OLDER, disabled and vulnerable people have issued a plea to people not to take supermarket delivery slots unless they really need them after finding themselves isolated and with no way of getting any groceries in.

Iceland is offering students £5 off a £40 online shop as well as priority delivery slots. Tweeting about the offer today, Iceland MD Richard Walker said the frozen food chain was helping those most affected by Covid-19 restrictions. An online delivery is when you create an account online with Iceland and order your shopping for delivery, at a date and time that suits you. Spend just £35 to qualify for free delivery. You can book a delivery slot at any point while shopping or at the checkout. Look for the ‘Book Delivery’ option. Yes, you can shop online.

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And they have pleaded with the supermarkets to do more to help those who need it most.

Droitwich resident Renate, who is 75, severely disabled and a wheelchair user, said she contacted The Standard as a last resort after being left frustrated trying to get food delivered at three separate supermarkets.

She said: “I am housebound, living on my own and I am unable to secure a delivery slot for grocery delivery at any of the major supermarket chains.”

Renate tried Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose and there were no slots available at any of them.

“The media reported delivery slots would be made available to the disabled, however, these are just empty words.

“I have no big needs, only water and yogurts, but I am unable to shop for these.

“I buy from Tesco regularly and now when I need items I cannot get them. I feel so let down.”

She asked if we could help suppliers more aware of the predicament disabled people found themselves in.

“I am very disappointed that nothing is done to help people such as myself.”

Sally Coombes from Bromsgrove, who is a pensioner, has breast cancer and a damaged lung, said she and her husband tried to register with Sainsbury’s as a ‘vulnerable’ resident from 8am to 11pm but found it impossible to speak to anyone.

“We’ve tried booking slots online at different times-a-day, sometimes after midnight, and still there is nothing available.

She added she was also unable to speak to Iceland and messages sent online were just met with ‘this email is not being monitored’ replies.

“We cannot leave the house and have had help from a wonderful neighbour but we cannot expect people to help us for 12 weeks or more.

“I don’t want luxuries – just a regular delivery of necessities.

“We’re happy living on beans on toast, egg on toast or soup but we need the items.”

She added she feared others who did not have computers or smart phones may be even worse off than them.

“I seriously think people could be left dying in their homes.”

Three neighbours from Redditch, aged 68, 85 and 101, who contacted the Standard said they had received deliveries from Tesco once-a-week for the last eight months and used a saver plan.

But last week the deliveries did not turn up and they are unable to get through to Tesco on the phone.

“We haven’t been able to get eggs for three weeks now.”

They claimed there was also others, including a family living across the road who were younger and had two cars, who were still receiving two deliveries-a-week.

“In these times when the vulnerable are being urged to have their shopping delivered isn’t this selfish?”

What the supermarkets had to say….

We quizzed the supermarkets concerned and here are their responses –

Tesco said it knew how important the issue was and how it was more difficult for people to get delivery slots for online shopping and was looking into how it could best support all its customers, including vulnerable shoppers.

The supermarket asked those who could safely get to a store to go there instead of shopping online so more slots would be there for the most vulnerable.

It was also looking at every opportunity to increase the number of slots and would be setting aside more of those slots for its most vulnerable customers.

Morrisons said it was expanding its home delivery, introducing new ways of delivering groceries and more slots for customers, which will also help vulnerable people and those affected by the virus.

A new range of simple-to-order food parcels, including options for vegetarians, was started on Monday.

More delivery slots were available through Morrisons.com and the Morrisons Store on Amazon Prime Now. Morrisons will use 100 further stores to pick customers’ shopping over the coming weeks.

A customer call centre was being launched to take orders over the phone so people who did not shop online can still order food.

To support the roll-out of these expanded home delivery methods, Morrisons is recruiting around 2,500 pickers and drivers and 1,000 distribution centre staff which it said would also help those whose jobs had been lost or impacted on by COVID-19.

David Potts, Morrisons’ chief executive, said: “We expect the days, weeks and months ahead to be very testing and we are determined to do our bit.

“These measures will support our very hard-working colleagues, enable us to provide more food to more people in their homes and create opportunities for people whose jobs are affected by the coronavirus.”

Sainsbury’s said it was doing its ‘absolute best’ to offer online delivery slots to elderly and vulnerable customers who had priority over all slots.

“We have proactively contacted 270,000 customers who had already given us information that meant we could identify them as elderly or vulnerable.

“Our customer careline is working at full capacity to help other vulnerable customers and we are able to give an additional 8,000 customers a day access to delivery slots over the phone.

“We have already booked in slots for 115,000 elderly and vulnerable customers this week and this number is growing every day.”

