Hi Susan,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re genuinely sorry to hear how disappointing this experience was for you, especially as it was for a planned celebration.
To explain why we’re unable to refund in this case: when a hire is confirmed, we advise that someone needs to be available at the given delivery address between 8am and 6pm on the delivery day. The courier then provides an estimated time window via tracking to help customers plan their day, but this is never guaranteed and can change due to traffic, route changes, or weather conditions. In your case, the driver arrived around 20 minutes earlier than the estimated window, which unfortunately meant the delivery was missed as no one was at the delivery address, but this is still considered a valid delivery attempt under the courier’s terms.
The tracking link provided by the courier also updates throughout the day, showing how many stops away the driver is and adjusting the ETA accordingly — this is the most accurate way to monitor arrival on the day.
The equipment was packed correctly, dispatched on the agreed date, sent to the correct address, and handed to the courier in good time. While we completely understand how frustrating this must have been, especially given the timing around Christmas, there was nothing further we could do once a valid delivery attempt had been made.
If we were made aware that you were working that day and would not be available at the given address, then we could have helped. We could have gotten it delivered to your work address if able or to a friend/family member. The couriers also give 'leave safe' options so you could have provided a back up option such as 'leave with neighbour if not in'. The courier and ourselves were not aware that no one would be available at the address as this is expected as default and assistance is given if this isn't the case.
We were genuinely saddened that this resulted in a missed experience and appreciate how upsetting that would have been. We did our best to help where possible, but unfortunately we couldn’t resolve this in the way you had hoped.
Kind regards,
The Silent Disco Stars team