Air 2 web order fiasco: UK carrier nightmares

Question

A cautionary tale relating to web orders.
I recently ordered a new 16GB ipad air 2 from the UK apple online store.
When it arrived on the thursday, it showed that the available memory was actually around 10GB.
Deciding this was ridiculously small - and possibly false advertising - I initiated a return and ordered the 64GB version.
I was told on the phone that I could not take the 16 to a store for a refund as the web and street stores are unconnected in some vital way.
I was told that UPS would contact me to arrange pickup of the 16, and that Synchreon would deliver the 64 the following monday.
UPS did not contact me, so I called Apple who called them, and they made a verbal agreement to pick up the 16 on the wednesday.
Monday - no 64. I called up and was told the driver had got stuck and ran out of time. SAME THING on tuesday. Rang next morning and a woman took charge and compelled their carrier - UK Mail - to deliver the item that day, which they did.
No UPS wednesday. When I called, they said that the return pickup had not been logged by the guy I made the arrangement with.
They said that the local depot would call in the morning to arrange pickup in the afternoon - which they did.
I am now waiting for delivery confirmation at Apple distribution, and confirmation that the refund is being processed.
These may be first world problems, but when you have to wait inside for four days and need to get out to buy food and medicine, this is a very real problem.
It is far from good enough, and I want to get an answer from Apple on whether or not they deem such a mess acceptable.
As a user of Amazon Prime, who even deliver on sundays, I believe they have set a standard, by which Apple looks dismal in comparison.
In the middle of all that, I did get some assistance from a Gordon in Apple's Belfast call centre who did everything he could to join the dots, and an Aoife at Synchreon who kicked ***, and a Wendy at UPS Bristol who made things happen. When individuals took responsibility and got on the case, problems got solved. There were also a few who passed the buck, made excuses and promised things that did not materialise.
The lesson? At present, you might consider steering clear of web orders for the time being. Perhaps it was all part of some life lesson, presumably in patience. But for me, being disabled, the local Apple store is far from accessible for me. Hopefully I will have no reason to deal with either the online or brick and mortar store any time soon.

Answer 1

BT is a joke, just been told my latest order with Ref: AJMDAZZxxxxx569. Is also cancelled. The CS from uk call centre stated my new and previous order is showing cancelled with a note "due to reason stating package too expensive & not right for me." What Utter bull!!. I told CS, why is it when I login to mybt acc# and click on track my order with the above reference & postcode I get all the information that order is on track. she couldn't answer me. Then I pressed her on further points if you stating that my order is cancelled why have I not received a cancellation email, which I did for the first order that also got cancelled? All I got was a sudden silent and told me I will receiving a txt msg to my mobile to confirm cancellation. More lies!! Received no txt msg as of yet.
Why cant they just reset the information held for the orders that have been cancelled so in mybt I would see no orders that are active. So I can re-order via web. I'm beginning to have second thoughts about BT and what others have stated before about their level of help from customer service. Biggest factor is CS that is the core of my issue. No one is dealing with the problem just get transferred to different Dept. Annoying to say the least.
I hope the mods can sort this out asap, still waiting for reply