An elderly couple were left devastated after finding out their Christmas savings card had gone missing - but Iceland has now vowed to help.
Rose and Robert Eaton, of Wallsend, save money every week on their Iceland bonus card which they use to buy their Christmas dinner and had saved £220.
But Robert, 74, who is in a wheelchair after having a leg amputated, was out when he lost his wallet, which held the card in.
After reporting the card as lost, they were told another one would be delivered but would take up to 28 days - meaning it would be too late for Christmas.
Thankfully, Robert's wallet was recovered on the bus and the card was returned but after contacting Iceland to have it reactivated and explained the money was essential for them at Christmas.
But Rose said Iceland told them this couldn't be done and they'd have to wait for the new card to arrive.
Rose, 72, who underwent open heart surgery early this year, said: "We phoned to say the card had been found and asked for it to be activated but they said it couldn't be and we would just have to wait for a new one to arrive.
"I explained it was all of our Christmas money and she said we'd just have to wait for a new one.
"I said we wouldn't have any Christmas dinner and she said 'I can't help that'.
"I would never ask for money. I always make sure that I save."
Iceland has told the couple they can go in and spend the money on their card before the new one arrives, after being contacted
Rose said: "They have said we can go in and spend some of the money that was on the card.
"It means that we will have our Christmas dinner. I hope they have learned something because it could have been a young mother with children to feed."
An Iceland spokesperson said: “We have had a great conversation with Mr Eaton today to resolve the issue.
"In normal circumstances, when you cancel a Bonus Card due to losing it, a new card is issued and it isn’t possible to re-activate the old card, so there can be a delay in activating the new card.
"This is the same experience you would get (for example) if you cancelled a credit card. However, having heard Mr Eaton’s story, we wanted to go way beyond the customer’s expectations and make his day.
"We have organised for the customer to go into his store as normal and enjoy a full Iceland Christmas shopping experience, filling their trolley with all of the shopping they need.
"We’ll also be adding a few treats on us. The Iceland teams at head office and at store have combined their efforts to make sure that Mr and Mrs Eaton can enjoy a great shopping experience and fill their Christmas table and that we will take care of everything else so that they don’t have to worry.
"Mr Eaton also shared some really useful feedback to help us coach and train our people based on his experience. In fact, we have already used the advice and shared with members of our team.
"Mr Eaton was extremely happy with the outcome as are we.
"Our customer’s mean the world to us, and we are grateful to have had the chance to put this right and deliver an exceptionally positive outcome, especially at this time of year.”
