Please do not take supermarket delivery slots unless NEEDED

[Chester1980]

This is a plea to anyone who is not vulnerable - please do not take delivery slots from supermarkets. My elderly father lives hundreds of miles away and I cannot get him a slot because they’re all unavailable. This is despite him having an NHS shielding letter. We can’t even get through to any customer services for help.

If you can get to a supermarket and you’re not vulnerable, please think of others who cannot get out and release your delivery slot.

Is he on the list with the supermarkets he's registered with as vulnerable?

(Btw - unfortunately none of us know how the virus will affect us if we catch it, so everyone's potentially vulnerable) :(

Chester please do not take slots for people even more vulnerable please

Can you get through to his local council?

Have you tried the Morrisons essential food box? Delivered by DPD?
www.morrisons.com/food-boxes/boxes

He is - there’s nothing available for 3 weeks.

I know everyone is vulnerable - but some much more than others. My dad is 78, and in poor health. I doubt he would get a ventilator with the shortages.

Has he been given details of the free food parcels that should be being distributed to the extremely vulnerable?

I’m looking into this for an elderly man I know

Have you registered on the gov.uk site? The supermarkets will get in touch advising your how to get the slots as a priority customer. You need to go through the site and tick the box saying you’ve received your letter

I had an email from Tesco to say the govt had passed on my details and I was now eligible for priority slots.first one I can get is 27th April

Thank you @Thescrewinthetuna. I’ll check it out. I was trying to get on the Morrison’s website today and they had a waiting list...just to get on the website.

I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but there have been tons of threads like this. Have you followed the advice on them - finding local community/facebook groups etc that will be reaching out? What has he been doing until now?

I feel for you and your dad Chester but if no one has a shout because someone else might be more vulnerable, no one would ever use them.

What supermarket delivery slots?!

Here’s a link to another thread where people posted photos of what they got in the boxes
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3858558-To-tell-you-about-Morrisons-food-boxes?msgid=95410696

I hope you can get something sorted. My own grandparents used this box and were delighted, they’ve ordered another for next week too

I have an online supermarket delivery slot as I have no access to a car and would have to go to the shops a lot, which is to be avoided at the moment.

The thing is we are all scared that this virus also goes for younger, apparently fit people - people with young families. We are all having to make difficult choices at the moment and I choose to keep my slots because, despite being healthy, I refuse to risk leaving my children without a mum. That probably sounds awfully selfish but is my family less important than yours?

I have access to my parents Sainsbury's account (they are both classed as Extremely Vulnerable). They’ve revived the ‘priority booking’ email. I logged on yesterday and there was nothing for 7 days and the next two weeks had yet to be released.

I continually hit ‘refresh’ for 2 hours and got a booking for tonight (as in, one single slot for Tues appeared Mon).

The system is not perfect. The supermarkets announced a plan without real thought. That said, they are having to change their entire global work flow & have done pretty well in just 14 days. New call centres, new distribution centres, changes in products, changes in delivery, changes in how they stock and staff stores. A generations shopping habits upended and changed.

Keep hitting ‘refresh’. They are trying to help.

I had to book a delivery slot as my family had to self isolate for 14 days. I had the same problem as you, I emailed several supermarkets and Iceland got back to me the next day with a delivery slot. Maybe try that for your dad?

Spend half an hour reading about how to help him and you will be able to get him food delivered. Does he have a nectar card, Tesco club card or shop regularly at Waitrose? Is there an Iceland near him? Is he on the extremely vulnerable list? Do you or he have Amazon Prime?

Keep checking, I got click & collect slots from 2 different supermarkets for me and my parents today for Monday but previously when I've looked there's not been anything. My parents have managed to get milk delivery which also do fruit and veg boxes and I'm sure they could get other supplies from local sources if needed.

Oh, just read you gave up on Morrison’s because there was a queue to get on the website.

I’m the same as notallthewine. I have slots and a young family and Im protecting them by getting deliveries.

You need to get on Tesco and Asda after midnight and just keep trying it’s so bloody hard I agree.

I had to sit on the Tesco website for 40 mins at midnight the other week but managed to get one for the 20th of April in the end

Umm i am fine with that but you know that means I have to go to the shops right?!..Mumsnet has far to many threads berating people for going to the shop for such luxuries as bread and milk! I am happy healthy and do not mind going freeing up delivery for those in need but I do not need insulting for doing so. And yes I will need to go more than once a week we don’t have a car and i cannot carry a weeks wiorth of shopping for four alone!

If you can get to a supermarket and you’re not vulnerable, please think of others who cannot get out and release your delivery slot

You're absolutely right, but every second thread on here is full of people - young, able-bodied - special pleasing and arguing that they are the exception!

Good luck - around here, various local farm shops are doing fresh fruit & vegetable deliveries. If it's happening here, it must be happening elsewhere in theUK. Could that work?

There are lots of local grocery delivery companies setting up around me. You could search around on Facebook? There may also be local support groups who could do his shopping.

I won’t give my online slot up. We are both key workers and have 4 children. I also do my neighbour’s shopping in with ours. If I did choose to give it up, it’s not like I could donate it to a vulnerable person of my choice.