Please find a list of events that has caused me to seek compensation from Littlewoods. Do not use this company, buy from someone who values you as a customer. Any problems you may encounter with this company will always end up as someone else's fault, never theirs. You have been warned:

22 Dec 04: Received Servis Washer from Littlewoods Catalogue, bought through my fiance's mother's account (Mrs Hall) on a Buy Now Pay Later offer.

28 April 05: Machine stopped working about a week before, so my fiance booked a service call & took half-day holiday. Engineer diagnosed a faulty mother-board (a familiar problem with this machine) & promised to order another mother-board after a stock-take. About 2 weeks later, my fiance took another half-day so the mother-board could be replaced. This didn't work, so a replacement machine was ordered.

25 May: I booked a day off work to sign for new machine (over 1 month after original broke down). Delivery man installed it, then tested the pump/spin cycle & told me the machine was OK. Went to rinse the drum out (as per User's Manual) & discovered that water was pouring out of the machine. Called the driver back - he told me some days he replaces up to four of these machines & that they are, and I quote, 'crap!' Said he wasn't an engineer & that I would have to phone Servis. Did so immediately - they were very apologetic, but couldn't guarantee a replacement by the weekend. I was told I would have to wait another 5-7 days for a 3rd machine. I agreed to have another one ASAP, as I needed a washer! Also spoke to the engineer who looked at the 1st machine - he agreed to come round the next day to inspect this one. Mrs Hall contacted Littlewoods to complain about the products & service we had received. They were most apologetic & promised me a call first thing in the morning, explaining what had happened.

26 May: Booked 2nd day off work, but received no phone call. The engineer arrived & discovered that the machine had been sent with a hole drilled in the soap drawer, so when the machine was filling with water, most of it flowed into the electrics of the machine - so it wasn't only faulty, but down-right dangerous. We found a certificate stating it had passed Servis' Quality Test, prior to being despatched. It couldn't have been damaged in transit so the hole must have been drilled before the machine left Servis. He agreed to patch the machine up so that we could at least use it, as he knew how desperate we were. Mrs Hall again called Littlewoods to complain & was told that they would issue an Indesit machine instead & would even waive all express delivery charges to get it to us ASAP. Called Servis to cancel their replacement & explained that Littlewoods were sending us a different make. As this was coming express, we expected it within 3 days, as stipulated on their website. Later that evening, we received an answerphone message telling us that the Indesit machine would be delivered between 7am-1pm on 2nd June.

2 June: Booked my 3rd day off in just over a week & waited until 1pm then called Littlewoods to ask where the machine was. They said there was no order on the system so the machine wasn't out for delivery. I mentioned that someone had called to leave the message, but they hadn't left their name or whether they were calling from Littlewoods, Indesit or the courier company. Littlewoods later confirmed that this would have been Maloney's (the couriers), but couldn't explain the mix-up on dates.

3 June: My fiance called Littlewoods to find out what was happening. He was promised a call back as soon as the order had been looked at. 2 hours later he called again chasing an answer & was told 'it takes longer than that to sort it out'! He was promised a call back that afternoon. An hour after he should've received this call, he phoned again & was told that it had been passed to their query department and they would work on it until 7pm & give us an update at that time. We received no call. Also, after the mix-up with the delivery date, we requested that the machine be delivered on a Saturday as we had already used a fair bit of our annual holiday entitlement to sort this out. We were told that Maloneys didn't do Saturdays & that we should've been told this at the time. We weren't!

6 June: My fiance called Littlewoods to find out what was happening. He was told that the reason we hadn't heard from them was: a) they didn't have a contact number, b) they didn't have our full address. Each time my fiance had phoned, he left his mobile number. The 2nd Servis machine was delivered to our home address which proves that they also have correct details on file. Plus we had already received a phone call regarding the Indesit machine, clearly proving that Maloney's had our number & could only have been passed this by Littlewoods, so they had our details, but obviously couldn't be bothered to contact us! Also, because the Indesit machine had been ordered, Servis came and removed their machine which left us, once again, washer-less.

7 June: Mrs Hall called Littlewoods to check on the progress. Joyce confirmed that Maloneys would deliver our machine on 9th June & that they were also aware of the narrow 6'6" lane.

8 June: Wrote complaint letter listing all of the above and requested compensation for wasted time off work, launderette bills, petrol going to and from launderette, time wasted at the weekend in launderettes, home phone bill, partner's mobile phone bill. Even mentioned how dubious I was regarding this supposed delivery booked for 9th June. I felt sure it wouldn't turn up. Requested a reply by 17th June at the latest.

9 June: After booking my 4th day off in 2 weeks, it didn't arrive. Called Catherine Anderson to find out what had happened. She said her colleague, Yvonne Chapman, was looking into it. Yvonne called me back & said the order had been cancelled. She couldn't tell me why, as the person responsible was off that day. She said the soonest they could get a machine to us would now be 14th June. I said I couldn't take any more time off work - could they please deliver Saturdays or leave the machine in our outhouse, if I left it unlocked. She called Maloneys, then called back to say that neither of these options were possible, so if we couldn't sign for it, the landlord would have to. He, like us, works full-time, so that wasn't possible. But, why should I inconvenience everyone else when it's clearly Littlewoods' staff, suppliers & couriers who are creating these problems? She also said that Maloneys have now said that they can't get down the lane, even though Mrs Hall was told 2 days before that this wasn't a problem. The only solution, they say, is to have the machine delivered at the top of the lane & carry it 100 metres down a steep hill!

16 June: After discussing with my fiance, and in light of Littlewoods' delivery problems, we decided to cancel the order but still wanted to pursue compensation. Littlewoods' Ts & Cs clearly state that, if there are any delivery problems, we will be informed when we placed our order. We weren't. We had no idea of any potential delivery problems until 9th June, a full 14 days after the order for the Indesit was placed. If we'd known that delivery was a problem, we could've ordered one elsewhere and not wasted so much time/money in launderettes. Also, Littlewoods have delivered to us previously. Why, all of a sudden, can they not deliver to our home?

21 June: Rec'd letter from Customer Relations Department - dated 20th June, even though I'd requested a reply by 17th at latest (just goes to show how important they think customers are). The letter basically said that I wasn't entitled to any compensation as per their Ts & Cs and under the circumstances. Under what circumstances? The circumstances that mean they can give me misleading information regarding delivery on a machine that they fail to tell me they can't deliver anyway?

Please, please don't use this company - they will mess you about no end. Everyone must be aware of how appalling they treat people. Believe me, if I could get them to collect the tumbler we bought at the same time as the washer, I would do! These people don't deserve to have your money.

I like the website. its really cool. I love the idea that I can spread the cost of purchase especially during the busy seasons.

The quality of clothes has always been reliable.