'Outrageous': $115 BIG W glitch that has shoppers fuming

BIG W has left one shopper fuming and she’s not the only one, after a major glitch saw her almost fork out $115 in delivery fees for an order of six items.

Nikola Hughes from Broken Hill was left gobsmacked earlier this month when she placed an order with BIG W, only to be charged almost the same amount for delivery as for her initial order in a mishap the retailer has since confirmed was an error on their part.

The mum was placing an order for the store’s Alice in Wonderland teapot - four Alice in Wonderland teacups and the Cheshire cat cookie jar.

The order came to a total cost of $128, and the delivery was calculated at $115, something the mum calls ‘complete madness’.

“I was downright p*ssed off,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Firstly they close up our local store and then if we want to shop with them we are forced to pay crazy shipping fees.”

Since BIG W closed it’s Broken Hill store in 2018, shoppers in remote areas like Nikola have been forced to rely on the online shopping and delivery option the store provides on its website, as well as a notoriously fickle delivery cost calculation.

“I have made many orders online since their departure locally,” Nikola tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “None of the postage costs have been what I considered unreasonable except this one.”

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Sharing her saga to a BIG W fan page on Facebook, Nikola prompted a wave of support and outrage from other shoppers who had experienced similar or were simply left flabbergasted at the ‘outrageous’ fee.

“Do you live on the moon?” one baffled shopper asked. “That’s ridiculous!!”

“Their delivery has always been an absolute joke, it’s literally the only thing stopping me making online orders,” another agreed.

“Cancel order, that’s crazy,” another advised.

BIG W confirms ‘error’ behind huge delivery charge

Earlier this year, similarly bizarre delivery costs being charged at the peak of the coronavirus lockdown caused outrage online.

At the time BIG W simply claimed that the store has a flat delivery fee structure for online home delivery orders, which varies according to location and preferred delivery timeframe.

This time, however, they admit it was a glitch in the system that left Nikola trying to avoid shelling out over $100 to have a few items delivered.

“At BIG W, our delivery fees reflect the location and preferred delivery time, as well as weight and size of bulky or fragile items,” a BIG W spokesperson reiterated when asked for comment.

“On this occasion, however, there was an error in our system resulting in much higher than expected delivery charges, and the issue has been resolved.”

Other shoppers report same ‘useless’ delivery charges

It seems Nikola is not the only one who has experienced the staggering delivery prices, however, with other shoppers revealing they too had been charged fees which would seem to fit into the ‘error’ category.

Not only did the shoppers who reported their shocking fees back in March experience the same, but plenty took to the comments of Nikola’s post to report they are still being charged through the roof now.

“I’m regional WA and I tried to buy [one] nappy bin and the delivery cost was $225...” another shopper reported. “NO THANKS!”

“They have high delivery fees,” another wrote. “My local wanted to charge me $85 to deliver a cot from downtown. Which is literally a 5 min drive.”

“I cancelled [my order] the shipping was half the bill,” another reported.

“Yeah I have had similar as well,” another wrote. “Hence why we don’t shop online with them ... useless.”

BIG W said in their statement that those customers who feel they may have been mischarged should reach out to customer care to resolve their issues.

“We’ve also been in touch with our customers to apologise for any inconvenience caused, and encourage all of our customers to contact our Customer Service team if they are ever concerned about the delivery charges,” the spokesperson said.

Nikola confirmed she had had her delivery fee and extra items she purchased to avoid the sky-high price refunded, with a miscalculation of the teacup size cited as the reason for the price hike.

The NSW mum maintains, however, that the shipping costs for rural areas should be done away with altogether.

“I personally feel that rural locations are already at a disadvantage and should not be penalized for Big W's choice to not have a store in a location,” she says. “If there is no local store postage should be free.”

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