When Online Shopping Goes Wrong!

I've had some similar experiences with regard to expensive substitutions, although it is possible (at least with Tesco - I'm not sure about the others!) to let them know whether (or not) you would like an item substituted. Not only that but you can even specify exactly what you would like the substitute to be.
That said, I find online supermarket shopping is better suited for bulky (and more boring!) shopping - tinned goods, loo/kitchen roll, cleaning products...This can be particularly useful if you live in shared accomodation.

I get groceries from Sainsburys every fortnight. I find them very reliable in terms of timing and getting my orders right. They also carry all my stuff up a lot of stairs to my flat which is on the top floor and are even polite and pleasant about it. I have used Tesco home delivery in the past an found their service to be good also.

I have home deliveries from both Tesco and an organic grocer and have found both to be generally reliable. But you have to see them as stocking up: relying on a home delivery for a just-in-time delivery of the essentials for a dinner party or holiday trip is asking for trouble. You also have to remember that the supermarket deliveries come, not from a warehouse but from the shop floor, and are collected by individuals in a very short time-frame and on whose discretion you have to rely for substitutions. These are normally listed separately and placed in distinctively coloured bags so you can easily check them. If you're that worried about missing bags then check the order before you sign for it and explain why--the driver might not like it but it's your signature you're giving.

I have never used Tesco but have regularly used Asda for my home delivery. I tend to use it when I have the urge to slurge and therefore dont need the temptation of walking round a shop getting distracted. Yes I do have to pay a delivery charge but it is cheaper than a taxi home as I dont drive. I also specify that if an item is out of stock, I dont want it replaced with their choice

Only once was there a mistake on my shopping. I was missing a carrier bag of my food but recieved a bag of someone elses instead. I had booked the last delivery slot of the day so wasnt very hopeful when I called Asda to explain the mistake, but within half an hour the driver had returned to my house and delivered the correct shopping bag.

One I would certainly recommend

I shop a lot on line, experiences at Tesco mean I will never use them again.In brief, they advertised item in sale, confirmed in stock so I added a small item as well -postage was a fixed amount. Small item delivered but day before large item due they said it was out of stock! Checked web and still there, so reordered and it arrived. Difference was they had upped the price. Would not refund the difference even though they had taken my money and agreed it would be delivered at the original price. Also would not refund postage for delivery of the initial part order (£5 postage on a £6 item)despite explaining only ordered small item as it did not impact the total postage. Took numerous emails and threat of legal action for them to deal with fairly. AND the item was poor quality when it arrived. All other firms I use on line are exteremely helpful.

I've only ever used Ocado but I have to say their service has always been brilliant. I've never had a substitution (they send you a text a few hours beforehand to let you know if there are any so you can check on line and know in advance if you want to reject them when the driver turns up) and on the one occasion a good was damaged (one broken egg in a box of 6) they refunded the entire box and the delivery charge. They also have hourly delivery slots some of which are free. Of course some of the items are more expensive so you do have to weigh it up but they do price match against Tesco on branded products so they're cheaper than they used to be.

and very rarely if ever visit a supermarket

MJJ101 - depends on what their published terms and conditions, (which you had to agree to/accept before you paid for the goods) state - most mail order companies have a standard 28 day delivery condition; my company usually delivers within 3 - 4 days, but we still have a 28 day legal window for mail order items. You were probably also charged a cancellation/delivery fee when you refused the delivery - again in their terms and conditions they may state that cancellation must be within a certain amount of time and made possibly in writing - they may never have seen your email cancellation! thats said, it may be worth checking the Distance Selling Regulations, where you can cancel within 7 working days of receiving for the goods - you do have to pay for the return carriage however, so they may have been fully compliant, and the £20 was the fee for the refusal/return of goods.

Always check the T&C's for delivery times BEFORE you click the 'I ACCEPT' box - these are the ones you need to know about, not the claims on the home page!

ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING

Now - I use Asda, however theyhave a box on site which you can tick to stipulate NO SUBSTITUTIONS - I get a substitution every time I order, I call customer service and get a refund - the first time I did this, and pointed out that I had specified, by ticking their box, that I would not accept substitution, the advisor said ' Oh, we don't look at that!' - Arghh! So why have it then if you are going to ignore it?

Generally they are very good, on time, food fresh, correct etc, but I have to agree that I do not understand how a supermarket such as Asda can run out of Eggs......:{

I experienced many of the problems above when I used Sainsbury's online. My favourite items being out of stock on the web site but on the shelves in the store being the second most annoying. But the most annoying, and what made me stop, was the number of carrier bags they used. I reuse my carrier bags as much as I can and I reckon one bag will last for six shops before it starts to tear. My usual shop went into six bags, so in effect I used one new bag per shop.

My last online shop was delivered in 19 bags!! My online experiment ended up with a kitchen drawer full of carefully folded carrier bags which I am only just finishing off now, three years later.

I now have RiverNene (Riverford's twin for Eastern England) deliver my fresh groceries, which works out cheaper for me and I have far less packaging to throw away every week. So much so I only put my black (refuse) bin out for the council every 6 weeks now.

Many thanks for raising the fact that in this era of 'internet rules' 'buyer beware' still applies to online shopping as much as the high street. I was probably lulled into a false sense of security having only had positive experiences with online shopping until recently, when with coincidental timing to this article I had a very BAD experience ONLINE SHOPPING at www.buyspares.co.uk powered by 4ourhouse.co.uk Tesco/Sainsburys etc might get it wrong now again but at least you do have recourse to remedy the problems with them, rather than with lesser known sites that can hide behind their anonymity and ignore any problems they cause their customers. I'm not hijacking this for a personal rant though, I don't want Fools berating me for implying all smaller sites are shoddy and the big guys are better, but just want to emphasise Serena's point and remember 'BUYER BE WARE', perhaps more online than anywhere else!

The way I have beaten not getting all my shopping or substitutions I don't want is to have my shopping delivered without bags. Tesco offers this service, I am not sure about the other supermarkets. It is better for the environment and easier to look at what is being delivered.

I have had Sainsburys not deliver wine on New Year's Eve which was a disaster but after a phone call I received a £10 voucher. It pays to complain.

I've been on-line shopping for more than two years now and I've tried and tested most of the services available. The best, for sure, is Abel&Cole. For the flexibility, you can choose what you like and don’t like and substitutions are pretty spot on, the value, the kindness of the staff, the quality of the food, the range of choice and last but not least, you are not left with a load of rubbish when unpacking, not like most supermarkets that pack one max two items in one bag!. (The boxes they use are recycled). Wednesdays (my delivery day) feels like Christmas every week! And you feel you do a bit to help the planet too.

Oooh don't let me get started with this one! Tesco rarely deliver everything I order and either provide inappropriate substitutions (even if I have suggested several alternatives) or, as with the fool who got no sausages, they tell me 'onions' are unavailable today.....but I have not been charged for them. Too kind. I am also sick and tired of them putting just one item in some bags or leaving things rattling about loose in the crate so I have to pack them into bags at the front door. I don't want them traipsing through my home to my kitchen, though they sometimes offer. But this way I don't get all my shopping in bags OR the benefit of Green Clubcard points for not having it in bags! Grrrr!

When living in Southampton, we used to get a delivery from local organic farm shop Sunnyfields. I can't rate this highly enough! In the 4 years they were delivering to us, I think there were only ever a couple of errors, all of which were rectified quickly and easily. We were able to pick from a very wide range of goods, and also able to choose food which had been grown by them, thus avoiding excess food miles.

Since moving to Newcastle, I've looked for a similar service but haven't found it. We use River Swale (Yorks & NE England partner of Riverford), which is excellent, but only allows us to pick one of their range of boxes, and to add items from a fairly limited list.

As a household without a car, we really miss the convenience of having everything delivered, but I wouldn't be happy using any of the big supermarket companies - they already dominate too much, so we'll stick with River Swale and local shopping by bike.

