A mum-of-three has voiced her distress after she was left unable to afford food when Amazon overcharged her £720 for a laptop she bought to home-school her kids during lockdown.

Gemma Carpenter, 36, bought a £900 ASUS laptop so her teenage sons, 13 and 15, could learn remotely while schools across the UK remain closed to most children.

She was shocked when she went to pay for her Tesco food shop and her card had been declined after having opted to pay the cost in five £180 monthly instalments.

When she went to check her bank balance she discovered Amazon had taken the entire £900, leaving her out of pocket for the rest of the month.

Gemma says despite repeated complaints to Amazon the mistake has been dismissed as a "technical error" and she has been told they can't fix it.

The civil servant said she is now "incredibly hard-up" and has been forced to sell her clothes online to make ends meet after the error left her counting the pennies.

Having been charged the full amount already, Gemma says she then received an infuriating confirmation email stating she had paid £180 towards the product with an outstanding £719 balance.

Gemma was left out of pocket after the "technical error" saw her pay the full amount up-front (
Image:
Gemma Carpenter / SWNS)

The mum said she needed the computer to help teach her boys and allow them some gaming time while they stay stuck at home.

The blunder comes as Boris Johnson announced the new Brazilian strain of Covid could see schools across the UK stay shut for longer.

They are currently closed to all but the most vulnerable children and those of key workers across the UK, with a planned return to class in February.

Gemma, from Newport, Wales, said: "I've just been massively screwed over.

"It's their mistake, not mine.

"When it all happened I did have a bit of a meltdown.

"I went to get petrol before picking up the food shopping.

"I phoned up Amazon and they said it was a pending payment and something to do with pre-authorising the transaction.

"I kept getting told the money would be back in a couple of days. Then I'd phone back and be told the same thing again.

"I've phoned my bank but they say because I've received the item there's not a lot they can do.

"I've now how to resort to selling clothes and bits online to help get a bit more cash in."

Gemma's card was declined when she tried to buy a food shop for her family (
Image:
Gemma Carpenter / SWNS)

Gemma now feels there's "nowhere to turn to" after attempts to contact her bank and Amazon about the blunder fell flat.

"I just feel completely fobbed off and there's no where to turn to," she said.

"When I went to the online checkout it was all set up for monthly instalments.

"I had used that feature before so I know it works.

"I don't want to return it because I need it to help teach the kids.

"It's also for their gaming as they are in a pandemic too. They need stuff to do.

"Also if I return it now after a couple of weeks, who knows what constitutes as wear and tear in Amazon's books.

"I know there are thousands of parents up and down the country having to adapt to homeschooling.

"Ideally I want Amazon to fix this but at the same time if they've done this to me, they might do it again to someone else."

A spokesman for Amazon said: "Due to a technical issue which cannot be reversed, the full item price/purchase amount was charged in error.

"We have contacted the customer directly and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

"For a full refund the item can be returned.

"A collection can be arranged via www.amazon.co.uk/gp/your-account/order-history."