The Aga Saga

- well the Rangemaster Saga at any rate - and they are now owned by Aga.

The Range

Delivery 1- 18th August

Cooker arrives, delivery people can't get it through kitchen/hall door without unwrapping it. Don't want to unwrap due to building work going on.

Back door is wide enough but they can't get through back gate due to skips in the way. Skips due to be emptied later in the week so they say they will redeliver the following Friday.

'Delivery' 2 - the following Friday

Get a call from builders at 4pm saying cooker hasn't arrived. Ring and am told that the delivery guys never rescheduled the delivery.

Delivery is rescheduled for the 27th.

'Delivery' 3 - August 27th

Get a call the evening before saying that the delivery will be between 10.30 and 2.30 the following day.

Get a call from the builder at 4pm saying that the cooker has not arrived. Ring delivery centre and am told that the cooker has been delivered. I assure them that it hasn't and they promise to get someone to ring me the following day.

At around 6pm when my visitors have just arrived, I get a call from the delivery drivers saying that they are running a little late and will be with me in about half an hour I tell them that it is too late, and that I am not living at the delivery address and I cannot get there due to visitors.

I ring the delivery centre the next day and they tell me that I have to go back into the branch where I bought the cooker, get a refund and rebuy it - a little difficult seeing as I bought it online!! Eventually get the delivery rescheduled for the following Saturday.

''Delivery' 4 - the following Saturday

No phone call the night before about delivery so after 9pm I ring the automated system in order to get a delivery slot. The system cannot give me a time and I know that the office is not manned until 9am so I get up on the Saturday and leave here at 7.30am to make sure that I get to the house by 8am just in case. Picture the scene - me sat in the kitchen on a camp chair in the freezing cold kitchen, rain coming through the roof in several places and no working lights!! At least the pouring rain gave me the opportunity to check out which bits of guttering were leaking!!

9am arrives so I ring the delivery centre to ask about my delivery slot, only to be told that 'your delivery has been changed to Tuesday because we are not coming to your area today'!! Nice of them to tell me!!

Delivery is rearrange for the following Tuesday.

Sunday night - get a phone call from the delivery centre asking me if I am aware that my delivery has been changed from Saturday to Tuesday!!! The irony was not wasted on me!!!

Monday night - receive a phone call from the delivery centre informing me that my Tuesday delivery will be coming between 7am and 11am, but advising us that we are the first delivery so they could be as early as 6.45!!!!!!!

'Delivery' 5 - The best one

Leave Mudeford at 6.15 to ensure that I am at the house by 6.45. Get a call at 7.15 saying they delivery guys will be with me within half an hour. The guys arrive at 7.45, and walk into the kitchen. They look at the obvious hole for the cooker and say 'We can see where the cooker is going, but where is it?' Good joke!!!

Alas they jested not - they had been sent on a service call to fit the cooker (we had never asked for it to be fitted) and thought it had already been delivered!!! Oh you've got to laugh!!! They rang the delivery centre and were told it could be delivered the following day - same time slot.

Delivery 6 - 3 September

Hooray - it has arrived, but still not unwrapped so hope it's ok!!!
I emailed customer services and had a little bit of a rant, and they clearly didn't appreciated how pissed off I was, as their response was to refund my £19.99 delivery charge!!!!!!! Personally I think I need a bloody medal for my patience!