New to online supermarket shopping-any tips?

JaneDoeJohnDoe

New to Asda online shopping & I just can not figure out how their substitute policy is operating.
If I allow subs in an order & it is not suitable I read that can not return at door. Fair enough. But does that mean I still have to pay for the item? 
Deep down in Asda Coronavirus section it mentions going online then asking for refund. So can you get a refund of a subs item even though you still actually have the item?
Vast majority of order will be basic stuff so can not see a problem if subs arrive but Sod's law will mean the store packer will have a meltdown & pick a substitute that is wayyyyyy off the mark.

millie

TheBanker said:

Hi
I hope people don't think I'm being rude, but I would suggest not putting 'random' items in your online shop just to reserve a slot. Because if you do, you run the risk of paying a delivery charge for the 'random' items that you might not want, if there is a problem updating the order. I know people here are talking about a problem on Asda's website, but it could equally be a problem at your end e.g. loss of internet connection. Or you could just forget, like I sometimes do. I am more likely to forget at the moment when different shops have different cut-off times for updating orders. 

I always fill my basket with things I want (most of the supermarkets will let you copy your previous order). That way, if I forget to update the order, I'll still get a delivery of food that I will use, and won't be left hungry. It might not be exactly what I want, but at least I won't be wasting money or wasting a Click and Collect slot. 

I know of someone who was ordering for their vulnerable mum. For some reason they held the slot with two expensive bottles of vodka, then forgot to update the order. Result: Mum had no food, she had unwanted vodka, and they couldn't get another slot for 10 days so someone had to go out for the shopping. And the shopping that was bought had to be very basic/cheap items as the shopping budget had been spent on vodka. 

No I don't think you are being rude. The random items were things I wanted anyway like milk and bread. It was in the early hours of the morning when I managed to get the slot and I did not want to sort out my full shopping list then. With the problem we are having at the moment with shopping its unlikely anyone would forget their order anyway. I did not want to pay a delivery charge and small order charge for the couple of things to be delivered. I do agree it could be a problem in normal times. I did have to cancel it in the end and managed to get to Aldi at 8.15 this morning and it was quiet, no queues to get in.

minimad1970

JaneDoeJohnDoe said:

New to Asda online shopping & I just can not figure out how their substitute policy is operating.
If I allow subs in an order & it is not suitable I read that can not return at door. Fair enough. But does that mean I still have to pay for the item? 
Deep down in Asda Coronavirus section it mentions going online then asking for refund. So can you get a refund of a subs item even though you still actually have the item?
Vast majority of order will be basic stuff so can not see a problem if subs arrive but Sod's law will mean the store packer will have a meltdown & pick a substitute that is wayyyyyy off the mark.

It's nice and easy to get a refund from them. After collecting your shopping, if the subs aren't suitable, or things have short dates you go into your orders and click on the refund button and select which items and why you want a refund. The money is usually back in your account within a few days and yes you do get to keep the item. 

GaleSF63

TheBanker said:

Hi
I hope people don't think I'm being rude, but I would suggest not putting 'random' items in your online shop just to reserve a slot. Because if you do, you run the risk of paying a delivery charge for the 'random' items that you might not want, if there is a problem updating the order. I know people here are talking about a problem on Asda's website, but it could equally be a problem at your end e.g. loss of internet connection. Or you could just forget, like I sometimes do. I am more likely to forget at the moment when different shops have different cut-off times for updating orders. 

I always fill my basket with things I want (most of the supermarkets will let you copy your previous order). That way, if I forget to update the order, I'll still get a delivery of food that I will use, and won't be left hungry. It might not be exactly what I want, but at least I won't be wasting money or wasting a Click and Collect slot. 

I know of someone who was ordering for their vulnerable mum. For some reason they held the slot with two expensive bottles of vodka, then forgot to update the order. Result: Mum had no food, she had unwanted vodka, and they couldn't get another slot for 10 days so someone had to go out for the shopping. And the shopping that was bought had to be very basic/cheap items as the shopping budget had been spent on vodka. 

Very good advice.

I once spent most of a day trying to amend a Waitrose order (their website could be a bit iffy 2 or 3 years ago - it's better now) and only managed it within half and hour of the cut-off time and the panic that day taught me to make sure since that everything in my trolley was something I generally needed/wanted. Now the worst that can happen if I can't amend it is having to go without something I  wanted to add. 

Probably even more important now with the pressure on the supermarkets' websites.

badger09

Tesco refund?
Does anyone know if there's a way to request a refund from Tesco, apart from phoning their CS number. 
I'd put 2 cucumbers in my trolley (1 large 1 medium), only 1 arrived but not sure which it is. Max refund would be £0.85 so not huge amount & I'd rather not tie up their phone lines for that.

Steve_L

Does anyone know what ASDA's definitions "out of stock" and "unavailable" are?  Items in my trolley have just come up with both.From where I'm sitting, in front of an ever-dwindling food cupboard, fridge & freezer, they look the same.  

olgadapolga

badger09 said:

Tesco refund?
Does anyone know if there's a way to request a refund from Tesco, apart from phoning their CS number. 
I'd put 2 cucumbers in my trolley (1 large 1 medium), only 1 arrived but not sure which it is. Max refund would be £0.85 so not huge amount & I'd rather not tie up their phone lines for that.

You can email them @ online@tesco.co.uk. Might take a few days to get anything other than an auto- but they usually reply. 

Steve_L

olgadapolga said:

badger09 said:

Tesco refund?
Does anyone know if there's a way to request a refund from Tesco, apart from phoning their CS number. 
I'd put 2 cucumbers in my trolley (1 large 1 medium), only 1 arrived but not sure which it is. Max refund would be £0.85 so not huge amount & I'd rather not tie up their phone lines for that.

You can email them @ online@tesco.co.uk. Might take a few days to get anything other than an auto- but they usually reply. 

If they're monitoring their e-mails. ASDA aren't, because they're busy. Isn't that like the captain of the Titanic ignoring the line from the lookout, because he's busy trying to avoid icebergs?

Mrbeethoven

badger09 said:

Tesco refund?
Does anyone know if there's a way to request a refund from Tesco, apart from phoning their CS number. 
I'd put 2 cucumbers in my trolley (1 large 1 medium), only 1 arrived but not sure which it is. Max refund would be £0.85 so not huge amount & I'd rather not tie up their phone lines for that.

Yes, register for a Twitter account if you don't already have one then go to Twitter/Tesco and add a brief Tweet describing your issue. It may take a day or two but someone will eventually reply and ask you to PM them with your details and they will sort it for you. I haven't tried it myself yet but I registered with Twitter in case I need to. If you click on Tweets and Replies you will see loads of people do this as well as many other queries and complaints. It looks like Tesco respond well to this, probably as it's so public. Some quite interesting reading!

Debran

Steve_L said:

Does anyone know what ASDA's definitions "out of stock" and "unavailable" are?  Items in my trolley have just come up with both.From where I'm sitting, in front of an ever-dwindling food cupboard, fridge & freezer, they look the same.  

I gather that "unavailable" means that they are not stocking the item at least for the time being and "out of stock" means they have temporarily sold out.