# New Sponsor Cafe Italia



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Before anyone clicks on our new sponsors banner, i would suggest you do a search of the forum using "cafe Italia" to see the overwhelming poor level of service they have previously offered.

Then do a google search for Cafe Italia and check out the trust pilot reviews

Then try and understand how this forum now takes money for a banner without checking, just how crap they are.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> Before anyone clicks on our new sponsors banner, i would suggest you do a search of the forum using "cafe Italia" to see the overwhelming poor level of service they have previously offered.
> 
> Then do a google search for Cafe Italia and check out the trust pilot reviews
> 
> Then try and understand how this forum now takes money for a banner without checking, just how crap they are.


 I must admit I was surprised when I read your post....I suppose if they pay, anyone has the right to advertise. As always customers have the ultimate right to decide on retailers they feel confident about and who offer great service..


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Let's make it a bit easier for you all

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.coffeeitalia.co.uk

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/search/?q=cafe italia


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> Some people, newer members especially , will suspect that what was once a reputable forum , would have sense checked the people/companies, it has banners /advertising from.


 I checked out the Trustpilot links you posted. I was surprised, they don't appear to have changed things at all in response to reviews over the years?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Such a shame, but that is business I suppose, but nice one @Mrboots2u for at least letting newer members know about the potential issues they may encounter with that retailer.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

coffeechap said:


> Such a shame, but that is business I suppose, but nice one @Mrboots2u for at least letting newer members know about the potential issues they may encounter with that retailer.


 Yes, but what happens when a helpful members suggests using a forum advertiser (based on the past advertisers) and they place an order which doesn't ever turn up. Or a week old machine developed a fault and they hit a brick wall? I had a poor experience with CI a few years ago and many of us here can talk from experience.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

I know and I am sure Limini coffee is on as well, I don't know them


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Limini were great when I had some training years ago!


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Cool never used them might them a go then, on your recommendation?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Not sure about their beans, they used to roast for trade more I think. Just looked and they are doing more retail roasting now obviously.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

MildredM said:


> Not sure about their beans, they used to roast for trade more I think. Just looked and they are doing more retail roasting now obviously.


 OK no worries.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

We shouldn't go off-topic though and derail @Mrboots2u useful thread.


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## Fez (Dec 31, 2018)

MildredM said:


> Not sure about their beans, they used to roast for trade more I think. Just looked and they are doing more retail roasting now obviously.


 They don't roast to order in case anyone was interested. It was a very long story which to me made it sound like its acceptable to get sent beans that are a month old


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## bensouthall (Oct 18, 2019)

To be fair, with a name such as theirs, I wouldn't expect much..


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## allikat (Jan 27, 2020)

I would like to thank the folks here for helping me NOT buy from Caffe Italia. If I wanted to buy a machine with an Italian plug on it, I'd drive to Milan and get it there.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Not from A.C.S you won't?


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

allikat said:


> If I wanted to buy a machine with an Italian plug on it, I'd drive to Milan and get it there.


Sorry... but this makes no sense. Even machines from Bella Barista May come with schuko plugs. They don't necessarily arrive with an UK socket fitted from the factory.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Maybe you missed the point of the forum sponsor


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## Border_all (Dec 19, 2019)

Mrboots2u said:


> Let's make it a bit easier for you all
> 
> https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.coffeeitalia.co.uk
> 
> https://coffeeforums.co.uk/search/?q=cafe italia


 So i was going to try offer defence of the company however it's fairly clear that something is wrong looking at the companies response on trustpilot pass the buck comes to mind

Thank you for drawing my attention with your post Noted... ?


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## allikat (Jan 27, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> Sorry... but this makes no sense. Even machines from Bella Barista May come with schuko plugs. They don't necessarily arrive with an UK socket fitted from the factory.


 Schuko plug is the European plug (Standard in France/Germany/BeNeLux and a few others), northern Italy has a different one which is very different indeed.

Let's ignore the fun factor of going to Milan


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## jaffro (Oct 6, 2015)

Border_all said:


> So i was going to try offer defence of the company however it's fairly clear that something is wrong looking at the companies response on trustpilot pass the buck comes to mind
> 
> Thank you for drawing my attention with your post Noted... ?


 Several of the reviews that are blanked out and say "Caffè Italia United Kingdom reported this review for breaching of Trustpilot guidelines"...

Probably contesting 1 star reviews, might drop their rating even further if they were displaying? Not sure if they're included in their overall star rating or not.


