Questions Of Cash: Theatre voucher mishap 'made me miss best seats'

Q. I bought a dishwasher from Currys, via the internet. We chose the Beko DFN1000X model as it had an extra sliding cutlery tray and a cutlery basket that split into three parts. Both these features were shown on the Currys website and are still shown today. But while the dishwasher had the same model number, it did not have the features we wanted. In response, Currys said that manufacturers can change details. Currys offered a £20 voucher in compensation. But we are still not happy.

When I said I had no intention of buying from Currys again, this was converted into an offer of £20 cash. This was conditional on me supplying them with my phone bill to prove the calls. They have also offered to collect the dishwasher and return my purchase price, but this is not acceptable. Nor do I want to go through the process of buying a dishwasher again and arranging delivery. My suspicion is that the machine was old stock, despite what Currys and Beko advertised. I asked Currys to escalate my complaint, but I am not satisfied with the responses. BC, Somerset.

A. Currys admits it got this wrong and has promised to supply you within a week the parts you specifically wanted. A spokeswoman says: "The image for the product was wrong on our website and we have now amended this. We are working with the manufacturer to try to source the parts which the customer had expected to arrive with the dishwasher. We apologise to [the reader] for the service he received and the confusion over how the product was displayed on our website."

Q. I bought £50-worth of gift vouchers from uktheatretickets.co.uk/gift-vouchers for my wife's birthday. I realised that I would need to top-up the payment when ordering tickets, particularly for a London show. I had assumed the purchase of tickets would be as easy as using vouchers with other online gift voucher transactions.

After I identified the show for which I wanted to use them – One Man, Two Guvnors – I looked on the uktheatretickets website and was pleased to find that tickets were available for £39 for the upper circle for the date and time I wanted. However, I then found that it was necessary to call theatreticketsdirect during office hours to complete the booking.

When I called the booking line I was informed that the only seats available were stalls at £71 each. I was told this would be confirmed and that I would be phoned back. When this did not happen within 24 hours I bought the tickets I wanted online, without being able to use the vouchers. The upper gallery was not full when we attended. JB, Milton Keynes.

A. Adnan Lotia, director of Theatre Tickets Direct Ltd, says the website was being upgraded at the time you attempted to redeem the vouchers. That upgrade has since been completed and gift vouchers can now be redeemed online. Mr Lotia insists that the information you were given about the upper circle seats being unavailable was correct. While some seats had been sold, others had been held on reserve and were only later again made available for sale. Mr Lotia suggests that the empty seats you saw at the performance were in the cheaper gallery area, not the upper circle. You tell us that Theatre Tickets has now agreed to fully refund your vouchers.

Losing sleep over pillows

Q. My wife and I wanted to replace memory foam pillows which we bought years ago. We visited a bedding shop and saw pillows which met our requirements. I ordered these from monsterbeds.co.uk. When they arrived in flat packs my wife opened the packages and we waited 24 hours to allow them to recover. They did not recover to the extent we were expecting and, therefore, we considered them not fit for purpose. But the company initially declined to make a refund on the grounds that the packaging had been opened, and the hygiene of the product affected. Yet we had to open the packaging to let the pillows expand. The company then advised it would charge £20 for a courier to collect the items before making a refund. JH, by email.

A. Monsterbeds' Elisa King says: "I can confirm this matter has now been resolved and we are refunding [the reader's] monies as soon as we receive the goods back, which we are also collecting at our own cost."