Free bed for padlock protester (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Free bed for padlock protester

A FATHER fed up with waiting for his new bed to be delivered chained himself to a railing in Argos on Monday.

Steve McKenna, who lives in The Beeches, bought the £225 four-poster bed from the Cirencester store on Monday, January 23, paying an extra £5 to have it to be delivered within two weeks.

But on Friday (nearly three weeks later) there was still no sign of the delivery man despite Mr McKenna having thrown out his old mattress.

The 43-year-old says Argos then promised he would have the bed on Monday between 7.30am and 1pm. Again it failed to arrive.

Mr McKenna said: "It's disgusting. Promise after promise has been broken, which I think is diabolical.

"Without a shadow of a doubt I am getting the run around - it is pillar to post on the phone and I am fed up. It is just a bed, not a computer or something like that. This is something essential and three weeks is quite simply unacceptable."

Mr McKenna also says the delivery delay has disrupted his sleeping and cost him money because he has had to stay at the local pub.

Police were called to the Cirencester store and told Mr McKenna that the manager assured him the bed would arrive by yesterday (Wednesday).

Furthermore, a spokesman for Argos said on Tuesday the Cirencester man would be given a full refund for the bed and thanked the Standard for bringing his plight to the attention of the company.

Spokesman Kathryn Thomas said: "Our customer services team have now contacted Mr McKenna to apologise for the problems he has had in resolving this matter.

"They have agreed to issue a full refund for the bed and have also confirmed a new delivery date. Argos is always concerned if customers receive disappointing service. We're a large company and are aware that sometimes things do go wrong."