Hannah Banana Blog and Forum

Why is Lipsy’s customer services so inept? Last year I tried making an order from their site and every time I went through the checkout process, an error page would come up (through no fault of mine, their site was “under maintenance” – why have the website up and running if that was so?! – and I was charged for each attempt I made this order, even though it hadn’t processed! So I was charged £120 three times – and after a dozen phone calls to Lipsy customer services nothing was resolved. Had to wait over a month for my refund!

On the 12th of January this month I also bought a purple Lipsy Ric Rac Bow dress in the sale for £18, and almost 2 weeks on have still not received it. I emailed Lipsy customer services with regards to this and they took a screenshot of the tracking details (see below) of the parcel which claimed it had been delivered to my letterbox on the 15th of January at 7.10pm. I emailed them back, claiming that it had not, and pointed out that the courier had not included the full details of my address – it was meant to be sent to “Top Attic Flat” yet the address through tracking stated “Top A”. After no reply to my email I then contacted Lipsy via phone, and they claimed they would get in touch with the courier and phone me back. Received no phone call. I attempted to email them once again, and was told that the courier claimed she had delivered the parcel personally to me. Wait a minute, the tracking details state that it was delivered to my letterbox, and I was at work at the time of supposed delivery and can prove so via a timesheet!

I replied back, stating this and asked them to get in touch with the courier and ask if she had delivered it to the very top flat, for a description of myself and to describe the unique sign we have on our front door (which cannot be compared to any of the other flats below us). Yet was replied with this: “You will have to write to Lipsy Customer Services if you have not received your order.”

Hold on, am I not emailing Lipsy customer services – why do I need to write to you?!? Sounds like buying time to me. Just glad it wasn’t anything more expensive. Have written the letter anyway and sent it first class recorded as i’m sure if I sent it any other way they would try to claim they didn’t receive the letter. Still waiting for a response.

I have nothing against Lipsy, have bought from their site for years and love their fashion but how am I supposed to shop with confidence from their site when their courier and customer services are so incapable of doing their jobs properly?

Have you had any bad experiences from Lipsy? Make a comment below.

Hunting for alternatives to flowers, chocolate, teddy bears and perfume? Look no further! After searching the net i’ve managed to find completely original gifts that she (or even he) will love. Most of them originate from firebox.com, their wide range of gifts never fail to disappoint.

1. My Monopoly £79.95

Number 1 on the list is a personalised monopoly board from firebox.com, printed from the official monopoly factory. My Monopoly allows you to build a property empire on spaces named by you, for you. Playing spaces can be named after your loved one, beaches you’ve visited, pet names, previous homes you’ve shared together, the list is endless. My Monopoly is completely bespoke, even the rules, the title of the board and  the Title Deed cards are personalised to your specification. Perfect if you’re looking for something more personal and completely unique.

2. Personalised Silver Love Hearts £39.95

At firebox.com you can exclusively engrave a Silver Plated Love Heart – modelled on those classic cute retro sweeties - with an amorous message of your choice… Like the name of the recipient (or anything else you want up to 15 characters!). The perfect way to show sweethearts exactly how you feel, whether it’s for the first time or the umpteenth time - without seeing your gift gobbled down.

3. My Last Rolo £39.95 – £59.95

Again, this cute little keepsake is from firebox.com. Nothing says ‘I love you’ better than this timeless and iconic little chocolate,  which can be bought in silver, gold or pink gold. Made to the exact size of its chocolate equivalent and housed in a beautiful red or pink ribboned gift box, this gift is designed to melt the heart of a loved one and is a timeless present guaranteed to be treasured forever. Best of all, you’ll never have to give away your last chocolate rolo again! For a more personal touch, why not have the base of the rolo engraved. Firebox doesn’t offer this service but i’m sure any jeweller would.

4. Secret Message Arrow £14.95

This secret message arrow is the most perfect, thoughtful method of delivering your secret message – again from firebox.com. Initially it looks like a lovely ornament but imagine their joy when they twist the message arrow open and find your love rolled up inside, as housed in the centre is a roll of parchment for you to write your own personal message. It could be something as simple as directions for a surprise night out or a saucy suggestion for one person’s eyes only. The secret message arrow is made of brushed steel which makes it a nice weight. It comes in a lovely presentation box and includes 5 spare scrolls and a steel rolling rod to help insert your secret message into the arrow.

