A RETAIL giant has been accused of letting customers needlessly hand over cash in the rush to grab this Christmas’ most wanted present — Hatchimals.

Parents Matt and Michelle Price believed they had two of the sought-after toys in the bag after finding them in stock at two different Argos stores via the retailers website.

But just a soon as they paid up — and breathing a sigh of relief — they received an email from the company to say the toy was out of stock and they would get a refund in five to seven days.

When Mr Price, who hails from Westhoughton but now lives in Chorley with his family, went online to complain, he found other customers experiencing the same problems.

Mrs Price, aged 38, said: “They basically took the money and cancelled the order at the same time.

“They let us put the item in the basket twice and pay for both. It is so frustrating.

“It seems to have happened to a lot of people, there’s not many who can afford to lose money like that at this time of year.

“They must be holding on to a fortune made from all that money.”

The couple, who have two daughters aged four and eight, spent several evenings scouring the internet on the hunt for the elusive Hatchimals.

However, the toys — which see strange, interactive creatures, hatching from eggs — have been selling out as soon as they hit the shop floor.

Using a independent store stock checker, they found they were in stock at the Argos stores in Middlebrook Retail Park and a store in Bradford.

After confirming it through the retailer’s own site, they quickly purchased the toys at a combined cost of £120, only to be immediately disappointed.

Mrs Price said: “We tried contacting them, but all you get is a generic response.

“There were an awful lot of comments on the Facebook page from people having similar problems.

“Not a lot of people can afford to throw away £120 and not get the money back after a week.”

A spokesman for Argos said, like many other retailers, it had seen an unprecedented demand for Hatchimals since the launch.

They added: “We are aware of a small number of instances where customer orders have been cancelled as the product was no longer available.

“We have contacted Ms Price directly to resolve the issue and apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience caused.”