Where slots were available, not currently filled by elderly and vulnerable customers, they were offered to others in the short term, a spokesperson added,

The company was due to receive the Government database this week detailing the people considered to be the most vulnerable.

“Where these people are registered with us, we will start to write to them next week to offer them a delivery slot.

We are doing our very best, but it’s important to remember that home delivery is a very small part of the grocery market and we would ask communities to work together on this issue.

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“If customers are able to go into store to shop, we hope they will also shop for someone else who lives locally if they can.”

She added regular deliveries were being received and Sainsbury’s supermarkets were now open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday so the firm could focus workers’ time on keeping shelves stocked.

“We are constantly listening to feedback from our customers and will be in touch when there is anything further we can share.”

Iceland said, whilst it was seeing an unprecedented demand for its online delivery service with customers booking slots incredibly quickly as they became available, more slots were being released daily.

“We are also working hard to add extra online delivery capacity at every opportunity across all our stores in the UK.”

The company had placed a pop-up on its groceries website asking people only to place online orders if they were elderly, disabled or otherwise vulnerable, or were self-isolating.

“This is designed to make people think twice before placing an order, and consider whether or not it is absolutely vital for them to use one of our delivery slots at a time when we are seeing such high demand.

“We are calling on all of our customers to help us in supporting the most vulnerable people in our communities.

“We have appealed to the public to support our efforts to give priority to those most in need, whether that is by respecting priority shopping periods for the elderly and vulnerable in our stores, or by not placing online orders if they are capable of visiting a store themselves.

“Please show consideration for others in the way that you shop, by not panic buying and not taking up delivery slots that are badly needed by those who are unable to obtain the food and other essentials they need in any other way.”

Waitrose said it was looking into the issue and hoped to provide an update to us and customers soon.

Whether you shop at Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury's or Waitrose, we reveal how to find the cheapest supermarket online delivery deals, including the price of monthly passes. Some even offer free deliveries!

Cheap online supermarket deliveries

If you regularly do your grocery shopping online, it's vital you track down the cheapest supermarket delivery deals or you'll end up wasting a load of cash.

Our guide explains how to do just that and covers all the main supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Ocado and Iceland.

But before your scroll to your favourite store, please note some supermarkets have reported a sharp spike in demand for online deliveries due to the latest lockdown, so you may have to wait longer to book a slot at some stores.

The increased demand is being driven by people worried about stock shortages seen when lockdown was first introduced last March, as well as more demand from clinically vulnerable people who have been asked to shield once more.

While we can't help you jump the queue, you can at least ensure you pay the lowest possible price for your delivery, whenever that may be.

Asda delivery costs

Minimum order: £40

Delivery cost: £1-£6.50

Cheapest delivery slots: Monday to Thursday afternoons and evenings

Time slots: two hours

Regular Asda shopper? Grocery Delivery Passes entitle you to free delivery anytime for specific days, but new delivery passes are no longer on sale at the time of writing.

Asda is unable to confirm when delivery passes will go back on sale. We’ll update this article if Asda gets in touch with any new updates.

When delivery passes were available, shoppers could get an Anytime Delivery Pass, which was available for 12 months. You had to pay £5 a month for 12 months or a £55 one-off payment, or alternatively, you could get a six-month pass for £35 (or six £6 monthly instalments).

There was also a midweek 12-month pass for deliveries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which would have set you back £24.

Asda has promised that if your Delivery Pass didn't save you more than you would have spent on standard delivery charges, it will give you an eVoucher for the difference.

Make sure you save on your next shop with these top tips.

Iceland delivery costs

Minimum order: £25

Cost: £2 delivery charge for orders over £25 but less than £35 (free delivery for orders over £35)

Cheapest delivery slots: you only pay for delivery if you spend less than £35

Time slots: two hours

Iceland doesn’t sell delivery passes but does offer a Bonus Card, which will give you access to exclusive offers.

Once you've registered your card, you can load money onto it and Iceland will top up every £20 with £1, effectively a boost of up to 5%.

Iceland will also provide free delivery on spends over £25 to Bonus Cardholders – but only when you pay in store.

Morrisons delivery costs

Minimum order: £40

Cost: 99p-£6.90

Cheapest delivery slots: afternoons and evenings, Tuesday-Thursday

Time slots: One hour

Regular Morrisons shopper? A Delivery Pass will entitle you to free delivery anytime for specified periods.

The anytime pass, which covers deliveries any day of the week, is available for a month (£8), for six months (£40) or annually (£65).