5. The Double Slanket £49.95

Snuggle up with your loved one and save money on heating bills at the same time with this humongous four sleeved blanket. And guess where it’s from? – firebox.com. The double slanket is soft, light and ludicrously snuggly and features long, loose sleeves so you can keep your entire body covered, arms ‘n’ all, and still use your hands. Swathing yourself in a Slanket means you can turn down the heating and stay toastie all over without having to hide under the duvet with legwarmers round your arms. Perfect for romantic evenings infront of the telly.

6. Naughty Knot £12.95

Men are easily pleased. Most would be happy with a crate of beer, food, beer, sex and more beer (but mostly sex) .. so why not give them the best present of all this valentines – you! The incredibly sexy naughty knot from firebox.com allows you to be the present. Simply strip off and wrap yourself in this one-piece satin bow and prepare to be unwrapped by your beau. Wrapped in this highly arousing little number you can finally give a pressie both you and your lover will enjoy, and will fit any cup size from A through to DD. The naughty knot comes wrapped in a neat little box and set of instructions – although at first glance the instructions look complicated, it’s easy to ensemble once you’ve got the knack. Go on.. treat yourself and your beau this valentines!

7. Giant Cupcake Tin £28.95 £23.95

Perfect gift for those who love to bake and have an incredibly sweet tooth. The giant cupcake tin from prezzybox.com allows you to create a cupcake suitable for a peckish giant. Yum! But handing over a baking tin isn’t the most romantic of gestures.. so why not try making one for her instead? Even if you’re not the best of bakers, she will love you for the effort. The tin creates a mind-blowing 3D cupcake and is surprisingly simple to use – simply fill both sides of the tin with cake mix (try out my recipe), bake in the oven, turn out and cool then assemble top and bottom cake halves with a thin layer of icing. All you need to add is some imaginative decoration. For example, white icing and little love heart sprinkles. Awww!

8. His & Hers Keyholders £14.95 each

Thinking of moving in with your loved one? This is the perfect gift for those who want to propose moving in together. And of course for those who keep losing their keys – again from firebox.com. Each chrome-plated figure is supplied with its own unique key, which is then attached to your own set of keys. The idea is to pop your keys in the His & Hers Keyholder’s ‘lock’, which are wall-mounted, whenever you return home. With these chic little figures you’ll never lose your keys again and are sold individually so that you can buy one of each gender or two males/females.

• Know a gift which you think deserves to be added to this list? What was the best valentine present you ever received? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Merry Christmas and happy new year all ! Been a busy past couple of months with uni, exams, work, moving to a new flat with the beau, frozen pipes and all the other joys that follow with moving into a new place. But still had time to browse the winter sales and found this gorgeous Lipsy dress as seen on the lovely Emma Rigby, in a stunning wild berry colour, reduced from £65 to just £18!

Click the banner below to view over 300 dresses and accessories in the Lipsy sale and grab yourself a bargain!

Sam Mitchell steps out in another sexy figure hugging dress from Lipsy! This time it’s the candy pink/grey stripe Colour Block Body-Con Dress. I just bought this dress a few days ago in the Lipsy sale for £30, reduced from £75. Click here to get yours! The dress is also available in a light blush pink colour and slate grey. I have to say this is one of my favourite dresses from Lipsy’s summer collection. I love body-con dresses, however some of them can be quite tight fitting, leaving no room to move or breathe – the fabric of this dress however is quite stretchy so it’s very comfortable to wear yet clings to your curves in all the right places. So if you are looking for a comfy yet figure hugging dress, I would recommend this one.

Eastenders this week has brought the return of Daniella Westbrook aka Sam Mitchell – but where is that stunning pink & orange dress from? It’s none other than the strapless Jewelled Colourblock Dress from Lipsy – click here to buy it while it’s still in stock! The dress has a boned bodice, padded bra cups, lined pleated skirt with jewel embellished pockets and exposed back zip fastening. It’s selling for only £70 and there’s a huge range of different and stunning colour combinations to choose from, the pink and purple being my fave. This dress has been seen on many celebrities ranging from Hollyoaks’ Carley Stenson to Kelly Young, to glamour model Danielle Lloyd. Just one question.. where did she get those killer heels from?!?

Lipsy are going to be offering free delivery from 12pm Thursday 27th August to midnight Monday 31st! To claim your free delivery, simply type BANKHOLIDAY into the promotion code box. Here is my favourite dress from the new Autumn collection – the Zebra Sequin Tunic as seen on Katie Price and Tulisa from N-Dubz. Priced at £55, this stunning dress (although looks more like a long top to me!), is jersey backed with scoop neck and back line. This dress would be perfect teamed with black opaque tights and killer heels, or if you’re brave enough, do a Jordan and wear nothing underneath. I also recently bought the Piped Belted Mac in the blueberry colour, although it appears quite light in the photo it is a nice dark shade of plum. The inside is also lined with black lipsy logo lining and contrast white piping. Usually I have to go a size up with certain Lipsy dresses and jackets but the size 8 fitted perfectly, without being too long. This jacket is simply stunning, well worth the money and it also comes in a beige shade with black contrast piping or black with grey contrast piping. Grab yours before they are gone!

