M&S customers face shipping delays for online orders

Although Marks & Spencer has successfully managed to cut complaints concerning its clothing arm down by 20 percent, the department store group is now facing a new slew of complaints from customers after delaying the delivery of online orders by up to two weeks.

The group was forced to extend delivery times and put a hold on next-day delivery services to stores, after its distribution center in Castle Donington, Leicestershire was unable to keep up with demand following its Black Friday promotional weekend.

M&S added that it had re-introduced it's next-day deliveries to home addresses, but noted that deliveries to stores would take at least two days, and standard deliveries up to 10 business days. Several disappointed customers have not taken kindly to the delivery delay and are venting their frustration online. One user on Twitter posted this Monday morning:

Ordered an item online from @marksandspencer which said store delivery by Wednesday. Now it won't be delivered til the 16th so I want to

— Annie Cartwright (@DC_Cartwright) December 8, 2014

Phil Wass‎Marks and Spencer 1 hr · London, United Kingdom · Placed an order online on 29/11 to collect in-store on Saturday 7/12 to be told that morning that only one of the 3 items would be ready. The second one came in on the Sunday 8/12 so I had to go back to the store again. The third was simply cancelled as you couldn't find any! Not good enough M&S, last time I trust you with Christmas shopping

cancel the order and buy elsewhere, however, despite the fact the item hasn't even been despatched yet, @marksandspencer won't let me cancel

— Annie Cartwright (@DC_Cartwright) December 8, 2014

While other customers have been sharing their concerns on the group's Facebook page. “Placed an order online on 29/11 to collect in-store on Saturday 7/12 to be told that morning that only one of the 3 items would be ready. The second one came in on the Sunday 8/12 so I had to go back to the store again. The third was simply cancelled as you couldn't find any! Not good enough M&S, last time I trust you with Christmas shopping!” complained another customer in London.

The delay in delivery comes after M&S assured it's new distribution center would be able to process one million items per day by the end of this year. However sources revealed to the Guardian that the 'state-of-the-art' facility was plagued with technical difficulties, after the group denied any ongoing problems at its center.

“Our customer is always our top priority and that is why we've extended some of our delivery options. The vast majority of orders are delivered on time. If we do miss a delivery date, we will do all we can to rectify it for the customer,” commented a spokesperson on the delivery delay.

Marks & Spencer is not the only UK retailer to be experiencing difficulties processing orders following Black Friday; last week saw a number of Tesco customer's sharing their concerns following a long delay for click-and-collect orders placed during the promotional bonanza.