Finally, around 2 weeks later, I report that I had not recieved the item. They promise to investigate. I wait another few days, and message them once more using the online chat system. They only then inform me that the first parcel had been lost at an Australia Post sorting centre. It took them from the 20th of November to the 2nd of December to investigate this and to inform me of the progress of my order.
Since then, nothing has turned up. I have messaged them twice, to inform them that my item has -still- not arrived. They fobbed me off with the excuse that "It takes a while for items to come from the supplier". I informed them today that if the parcel does not arrive this Wednesday, or if I did not get a refund, that I will be informing the Department of Consumer Affairs. Since I messaged them 'out of hours' today, they informed me that I would have to talk to them again tomorrow.
So in summary-
- It takes them one and a half weeks to ask Australia Post where a parcel is.
- At no stage have they offered me a refund
All I can do now is tell people not to deal with Dealsdirect, I guess...
EDIT: Tried getting my money back via PayPal. It's been over 45 days so I can't file a claim. So, it looks like I'll just have to speak to Consumer Affairs or try to speak to DealsDirect on Monday.