Ocado charged me for stuff I didn't order

catfish50

They were out of stock of one item. They sent a substitute. I didn't want the substitute. The driver assured me he would take it off my bill. But when I went online to check it, I found that the item had not been taken off my bill, and in fact I had paid for the stuff I hadn't ordered. (£9.27)

I emailed Ocado:

Dear Sir/Madam

I have a query with regard to Order No. xxxxxxxxxxxxx which was delivered on xx April 2011

All items were delivered successfully except xxxxxxxxxxx which was out of stock. A substitution was offered but declined. The driver said he would adjust the bill to show that the substituiton had not been accepted. However, the amount charged to my card includes the charge for the substituted item. Is this going to be adjusted through a refund to my card?

Thank you for your assistance.

Ocado replied, apologizing and stating that the money would now be refunded.

I emailed again:

Thank you for your reply, and confirmation that the money is being refunded.

I find this incident disturbing. I do not think Ocado ought to charge a customer for items which the customer has not ordered, and then expect the customer to do the footwork to get their money back. How can I protect myself from this if I decide to order from Ocado again? Is there an option I can tick to prevent "substituted items" being added to my bill without my consent?

Ocado replied stating that there is no facility for opting not to received substituted items.

Perhaps other supermarkets do exactly the same -- I don't know as this is the only time I've been sent a substitution with a supermarket order. It seems to me unsatisfactory. I think customers should be allowed to say that they don't want to be charged for anything they haven't ordered. What do others think?

CoolHotCold

Tescos and as far as i know Asda allow you to choose subsitutions or even write a note to the picker (like pick greenest bananas or subistite for X if X not there)

melancholly

i guess the good thing is that they are going to refund you the money? i suppose most people would prefer to get a substitute rather than not having it so in general, it can be quite helpful. if this was all resolved with one email then i think that's pretty good and not a 'problem'. had they been awkward i can see it as bad but they've been pretty quick and helpful.

catfish50

melancholly wrote: »

i guess the good thing is that they are going to refund you the money? i suppose most people would prefer to get a substitute rather than not having it so in general, it can be quite helpful. if this was all resolved with one email then i think that's pretty good and not a 'problem'. had they been awkward i can see it as bad but they've been pretty quick and helpful.

Yes they agreed to refund the money once I requested it. On what grounds could they possibly have refused?

My objection is that I feel that it would be better if customers were given the option to say "no substitutions" and avoid being charged for what they haven't ordered. If it's only me that has that objection then obviously I will just have to lump it. If a lot of people would prefer to have the option to decline substitutions, it might be possible to persuade Ocado etc to provide the facility to decline substitutions.

catfish50

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Tescos and as far as i know Asda allow you to choose subsitutions or even write a note to the picker (like pick greenest bananas or subistite for X if X not there)

I might try writing "No substitutions" in the little "instructions to driver" box, if I order from Ocado again.

Foggster

Sorry catfish but your experience was not "disturbing". Although a little inconvenient and annoying it really is not the end of the world and Ocado have been very polite and quick to respond to your complaint.

I am really happy that supermarkets offer a substitution and although these were a bit odd at the start (I had some kitten food substituted with a swiss roll) I do find it useful. I live quite a way from any supermarket so subs are great for me.

I also think I am right in saying that Tesco will substitute with the same price as well which is an excellent service (Asda may also do this).

catfish50

Foggster wrote: »

Sorry catfish but your experience was not "disturbing". Although a little inconvenient and annoying it really is not the end of the world and Ocado have been very polite and quick to respond to your complaint.

I do find it disturbing to be charged for stuff I haven't ordered, as in my view that should not happen without my consent. Don't think I suggested it was the end of the world.

I am really happy that supermarkets offer a substitution and although these were a bit odd at the start (I had some kitten food substituted with a swiss roll) I do find it useful. I live quite a way from any supermarket so subs are great for me.

If there were a facility to opt out of substitutions, that would work both for those who do want them, and for those who don't want them.

Foggster

catfish50 wrote: »

I do find it disturbing to be charged for stuff I haven't ordered, as in my view that should not happen without my consent. Don't think I suggested it was the end of the world.



If there were a facility to opt out of substitutions, that would work both for those who do want them, and for those who don't want them.

We are all different, I find more sinister things "disturbing" not from someone/a business trying to be helpful.

Just say you were having a dinner party and you were waiting for your ocado order (lets pretend you are not uber efficient and havent been able to get to the shops to ensure all your ingredients were already in the cupboard) and you ordered some specific butter/flour/herb and Ocado didnt have that specific brand in. Wouldnt you think "argghhhh why didnt they just send something near to what I had ordered"? Can you see what a darn good service this ole substitution is? It certainly has got me out of a tight spot from time to time.

Just shop at Tesco - they do the return on the doorstep on their little machine and its credited when they get back to the store.

catfish50

Foggster wrote: »

Just say you were having a dinner party and you were waiting for your ocado order (lets pretend you are not uber efficient and havent been able to get to the shops to ensure all your ingredients were already in the cupboard) and you ordered some specific butter/flour/herb and Ocado didnt have that specific brand in. Wouldnt you think "argghhhh why didnt they just send something near to what I had ordered"? Can you see what a darn good service this ole substitution is? It certainly has got me out of a tight spot from time to time.

As you say, we're all different. The facility to opt out of substitutions would work both for those who do want them and for those who don't.

melancholly

catfish50 wrote: »

Yes they agreed to refund the money once I requested it. On what grounds could they possibly have refused?

My objection is that I feel that it would be better if customers were given the option to say "no substitutions" and avoid being charged for what they haven't ordered. If it's only me that has that objection then obviously I will just have to lump it. If a lot of people would prefer to have the option to decline substitutions, it might be possible to persuade Ocado etc to provide the facility to decline substitutions.

of course they refunded - what i'm saying is that you sent one email and it was all sorted. that rarely is the behaviour that gets complained about - it's the ignoring or objecting that tends to get a rant. as far as i see it, there was a problem that was almost immediately dealt with....?

if you tell them, you never know, they may introduce that? if enough customers want it, they should respond. if no-one else minds, then i guess it'll stay as it is.

i like getting a substitution (which has only ever happened once so it isn't something i have noticed as a problem) - i want those items and the brand isn't important.

catfish50

melancholly wrote: »

of course they refunded - what i'm saying is that you sent one email and it was all sorted. that rarely is the behaviour that gets complained about - it's the ignoring or objecting that tends to get a rant. as far as i see it, there was a problem that was almost immediately dealt with....?

Not from my point of view. The problem, for me, is that there's no way to opt out of substitutions.

if you tell them, you never know, they may introduce that?

That's what I thought. That's why I asked them if it was possible to opt out. They said no.

if enough customers want it, they should respond. if no-one else minds, then i guess it'll stay as it is.

Yep.