I ordered a fridge from Currys and was assured that delivery would not be a problem, even though there are some steps leading down the garden to our house. We paid for delivery, installation and disposal of the old fridge which we emptied and defrosted the night before.
However, when they arrived the two delivery men refused to take the new fridge down the steps on grounds of “health and safety”. They advised that we rebook when four men were available to carry both appliances. They left, taking the new fridge with them. The earliest redelivery date was nine days later.
We paid two local gardeners £30 to help my son and myself with the transporting and, once again, emptied and defrosted our old fridge.
When the delivery men arrived, they told me there was no problem carrying the fridge down the steps and couldn’t understand why the previous team had declined to do so. They went to get it out of the van only discover it wasn’t there. It wasn’t at the depot, either. After two hours vainly waiting to talk to Currys head office, I was advised to make a 90-minute return journey to my nearest branch where I spent more than an hour explaining the situation.
It transpired that our new fridge had disappeared and could not be reordered as it was out of stock indefinitely. Our choice was either to cancel and have a refund, or order a different model. We chose the former, but no refund arrived.
The following month I noticed the model we had ordered was back in stock. Delivery was arranged, but the wrong model arrived and was returned. A new date was arranged for a week later. This time the crew again refused to carry the fridge down the steps. They left and I had to pay a third party to help me do it and to carry the old fridge to the driveway. The team was going to return on another day to install the new one and remove the old one, but they never showed up. JM, Ewhurst, Surrey
You estimate you have spent 12 hours waiting in for five visits over five weeks in order to secure one fridge.
The saga only ended when I relayed it to the press office and Currys immediately scrambled for its purse and paid you £214 to cover your expenses plus £150 for wasted time and food. It has now delivered the correct fridge.
“We fell way short of our usual standards and apologise for the considerable inconvenience,” it says. “We have fed back to our delivery depot team to ensure customers are contacted prior to delivery to confirm if there are any access issues in order for us to deliver appropriately.”
Meanwhile, in London …
It so happened that between your second and third failed delivery, Londoner NM was expecting delivery of a fridge-freezer from Currys. He writes: I had told the salesman that I live in a fourth-floor flat without a lift and he made a note of this. However, the delivery men refused to bring the fridge upstairs, claiming they could not legally carry more than 25kgs each. The unit weighs 66kgs, which the salesman should have known. I paid a passing builder £50 to carry it for me and a neighbour £35 to reverse the unit doors. I had already paid £35 to Currys to do this job.
The fridge arrived with a large scratch and a dent on the front door and I wrote immediately to Currys asking for compensation for the £85 I had paid out and for the imperfect condition. I was offered £35 for the door reversal and a 10% rebate on the fridge and, after protracted negotiations, it offered £25 only towards the cost of transporting it upstairs.
Moreover, they expect me, a disabled pensioner, to go to the store to collect the refund.
Knowhow is the name of Curry’s logistics service. All they know, according to the above experiences, is how to alienate customers.
Currys tells me the weight restriction cited by your crew is a fiction. However, it says: “We follow the UK Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on manual handling and our delivery colleagues are trained to risk assess each individual delivery to determine whether it would put them or the customer at risk of any injury. This results in a small per cent that unfortunately cannot be completed at that time.”
Following involvement from the Observer, NM has now been given £175 in expenses and goodwill.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
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