A WOMAN who bought a bed from a closure-threatened York shop spoke today of her anger after it never arrived - and now fears she will not get her money back.

Pamela West, 57, from Woodthorpe, York, bought a Slumberland single bed by credit card at the Allders Clifton Moor store in January for her 32-year-old mentally-handicapped daughter, Joanne.

When she heard that the company had gone into administration, Mrs West rang her credit card company to find out how she could get her money back.

She was told she needed a letter from the store stating that they would not be able to deliver the bed.

Since then, she has been back to the store six times - and each time been told she cannot have such a letter.

After the Evening Press contacted Allders they apologised to Mrs West for the inconvenience, and have promised to provide her with the letter needed to get her money back.

But Mrs West, of Ashbourne Way, said: "I'm very angry that I could go into a store and buy something that's on show, and now I can't have what I have actually paid for. Not only that, but I wasn't offered any alternative at all. I was told I wasn't getting it and I'd lost my money."

Shop assistant Mrs West said she is not the only one with goods on order at the store that have not been supplied.

She said: "Every time I go in there, there are more and more angry and frustrated people in a similar situation to us complaining. Some of them who have paid cash have no chance whatsoever of getting their money back."

Mrs West said she cannot afford to buy another bed and Joanne, who works as a volunteer at St Leonard's Hospice, has been left wondering if she is ever going to get her new bed.

A spokesman for Kroll, the administrators for Allders, said: "In this instance, where a customer has paid for goods with their credit card and these goods are not in stock and cannot be provided to the customer, a letter should be provided to the customer verifying that this is the case.

"This letter should enable them to obtain a refund from their credit card provider where a refund is applicable. We can only apologise for any distress caused to this customer as a result over confusion on procedure."

Kroll announced almost 700 redundancies across Allders stores on Friday, but could not confirm whether the 42 jobs at the Clifton Moor store would be affected.

If you have experienced similar problems, phone Haydn Lewis at the Evening Press on 01904 653051 ext 310, or email haydn.lewis@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 10:09 Thursday, February 17, 2005