Argos website crashes - and phone lines jammed
Argos customers were left stranded by the company, after the website crashed and phone lines were jammed. Some spent hours trying to buy Christmas gifts, while others who had ordered and paid for items received nothing.
Argos launched what it called its Red, White and Blue Friday - in the run up to Black Friday. There were a few deals that ran for one day, a few that ran for five days, and an incredibly popular offer on toys - which means people could buy three for the price of two.
Customers flocked to snap up the deals, and the website held out until Saturday evening - at which point the company's computer system crashed and the website went down. Not only was this a headache for anyone who wanted to buy from Argos, it also created nightmares for those who were on the site while it was struggling.
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Some people who had already checked out and selected one day delivery say their items haven't shown up. Others insist they checked out, but the store has no record of an order. Perhaps worst of all, when confused customers tried to call to sort things out, some say they couldn't get through because the phone lines were jammed.
They took to social media to vet their frustration at not being able to get on the site, and not being able to order. On the Argos Facebook page Emma Tobin wrote: "Site's a joke!!...sacked it off now, Amazon all the way!" Karly McCarthy added: "How can a company this big ... have big issues with your online store being down, and then when I get online everything is out of stock? Surely you're loosing out on a huge amount of money as customers will now go elsewhere. Such a shame."
Others ordered, but received nothing, and railed against the fact they couldn't get through on the phone either. Gwyn Collins wrote: "What is happening? Expecting delivery Saturday. Almost 2 hrs on phone in 2 days and told to ring back. Been on phone for 30 mins now, still not spoke to any one."
Shell Bells added: "Can't get through to anyone still! This is a joke! You have taken my money but not delivered my items! Thanks a bunch, massive let down!
Argos apologised, and said in a statement on Sunday evening that: "We have identified and fixed the issue and our site is now up and running. We apologise to any customer who tried to contact us unsuccessfully and we are working to respond to all enquiries as soon as we can. We apologise if any customer experienced problems with a home delivery and will be in contact to resolve this."
