h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Some time ago I received a couple of catalogues from a company specialising in casual clothing. (The company will remain nameless to protect the guilty.) The catalogues were accompanied by a single order form, which stated that I was entitled to a free gift if my order exceeded £x. I put together an order which exceeded amount £x and, as the company had a web-site, tried to place the order via their site. There were problems with this, so I placed the order by phone. When the order finally "arrived", one item was missing and there was no mention of the freebie on the invoice / receipt. I phoned their customer service line (same number as their order line, the idiots!) and was given the following spiel:
a) The missing item should have been ordered on a separate order code as it came from a separate catalogue.
b) Orders from that catalogue do not count towards the amount £x to qualify for the freebie.
c) If I wanted to order that item and have it counted towards the freebie, I would have to pay the full price quoted on the web-site - a difference of £10!

I countered this with the following:
a) The two catalogues were accompanied by a single order form and there was no mention that items from the second catalogue didn't count towards amount £x.
b) The price that came up on the web-site when I tried to place my order *was* the discounted price.
c) When I placed the order by phone, my order for that item was accepted. I was not told that it didn't count; in fact, I was given the impression that it did! I also was not asked for a different order code for that item.

I stood my ground with the woman who took my call, and with her supervisor when she took over. In the end, they caved in and I got my freebie. But it wasn't a pleasant experience and soured my opinion of that company, at least as far as their 'phone mail order is concerned.