A word of advice

I am a keen internet shopper. From the comfort of my home, I can research and find those things I want to buy without hassle. I can take my time and plan my purchases. It beats getting in the car, struggling to park and battling with queues in a shop only to find the goods you want are out of stock.

There is a downside though. When you go to a shop and buy, you get instant gratification. You come home with the goods in hand. Buying on the internet incurs a delay as you wait for your order to be processed and then dispatched. A lot of UK companies say, if you order before a certain time, then you will have the goods next day. That is almost the same as going to the shop.

Living in Spain, delivery from the UK does take a little longer but where companies use a courier, that is only a matter of a couple of days. I would expect ordering directly from Spain to be a lot quicker and I am sure with most companies it is.

There are always exceptions though and one such is Carrefour Online. Ordering from them has been the worst Internet shopping I have ever experienced. It has been worse than my orders with Simply Electronics and they were bad! 

I placed an order with Carrefour Online on the 7th February and received an email telling me that the order had been placed satisfactorily. On the 9th I received a further email telling me that I needed to send copies of my passport, my credit card (showing the last four numbers) and a signed note authorising them to use the card to pay for the order. I sent the copies back straight away but had to wait until the 14th before my order was finally being processed.

At that point I thought it would only be a matter of a day or two before the courier was ringing the bell at the gate. How wrong I was, it is now Friday 17th and my order is still being processed. Even if the order is dispatched today, it will probably be Tuesday 21st before I receive the goods. That means it will have taken Carrefour a staggering two weeks to fulfil my order.

I suppose I should have been aware of the clues, "available in 6 working days" clearly means they don't have stocks to hand but get them from distributors as and when they receive orders.

My advice therefore is NOT to use Carrefour Online if you want something anytime soon. Instead order form El Corte Ingles who do have stocks and promise next day delivery.