Having resolved my issue, secured a refund, and avoided legal action, I can now share my experience.
Outlined below is a summary of the facts and that is all I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
On 6th February, I ordered a Marshall speaker mount (£53.99) from Project 88 Emporium, with next-day shipping promised.
By 16th February, nothing had arrived, and my attempts to contact Jake and his team via email, phone, Instagram, and WhatsApp were ignored—despite Jake being active online.
On 21st February, I finally received a WhatsApp response, assuring me the item had been dispatched and would arrive by 24th February, with a refund promised if it did not.
The deadline passed, no delivery arrived, and on 25th February, I requested my refund, warning of legal action if necessary.
Jake initially claimed to have refunded me and provided a screenshot showing a refund issued two days before I had even made the purchase! When questioned, he went silent.
He then dismissed my small claims court warning, saying, “Why wait? Let’s start that now,” with a followup of "of course I will be sending a counter claim". Later, he insisted I couldn’t take action against him personally, and said “it will be my insurance company you have to take court. I have cover for such instance” , before blocking me on all platforms.
I sent a recorded delivery letter reiterating my refund request, expressing my disappointment, and setting a final deadline before legal proceedings.
Last night, I received my full refund.