One of the live tournaments I have been trying to get into is the Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival. Boasting a €250,000 guaranteed prize pool (last years pool soared to €400,000 with 1st place securing a cool 100k), the event is taking place from 2nd – 4th of October at the best poker venue in Europe, the Irish National Events Centre (INEC) in Killarney, Co Kerry, Ireland. Laddies are offering online players the chance to win a €950 package which includes the €550 buy in to the Main Event with 15,000 starting chips and 1 hour blinds. Also included is a 3 night bed and breakfast stay at the picturesque Gleneagle hotel, situated adjacent to the INEC, with the accommodation suited for two people so you can bring a guest. The festival also includes two side tournaments, and all package winners will have access to Ladbrokes hospitality facilities which includes a games room with pool and darts. Exciting stuff.

So how do you win a package?!?! Ladbrokes state you can win a seat for as little as €3. But the €3 satellite doesn’t offer a seat to the winner – they win a seat to a following satellite, and if you win that satellite.. a seat to another satellite.. whooopeeee!!! Then you are fighting for the package. You can of course buy in to the final satellite, for a €110 fee. I haven’t played any of those satellites, can’t see myself winning 3 in a row.. but I guess you have to be in it to win it as they say! The Ladybrokes freeroll offered a package to the winner however I came 15th out of 400+ players – gutted. Oh well always next year! Although there’s still plenty of time to nab a seat, with the satellites running every Monday – Friday up to the 20th of September. Good luck!

If you haven’t already signed up to Ladbrokes and would like the chance to secure a seat, click here and download the software. With Ladbrokes offering new players a welcome bonus up to $1,000, there has never been a better time to sign up.

Woo! The Lipsy summer sale has just launched, but unfortunately the dress I love is not in it – the Ric Rac Dress as seen on Emma Rigby. Luckily it has just come back in stock though after being sold out for months. This gorgeous little mini dress is currently selling for £65, grab yours while you can! It also comes in black, blue and a cute baby pink colour. The new autumn collection has also just arrived, i’m loving the Piped Belted Mac and the new Colour Block Tulip Dress. Sooo many nice dresses to choose from, I want them all!

A couple months back I ordered a dress from Lemon Kiss Boutique, warning: do not buy anything from this shop! They will attempt to take your money and run. Yes it doesn’t look the best of sites and I had my suspicions about it, but since the payment method was google checkout, I knew I would get my money back if anything went wrong. I ordered the dress on the 30th of June, and by the 23rd of July still had not received it. After a week of nothing through the post I decided to contact the website before my payment had been authorised, knowing that if they did not reply I would withdraw the payment. Needless to say they replied straight away, claiming it would arrive within a couple of days. Two weeks later and still no dress. I then put a claim through google checkout and to my surprise received my money back the next day, sooo much better than paypal, judging by their lengthy disputes, I was expecting to wait a while before I got my money back. When buying from shops like this, it is always best to use a payment method where you know you will be protected, or if the shop looks as dodgy as this one, then it’s probably best to shop elsewhere.

Last night I came 11th in one of the new poker tournaments that Ladbrokes have introduced. It was put in place of the $1 $500 guaranteed high stack, and is now a €1 high stack, with 20 minute blinds – was it really necessary to slap on another 5 minutes to an already tediously long tournament, add an extra 1000 chips to each stack.. and for what… €70 top prize??! Which genius at ladbrokes thought of that? Surely if you were going to extend the blinds and add on extra chips.. there would at least be a decent payout worth playing for? This tournament started at 5.15pm and by the time I was put out it was 12.30am, €2 richer. Woohooo drinks are on me. I wouldn’t have been so bothered if I was put out 20th, as this would have saved me 2 hours and still would have received the same payout. Or even if the blinds were reduced, makes no sense to make the tournament longer, when the prize money has been dropped. The old tournament was one of my favourites, being a skint student bum it’s all I can afford to play every night with a decent (ish) payout, with any winnings being banked and a wee bit left over to buy into the bigger tourneys. Looks like I may have to get my poker fix elsewhere.

