i dont think that is the problem.He may well of been in hospital for all we know, ...not much you can do about that!!
its more that the website allowed orders and took payment when there was no stock and no mention of the delays etc.
every website should be like amazon and similar services that doesnt allow purchases/charges if there isnt any stock.
it would not be difficult to add a db query into the website before purchase to check if there is stock, from there it could either say.
come back later or place a backorder.
honestly it would not be difficult