Unprofessional, untrustworthy. Beware!
On 19th December 2025, I ordered a mini-excavator online on the Rippa-Europe site. The process was simple and quick. Almost immediately, I got automatic and manual (from a human) confirmation, "We're getting your order ready to be shipped."
A few days later, with no further information from Rippa, I asked for an update. No reply was forthcoming. It was Xmas time; I assumed they were on holiday. If so, surely they should have turned on vacation alerts!
In early January, quite worried by the lack of information, I sent a couple of reminders. No response.
Finally, on 7th January, I called, was redirected, then spoke with J Reidel (no designation). It was a relief to talk to a human; unfortunately, it didn't help. After some back-and-forth, discovering that no "processing" had been carried out, I requested cancellation of the order. The request was denied but quick shipping was promised. Painfully aware that a trip planned months ago meant that I was due to leave in about a week, I cautioned Rippa (Reidel) that delivery must be effected, at the latest, by 15th January.
A few hours later I received an email saying, "The machine will arrive until (sic!) the 15 of January", but when I checked the tracking link, I discovered a delivery date of "between 15th and 19th January". Obviously, this was unacceptable to me... and I made that clear to Rippa.
This time they agreed to cancel the order, insinuating that I was trying to rip them off. Of what? I had paid them in full; in return, they had literally done nothing!
The refund never happened... even though Rippa, on two occasions, confirmed that it had been processed... but declined to provide any evidence.
Finally, I had to take the matter up with my credit card company, Wise (Visa), a pretty painful process requiring multiple repetitive emails over a month. I got my money back on 23rd February, 66 days after placing the order.
And here's the thing: if this is how Rippa behaves with an order, what can one expect with 1) service, 2) warranty claims 3) spare parts delivery?
My take: Rippa-Europe is a small-time, unprofessional and unethical dealer, bringing a bad name to what seems like a good product (of course, product reviews could well be "influenced"). I wouldn't touch Rippa-Europe with a barge pole. I recommend that you be extremely wary of dealing with them.
December 19, 2025
Unprompted review