After coming 12th in the usual $1 Ladbrokesbeat the poker manager tournament (I got muffed, don’t ask), and ogling the 150k guarantee Sunday Rebuy – $37,500 first prize, OOOOOOOH – I decided to join a satellite tournament for the 150k the following Sunday. And won a seat for £6. Just as I was celebrating in my seat (ok, bed) and squealing with excitement, Neil said:

“Wait a minute, aren’t you going away next Sunday?”

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! As a birthday present, my mum booked me and her a nights stay at Cameron House Hotel. If I had to choose? It would be poker (sorry mum). But think of all the nights we could stay there if I won! ..Just checked the prices, not many, not even a year. I’d spend the money on much more important things anyway.. a girl can never have too many shoes, right?! And a ticket to the World Series of Poker. If I had a list of 100 things to do before I die, participating in the WSOP would be number 1. Imagine arriving at your table only to find that you’re sitting next to the likes of Doyle Brunson. I’d probably get whooped but at least I could say I played with one of the best poker players. Actually, i’d probably be pissed off to have lost 10k to a player that clearly doesn’t need any more money. Honestly, if I won the 150k guarantee i’d probably keep the moolah for the rest of my years at uni and driving lessons. No pressure Neil!

Speaking of the WSOP, i’ve been receiving updates from Ladbrokes about their two sponsored players that are participating in the main event – Jon “Skalie” Kalmer and Nebuchad. Good luck to them both, wonder if Skalie will be able to beat the 5th place he secured back in 2007?

Just finished playing a “Ladybrokes” freeroll – a free tournament open to the lady poker players of Ladbrokes. Over 400 players joined the tournament and only the top ten were paid (stingy eh), with first place winning a position in the Irish Poker Festival and 2nd-10th winning Champney’s vouchers. And where did I come? 15th! Gutted. Luck was on my side too, or so I thought, with the Poker God (yes if there is a God, it’s got to be a poker God), saving my tush a couple of times. I ran into JJ with my 8s and hit trips, and my AK ran into AA – again, I hit trips. With the luck I was having I thought I was destined to make the final table. By this time it was down to the top 25, and I had around 61k with the blinds sitting at 1k/2k.

Now I know why so many players sit out with a decent chipstack just before the money. Soon after I was hitting a good run of hands such as AK and AQ, every time getting beat by a small pocket pair, bringing me down to 25k. I was then moved to another table and the blinds were at 2k/4k. The blind hit, and I had T6. Rubbish. Had 1 call from another player, and the flop came AA6. Hitting two pair, I bet 4k after being checked and after some time, was called. The turn brought a 10, which gave me a better two pair, and again I bet another 4k. I was then re-raised another 4k and immediately thought this person was slowplaying their trip Aces after being check-raised. I called, and a useless J came down on the river. I was then put all in, and after a considerable amount of time, folded. The player showed K2. AAARGGGHHH!!!! Usually at this stage in a tournament, with the blinds so high, it’s either an all in or fold situation pre-flop, with the occasional rag ace call, and my reasoning told me that this player had a rag ace. Wrong!

This left me with a measly 13k, managed to get myself back up to 20k but was quickly put out after my 6s were beat by Q10. Just as I was reaching the pearly gates of final table poker heaven, my luck was snatched away from me. Poker God hath spoken.

Just been browsing Lipsy’s new summer collection which now offers dresses from £25 including this gorgeous Futuristic Prom Dress, as seen on Vanessa from the Saturdays and Hollyoaks’ Carley Stenson, for only £30. They also have a new sunshop which shows off a stunning collection of bikinis (the leopard print is my fave!), oversized and aviator style sunnies and mini velour playsuits. There’s also a range of cute velour shorts that come in a baby pink colour or black, perfect for lounging around on those hot summer days, or if you are lucky enough to be going on holiday this year, by the beach or poolside. Better snap them up quick though as they are quick to go out of stock! Bikini? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Shorts? Check. Beach resort holiday? Maybe next year..

Summer is finally here, and to celebrate I bought myself my own ice cream maker! The Ice Cream Ball is the perfect addition to any BBQ, picnic or garden party, as it allows you to create yummy homemade ice cream, in a fun way. They come in a variety of colours – pink, blue, purple, red, orange and green, and you can get yours by clicking the banner below.

So how does it work? It’s quite simple – there’s two outer chambers of the Ice Cream Ball – in one you cram as much ice into it as possible (you will need at least 1 full bag), with 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of rock salt (don’t worry, it doesn’t come in contact with the ice cream). The other end is for the ice cream mix – 473ml of double cream, 7 and a half tablespoons of sugar and anything else you might want to add to it – chocolate nestle milkshake powder for chocolate ice cream, a hint of mint with chocolate chips, or vanilla essence.

