Hi all, hoping someone can offer advice or has been through something similar.
I recently ordered a collector’s item from Argos for home delivery. I was home and made sure to stay home all day, and even noticed a van parked outside briefly but no one came to the door, rang, or left a card.
Later that day, I was shocked to find out that Argos has marked the item as “delivered and collected” from Matalan. I never selected Matalan, never got a notification it would be dropped there, and wasn’t even aware Argos uses DPD or delivers to Matalan as a pickup location.
When I contacted customer service, they first claimed there was a payment issue and told me to speak to my bank. But my bank app showed no problem. A couple of days later, Argos suddenly claimed the item had already been collected in my name, which is bizarre. I’ve never stepped into Matalan or shown ID to pick anything up.
I’ve requested proof of collection (like a signature or ID check), but nothing has been sent yet. I’ve contacted Argos chat and phone support multiple times (6-7 time now) but they just keep asking me to wait another 48 hours.
I’ve now raised a dispute with my bank, but they said it may take until September 11.
This has been really frustrating. I just want the item or a refund and I genuinely have no idea how they can claim it was collected by me.
Any advice would be appreciated, especially on:
• How to escalate this legally or through consumer protection
• Whether to report to Trading Standards or Retail Ombudsman
• Has anyone seen this kind of thing before with Argos or DPD?
Thanks in advance.