A couple are still waiting for their new bed half a year on from ordering after a company bungled the delivery five times. Emily Lee, 26, and her partner Billy, 24, placed an order with Bensons for Beds in February.
But a string of errors has meant they are still without their bed more than half a year later. Emily, from Nottingham, described the ordeal as a "shambles" - and says it has cost her time off work.
Bensons for Beds apologised for the delay and said it would be offering to compensate the customers.
Emily said: "This whole situation has been a complete nightmare. Every day the delivery has come, there has been something missing or wrong - I'm amazed that after seven months they're still not able to get it right."
Emily first ordered her new bed in February, and was given an original delivery date for the middle of May. She says she paid the full cost of the bed upfront but was disappointed when Bensons for Beds arrived with only half of her order.
They'd left half of the bed base at the warehouse and the mattress she ordered had black marks on it, she says. This is the couple's first home, so Emily kept the mattress as they had nothing to sleep on.
But they sent the bed back - and were given another delivery date six weeks later. At the end of June, Bensons for Beds then returned with the delivery - but this time the bed base was soggy and eroded, she claims.
Emily refused to accept it in its condition so again sent the driver away - and was given another delivery date for six weeks later. When the company came to collect the bed base two weeks later, they replaced it with a temporary frame for the couple to sleep on while they waited for a third delivery.
But, at the end of July, Bensons for Beds made the same mistake again - and allegedly brought only half of the bed base ordered.
Emily, a self-employed performer, said: "When they came back a third time I was thinking surely they can't get it wrong again - but they did. Customer services said my order was in the warehouse ready for pick up, but for some reason half of it still hadn't arrived.
"They are a complete shambles."
After failing to deliver her full order on the third time of trying, Bensons for Beds again gave Emily another delivery date for six weeks on. But at the end of August, when the new date came round, they delivered two halves of a bed base which were different colours and materials, and not what she'd ordered.
At this point, Emily visited the store where she originally ordered the bed, and asked to cancel the order and get a full refund. But she was told this wasn't possible, she claims, and they could only offer her £200 worth of Bensons for Beds vouchers that could be used on another order.
Emily was forced to wait for another delivery date, and when the Bensons for Beds van arrived on September 23, she was convinced she finally had her order. But, again, Bensons for Beds arrived with only half of her original order - meaning she had to reschedule another delivery.
This brought the total amount of failed deliveries up to five, and Emily and Billy are still sleeping on the temporary frame. As a result of their mistakes, Emily has had to take days off work waiting for the wrong deliveries, she says.
Emily has been given a sixth delivery date for next month, but is understandably doubtful about the outcome. She said: "I can't get my head round the fact they've got it wrong on so many occasions.
"Every time I have called customer services they've said my order is waiting to be picked up from the warehouse, but somehow mistakes keep being made. It has got to the point now where I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
"A furniture ombudsman has taken on my case to get me some compensation for the inconvenience and poor service. I've had to miss out on work waiting for the delivery so I'm also looking to be compensated for loss of earnings.
"When I tried to just get a refund for the entire order, they refused and have given me no option but to keep waiting. I don't know if I ever will get what I ordered, but I do know I'll never be ordering anything from them again - it's a joke!"
A spokesperson for Bensons for Beds said: “We’re really sorry to have let Emily and Billy down. We’ve been in touch with them over the last 24 hours and they know we’re keen to try and put things right.
“The bed base they need is scheduled for delivery as a matter of urgency, and it goes without saying we’ve offered to recompense Emily and Billy for the issues they’ve faced.
“We pride ourselves on high standards of customer service and it’s clear in Emily & Billy’s case, we’ve let ourselves down.”
