What a fuck up - apple watch delivered to wrong address

[NigellaAwesome]

My DH ordered a new apple watch from a major high street seller. The order was placed over the phone - I was with him and heard the conversation.

We got various emails today stating that it was due to be delivered today by Royal Mail. Then an email stating it had been delivered at 5:10pm. I was in the house, and no-one had called to the door. I checked with neighbours - no delivery.

I phoned the seller, and they said that they had delivered to an address 50 miles away, which had a similar postcode, but the address doesn't bear any resemblance to ours. They said it must have been our fault for inputting the wrong address online. When I said it had been ordered on the phone, they said we must have provided the wrong address. Conveniently, they say they don't record calls for online orders.

They have suggested that we drive to the address at which it was delivered to ask for it back. I have an issue with this because,

1. It's 50 miles away, so 100 mile round trip;
2. I have no idea how the householders might react;
3. It's not our mistake

The major high street seller seems to be suggesting it is our loss. They have said they will get a courier to attempt to collect it from the address tomorrow, but if the householder denies knowledge it will be a police matter. I know that the police will say it is a civil matter.

AIBU to think this isn't our issue, and the seller needs to sort this out?

Theyre trying to bluff because they know theyre wrong ask to speak to a manager or go on sm-its their error so they should jsut send ot another one

Is there system one of those where you type in the postcode and select an address from the drop down box? If it is, then the person you spoke to has typed the postcode incorrectly and then just chosen the house number (25) which matches yours. It is their mistake.

You need to start tweeting it and making it public.

That’s not true about the billing address of the card having to be the same address
I still have a credit card that’s at my parents address from years ago
When I buy stuff I always put in my home address and occasionally I get a problem if I’m buying from abroad but if I’m buying in the uk it’s never been a problem

Yes, keep pushing them and if they don’t budge ask them to put it in writing as a final response so you can dispute with your bank

Shit. I ordered one just today from John Lewis because Curry's didn't have the strap I was after. (The price made me wince so I hope they're bloody worth it.)

Hope you get it sorted. Sounds like 100% their cock up.

That's terrible. Didn't they read the address back?

Also file a SAR with them - I reckon there’s a chance they do actually record sales calls

God, this sounds like a nightmare.

Try the Guardian consumer column, that seems to get results. I’m sure they’re inundated with people’s problems, but they might find your story interesting because of the “perils of Black Friday” element (plus the egregiously awful “meh” response you’re getting from the retailer)

If you do file a SAR, don’t restrict what you are asking for.

Social media x 100000

Tweet. Facebook. Go crazy on their social media.

Email the ceo and complain.

The call centre are likely trying to cover their back as they don't want to accept liability.

Why would you provide an incorrect address? Especially one that is similar to your postcode.

Currys will have a customer complaints team. Call back and insist that your complaint is escalated to them.

I think it's highly unlikely that the calls aren't recorded.

The courier may well be able to get the package back. Don't panic yet.

The annoying thing is that we could have just ordered it off Amazon at the same price, with no hassle, but we wanted to give the sale to a UK company that pays decent tax.

The man I was speaking to tonight has said he will speak to a manager tomorrow and get back to me.

Go straight to the top of Currys and make a lot of noise.

NigellaAwesome
We paid part gift card, part credit card.

Did you pay £100 or more on your credit card? If so, you are covered by Section 75.

It is their error.

Surely they should have checked the address with you so when they said 50 Apple Tree Drive, Sometown, you would know it was wrong.

It was a phone order. How would you get the address wrong?

Did you pay £100 or more on your credit card? If so, you are covered by Section 75

I believe that if the item costs over £100 and you pay any part of it on a credit card you are covered.

Pesky EU regulations, protecting our consumer rights.

It is their responsibility to get the item to you, therefore they need to send you a new one and retrieve the other one. Make sure you speak to someone higher if he still says no when he gets back to you!

OH ordered something once online, he accidently put his old postcode with the first line of our address and town (he thinks it autoloaded it), they ended up sending it to a completely different town from.our current town and his old town which had a road with the same name as ours. If it had gone to his old address or someone on his old street I would have accepted this but they sent it somewhere that didnt match the postcode OR the town on the address provided. They said DPD should have flagged that the address and postcode did not match rather than guessing.
They just sent a new one and retrieved the old one themselves.

When you ordered over the phone did they send an email confirmation? If so did the address match?

I believe that if the item costs over £100 and you pay any part of it on a credit card you are covered.

You need to pay £100 or more on a credit card as full or part payment to be covered.

We paid £400 gift card, and £20 credit card, so I'm not sure about s75.

The address they sent it to doesn't even match the incorrect postcode they recorded.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.

From Which - it looks encouraging if Currys don't play ball:

However, to claim under Section 75 you don't have to have paid more than £100 or the full amount on your credit card – the card company is liable even if you made only part of the payment (a deposit, say) on your card.

It's the value of the goods you're buying that is key - not the amount paid on the card.

For example, if you ordered a new sofa from a furniture store and paid a £60 deposit with your credit card and the balance of £600 by cheque, you would be covered for the whole £660 if the dealer went out of business and you didn't get your sofa.

I work for a well known retailer on their social media department.. generally, when this happens, we'll contact the courier who will raise an investigation. If were at fault or them, we'd replace it.
You can request a SAR, however, it can take 30 calendar days, so may not be useful by the time you get it.
Re: social media, it can be handy. But bare in mind, the employees (such as myself) have the same powers as those in contact centres.
Also, just dm or pm us, no need to blast public using every social platform.. as that just prevents us sorting the issue quicker as most conversations I have is trying to get the person off public so that I can sort it privately. We dont actually care if you blast us on twitter, we just want you in private so we can complete security and you can go on your merry way with your issue resolved
Hope it gets sorted!

Thanks Belles, that's good to know. I don't think it is Royal Mail's fault - although the postcode & address don't match - so maybe there is an issue there. I think the issue is with Currys.

We didn't get any e-mails with the address on it, either from Currys or Royal Mail.

I'd claim for a loss with royal mail regardless. If no luck with currys, ask for their complaints department and go from there. Generally speaking, complaints departments are the highest point of contact and have higher power/over ride than most managers etc.

I actually ordered mine from amazon on Black Friday too, no issues so definitely go with amazon next time!