Dozens of Tesco customers on the Island have complained about the home delivery service, citing late deliveries and last-minute cancellations.

Customers also say that when issues arise they struggle to contact the local store and instead speak to a UK-based team, which can also have difficulty reaching Island staff.

Douglas woman Amanda Shimmin said she has made a formal complaint to the Lake Road store but has yet to receive any response.

She said: ‘Twice our order has simply not turned up in the last couple of months, with no communication from the store. I understand there may occasionally be cancellations due to staff shortages, but I just want to be informed so I can collect or rearrange.

‘I called the store, but there was no answer, so I called the UK line and spoke to someone who tried to contact the store but also got no response.

‘Last week, our order didn’t arrive in the allotted time so we called again and they still couldn’t get hold of anyone at the store here.’

Amanda said the order was eventually added to another driver’s van, who called to apologise, but she felt that should have come from the store.

She added: ‘I went into the store a couple of weeks ago to ask about the lack of communication and was told it would be raised with the manager, but here we are again. It’s really poor from Tesco.’

Amanda later posted on social media asking whether others had experienced similar problems.

One woman said: ‘We had this issue a couple of months ago with a delivery from Port Erin. There was no communication and when you ring customer service they are never able to get hold of the store or track the driver.

‘Someone did call me the next day to apologise and they sent me chocolates, which was nice.’

Another customer added: ‘The last few orders have been a disaster. One was cancelled during the allocated time slot and I had to get a taxi to Tesco to collect it.’

Others said they have now stopped using the delivery service altogether.

One customer said: ‘I don’t get deliveries anymore as they are too unreliable. Recently, a delivery was due at 1pm but didn’t arrive. They called hours later to say they would be back between 7pm and 9pm but turned up at 9.30pm.

‘When they missed our slot I messaged Tesco, but they couldn’t get in touch with the store and offered a £5 goodwill gesture.’

Tesco said there had been a minor issue but denied any wider problem with the service.

A spokesperson said: ‘The vast majority of our online orders are delivered exactly as ordered and within their booked timeslot.

‘Due to a temporary technical issue at our Lake Road Douglas Superstore, a very small number of orders were recently delivered later than planned. We apologise for the inconvenience.’

The supermarket chain also said no deliveries had been cancelled, adding: ‘On the rare occasion that we need to amend a customer’s delivery slot, we will always try to contact them to discuss alternative options.’

Tesco also said it has updated the contact information for its Lake Road store.