A supermarket has today apologised to a family for poor customer service after a mix-up with their Christmas shopping.

IPSWICH: A supermarket has today apologised to a family for poor customer service after a mix-up with their Christmas shopping.

The Wiltshires, who live in Devereaux Court, placed a whopping �345 order online with Asda for all their food and drink over the festive period on December 18.

But an error with the payment meant dad Richard ended up spending a nightmare SIX hours on a premium-rate number trying to resolve the issue with a customer services centre in South Africa.

Staff at the supermarket giant then said they couldn't deliver the shopping until tomorrow.

Furious Mr Wiltshire, a self-employed legal head-hunter, said: “These businesses market themselves on good customer service, but they can't rectify one of their own stupid errors. The company has taken no action.”

Mr Wiltshire, who lives with wife Clare, 39, and children Christian, 13, and 11-year-old Will, claims Asda had tried to process the payment three times.

However, Asda claims the error was caused by Mrs Wiltshire when she made the payment, but the company admitted their response to the problem had been poor.

Although the family claims the money was repaid, the order was also cancelled.

They tried speaking direct to the store in Bury Road, Ipswich, but claimed they could only arrange another delivery once authorised by the team in South Africa.

Mrs Wiltshire, 39, said: “There has been no apology from the store manager. He won't speak to us. We are not happy at all.”

The family, who have now gone to rival chain Morrisons for their shopping, said they are taking legal action against Asda for punitive damages and the cost of phone calls.

A spokeswoman for Asda has apologised, saying the customer service team had tried to contact the Bury Road store once, but then didn't call back.

She said: “We are dealing with hundreds of thousands of orders and it must have slipped through. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

Have you had a problem with your Christmas shopping? Write to Your Letters, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk