I have had a Littlewoods Xtra catalogue for some time and generally have been quite happy with the service I receive, but one thing let's them down big time. Their website.

While the website is quite pretty it is almost always non-functional. Three times over the last fortnight, I have tried to order another (and better) DVD player over the net, and three times have given up in total frustration.

While navigating the site is quite easy (using a series of drop down menus) the time taken to get from one page to another is absolutely appalling. I have downloaded MP3's faster than I have browsed this site. It also doesn't seem to matter what time I try to access the site as it's still incredibly slow. I have tried at 9am, 4pm and 3.30am without success, showing that it isn't a network congestion problem so must be a server thing. Maybe the over-complication of the site is to blame (on a coding level).

So I'll review the catalogue instead as the website is a total non-starter. The catalogue is laid out much like every other catalogue I've come across, with sections for Ladies, Gents, Kids, Sport etc and very easy to browse. New catalogues are published every six months (January and July) and this is where you hit problems.

Because of such a long 'shelf-life' the prices can seem very ridiculous, with product sometimes 50% more than they can be bought on the high street (Sega Dreamcast being a prime example). Offsetting this is the ability to shop from home and easy credit terms (although the APR is very high). Unfortunately because of the internet home shopping now has a much different outlook. I can't see it being too long before an on;ine store does the same thing but better, and in all honesty I don't see what's stopping Littlewoods doing it.

Imagine having a fixed credit limit account at an online version of such a catalogue with the ability to view products from differen
t angles, with more indepth information (another thing that lets down both the website and catalogue is poor information about the products). I think it would be a runaway success.

So with poor prices ( due to being six months behind in some cases ), poor product information and a website that's absolutely dire why is it worth joining. Only the flexible account (even though the APR is over the top). If they didn't offer that then you can bet your bottom dollar that I wouldn't have an account at all.