A DAUGHTER’S Christmas plans lie in tatters after she said an online shopping order was “lost”.

Elouise Date, 24, of Sea Spray Avenue, Shoreham, said she bought presents worth £60 worth from the website of clothing retailer Matalan at the beginning of the month.

After placing her order on December 2, she said she became worried when a few days later she had still not heard if the items had been dispatched.

Using Matalan’s site, she said she bought her mother a dressing gown, her father a jumper and a pair of socks, her brother some underwear and a scarf and a top for her sister. Miss Date said she also bought smaller bits for two younger relatives, including a Santa hat for a one-year-old.

She told The Argus that a week before Christmas, the items had still failed to turn up and, after three weeks of badgering Matalan’s customer service centre, she was told the items had been lost.

Miss Date said: “I’m so upset and disappointed. It has caused me a lot of stress.”

After getting an answer from the retailer, she said she was told she would need to pay for the order again.

She said: “The service has been absolutely disgraceful. There didn’t seem to be the motivation to escalate it further.

“No one took responsibility or wanted to call me back.”

Miss Date, who lives with her partner and works in recruitment, said she was initially offered a refund but was more interested in getting the items she ordered.

She said: “The worst part is I ordered them at the beginning of the month thinking I had plenty of time.

“My family understand it’s not my fault but it’s not very nice for me. It’s been an absolute nightmare.”

Miss Date will only get paid again today and faces a challenge to get the presents she wants.

She added: “It’s not like I’m in poverty or anything like that but I do live on a budget and Christmas is an expensive time.”

A spokeswoman for Matalan said: “We take every effort to make sure we provide the best possible shopping experience for all our customers and we are currently looking into this.”