Blackpool pensioners' on ice over Currys freezer '˜fiasco'

Pensioners claim they have been left frozen out and £290 out of pocket by a national electrical store.
Christopher Newman and Margaret Newman  waiting to receive £290 from CurrysChristopher Newman and Margaret Newman  waiting to receive £290 from Currys
Christopher Newman and Margaret Newman waiting to receive £290 from Currys

Christopher and Margaret Newman, who both have to have part-time jobs to top up their pensions, have blasted Currys for poor after sales care after buying a freezer from the South Shore store.

The couple, of St Annes Road, South Shore, said they cannot afford to lose the money and desperately need a new freezer.

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They went to the Squires Gate store on October 12 to buy a Hotpoint freezer and handed over the money.

But as they were paying they were told the computers had gone down and the staff had to use another computer on the sales floor.

They were asked to wait in on the following Friday for delivery but no van turned up at their home.

When they rang the store they were told that no order existed.

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Mrs Newman said: “We were told the order was coming direct from Hotpoint as Currys had none in stock.

“When it did not come we went back to the store and were kept waiting for an hour while salesmen tried to get through to head office.

“Then we were told it would be three to five working days to get a refund.

“But nothing came. We went back but the staff clearly did not want to know.

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“We even saw a manager in the store passing by and we asked him. He had a badge saying management team but he just said to us, ‘Go and talk to those guys that’s what we pay them for’, and pointed at the salesmen.”

Mrs Newman said they were left angry and frustrated and she claimed they were not the only ones.

She said: “We saw two other people who were not happy .

“One man banged something down on a counter and there was an old man who was very nearly in tears with them.

“We did speak to a man who said it would be dealt with by ‘Group Loss’.

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“We were told the money would be in our bank account first thing on Monday, October 24 and that we would get an email. But it wasn’t and there was no email.

“At one time we got an email from Currys stating that no money was taken.

“But it has been taken and our bank has the details of the amount to prove it.

“We need to have a freezer and we cannot afford to have that money gone. We both have part time jobs to top up our pensions.

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“Currys doesn’t seem to have a proper system of dealing with complaints.

“The staff in store are only interested in selling and when something goes wrong they can’t deal with it.

“It is a fiasco.”

The Gazette called Currys twice and emailed three times to ask for an explanation on behalf of the Newmans, but the firm was unable to provide a comment.

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