Then comes the fun part – once you have added the mix and ice – you shake, rattle and roll the ball around! After about 20 minutes, you should have a pint of delicious ice cream ready to eat. If the mix is not quite ready then simply pop the lid back on and keep on rollin. Extra ice may also be required.

Here’s a few recipes to try out:

• Chocolate – Add 3 tablespoons of chocolate nestle milkshake powder to the cream and sugar mix.
• Strawberry – Add 3 tablespoons of strawberry nestle milkshake powder (or strawberry jam) to the cream and sugar mix.
• Banana and Chocolate Chip – Add 3 tablespoons of banana nestle milkshake powder and 1 bag of chocolate chips to the cream and sugar mix.
• Mint and Chocolate Chip – Add 1 /4 teaspoon of mint extract to the mix, 1 bag of chocolate chips, and a few drops of green food colouring (optional).
• Oreo Mint – Add 1/4 teaspoon of mint extract to the mix and chopped Oreo cookies.
• Toffee – Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla essence, and chopped toffee to the mix.
• Marshmallow and Chocolate - Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla essence, a packet of mini marshmallows and a chopped chocolate bar to the mix.
• Chocolate Reese’s Cup – Add 3 tablespoons of chocolate nestle milkshake powder to the mix and chopped peanut butter Reese’s cups.
• Kit Kat – Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla essence to the mix, and 4 chopped Kit Kat chocolate bars.
• Rolo – Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla essense to the mix, and 2-3 packets of Rolos.
• Baileys and Lindt - Add 1 tablespoon of Baileys to the mix, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 bar of melted creamy Lindt chocolate.

Got an Ice Cream Ball recipe you’d like to share? Contact us and i’ll add it to the list.

I used to regularly use Ebay to buy and sell my stuff, up until when I sold some of Neil’s kitchen equipment from his cafe. Hopefully once you have read this story you will see some sense and use another auction site that doesn’t require every seller to have paypal as one of their payment options. I recommend Ebid (there’s several payment options, and you get to choose which). 

I sold a Kenwood food mixer for £122 and advertised it as pick up only. The winning bidder (ooglewoogle – if you come across this buyer, steer clear) contacted me to ask if they could arrange and pay for a courier to come and collect it. I said yes. So they arranged for parcelforce to come and collect it and just my luck, they had broken the food mixer during transit. I had wrapped this mixer in bubble wrap, cardboard etc but if the courier throws their parcels around (I knew someone who used to work there and witnessed them doing it), then there’s no hope in hell that the buyer was going to receive it undamaged! If only I had known that beforehand, I would have written FRAGILE over every little square inch of the box. The buyer however decided to blame the damage on me, claiming i’d sold them a faulty item (despite the fact that I had advertised it as PICK UP ONLY – am I really going to hand over a mixer that has clearly been knocked out of joint? – and 100% positive feedback). So a dispute was made under paypal and they came to the conclusion that I had to give the buyer a full refund once they had returned the broken mixer. So I am left with a broken mixer and I am having to pay £122 for it?!  

I contacted paypal several times about this and they told me to reopen the case all I had to do was get a police witness statement simply confirming that the food mixer was broken. NO police station in Scotland would give me this statement – they all claimed that they have nothing to do with paypal and they shouldn’t have asked me to get this statement from them in the first place. After about a month I finally managed to get one from someone who knew a policeman. I faxed this to paypal, yet they did nothing with this information and still claimed that I was due them money (they gave the buyer a full refund, so now I owe them the £122).  

I have now withdrawn my bank details from paypal so that they cannot take any money from me. And I can no longer phone to get in touch with them about the whole situation as when you phone paypal, they require you to type in the first few digits of the bank card you have registered with them before you can speak to anyone – so in order to talk to somebody, I would have to re-register my card, only for them to snap up the £122! Nice customer service there. And I have tried emailing but I keep getting the same stupid automated response – “send us the item in its original condition (how can i do that? IT’S BROKEN) and we will give you a full refund”. 

And now I have the debt collectors phoning me every week telling me that I am due paypal money. Lovely. The moral of the story is, don’t use paypal if you’re planning to sell, you will have no hope in hell if a dispute is opened up. Even better, don’t use Ebay. There’s plenty of other auction sites out there that will not do you over, and offer better protection for the sellers. 

If you are trying to get a police witness statement – don’t waste your time travelling to all the police stations you can find. This may be a paypal policy within the US but it certainly isn’t in the UK. You will not have a chance of getting one, unless you happen to know somebody that works in that area. Paypal know this very well but they will insist that you get one and if you don’t, the case will be closed in the buyer’s favour.

 Got a paypal horror story to share? Click below to join our discussion topic.