Forest Hill Chase — Attraction in Melbourne

I reckon this shopping centre is the best kept secret in the eastern suburbs. Sadly the place has slipped in recent years - not managed anywhere near as well as it used to be.

Centre Management needs to pull their proverbial socks up. All too often travelators aren't working, many of the newly installed light fittings installed in the carparks don't work. Has the installer been told to rectify the problem? I seriously doubt it.

Unacceptably high rents are driving many stores away. Time for the parent company to review their delivery of service.

Mid 2022.

Still not a lot of improvement at Forest Hill Chase over the past few months. Some newly installed light fittings are still not working.

It's truly a shame because this little shopping centre had got to be one of the best in the eastern suburbs - or it used to be.

Quite simply it is poor Centre Management and that is a real shame.

End of 2022.

Visited The Chase again today and it's disappointing to report still nothing has been done to improve the facilities.

Went up to The Loft to check out the eateries that were given such high raps when this level was opened. Around half have gone and the remainders had very few people despite being in the holiday season.

This concept was doomed from the beginning and was forecast to do so by a number of my friends who have shops in the centre.

Time the owner of the facility looked into the poor planning and poor management of this once spectacular shopping centre.

End of 2023

With the affects of the pandemic largely behind us Forest Hill Chase has started to get back to the shopping centre of old.

Sadly, there are still a few vacant shops, still travelators/escalators not working (the is an on going issue) and still faulty lights in sections of the car park.

The improvement in the centre in recent months is not due to improved centre management. It is solely due to increased patronage as a result of the declining impact of the pandemic.

The Loft is still a joke with more eateries having gone. It's about time this area was shut down and something new developed in its place.

It's sad that such a previously magnificent shopping centre has been so poorly managed.

April 2025

As previously mentioned, this once fantastic shopping centre has slipped significantly in recent years. I would visit at least 4 days a week to enjoy a beautiful cup of coffee at Gloria Jeans, and would wander through a few of the stores - including JB HIFI - hoping for a bargain.

Sadly, both of my favourite haunts have shut up shop and gone so my 4 visits a week routine has dropped to 1 visit a month with no money being spent by me.

In an attempt to get better patronage the centre is currently undergoing a transformation of the fresh food and dining areas. And as a result, many, many shops have gone and significant areas have been cordoned off whilst the work is in progress.

I went there yesterday and see that Country Road has taken the place of JB - just what we need, more women's clothing stores!

I'll be an infrequent visitor here from now on having decided to take my business elsewhere. I can only hope the management manage to attract a variety of new tenants to try to turn this place around.

This once magnificent little shopping centre - one that I have regularly visited for well over 40 years - has sadly slipped so far down the list, it just isn't worth visiting anymore.

A terrible indictment on both the management and ownership of the centre....

I'm a regular customer of this mall, but after today’s experience, I don’t think I’ll be coming back. I came here by motorcycle, and around 5pm to 5:30pm, as soon as I entered, the security guards told me I had to remove my helmet. I explained that I was on a call and needed to use the earphones inside my helmet, but they wouldn’t listen and insisted I take it off. I wasn’t even covering my face—the visor was up and my face was fully visible. I was also wearing full motorcycle gear—do I look like a troublemaker??? Huh?

They said it was for “safety reasons,” claiming the CCTV couldn’t see my face clearly. But again, my face was visible the whole time. Despite that, they followed me around like I was doing something suspicious

I just wanted to buy an ice cube tray at Target for $1.75. When I went to pay, the guard told the cashier not to let me purchase it because I was wearing a helmet and asked me to leave immediately. What kind of ridiculous attitude is that toward a paying customer???

They kept following me the whole time. If I was planning to steal something, why would I be standing in line ready to pay? They even threatened to call the police, but didn’t follow through. I have my rights, and I wasn’t doing anything illegal—don’t waste police resources on something so childish. Their behavior was completely unprofessional and unnecessary

Why not question those teenagers wearing hoodies and masks with only their eyes showing? You could still clearly see my face even with the helmet on

The most ridiculous part is they didn’t even let me pay for the item. Management seriously needs to retrain their security team. I’ve been to so many malls—Westfield Doncaster, Blackburn Square, Eastland Ringwood, Coles, Woolworths—and never once been treated like this

After today, I won’t be returning to this mall. And after my experience, this is an alert for motorcyclists—be prepared to be treated unfairly here just because of what you're wearing

And one more thing: don’t tell me there’s a strict law requiring helmet removal. Try Googling it before spreading misinformation. If this is “private property,” then don’t open it to the public LOL

Do remember this is not the only mall...

I bought a Black Ink cartridge from your forest hill InkCart shop on 19th March'20, the toner worked for about 6 weeks, and then it stopped working. I went back to the shop to get a refund, but the owner refused and said if its faulty we will replace it. I accepted the offer (17th May 20) and returned with a new toner and installed it in my printer, and guess what? After a week it stopped working. I went back today, but nearly wasting an hour with the owner the sales person did not budge. He accused me of excessive printing and bringing the printer to the shop to fix it. The heated argument went on forever, but he did not accept it. So, the blame was put on me and my printer and on my excessive printing. He said you had to get this within 30 days of printing. And since everyone is at home these days, you must be printing. I even showed my Healthcare Services ID card to show a proof that I was working in these times. I showed all the photographs to the salesperson to prove that the toner wasn’t working. He provided me with a new cartridge and told me that a refund will not is provided. You must read the receipt. Your receipt does not state any such policy of 30 days return and if after that it not your responsibility. When I read your policies online, it states a completely different story. When I countered with the argument to go to court if I wished and complained wherever I wanted to. There is no clear policy written on the receipt, so I assume what’s on their website is true. This is not the way to treat your customers by not believing or trusting them. When was sold the toner, I was told if there are issue we are happy to replace it. We barely printed 20-25 pages and was advised to bring the heavy printer to your shop to fix it, is that a solution? Now they are asking for proof of how many pages I have printed. I have printed I am extremely disgusted, angry and frustrated and I want my money back. I wasted nearly 2-3 hours dealing with them. But I wish i never dealt with these guys and saved much more time and money rather...