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## MartinB (May 8, 2011)

Jurisdiction is Italian law - so you won't be buying under the jurisdiction of england and wales... now i'm no lawyer but there may be an implication re: sales of goods act, your usual consumer rights, cooling off period etc if this isn't covered off in the Italian jurisdiction.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Unfortunately the low prices they advertise are matched by low or non existent after sales - I got stung by them in 2015 when purchasing my first machine, their inadequate response to my enquiries was "its made by Philips" it was as though they took zero interest in the products they sold or the quality of them - I will never buy from them again or recommend them.

Hopefully this thread does not get deleted, as it represents the core value of the forum in sharing personal experience of equipment, coffee and retailers without bias or influence.


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Hopefully this thread does not get deleted, as it represents the core value of the forum in sharing personal experience of equipment, coffee and retailers without bias or influence.


 Absolutely, and in this case even less reason to as Cafe Italia have bought their right of reply! They're welcome to come into the thread and offer some mitigating sentiments.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Taking peoples money, box shifters they are not worthy of advertising on here


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Before anyone clicks on our new sponsors banner, i would suggest you do a search of the forum using "cafe Italia" to see the overwhelming poor level of service they have previously offered.
> 
> Then do a google search for Cafe Italia and check out the trust pilot reviews
> 
> Then try and understand how this forum now takes money for a banner without checking, just how crap they are.


 I searched using the forum search button for a lengthy post and subsequent thread re my "burning" with Cafe Italia.

Results there came none. So perhaps the clean up to appease the new sponsor has already begun?

If so, no surprises there then!


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Box shifters never supply warranty. They try and point the finger at the manufacturer to honour the agreement. BB for example, give the warranty themselves which is why their reputation remains intact and they, along with other non box shifters, actually care about reputation. appreciate some folks are keen to save a few bob, but only time will tell who is right and wrong.

The question of why they are now sponsors on here probably tells you more about the state of this place. I suspect the owners are finding it difficult to attract new sponsors. There seems to be a regular plague of new joiners who talk shite for a week then vanish. Obviously driven or directed from other ventures the owners have to keep the flow up. Eventually the income generated versus the expense base will mean the place is either sold to someone else or just shut down


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Batian said:


> I searched using the forum search button for a lengthy post and subsequent thread re my "burning" with Cafe Italia.
> 
> Results there came none. So perhaps the clean up to appease the new sponsor has already begun?
> 
> If so, no surprises there then!


https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/17652-anyone-ever-had-a-refund-from-caffe-italia-coffee-italia/?tab=comments&do=embed&comment=600624&embedComment=600624&embedDo=findComment#comment-600624


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

dfk41 said:


> Eventually the income generated versus the expense base will mean the place is either sold to someone else or just shut down


 The ACS support forum is totally free costs me nothing. It has ads (not mine) as part of it being free. Ad removal costs about £60 per annum, obviously I've no reason to do it. So a forum only really costs money if it's a business to make money. If the members contribute £60 per annum or thereabouts it can be free and "ad free". My wordpress site costs nothing, but If I want to remove the ads, it would cost me £36 per year. If I wanted a business plan it would be more, if I wanted to make money from it even more.

I doubt the forum would be shut down it would probably just be moved to a free package and left unmanaged,

A forums value is in it's current activity, relevant content and visits generating links, clickthru and revenue, not really the history, information ages and people rarely search for stuff.

The rule of thumb is, things to make money, cost money. Things done for nothing, to make nothing, cost nothing but for the platform to help you do it, they want their adverts as they are a business. I'd like to make my review site ad free but only because I don't like the type and placement of the adverts. As you can see once you pay more you can monetize your site and display your own ads..


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

Batian said:


> I searched using the forum search button for a lengthy post and subsequent thread re my "burning" with Cafe Italia.
> 
> Results there came none. So perhaps the clean up to appease the new sponsor has already begun?
> 
> If so, no surprises there then!


 The forum's search indexing has been broken since the upgrade, Tait came in once or twice to run the job manually but there's something in the backend not setup right which could well be why you can't find it.

