A disabled woman shielding from Covid-19 says she was forced to live off a sandwich a day after it took Asda nearly three weeks to refund her order.

Suze Fricker, from Chatham, expected to receive her £245.86 order from the Gillingham store on May 29 but realised on the day it was marked as a click and collect rather than for delivery.

As she is unable to go out, she could not collect the order so phoned the supermarket and explained her situation.

Suze says she was told it had been marked as collected but she did not need to do anything further and a refund would be processed within five working days.

But after 10 days, the money had still not arrived in her account and she was told because it had been marked as collected she would not be entitled to a refund.

"I broke down in tears," Suze said. "I told them I know because I've not collected it.

"It was a big order that would have stocked me up for a month, then I'm just having to get perishables each week.

"When I spoke to Asda they said it was not a technical glitch. I can admit it was possible I may have filled out a click and collect order accidentally but technology can screw up.

"I was having one meal a day – a sandwich or a packet of Super Noodles if I had one.

"I said 'well I could have lunch and dinner but it means I can't have anything tomorrow and would not go a day without eating'.

"I had no money. I'm working but on a limited budget and can't afford extra expenditure."

Suze says the whole ordeal has left her £300 down because of overdraft fees on her bank account and paying other bills late while waiting for the refund to be processed.

She was forced to borrow money from her mum to ensure she could order another delivery while she waited for the Asda refund and was relying on government food parcels to keep her going.

"I was having one meal a day – a sandwich or a packet of Super Noodles if I had one"

After chasing the company half a dozen times, Suze finally received her refund on June 16 – almost three times longer than it should have taken – but has not been offered any other compensation for the additional costs the delay incurred.

Suze, of Whiffens Avenue in Chatham, says she's speaking out to warn other customers it could happen to them.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, she has been advised to shield inside due to a range of medications she takes and because of her disabilities making it difficult for her to visit shops in person.

"The lines alone would kill my back," she added. "I would be on the floor before I got to the door.

"I haven't been out for more than 10 minutes for more than three months. I go to the post box at 5am or 8pm when nobody else is around or take my bins out or get my post."

Despite emailing Asda's chief executive saying the way her case had been handled because she is shielding was "not good enough", Suze says she has not had a reply.

"It's annoying and frustrating and makes me not want to use them anymore," Suze added.

An Asda spokesman said: "We are pleased that Ms Fricker has been fully refunded and we want to again apologise for the delay in processing this and for any inconvenience this may have caused."

The company was unable to confirm whether there was a technical error or if the click and collect option had been selected by accident.

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