I have used Riverford Organics for a few years now (original Devon base, but local franchise delivery). Competitive prices for veg, occasional substitutions depending on what's going on with the crops. Also you don't have to commit to a regular box order; I order every 2-3 weeks depending on what we need. They sell lots of stuff other than fruit & veg - dairy (excellent milk), meat, preserves, wines, etc. They will load perishables into a cooler if you aren't around to take delivery. Plus you can now put together your own box (£12.50 min spend for fruit & veg, £45 (I think) for a meat pack. They only deliver on one day a week but deliveries so far have been 100% reliable.

Hi, I work for Sainsbury's online. With regard to expensive substitutions, all substitutions are entirely down to the shopper, they aren't told to pick more expensive items, just to find something as close to the ordered product as possible. They shouldn't be picking something twice as expensive.
As for the number of carrier bags used, we have strict targets on minimising how many are used. Again, this is down to the shopper picking your order. However, when you receive your delivery you can return as many carrier bags as you like to the driver to be brought back for recycling.
Finally, if you aren't happy for any reason, however small, ring up! They generally chuck a few quid your way as a goodwill gesture.

I've used both Sainsburys and Tesco online ordering for a long time, but mostly for bulky, tinned goods, cleaning stuff etc. I get fresh from local shops as needed. One advantage I find is I only tend to order online every few weeks and each supplier emails with discount offers if you don't order for a while. So I order from Sainsburys and Tesco send a discount code so I use them next and Sainsburys then send a discount code so my next order goes to them. I've only had a couple of problems with Sainsburys, one delivery was 30 minutes late (van was involved in an accident) but the driver rang to explain (and I saw the damage when he turned up!) and gave me a £10 voucher. The only other problem was I once had an extra bag of groceries after I checked off all of mine. I called the helpline and was told to keep the extra items "with the compliments of Sainsburys to you", don't know how the person they were intended for got on though .....

I was in a dispute with a firm, not resolved yet so no name supplied,the dispute was about a television set which broke down
in its thirteenth month. i pointed out that the sale of goods act says that an item sold should be fit for purpose and last a reasonable lenth of time and that i was using,as a stand by, a television set which i bought in 1986 and it is still in good condition never having had a screwdriver on it. he, the superviser of the firm i was talking to asked what make it was, my reply was it dosent matter what make it was, the point is it has been fit for purpose all these years and compaired with the thirteen months that the one i bought from them puts them to shame,HE THEN ASKED,WATE FOR IT,
IS IT H.D.READY,I asked him if he was serious
and he said YES!( i cant print my answer)

in years of doing this I have had very few problems - once they did leave me a bag short but they came back with it when I phoned - the main issue was inappropriate substitutions - and I learned from experience that the best way to avoid this is to give comments as detailed as possible in the subs and comments box (for tesco) e.g. similar item around same price - saves them substituting much more pricey items. When I have had a complaint it has always been dealt with sympathetically and usually a refund or voucher issued. It will never be perfect but to be honest a lot depends on how savvy you get at using it. supermarket.com is a good way to find the cheapet 'basket' comparing several of the big players including tesco, asda and sainsbury - and they can find you healthier options as well as cheaper ones.

I shop at Tesco and Sainsbury online once a month. They deliver all my heavy goods, for example tins, juice, household goods, pet food. All this to my back door which is difficult for them to get to but more convenient for me. They rarely complain. I do not begrudge the delivery charge as I have saved petrol, time and temptation. On the odd occasion there is a problem both stores have responded positively and efficiently. I then have a box of veggies delivered every week from an organic supplier, buy my meat from the local butchers once a week or fortnight (to put in the freezer obviously) and have a milkman for doorstep milk and eggs. I save money as I'm not succumbing to temptation, time as I'm not trailing from shop to shop, and doing my bit for local shops. I'm a big fan of online shopping - I couldn't work and look after a family otherwise!