Mum's laptop woe as Amazon box contains cornflakes

A mother said she was “flabbergasted” when she came to wrap a laptop she bought on Amazon and found the shipping box stuffed with two cartons of cereal.

Lizzie Pattison, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, said she ordered the computer in October as a Christmas gift for her daughter.

She had kept the parcel hidden until Wednesday, she said, when instead of bytes she found bites to eat.

Amazon has since offered her a refund after first refusing to do so.

The discovery was made outside of the 30-day returns window, leaving Ms Pattison to fear the cornflakes would leave her hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

She said Amazon initially told her that as the returns period had elapsed, it was not prepared to investigate what had gone on.

Ms Pattison said she had bought the device to help her 10-year-old daughter, Daisy, with SAT exams next year.

She said: “My main worry is that there is going to be a number of children on Christmas morning that are going to open what their parents think is a tablet or a laptop because they have not opened the box.”

Following the BBC’s investigation into Ms Pattison’s experience, she has been told by Amazon that she will be refunded and also receive gift vouchers worth £40.