Thousands of families' Tesco delivery orders were cancelled earlier this week with refunds taking up to 5 days, as the supermarket says it suffered a 'nationwide' IT issue

Many families have been left without food for days because of an IT issue at a major supermarket, which has seen their shopping deliveries cancelled at the last minute.

Some households have also been told they'll have to wait up to 5 days for a refund from supermarket Tesco – leaving families out of pocket with some unable to afford replacement food.

One user took to Twitter to say:

'After my order cancelled yesterday (& thousands of other)& money taken from my account (credited back in 3-5 working days)HOW are thousands of elderly/disabled/families on a budget suppose to replace that shopping without the funds'

• Urgent warning for millions of Tesco Clubcard holders

The supermarket has been flooded with complaints after a large number of deliveries and collections were cancelled with barely any notice yesterday (7 March).

'I have kids to feed'

Taking to Twitter, many parents weren't happy about the supermarket's last-minute cancellations, with one writing:

'When you have literally nothing in and are stuck at home with poorly kids, and @Tesco text to say they've cancelled your delivery literally as it was due, with no warning or explanation'

A 2nd mum said:

'It's disgusting! I work and will now struggle to fit it in especially when all slots for collection/delivery have been taken for the next few days. I have kids to feed!!'

And while the error is now resolved, replacement delivery slots are filling up fast, as another said the decision had left them without food for days:

'My DMs are just being ignored! I just want to know why my delivery was cancelled without a reason yesterday, leaving me high and dry with a 6 month old and disabled 5 year old until 8-pm Thursday!!!'

And a 4th shared that they were 'out of pocket' due to Tesco's error.

They wrote:

'So my order is cancelled AFTER the delivery slot. I’m £100 out of pocket and won’t be refunded for 3-5 days. How is this ok? What am I supposed to do in the meantime? #tesco @Tesco'

Orders cancelled minutes before

Others complained that the cancellations left vulnerable family members without food, or that deliveries were cancelled just minutes before the order was due.

'Would Tesco like to explain why my 85-year-old vulnerable mother has just had her delivery cancelled? What backup plan do you have for customers like this?,' one wrote.

Another simply put it:

'Tesco, why did you cancel our click-and-collect order two minutes before collection! #fail'

And a 3rd wrote:

'I wasn't even warned ahead. Was waiting for delivery between 5-6pm and @Tesco cancelled the order at 6.20pm. If it's due to a nation-wide bug, we should have been warned sooner.'

What do Tesco say?

In screenshots shared online by many people, families have been sent emails informing them of the cancelled deliveries, while others were told by text.

Tesco has since issued a statement, blaming a 'technical error' which was 'nationwide'.

A spokesperson for the supermarket said:

'Due to an intermittent technical issue, we've had to cancel some orders today. We're really sorry about this and are working hard to notify customers who are affected.'

Have you been affected by Tesco's cancelled deliveries? Post in the Netmums Forum, or share your thoughts on other topics – including your cheapest recipes – in the chat thread below.

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