Poor Sports Direct service cost me £650 | Verity Lush

Save yourself and your finances, and your time that will be spent in contacting Trading Standards.

As a longtime runner, I have been finding it particularly stressful to go outside and exercise recently. In the main, this is because of the hassle in trying to pick a route where the paths are wide enough to ensure a two metre distance.

I am all too conscious of the fact that I am breathing harder than a walker, and if I were within a radius of less than three metres of me, I wouldn’t be happy.

However, plenty of pedestrians don’t seem to care, so I am making a consistent effort to cross the road, or run in it if it’s empty, in order to give both them and myself adequate space.

With all this is mind, I decided to buy a treadmill. I much prefer running outdoors but needs must so in search I went, but given the few remaining treadmills in online existence, every other runner in the country must’ve got there before me.

Having finally found one from Sports Direct at £655 – a lot of money by anyone’s standards – I placed my order. What a mistake. The order had a lead delivery time of three to seven days.

It is now 10 days and the emails, the Instagram messages and the Facebook messages I have sent are still unanswered.

I went onto Trust Pilot and other review sites. Oh my – there were some of the most appalling reviews I have ever read popping up literally as I watched, by the minute. Missing orders galore, damaged goods aplenty, missing and pending money all over the show.

I spent a lot of money buying a treadmill so I did not have to encroach upon the space of pedestrians.

Sports Direct should not be taking orders if they can’t fulfil them. ​​​​​​I have asked for a refund – as is my right within 14 days of purchase and we’re just about to reach that. I’ve heard nothing back.

What a downright infuriating so-called ‘service’. Mike Ashley, you should hang your head in shame.

The country is in no fit state to come out of lockdown yet

Another three week lockdown has been announced – thank goodness. We are in no state to be coming outside in our droves anytime soon.

I tortured myself by reading comments on the Daily Mail website and it served only to puzzle and annoy me. The amount of people clamouring to come out of lockdown immediately was astonishing.

Look at our staff in QA. Look at the NHS country-wide. And then imagine how those hospital wards would look in three weeks if lockdown ended now.

This all began with one infected person. We have thousands of infected people. For the sake of the bereaved and healthcare workers, we must hold tight.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

We do need at least some inkling of the exit strategy

I don’t always watch the briefings on the BBC because this is a time when too much news can be a bad thing.

However, each time I do, there is another journalist asking what the exit strategy is for the UK. They won’t get an answer yet, so why waste the limited time they have by repeating this incessantly?

I realise that not knowing is something humans don’t deal well with, but an exit strategy cannot be confirmed until the country knows where it stands.

What I do hope is that the government at least give us some notice and advance warning, unlike the school closures with two days notice in which to entirely reorganize staff and students in their thousands.