FINE GAEL DEPUTY, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, today called on schoolbooks.ie, the online company that supplies school books, to “get its act together” and to communicate with parents about why their orders have not been filled, despite the money having already been paid.
Mitchell O’Connor said it was brought to her attention that many parents who placed orders with the website and paid “substantial sums of money” for their children’s schoolbooks have been left waiting for several weeks without their orders being filled.
“Any attempts to contact the company have been in vain and there has been no communication on behalf of the company with the parents to explain why their orders have not been filled,” she said.
“Many of these parents are extremely anxious, not only about getting their children’s school books organised as the beginning of the school year draws near, but also about what exactly is going on with the company and whether or not their hard earned cash has been lost.”
Mitchell O’Connor said the site appears to have a good reputation among parents who have used the service in the past, with many citing the speed and ease of delivery as a reason to use it again. However, this year the deputy said the company’s approach seems to be very different.
“I attempted to contact the company myself today and to add insult to injury, their phoneline is ringing out and there is no answering message to indicate what is going on,” she said.
“Simply ignoring parents, forcing them to travel out to the business premises and collect their purchases from an online provider is completely unacceptable and absolutely farcical.”
Mitchell O’Connor called on the site to communicate with parents to give them an indication of when they can expect their orders and allay concerns among customers that the company may have gone bust.
The school books website could not be reached for comment.
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