OnePlus unveiled its new flagship-class handset earlier this month, and it went on sale on the same day. But two weeks later, many buyers in the UK are still waiting for the device to be delivered, and the company has now acknowledged the delay.
In a blog post, it said that "demand for the OnePlus 3 in the UK has been above and beyond" what it expected, but conceded that "a number of you have been experiencing delays in your orders, and for that we"re truly sorry."
OnePlus said that there had been "something of a schedule misalignment between devices and accessories" in the UK, and that "customs issues meant many orders that included both devices and accessories were delayed".
It says that it"s been "removing and refunding those accessories" from some existing orders, as well as refunding priority shipping charges, and dispatching devices directly instead. Customers will have to reorder cases and other items "once we have them restocked", but OnePlus has issued vouchers for £8 GBP / €10 EUR to those affected, as well as removing the minimum order amount to qualify for free shipping on their new orders.
OnePlus later acknowledged in an update to its blog that there had also been "some confusion" regarding its original explanation about removing accessories from some existing orders, adding: "If your order still contains accessories, you should receive them with your order after it dispatches on Wednesday or Thursday."
OnePlus attributed some of the tardy shipments to "slight output delays from our factory". In some cases, customers have seen the wait for their devices extended, but OnePlus says it"s expecting fresh UK stocks this week, and all outstanding orders should finally be shipped by Thursday, June 30.
Those who have been waiting the longest, and for whom "dispatch estimates have increased" are being contacted by email with a voucher for £16 / €20 for their next order, plus no minimum order requirement for free shipping.
However, adding further to the confusion and frustration of its UK customers, some who were supposed to get vouchers didn"t receive them; some who were supposed to get £16 / €20 vouchers got £8 / €10 vouchers instead; and those who actually did get vouchers found that the OnePlus site wasn"t processing them properly.
The company later said that "there"s this bug that is preventing some of the coupons from working correctly and delivering free shipping. Our platform team is working on rectifying this situation."
If you haven"t received a voucher that you"re entitled to, you received the wrong voucher, or you have received a voucher and ended up paying for shipping on a new order, you can contact OnePlus via this form, and the company says it will "get back to you shortly (within 48h) to offer a solution".
And if you"ve had enough of this whole mess and just want your money back, you can cancel your order and request a refund, which OnePlus says will take "up to 7 days" if you paid with PayPal, or "between 5 and 28 days" if you paid by credit card.
Meanwhile, OnePlus is also preparing an update for its new handset, following concerns raised over how it manages its 6GB of RAM, and complaints about the poor color accuracy of its display.