There's also a mid-week pass, which you can use for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday deliveries. Monthly (£5), six-month (£20) and annual (£35) passes are available.

If your Delivery Pass ends up costing more than standard delivery charges, Morrisons will give you a refund.

You can also get a Morrisons More Card to earn points, which you can redeem at the supermarket.

Make sure you save on your next Morrisons shop with these top tips.

Ocado delivery costs

Minimum order: £40

Cost: £2.99-£6.99 or free with spend over £75 for certain orders

Cheapest delivery slots: early morning or late evening

Time slots: One hour

Ocado has paused its Smart Pass and there's no confirmation when they'll be back on sale.

The Smart Pass entitles you to no extra delivery charges, lets you save at least 10% on selected items and offers access to exclusive sales among other benefits. Delivery charges apply as normal during Christmas week, but Smart Pass holders get priority.

Sainsbury’s delivery costs

Minimum order: £25

Cost: £1-£7 or free delivery with spend over £100 for orders delivered between Monday-Thursday after 2pm

Cheapest delivery slots: Tuesdays and Wednesdays (afternoons and evenings)

Time slots: One hour

If you shop at Sainsbury's, you've got a choice between two delivery passes, but you’ll need to spend at least £40 per shop.

The Midweek Delivery Pass covers deliveries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and is available for three months (£10), six months (£18) and 12 months (£30).

The Anytime Delivery Pass covers deliveries any day of the week, and costs £20 for three months, £35 for six months and £60 for 12 months.

Sainsbury’s will send you a voucher to cover any difference if you haven’t saved money with a Delivery Pass.

Get a Nectar card to earn points, which can be redeemed at Sainsbury’s, as well as 500 other brands.

Heading off to Sainsbury's? Save with our top shopping tips, and don't forget you can rack up Nectar points whenever you shop with a credit card from Sainsbury’s Bank.

Tesco delivery costs

Minimum order: £40

Delivery cost: £4.50 (or £5.50 for orders from Customer Fulfilment Centres) + £4 if you spend under £40

Time slots: One hour (but you can save money by opting for a four-hour window)

Unfortunately, Tesco has paused new registrations for its Delivery Saver pass.

“Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, we’ve worked very hard to increase our online capacity and have more than doubled our slots each week,” said a spokesperson for Tesco.

“We continue to offer priority access to over 600,000 of our most vulnerable customers.

“We’ve temporarily paused new sign-ups for Delivery Saver so that we can support existing and vulnerable customers given the high demand for online slots.”

When the Delivery Saver pass was available, you paid £7.99 for one month or £47.94 for six months for one delivery a day with a minimum order of £40.

There was also the option of paying £6.99 a month for six months or its cheaper midweek delivery saver pass, which cost £3.99 a month.

Similar to some rival schemes, you got a grocery eCoupon if you didn’t save money with the Delivery Saver plan.

Don’t forget Tesco’s Clubcard scheme, where you earn points that can be turned into vouchers for shopping or days out.

Save on your next Tesco shop with our top frugal tips. Also, don't forget you can boost your credit score and earn Clubcard points when you shop with this credit card.

Waitrose delivery costs

Minimum order: £40

Cost: free

Cheapest slots: delivery is always free

Time slots: One hour

Regular Waitrose shopper? Join MyWaitrose for free as it provides a number of offers, but almost all are only available in store.

Make sure you save on your next Waitrose shop with our top frugal tips. You can also earn points every time you shop at Waitrose with this credit card.

Top tips for saving on all online grocery shopping

1. Sign up for emails with all of the supermarket websites, even if you don't intend to shop with them straight away.

Like all retailers, supermarkets often send out discount codes (such as 15% off your shopping) to entice us to shop with them, which will usually more than cover the delivery charge.

2. Switch around. Never use the same delivery service twice in a row. Supermarkets tend to ignore loyal customers and send their best deals to those who haven't used their service for a while – make them stew and watch the offers roll in!

Iceland Shopping online, free Delivery

3. Complain, complain, complain. If there is anything at all wrong with your shopping (late delivery, damaged fruit or vegetables, items too close to their sell-by date, dented tins) don't just accept it, phone up and tell them.

Most customer service managers are keen that you enjoy the service and will often replace or simply refund your money, straight away.

What's more, depending on the problem many will issue credit notes too, giving money off your next delivery (which may cover that delivery fee!).

4. Check prices. Depending on what you buy you could still end up spending more at different supermarkets, even if your delivery costs nothing.

5. Don't forget Click & Collect. A number of supermarkets offer Click & Collect services, where you order in advance and simply have to pick up the shopping, which is already bagged up and ready for you.