‘Devastated’ by loss of precious film memories
A YEAR ON, FAMILY IS STILL WAITING FOR SHOP’S ANSWER
A FAMILY has been left devastated after old films of precious memories were apparently “lost” after being sent to a Jessops shop in Nottingham.
Kirsten Dyson-dabell said the reels contained “irreplaceable” photos or films from the start of her parents’ marriage more than 50 years ago.
Kirsten, 46, of Clifton, handed in four cine film reels to be put on discs by Jessops in Clumber Street in December last year, but the shop has since closed.
She said she wanted to surprise her parents, who live in Castle Donington, for Christmas and was told to return to collect the films and discs on December 21 – but has not seen them since.
Her mum Carol said the films were shot during her family’s time in Kuwait where her husband Alan worked as an engineer.
Kirsten, a receptionist at a law firm, said: “This has been a constant battle for nearly a year. My dad, who we think has Alzheimer’s or dementia, likes to look at old pictures.
“My parents gave me the reels and I paid £54 to have them put on a disc at Jessops. We thought as a family it would be good for my dad’s memory to look at old photos and films. He can’t remember what happened 20 minutes ago but he can remember things from years ago.
“To start with, Jessops were really good. They were ringing me every week until March saying they were trying to locate them and they thought they were in Germany at the lab.”
In March, the shop closed for lockdown and by the summer, she found out that it had permanently shut down.
She contacted customer services who said that the processing lab was not based in Germany, and that orders would be processed “in batches” when it reopened after lockdown.
In a recent email, the customer service team told Kirsten that her order was “all safe in the development lab”.
She received a refund but has not received her property back.
Kirsten said: “On December 9 they will have had my films for 12 months.
“I just want them to be honest with me if they’ve lost them. They are absolutely irreplaceable memories of the early days of my parents’ marriage.
“My mum is at her wits end about it – she’s devastated. Not getting a valid answer is driving me mad. I just want the reels beck and at least then I can find someone else to do it. They are blaming coronavirus but enough is enough.”
Carol added: “You go to Jessops because you assume they’re the best.
“If they’ve lost it I’d rather they would say and then we know we will never get them back.
“They are our memories, they’re no good to anybody.
“We were in Kuwait for seven years with our two boys and we have lost the eldest boy since. We were really looking forward to seeing the memories of them growing up there.”
The Post contacted Jessops for comment but did not receive a response.