A woman who splashed out £245 on new mats for her husband's car was left surprised when they arrived and were small enough to fit in the palm of her hand.
Hedge Burley bought four car mats from a small, independent business online to give to her husband Mark as a present.
Hedge, a car collector, had bought the mats for the couple's 1986 Ford Cosworth, but when they arrived she was in for a shock.
She said: "One of our favourite cars is our 1986 Ford Cosworth which is very special to us both. I wanted to get the full-sized car mats as the pièce de résistance for the car for Mark's birthday.
Advert
"I searched for Ford car mats and found a website which did the car mats exactly how I wanted. Stupidly, I went and clicked on it to buy them for £245, thinking they were normal car-sized ones. You'd think for that price, they would be the proper size.
"When the package arrived, my daughter brought it to me and it felt like it was empty.
"I opened it and flitted in between crying and laughing for about 20 minutes. I just couldn't decide which was the proper reaction.
"My son was devastated with me but also laughed and told me that this is why old people shouldn't go on the internet!"
Hedge says she's since learnt from her mistake and vows to be more careful when shopping online in the future.
Advert
She added: "At first I was so mad but I came round to see the ridiculously funny side of it. Somebody went to the effort of making these mini mats which is crazy to me.
"This experience has cemented my desire to not buy things online."
Hedge attempted to approach the seller to claim a refund, but was unable to do so. She's hopeful that as she paid by credit card she'll be able to claim the money back that way.
"I tried to get in touch with the seller to ask for a refund but the website wasn't active anymore," she said.
Advert
"I paid with my credit card which is a big relief. Hopefully I will be able to buy some normal-sized car mats in the near future."
Featured Image Credit: Mercury News and Media