How the Big W Grinch stole Christmas...

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I'm a single, working mother.  The idea of ordering my children's Christmas presents online and paying them off over a period of time, was extremely appealing.  I could budget and I could rest assured that Christmas was going to be relatively sorted.

I ordered in July and dutifully paid off my lay-buy every fortnight, making my final payment on the 28 October as was required.  Delivery was supposed to be completed by the 16th of December.  I went online last week to check the progress of my order as I was getting a little worried.  It just didn't feel like Christmas without toys hidden all over the house!  On the Big W online tracker, it told me that my order had been sitting in a warehouse in Brisbane since the 1st of December - 11 days! I called Big W to query this and was told that my tracking number was incorrect, and that I would receive a call within 24hrs advising me of the correct number.  48hrs later, I still hadn't received a call, so I called again.  This time, I was told that the tracking number was indeed correct, but they were unable to assist me. I was given the number of the courier company, but this number was wrong!  I had to call back.  Again.  I finally got the number and got through to a lovely lady who advised that the order was indeed in the warehouse and she would call me back within 24hrs to advise me of the status of my order.   24hrs later and still no call.  I called again.  I spoke to another helpful girl who told me that in fact, the order was now with their local shipping company and she would call me back within 24hrs to advise of a delivery time.

Can you see the pattern here?

In the meantime, I had sent two emails to Big W, as I refused to spend 2 to 3 hours of my precious time sitting on hold.  Neither of those emails were answered, until today when they emailed quoting the wrong order number, and advising me of the delay! Well, duh!  I called the delivery company again this morning and they told me that my four items would be 'probably' be delivered on Thursday.  My four items?  There were twelve items on my order!  And 'probably'?  What does that mean?  Will I get my items, or won't I?  Will my children get to have Christmas or not?

In fairness, I did receive a call today from Big W who told me exactly the same thing as the courier company.  This was after I sent them another email advising them I had contacted the media.  And boy, did I contact the media!  Every local radio station, local news stations and A Current Affair!  Big W made no offer of compensation, no apology, no offer of a refund or credit voucher, and certainly no guarantee that I would receive my order on Thursday. I'm certainly not the only one experiencing this though.  Check out the link underneath the picture above.  Some families have had their orders cancelled without their knowledge, and without promise of a refund in time to go shopping again!

I don't know what to do at this point.  I can only wait and see what happens on Thursday.   I chose this method to avoid the mad Christmas crowds, and who knows if there will be anything decent left on the shelves anyway??  I've been a dedicated Big W and Woolworths shopper for years.  I'm not anymore.

I know that Christmas is not really about the presents but the point is that a multi-million dollar company has made empty promises to hundreds of families. People that have done their darndest to try to provide their families with the best Christmas they could, and who now may not have anything under the Christmas tree come Christmas morning.

Shame on you, Big W!