@MildredM can't see what you're trying to link to there though


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

catpuccino said:


> The forum's search indexing has been broken since the upgrade, Tait came in once or twice to run the job manually but there's something in the backend not setup right which could well be why you can't find it.
> 
> @MildredM can't see what you're trying to link to there though
> 
> View attachment 36666


 Odd. Search for this and see if it shows the thread:

*
Anyone ever had a refund from Caffe Italia / Coffee Italia ?'
*


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

MildredM said:


> Odd. Search for this and see if it shows the thread:
> 
> *
> Anyone ever had a refund from Caffe Italia / Coffee Italia ?'
> *


 Nope, not via the forum search and it's not indexed by Google either:


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Batian said:


> I searched using the forum search button for a lengthy post and subsequent thread re my "burning" with Cafe Italia.
> 
> Results there came none. So perhaps the clean up to appease the new sponsor has already begun?
> 
> If so, no surprises there then!


 I very much doubt if anyone has made the effort to remove old threads! You guys are conspiracy theorists, next it's be Aliens, flat earth, Area 51 and Trumps hair...


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Search 'italia' then advance search by authors 'janf'.


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

MildredM said:


> Search 'italia' then advance search by authors 'janf'.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Well, it is odd. If I log out I can't see that thread either. The thread covered many of the pitfalls members here encountered when buying from Coffee Italia, Batian included.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)




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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

@MildredM Looks like it's been moved to a private forum:


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

catpuccino said:


> @MildredM Looks like it's been moved to a private forum:
> 
> 
> View attachment 36670


 Now there you would be correct....an area only some can see.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Now there you would be correct....an area only some can see.


 It doesn't say the thread has been moderated or deleted though.


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Now there you would be correct....an area only some can see.


 So it may have been removed and I am not a flat earthist?

Phew that is a relief.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Batian said:


> So it may have been removed and I am not a flat earthist?
> 
> Phew that is a relief.


 Yes. I have just tried airdropping some other CI threads over to Ian. They won't open.

They have been sandboxed.


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)




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## Mr Binks (Mar 21, 2019)

We'll soon know if something is up if this thread disappears, time will tell but if it does then it'll be quite sad.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Batian said:


> So it may have been removed and I am not a flat earthist?
> 
> Phew that is a relief.


 That reference was made in reply to a statement of positive intent to hide negative posts about them because they were a forum sponsor. Something I don't believe has happened. I suspect those threads were sandboxed a long long time ago because it was a difficult subject. However, I could be wrong and Trumps hair could be real!



DavecUK said:


> I very much doubt if anyone has made the effort to remove old threads! You guys are conspiracy theorists, next it's be Aliens, flat earth, Area 51 and Trumps hair...


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Batian said:


> So it may have been removed and I am not a flat earthist?
> 
> Phew that is a relief.


 It had been sandboxxed and I genuinely hadn't spotted that. Many threads relating to them had been but some haven't. Sorry for the confusion.


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## Mr Binks (Mar 21, 2019)

MildredM said:


> It had been sandboxxed and I genuinely hadn't spotted that. Many threads relating to them had been but some haven't. Sorry for the confusion.


 Do you mean I've just made a special tin foil hat for no reason?


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## Border_all (Dec 19, 2019)

Mr Binks said:


> Do you mean I've just made a special tin foil hat for no reason?


 Nope use it for a Sunday roast ???


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

A difficult subject? Hummmm

A very brief precis of the thread was that I had a bad experience with Cafe Italia and posted the whole sorry story. Whereupon you and A. N. Others ridiculed me for not having read the threads concerning Cafe Italia and its trading practices that were contained in this forum.

Threads that have now been deleted or otherwise made inaccessible.

And that surely is the point that the OP is making by starting this thread, to warn potential victims?


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## MartinB (May 8, 2011)

So coffeeforums/the coffeeforums business is sponsoring poor performing suppliers? Not cool, not cool...


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Batian said:


> A difficult subject? Hummmm
> 
> A very brief precis of the thread was that I had a bad experience with Cafe Italia and posted the whole sorry story. Whereupon you and A. N. Others ridiculed me for not having read the threads concerning Cafe Italia and its trading practices that were contained in this forum.


 Yeah, I shouldn't have ridiculed you, can't see what I said now.....so not sure just how much "ridicule" there was. On a scale of 1-10, if it was like below a 6, you probably deserved it as fair play. If it was a 7+, and you were suckered in completely by their BS.....then yeah, that's bad. As I can imagine a customer arsewhipping by them followed by a 7+ on the ridicule scale must have hurt a bit...sorry


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## Mr Binks (Mar 21, 2019)

MartinB said:


> So coffeeforums/the coffeeforums business is sponsoring poor performing suppliers? Not cool, not cool...


