Tesco direct: Double stress points with your sofa

On 26/09/09 I ordered a sofa from Tesco direct for £398 on a buy one get one free basis. Tesco confirmed my order and I was told of a delivery date for the 30/09/09.

The delivery turned up on time, and this is where the nightmare begins. The sofas ordered were advertised as self assembly, as one was for a narrowboat this was ideal, as I was getting one free, I decided to donate it to a nursing home where my wife works. So, on the day of delivery, I dismantled the furniture from the narrowboat that we live on, and disposed of it. When the delivery arrived there were 2 sofas, one in brown NOT self assembly, so would not fit into our boat, the other was a three seater in cream!

I complained via phone to Tesco direct and they are giving me a refund. Not being a happy bunny, I went to my local Tesco store, which had re opened following refurbishment 2 weeks ago. They did not wish to know and said that they were not part of tesco direct, to which I pointed out that they were the same company, and it was in the Lichfield store that the catologue had been handed to me - still no joy, but I was told to drive to a direct store 15 miles away!

To say i am disgusted with their service is an understatement. I have informed them that I will never buy another item from them or their related company in my lifetime, I also informed them that I have every sympathy with the fellow that drove his Rolls Royce through one of their stores in sheer frustration.

I send this email, sitting on a deck chair in my boat. My wife is in tears, and I am fuming with anger.

What can be done to stop this company from treating customers in such a shoddy fashion? - I wish I owned a Rolls Royce because I know exactly what I would like to do right now!

Martin Lewis

Do you need a carrier bag? Er.. yes.

Dear Mr Leahy,

I write to you today as I'm rather concerned that after writing letters to your complaints address in Enfield I never seem to receive a reply? After a short search on the web I find this is not only common practice for Tesco, its actually rife!

I'm left with no option but to contact you directly, and also have started a blog on the web about it, with copies of all letters and e-mails due to be posted there!

The letters of complaint went as follows:

First letter, was asking, quite politely why the Tesco store in Broughton refuses to stock carrier bags? Severál times we've visited the store the do our shopping however there never seems to be any carrier bags. You're often confronted with a deadpan question of "do you want any bags" - well considering I've just spent £250 in your store of course I want carrier bags. If this had happened once, it wouldn't have riled me, however it happens time and time again! My response now is just to leave the shopping there and walk out of the store. I have asked staff time and time again why there aren't any carrier bags available, the response I've had on more than one occasion is: "The Welsh Assembly have made it illegal to give out new carrier bags" or "The Welsh assembly only let us give out so many bags per year" or "its more environmentally friendly" - The Welsh Assembly haven't yet put any restrictions on the provision of carrier bags, I practice as a solicitor in Wales and the last I knew the plan was still in consultation stage... Furthermore, you cannot argue on the basis of it being more environmentally friendly, if this were your real concern you'd be issuing sustainable, recylable paper bags, the same type they've been issuing in America for many years now!

The fact that your staff are willing to lie to a loyal customer is one thing, the fact that they feel you've got no right to ask for a carrier bag is one thing. After buying a basket full of shopping after work one evening, which totalled £46.51, and asking if I could have a carrier bag, the member of staff said "I haven't got any" after asking if she could ask for some more, or get some more she said "There's nothing I can do about it, I haven't got any" - so my response was to walk out of the store without the shopping and without having paid for it, hearing her grumble something under hear breath, which I shall not repeat!

Further to this, as stated before, your staff in the customer care address on your website simply do not reply to letters your customers have taken time to write and spent money to post, and same as I've said there are acres of coverage on the net, which makes this out to be quite common place!

Unless I receive a response, in a timely manner, I will stop shopping in Tesco stores. I've looked through my credit card statement from last year, and in total I spent: £12,272 in your stores. In a climate where your competitors are seeing their customer base increase whilst yours doesn't seem to be doing anything (hence giving away double club card points etc) it is of no surprise, perhaps their finding a better quality of service at places like: Sainsbury's; Waitrose; Morrison's and Asda.

I look forward to hearing from you, and this letter can be found on the internet.

Yours Sincerely,
Gareth Baines