Thank you for responding. I appreciate your advice.

Is the 13 digit number begining 7 the e-ticket number?

Yes, the flight is shown in my bookings on the China Southern website.

Would the confirmation email only be sent after the credit card payment has been fully processed? At the moment it is still marked up as pending.

This is getting a little frustrating. I think perhaps we should give them a call. Can I call them anytime? I'm in the UK.