Best cyclocross bike under £1000 and other CX chat

Process goes:

• Boardman website, which gives you customer.services@halfords.co.uk or call: 08450 579 000.
  
• Both of these options direct you to go into a branch
  
• The bloke in the cycling department has to find the manager (he was AWOL)
  
• Manager calls and says "Can't get 'em mate etc"
  
  

I tried to speak to someone at the head office level, but they were having none of it, deflected everything back to the branch.