you unscrew the battery box there isn't a place for battery to go. I found a video on you tube which shows you have to take the fur of the hamster to get into the plastic inside to find the place to insert the battery. This would be a weird and awkward place for it to be and I am unable to take the fur off the one I have anyway as it looks glued on.

As a kid, I dreamt nothing more than Hamleys. 30+ years later, it was time to take my own kid there. He is just about walking but obviously requires a pram and this is where it all went wrong.

In order to get to the floor more suited for his age group, its 1 floor up. In order to get to the ice cream for a bit of putting the feet up, its the top floor (5/6?)

We waited 4 minutes for the first lift only for it to be filled with adults.
By now, there was another pram user behind us who was waiting and it took a further 3-4 minutes before the next lift arrived. We finally made it to floor 1.

After this, it was time to grab that ice cream... 12 minutes we waited at the lifts - not only are they super slow but the 3 that arrived were all filled with people.

Some might say they may not be able to take escalators... sorry to say but those we did spot on the various floors were fully capable of taking the escalators.

By now there was a wheelchair user behind the pram behind us...still no go for any of us.
Eventually we gave up and had to use the escalators with the pram balancing on it - something not strictly allowed.
Obviously doing this with a 15kg pram (including "stuff" under it) + a 11kg child to carry was not an easy feat...not for 5+ floors.

Going back down was no different and once again, ended up having to take the escalators with the pram on it all the way back to ground floor. We could see others having to do the same.

So in short, if you are a pram user, avoid the store - you get no support or consideration.

This was also not a one-off having visited Hamleys 2 weeks before - the only reason we entered the second time yesterday was to sort a warranty item out.

As for the toys - I think most have mentioned in reviews that you have a mixture of tat or overpriced items. I fully support bricks and mortar stores but not when they up their price to the level Hamleys were.

The store feels quite run-down and chaotic - maybe I was expecting too much and after a Duncans Toy Chest experience like Home Alone - far from it and Eddie Bracken would have been horrified :-)

So unfortunately the long-life Hamleys dream is over for me and for the little one unless things drastically change - Unfortunately you can't change the selfishness of people but Hamleys could easily police the lifts with staff and maybe refresh those slow lifts which was part of the issue.

To those genuinely unable to use the lifts but on foot- Apologies for putting you in the same category as those inconsiderate but you and I both know those types of people.

We ordered 2 items and 2 weeks later we got an email to say they can't complete the order so my grandsons birthday is ruined and I have to try and fix the problem fast.
Thanks Hamelys

Why put an item online, let me mess about trying to pay for it and then two days later tell me it's unavailable. Shocking way to do business. Surprised your still in business to be honest. I will never shop with you again....oh hold on! I never got the chance. Absolutely RUBBISH!

If you visit the store on Regent Street prepare to be well and truly ripped off. Took my two boys here last week to spend their Christmas money. You expect to pay full RRP, it is Hamleys and it is Regent Street. What you don’t expect is to pay 80% above RRP, which is what they were charging for some Lego products. Other items they have online for £14.99 were being sold at £22 in store - again above RRP. And the truth is they aren’t even that helpful once you speak to them. Their cafes were deserted /
- hardly a surprise when they are charging £5 for an ice cream cone. Just one gigantic rip off. Best avoided.

I wish I had read the reviews before buying from this company. Only half my order was sent out and the customer service is non existent. I have been waiting 2 weeks for someone to get back to me. Don’t waste your time and money buying from this company, they couldn’t care less and you will end up paying for items that never arrive. This is why paying by card is the only option and not PayPal where you can get a refund for items not received. I managed to buy my missing items from Amazon which provided excellent service and didn’t leave my child disappointed.

Worst toys ever
Bought aliegn speaking toy for almost 1700. It just worked for one month and stopped working. There will be no warranty for the toys here inspite of such a huge cost. And when asked for service, you will get reply from store that it is mentioned in bill that there is no warranty.
Pl don't get fooled by the big stores they maintain. Cheap quality stuff.

Sandeep guptha
Chartered Accountant

Ordered a rocking horse on 40% sale. Great deal and delivery within a week. Good communication on order progress. Easy to assemble and great quality. Received a free wooden photo frame as a gift with my purchase. Best toy store I've used yet.

Ordered items from there for my daughters birthday, only received part order a few days later. We were not notified of any delay via email, called through to very unhelpful customer service lady who was not able to help and just said we would have to wait as being shipped from another warehouse. No apology at all to say that there was a delay. Emailed through to customer service, they were just as unhelpful, saying they would be unable to tell me delivery time and that we can have a refund if we like. Days went by and tried several times more to speak to customer service team and they said exactly same thing ‘can’t help won’t help’ basically. It took another 2 weeks to receive items. Absolutely disgusting service and will certainly not use them again!

So far worst company! Their returns method is so rubbish they don’t even give you returns label expects you to write or type the freepost address! To add more insult the woman i spoke to twice in the Scottish call centre is extremely rude, unhelpful, giving false information and completely clueless! She doesn’t listen and talks a lot of bull. Last time i ever buy from hamleys. I will be telling all my friends not to buy from them too.

I was flying from Heathrow Airport terminal 2.i went to hamley store to buy some toys for my grand kids.but the lady who was working there is so rude very unprofessional.she even don't know how to talk with elderly passenger.when is talking she is making so rude face.which is showing she is so racists.