Homebase and B&Q customers furious over three-week wait for click and collect orders and deliveries
HOMEBASE and B&Q shoppers have been left raging after waiting up to three weeks for their home delivery and click and collect orders.
Some customers say they’re still waiting for their products to arrive.
DIY stores have been classed as “essential” retailers during the coronavirus crisis, but both B&Q and Homebase are operating online-only services to help protect staff and customers.
It means shoppers only have the options of home delivery or click and collect.
However, customers say they’re still waiting for products to arrive, sometimes up to three weeks after placing their orders.
Frustrated Homebase shoppers have been taking to social media to ask the company where their home delivery items are.
One customer tweeted: "After emailing multiple times I finally got a response assuring me my order would arrive by the 11th of April (three weeks after I placed the order).
"But surprise, surprise, it still isn't here and your customer service team refuse to help!"
Another shopper said: "Can I get a timeframe for this order please? Order placed 14 days ago with no updates."
And this customer tweeted: "Hello can you please give me an update on my order. It is two weeks late and it wasn't a cheap order."
Meanwhile, B&Q shoppers say they've been having issues with click and collect.
Some customers have been tweeting the retailer, claiming they've been waiting up to two weeks without any updates.
One shopper said: "I placed a click and collect order and now nearly two weeks, I still haven't heard.
"Can someone contact me please?"
Another customer tweeted: "I placed an order five days ago for contactless collect but still not heard anything. Can you help?"
While this shopper said: "Placed a click and collect order last Saturday, money been taken but have had no response from the store when trying to find out when to collect my order. How do I get a refund?!"
Replying to some customers, B&Q said click and collect orders should usually be ready within three days.
As well as order delays, B&Q shoppers have been facing waits of up to an hour to get onto the retailer's website.
The Homebase website didn't have a queue when we tried to access it this morning.
Both Homebase and B&Q told The Sun they're experiencing high demand for online orders, which has resulted in some delays.
A Homebase spokesperson said: "Our website is extremely busy and we’ve added extra measures to keep all our customers and teams safe, which means it’s taking us longer than usual to deliver customer orders.
"We really grateful for the continued support from our customers, team members and partners during this unusual time."
Your rights if your order doesn't arrive on time
IF your order hasn't arrived at its expected delivery date, the first thing to do is contact the retailer you purchased it from.
You should always be entitled to get what you pay for - this includes the type of delivery you ordered.
So if you paid the seller for a timed delivery and your parcel is late in arriving, you are entitled to ask for a refund of the money you paid for delivery.
If your delivery has taken more than 30 calendar days then you can legally cancel the contract and get a refund.
If you've waited less than that, it will mostly depend on when you placed the order.
Online retailers commonly give you a delivery date when you are paying, but the small print will often make clear that delivery times may “vary”.
Most retailers are also pre-warning customers that delivery times may be delayed due to coronavirus.
You should check the retailer's cancellation policies in their terms and conditions to find out more.
If your item has already been dispatched you'll have to wait for it to arrive to claim your refund.
A B&Q spokesperson said: "Our contact-free Click+Collect process has a limited capacity at stores, so at busy times customers may experience delays.
";This has also led to a significant increase in customer service contacts.
"A big thank you goes to our colleagues who have been incredible - they’re picking and fulfilling thousands of orders every day."
B&Q charges £5 for standard delivery, while click and collect is free.
Homebase offers free standard delivery, but it has temporarily suspended its click and collect options.
B&Q has almost 300 stores in the UK, while Homebase has 170 branches.
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