News
Money blog: M&S loses ‘grocer of the year’ crown – as big four rival claims title for first time in 20 years | UK News
If you regularly shop for groceries online, chances are you’ve had a late delivery at least once.
The bad news is that if you haven’t tried to redeem any extra money paid for a specific delivery time, you may have missed out.
The good news is that you now know what to expect in the future.
Consumer group says: “If you paid extra for a special delivery and your order arrived later than agreed, you can claim the extra delivery cost as the service was not delivered.”
We asked Scott Dixon of The Complaints Solverto go into more detail – and he flagged Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which states:
“Every contract to supply a service shall be treated as including a term that the trader shall perform the service with reasonable care and skill.”
Scott says: “Late delivery would be considered a breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as you paid for a time-specific delivery as part of the contract you entered into.
“You may request a refund of the delivery fee as the specific part of the contract constitutes a breach and has not been fulfilled.
“I would contact customer service and be polite, as that way you are more likely to get a better result given the amount involved.”
The inspiration for this post was a Money team member who saw her groceries arrive 45 minutes late last weekend.
They called Tesco’s customer service team, who, most importantly, took the details and refunded the £7 delivery charge without too much fuss.
Tesco’s media team later told us that they judge things on a case-by-case basis, but they encourage you to contact their customer relations teams if there are any delays.
We asked other supermarkets about their policies.
Asda said…
“Asda always aims to deliver goods within the delivery window agreed with the customer. However, if an order is delivered outside this window, we will inform the customer and they can request a refund of the delivery charge.”
Ocado…
“We offer customers a one-hour delivery slot of their choosing. If we are running late, we will always contact the customer directly to let them know. On the rare occasion that we are genuinely late, our customer hub advisors can issue refunds – these are assessed on a case-by-case basis.”
Morrisons…
“We work with customers on a case-by-case basis to resolve any late delivery issues.”
Waitrose…
“In the event of a delay, the store makes every effort to contact each customer directly prior to delivery to explain the situation and provide an updated ETA. If the customer is no longer able to accept delivery, we work with them to reschedule the delivery at a time that is convenient. While delays are often beyond our control, we evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis, and Partners may offer a gesture of goodwill when customers are inconvenienced.”
Regardless of the policies, it is worth insisting (politely) as the law is on your side.