Empiredirect.co.uk > Reviews (80)

I have just moved house. My girlfriend and I have taken the plunge and got a place together.

It's a lovely house but completely unfurnished. So we have a cooker, a fridge (legal requirements!) but we didn't have the basic essentials of a washing machine and a Hoover.

Enter (stage left) the brilliant EMPIRE DIRECT!

Empire Direct have been awarded the coverted "E Trader of the Year 2002" award. Not hard to see why, frankly.

A spin off from the Empire Electrical retail brand in Yorkshire (head office is at the Clock Tower in Roundhay, Leeds), Empire is already a familiar name to those in Leeds and Bradford. Using the website and frequent press ads they have stretched their reach with some vigour - this isn't just a "sideline" for them - they are clearly very serious about e-commerce, and more serious still about customer care.

So, briefly to my order, and I shall no doubt review the products later!

A washing machine: I had shopped around and looked at Comet's site and that of Currys. Neither could offer me a Candy CE450 washing machine for £168! (not a typo, one hundred and sixy eight pounds!) And this is by no means a crappy appliance. It has "A" wash rating, "B" electricity usage and uses just 39 litres of water per wash. It has a quick wash of 34 minutes, lower water level, in fact everything you would expect from a modern machine. And 1300 spin too, so as you can imagine, clothes are practically dry when they come out!

There is a delivery charge on all washers of £30, which sounds steep but it isn't when you consider it's a two man job to deliver it. The charge was made more than clear by the excellent website. Ours is situated in the cellar, and the delivery men were more than happy to struggle to get it down there (one bashed his head on the way back up - didn't even swear!) - it was worth the money not to struggle with it myself!

They don't offer an installation service, and this might be a drawback for some people - however it is a fairly simple job, and I had it up and running in no time.

The second was my hoover. Again, bought at a brilliant price (my old landlord had bought the model below mine locally - at the same price as mine!!) and delivered without fuss in less than 4 days. The delivery charge was £7. It arrived at 7.30 am meaning I could go to work and not miss out on a days' money/holiday.

Everything arrived in perfect condition. Everything was exactly as described on the website. Everything had photographs on the website.

A few minutes after I placed the order I received an email confirmation. I wasn't actually charged though (I could check on online banking as I paid by Switch!) until the hoover had been sent.

I got a telephone call from a very polite lady to confirm delivery of the hoover, and a further call the day before my washing machine was delivered by an incredibly polite man (calling me "Sir!", nice touch!) to tell me the two-hour time-slot allocated for my washer - which is a real bonus because it means you don't have to be in all day losing money/holiday from work.

Payments are accepted by Visa, Mastercard, Switch and Solo. The website is very fast indeed and divided into logical sections, these being Audio Visual, Home Appliance (my stuff!), Hi Fi Seperates, In Car Media (well, the do have a store in Bradford LOL), Computing, Communication, Photography, Accessories, Boys Toys (radio controlled cars and the like!), Small Appliance and Personal Care. And if their ridiculously low prices (average 30% cheaper than anywhere else online) aren't good enough, then check out their sale section.

They also have a rather nice section on the site where they highlight some of the compliments they have received from their customers. I should really get on there and leave one. We will be looking for a tumble dryer in a couple of months, and despite being price concious I will only bother visiting one website for it - and I think you can guess whose it is!!

So, in conclusion, this is what buying stuff off the internet is all about. You want to be able to see what you're buying, you want it delivered quickly, you want full detailed descriptions and you want the best price. I have two words for you: Empire Direct.

I am not usually so evangelical about companies but this one takes the biscuit. If I am a satisfied customer, then they must be doing well!

I suggest that when your cooker, fridge or washer gives up, you go straight to Ciao and click their link to Empire. That way a few pennies will go towards the upkeep of this magnificent forum, and you will get the best product at the best price. Everytime.