In November, I reserved a delivery slot with Asda for my Christmas shopping on 23 December between 8pm and 10pm. The total came to £178.94. On the day, I was told by email that it would be delivered between 8pm and 9pm. I packed the kids off and waited. At 9.30pm I called the customer services team who assured me my shopping would be there just after 10pm. At 10.15pm I called customer services again who said the driver was near. At 10.45pm there was still no shopping so I called again only to find that customer services had closed at 10.30pm.
On Christmas Eve I had no choice but to shop with my kids and disabled mother in the store, which was very busy. I tried to sort out the non-delivery on the phone but several call handlers dropped the call and I had to start all over again. Asda has debited my bank account for the cost of shopping I never received. I’m still waiting for this to be refunded. At no stage have I had an explanation or an apology. SK, Bristol
Every year we note how quickly the sought-after online pre-Christmas slots are booked, as shoppers seek to avoid the supermarket scrum.
You clearly had a very bad experience and it is puzzling that Asda was so slow to respond. After we got in touch, the company contacted you, organised the refund and offered a £50 gift voucher as a goodwill gesture. It said: “We always strive to deliver the best customer experience, but clearly, on this occasion, we didn’t live up to our usual high standards. We are sorry for any inconvenience and have been in touch with SK to explain what went wrong.”
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
