Debenhams online order turned into a game of throws

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/30/debenhams-online-order-game-of-throws

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In February my wife ordered three throws from the Debenhams website to protect our sofas as our cat has worryingly muddy feet. They were advertised as a “set of three cotton throws for £35” – an offer repeated in the confirmation email. Within a few days the parcel arrived. However, this only contained one throw and the delivery note stated that it was a single item only. Disappointingly, it also had a significant snag in the fabric.

My wife rang Debenhams that day and spoke to a helpful young man who apologised, said he would reorder the items and send us a returns envelope for the damaged throw. He told us that they should arrive a few days later. This didn’t happen, and in early March my wife rang to be told that, due to low stock, the order had been cancelled and the money refunded. On checking our bank account we realised this was correct, but Debenhams had not informed us that this was happening.

Happily, the Debenhams operator told us that the throws were now back in stock and, as we had been messed around, would give us a 10% discount. My wife was delighted and we looked forward to our three throws. However, guess what? Yes, the parcel arrived with … one throw.

We filled in the customer service survey and received a response telling us to take the damaged item back to a store or use a freepost address (which was not supplied). There was no mention of replacing the throw or providing the missing throws. Could you please help us get our three throws from Debenhams? We would just like them to fulfil the order as was originally stated. JR, Bradford-upon-Avon, Wiltshire

Oh, the joys of online shopping. We contacted Debenhams which admitted that an error had been made in the online description of the item, which has since been corrected. It said in a statement: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused around this, and a full refund has been provided to the customer.”

It is also happy for you to keep the two throws, including the damaged one, so we hope your cat is grateful. But it’s a shame it didn’t mention the website error earlier, as this could have been sorted out much sooner.

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