 Well no, Coffeeforums is being sponsored by the poor performing supplier. Unfortunately the nature of paid for advertising space means that this can happen from time to time, fortunately @Mrboots2u has drawn attention to it.


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## allikat (Jan 27, 2020)

I went through the entire retailer reviews forum, and out of the 4 or 5 threads on there previously about our new sponsor, only 2 remain. One of those has the name wrong in the topic, the other has a rare good experience.

I'm not saying it's fishy, but I'm getting a hook and rod ready.


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## NickG (Feb 21, 2020)

Thanks for the heads up.

As a newbie it's very much appreciated. I had in fact called a couple of suppliers about machines and I came to my own conclusion very quickly. This was before I really started delving in here. I still wouldn't have come across those reviews though. The outcome is that Bella Barista seem to be a very good company just by what I picked up over a phone call or two. The 'other one' won't be getting any of my business


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

allikat said:


> I went through the entire retailer reviews forum, and out of the 4 or 5 threads on there previously about our new sponsor, only 2 remain. One of those has the name wrong in the topic, the other has a rare good experience.
> 
> I'm not saying it's fishy, but I'm getting a hook and rod ready.


 very interesting


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

allikat said:


> I went through the entire retailer reviews forum, and out of the 4 or 5 threads on there previously, only 2 remain. One of those has the name wrong in the topic, the other has a rare good experience.
> 
> I'm not saying it's fishy, but I'm getting a hook and rod ready.


 I did a search and a lot of it seems to be there, but of course I can't see the sandboxed stuff.

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/search/?q=italia&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&page=2

At the end of the day though, if an advertiser wants to pay and the forum owners want to accept the payment....who are we to say they can't or shouldn't. When people click on an ad link, read a review (except mine of course  ), watch a video (except mine of course  ), it's always Caveat emptor. You should always ask the opinion of members (like me  ) and others.

It's like the yellow pages or whatever it's called now. Anyone can advertise in lots of places, it's up to buyers to check.


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

DavecUK said:


> Yeah, I shouldn't have ridiculed you, can't see what I said now.....so not sure just how much "ridicule" there was. On a scale of 1-10, if it was like below a 6, you probably deserved it as fair play. If it was a 7+, and you were suckered in completely by their BS.....then yeah, that's bad. As I can imagine a customer arsewhipping by them followed by a 7+ on the ridicule scale must have hurt a bit...sorry


 Apology accepted.

It didn't hurt at all.

I had a career involving people insulting me.

But they were face to face.

I dealt with them.

So no hard feelings. It is/was all in a days work!?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Batian said:


> Apology accepted.
> 
> It didn't hurt at all.
> 
> ...


 I can happily ridicule you to your face (if I ever meet you) for buying from them,  if it will make you feel better.

More interesting someone looks to have been trying to access my account?

Spooky.....perhaps the earth is flat after all.


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

DavecUK said:


> I can happily ridicule you to your face (if I ever meet you) for buying from them,  if it will make you feel better.
> 
> More interesting someone looks to have been trying to access my account?
> 
> Spooky.....perhaps the earth is flat after all.


 I haven't been to Telford for ages ;-)


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Drewster said:


> I haven't been to Telford for ages ?


 Don't they make Pies in Telford....actually I'm not totally sure where it is...slipped my mind years ago. It was about as interesting as Peterborough I seem to remember. I was on a nationwide project decades ago and we were staying in P'Bro. We asked where was the best place to go out for the evening (Town centre) and a local said with a <sigh> P'Bro closes about 6pm!


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

DavecUK said:


> Don't they make Pies in Telford....actually I'm not totally sure where it is...slipped my mind years ago. It was about as interesting as Peterborough I seem to remember. I was on a nationwide project decades ago and we were staying in P'Bro. We asked where was the best place to go out for the evening (Town centre) and a local said with a <sigh> P'Bro closes about 6pm!


 As far as I know they don't make anything in Telford... and I can understand trying to forget all about it..... I worked there several times over the years (for AdminRe, SwissRe and even "the man" (HMRC)).... and about the only memorable things about it are....... errrrrr it's near Ironbridge and...... errrrrrrrr Lilleshall..... Oh and there is a place called Trench.....

On the other hand I have lived in P'Boro for over 30 years and....... I can confirm the best place to go out in the evening is..... somewhere else!!!

That aside - although this is "off topic" it should keep the thread up at the top so people see it!!!!!


