Nan 'won't shop at Iceland again' as store issues apology

A poorly nan has finally got her money back from Iceland after months of wrangling with the supermarket.

Carmel Lee, 60, originally from Tranmere, signed up for Iceland's bonus card thinking it would make her life easier by allowing her to put aside money every week in the lead-up to Christmas.

Customers who use the Bonus Card scheme receive a £1 bonus each time £20 is added to their savings balance. Some upload money to the card to hold it back for Christmas, while others use this advantage for their regular food shops.

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Speaking to the ECHO earlier this month, Carmel described herself as a "loyal customer" who has shopped at Iceland for "years and years". In the lead up to Christmas 2023, she put £10 here and there on her bonus card until she managed to save over £200. She did this in order to pay for her family's big Christmas shop.

In October, the nan-of-seven, who suffers from COPD, had a heart attack and ended up in hospital. She spent the following weeks living with her son Ben in Birkenhead while she recuperated. In December, the family went to Iceland in Rock Ferry and spent around £160 on Carmel's bonus card, with no issues reported. But when Carmel tried to use the card on the Iceland website to pay for a "top up" food order a couple of weeks later, the card was refused.

Her son Ben got in touch with Iceland's customer service department, who reportedly told him the card had been deactivated - with £48.46 left on it. Carmel is on disability benefits and her fixed income means she must count her pennies. She told the ECHO: "That money could cover a weekly shop for me."

She continued: "They told us the card had been deactivated through non-use. Then they said they would order us a new card and get the balance transferred. We waited for six weeks, but it just didn't arrive. There was nothing in the post."

Carmel and Ben say they rang Iceland repeatedly in the weeks that followed. At one point, they claim they were told "there was no balance to transfer". Complicating matters was the fact that Carmel's name had been erroneously registered as 'Carmel Ler' on her bonus card.

The stress of wondering if and when she would get her money back took its toll on Carmel. Speaking to the ECHO before she received her refund she said: "I can hardly walk because of my chest and I don't need this on top of it all." She added: "It stinks. I'm feeling done over and left in the dark."

The ECHO first contacted Iceland on April 8 and told them about Carmel's predicament. We mentioned that her card had an erroneous name on it: 'Carmel Ler'. A few days later, we sent Iceland Carmel's monthly bonus card statement showing a savings balance of £48.46. She received this statement on April 4, via email.

It appears that a separate card had been registered in her name, likely in place of her deactivated card. But Carmel says she did not receive this new card in the mail, so it was just floating around in the digital ether.

In response, an Iceland spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, due to an incorrect surname being provided in the first instance, there was initially some difficulty in identifying the customer’s claim. After further investigation however, we've been able to identify the correct card to which the customer was referring, and Iceland’s Contact Centre team have been in touch to find a resolution.”

Her son got back in touch with the ECHO on Friday morning to say Carmel had indeed received the new card. However, according to Ben, his mum called Iceland to activate it, only to be told it was blank and there was "no balance to transfer".

The ECHO re-contacted Iceland following which the store got in touch with Carmel to tell her the £48.46 had been transferred to the new card and they added an extra £25 "to apologise for the delay".

After saying she had "lost hope" earlier in the day, Carmel was delighted with the outcome. She said: "It's taken four months to sort it, but all I wanted was what is mine."

She added: "I will use the money on the card but then I won't go back and shop at Iceland again."

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