Cornered by sofa!
Family trapped for two days as delivery men dump furniture
A MOTHER says she and her seven-year-old son were trapped in their home for two days after an Argos sofa delivery blocked her only exit.
Sarah Miller ordered two chesterfields for her first floor flat but delivery men refused to take them inside, claiming they had to observe social distancing because of Covid-19.
The £1,000 sofas were left one on top of the other at the foot of the stairs leading up from her front door, preventing the door from opening.
It meant Miss Miller, 44, and her son Joel Cooper were trapped in the flat they had just moved to after she separated from her husband Adam Cooper. In desperation, she rang Mr Cooper for help.
‘He brought along step ladders, climbed through my kitchen window and managed with us to pull the top sofa upstairs,’ she said.
However, they were unable to move the second. Mr Cooper left via the kitchen window, leaving Miss Miller and Joel still unable to get out.
She claims they had to survive on takeaway pizza, which was pushed through the security railings of her upstairs window.
It was only when another son, Jack Ryan, 23, came to the flat in Tayport, Fife, two days later that they were able to shift the second sofa. Miss Miller claims it took Argos six weeks to respond to her complaint following the incident in July. ‘It was a fire hazard and really dangerous situation to be left in,’ she said.
‘It’s a lot of money and you’d expect they’d at least be delivered safely, so I could get out the front door.
‘I measured to see that I could fit the couches in. The first thing the guy said was, “I’m not allowed to go past the threshold of the door due to Covid-19”.’
She offered to take Joel with her into another room to keep their distance. ‘He came up to the top of the stairs and said, “We’re going to leave now”. The sofas were both jamming the door.’
Argos has since contacted Miss Miller to offer a £206 goodwill gesture and a refund.
A spokesman said: ‘We have spoken to Sarah to say how sorry we are for the inconvenience this caused. ‘We are arranging a full refund and additional gesture of goodwill.’