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

I live in Byfleet and when I was a young lad people new to the area used to ask where a good place was for a night out in the village. I always used to say Shepperton!

In the late 70s early 80s the Thames Court by the river in Shepperton was the most fantastic pub.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

In other news, I've just seen a post by a spammer offering 'genuine' high quality forged papers (passports, driving licence, qualifications, marriage certs etc) in Coffee Lounge.

I hope they're not also forum sponsors! Jokes aside, I can't seem to find the "Report post" thing on Tapatalk any more. Hopefully one of the mods will see the offending post and delete it shortly. I remember Glenn always said to keep off such threads in case you got your account deleted by accident in the clean up.

Edit: looks like the mods are on it.

___

Eat, drink and be merry


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## allikat (Jan 27, 2020)

hotmetal said:


> In other news, I've just seen a post by a spammer offering 'genuine' high quality forged papers (passports, driving licence, qualifications, marriage certs etc) in Coffee Lounge.


 I saw it, I reported it. Mods got it, and it's gone. Good work Mods.


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## catpuccino (Jan 5, 2019)

Aye close call I nearly bought some docs


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## Mr Binks (Mar 21, 2019)

allikat said:


> I saw it, I reported it. Mods got it, and it's gone. Good work Mods.


 Damn it was about to ask them if they could knock me up a Blue Peter badge as I never got one as a kid, you guys have ruined my chances ?


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Never fear Jim ill fix it for you if he can't ohhhhh. @Mr Binks


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

So here are some reviews from New Cafe Italia based in Oz. Looks like same logo and people look involved to me , unless there are two Matteo working at different coffee retailers half way across the globe....

With 21, 1 star ratings seems they could be....

https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/new-caffe-italia


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

I wonder if Cafe Italia respond to feed back.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Drewster said:


> I wonder if Cafe Italia respond to feed back.


 Looking at the threads on here and reviews elsewhere, I would say its probably not their strength.


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

Mrboots2u said:


> Looking at the threads on here and reviews elsewhere, I would say its probably not their strength.


 Scandalous accusation!


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

DavecUK said:


> I can happily ridicule you to your face (if I ever meet you) for buying from them,  if it will make you feel better.
> 
> More interesting someone looks to have been trying to access my account?
> Spooky.....perhaps the earth is flat after all.
> <img alt="image.thumb.png.33916de99dcab7346dd86dcfef7868f6.png" data-fileid="36676" data-src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2020_02/image.thumb.png.33916de99dcab7346dd86dcfef7868f6.png" src="https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">


@MildredM,@Tait, time to implement 2FA. Just sayin'...


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## Tait (Sep 9, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Before anyone clicks on our new sponsors banner, i would suggest you do a search of the forum using "cafe Italia" to see the overwhelming poor level of service they have previously offered.
> 
> Then do a google search for Cafe Italia and check out the trust pilot reviews
> 
> Then try and understand how this forum now takes money for a banner without checking, just how crap they are.


 We need the financial support. We should all be grateful to anyone who supports the forum or it wouldn't be here to provide a place to have such open and hopefully helpful discussions.


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## Tait (Sep 9, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Unfortunately the low prices they advertise are matched by low or non existent after sales - I got stung by them in 2015 when purchasing my first machine, their inadequate response to my enquiries was "its made by Philips" it was as though they took zero interest in the products they sold or the quality of them - I will never buy from them again or recommend them.
> 
> Hopefully this thread does not get deleted, as it represents the core value of the forum in sharing personal experience of equipment, coffee and retailers without bias or influence.


 It won't get deleted. Hopefully they'll read it and do something about their customer service and after sales.


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## Jony (Sep 8, 2017)

Well before it was taken over, I never heard we need money. From now on my gifts will go to Mental Health something slightly more worthy than your pocket.

Thanks for the private message.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Tait said:


> We need the financial support. We should all be grateful to anyone who supports the forum or it wouldn't be here to provide a place to have such open and hopefully helpful discussions.


 And that is your decision to make, Be prepared to accept some fallout from the first customer that has a poor experience via Cafe Italia and the role they have as forum sponsors.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

While I don't agree with the sponsor the forum always ran on a profit basis , to call own owner greedy and tother not, is a little subjective. Running it at a profit is how it became a concern that was worth someone purchasing and someone selling. The seller realised profit and cash.

Prior to this period in ownership there were more sponsors available to Glenn , the loss of those is not all down to new owners /software but a wide combination of factors some of which are down to the membership , some to the owners.


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