Customers reported deliveries not arriving on Saturday morning
By Andre Rhoden-Paul & Pippa Allen-Kinross
BBC News
Sainsbury’s says it will not be able to fulfil the “vast majority” of online deliveries on Saturday because of “technical issues”.
Customers have been contacting the supermarket on social media to report issues with their online orders.
Sainsbury’s apologised, explaining it was caused by an overnight software update. It said customers can now place new orders to be delivered tomorrow.
Tesco also said technical issues have forced it to cancel some deliveries.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are working to fix a technical issue which has meant we have had to cancel some online orders that were due for delivery today.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”
Some Sainsbury’s stores are also having issues with contactless payments and chip and pin.
Customers shared their experiences on X, formerly known as Twitter, with some saying their delivery had not arrived. Others said they were due a delivery but had not received a confirmation and payment was not taken.
Sam Mitchell tweeted: “My home delivery is an hour late and [I’ve] been on hold since eight and no one is answering on customer services, and I need to go out.”
Alan Woodhouse described customers in one store not being told about problems with contactless payment until they got to the till.
“No one told us about it. Only had fiver on me. Unfortunately mobile phones don’t give out cash,” he said.
Another customer tweeted: “Avoid Sainsbury’s at Pepper Hill. The shop is in absolute chaos, cash only, no contactless, chip and pin intermittent, no self-checkout without cash, cash machines not working, horrendous queues at checkout.”
Sainsbury’s customer Megan Robertson, from Crewe, told BBC News she relies on her groceries being delivered as a disabled person, but this morning her shopping did not turn up.
“I rely on the deliveries because I don’t get around too well and my husband is blind.
“I went on to the Tesco site and they had no deliveries slots today.”
The Aston University computer science teaching fellow said: “People need to test software. You don’t do a major update to your live system without making sure its going to work first.”
Sainsbury’s confirmed its Click & Collect service is also affected by cancellations.
On Saturday BBC News visited three Sainsbury’s Local stores in central London that were affected by technical issues.
In two of the stores, contactless payments were not working, leaving customers who normally pay using their phone struggling if they did not have a bank card or cash.
Meanwhile, a Sainsbury’s Local at Tottenham Court Road told customers it was cash only because chip and pin was not working in store.
Connor Hassan, 25, a tourist from New Zealand, was turned away from the branch because he did not have cash.
Frustrated, he said: “I just want to buy food right. Maybe it’s just my generation but whenever someone only takes cash it feels seedy, like why can’t you take card.
“If no one took card I couldn’t eat today.”
In a statement, Sainsbury’s said: “Due to an error with an overnight software update, we are experiencing issues with contactless payments.
“All of our stores are open as usual today, accepting chip and pin and cash payments.
“Unfortunately, this also means we will not be able to deliver the vast majority of today’s groceries online orders and we are currently unable to contact customers directly.
“Our online ordering system is working as normal and customers can place a new order now for delivery any time from tomorrow.”
On X, Sainsbury’s has responded to multiple customer tweets telling them “no orders will be going out today” and asking them to book a new delivery from Monday onwards.
BBC News has asked the supermarket for clarification about the issues with orders and some shops only accepting cash.
Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury’s, has also been affected by the software update. It said there may be issues collecting orders in-store or delays fulfilling orders placed on Saturday.
Sainsbury’s is the second biggest supermarket chain in the UK with 600 supermarkets and over 800 convenience stores.
Image source, PA Media
In Huddersfield customers were told there were issues with chip and pin and contactless
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