Placed an order on 6th August for a 850kg bulk bag of Cotswold Buff chippings. Selected delivery on 11th August between 8:00am & 6:00pm. They had a box that you could type in 'special instructions' so I requested that the driver park in the road outside the house & lift the bulk bag over the fence into the garden (easy access). They took immediate payment. Made sure someone was around all day to accept delivery (the very person who is going to lay the chippings). I received an email at 11:27am to say that it had been delivered to the local hub & delivery would be completed within 24hrs (I thought that was a little odd but then thought maybe it was just a standard notification & I was working so could not act on it anyway). Delivery had not taken place by 4:45pm so I thought I would give them a call to find out if it was going to be delivered by 6:00pm on the 11th August (Tuesday). After explaining my concern that time was running out, the female at customer services said, there has been a delay & it will be delivered on Thursday (13th August)! I then asked why I wasn't notified & she replied "You would have notified via email that it had reached the hub" to which I replied that it had at 11:27am & said that it would be delivered within 24hrs. She then said "yes, on Thursday" to which I replied, but that's more than 24hrs anyway but more to the point, why was I not notified that it would not be delivered as specified at point of order & payment. She then replied "there are delays due to covid". Now, whilst I can appreciate possible delays, they should not have allowed me to choose a specific delivery date in my opinion & they have no excuse for lack of contact. I then requested to cancel the order as they had failed to deliver on time, she that there would be a cancellation fee of £50.00 (could even have been plus VAT). I then said "but surely you have breached the contract"? she then replied "there is no contract" to which I replied "I think you'll find we entered into a contract the moment you accepted my online order & took immediate payment". She was quite adamant that no contract has been entered into (I need to look into this). She then said that it would also just be a kerbside delivery as the lorries sent out do not have cranes. I then asked what is the point of allowing customers to type in special instructions & once again, why wasn't I contacted with regards to this to which she had no real answer. When I referred back to the non-delivery on the specified date, she then replied "that is your desired date but delivery on this date is not guaranteed"!!! She then threw up the terms & conditions saying that the delivery date is not guaranteed, kerbside delivery only & an order cancellation charge is all stated in the terms & conditions which I agreed to when I placed the order!!!! I have requested a phone call from a manager tomorrow (12th August) because they were all 'in a meeting today' (yes of course they were). All I can say is avoid, avoid, avoid.