A baffled shopper was left in a lather after she received three bars of soap instead of a new phone worth more than Dh2,600 in a delivery mix-up.

Aisha Deeb ordered a Google Pixel 2XL 128GB phone last Wednesday on Souq.com, the region’s largest online retailer.

She was told she would receive the phone – which cost Dh2,613.45 – the following day, but said the courier did not attempt to deliver it until Sunday.

The Brit was left clean out of luck when the order not only turned up late, but with surprising contents.

She has been told she will get a full refund - as soon as she gives back the bars of soap.

The delivery was left on her doorstep without an attempt being made to obtain a signature for it.

“When I opened it up, it was three bars of soap,” she said.

“I thought if I don’t laugh I am just going to burst into tears. I’ve used Souq for years and never had any issues. Obviously when it rains it pours.”

Ms Deeb said she called to complain and was shown a picture of a form with a signature in her name.

“I told them that wasn’t my signature and I hadn’t even been home, so I don’t know who has signed for it. Someone has obviously just written my name.”

The phone was finally delivered on Monday night by a courier who left the box with her family member, who was not asked to provide identification.

The order was covered with a ‘Fulfilled by Souq’ guarantee, which according to the online retailer’s website ensures a “systematic and rigorous quality control process from pick-up to shipment” providing genuine and high quality products packed in secure packaging.

In addition, “consumers benefit from faster pick-up on returns and enjoy excellent customer service for the orders,” the website said.

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Ms Deeb called Souq to inform the company of the error and was told she would receive a reply within 48 hours.

On Tuesday she received a call from a manager to say that if she gives the three bars of soap back she will be issued with a full refund and she can then reorder the phone.

“At this point, I’m so stressed out by the whole thing that I’m probably just going to leave it for a while,” she said.

“I deliberated over getting it for a few weeks before I even ordered it but decided I deserved a treat. But if I do decide to get a new phone at some point it will definitely not be from Souq.”

Souq.com was founded in 2005 and acquired by Amazon, the US retail giant, in 2017 in a deal reported to be worth $700million.

A spokesman said: "Our customer guarantees provide protection for customers who buy from Souq.com and if a customer received the item, but the item was defective, damaged, or not the item depicted in the seller's description, we will refund."