I wonder if you could help me with what has become a matter of principle. After many emails and phone calls, a simple promise seems to be beyond John Lewis, and I wonder how many other people have experienced similar.
In October last year I bought a watch online using John Lewis vouchers. I then discovered it was £10 cheaper in a rival high street store. I passed on all the details to John Lewis and it confirmed it would refund me the £10. It wanted to credit an online account, but as I don’t have one I asked for a voucher instead. This was confirmed, yet after numerous follow-up emails and calls I still haven’t got my refund.
I wonder how many others have struggled to get refunds as part of the “never knowingly undersold” pledge. DB, Herefordshire
It’s possibly the most famous promise in British retailing and has been at the heart of John Lewis’s business since 1925 – offering price matches and refunds if competitors offer a cheaper deal – so it is inevitably disappointing when things go wrong. Although this is not a huge amount, it is as you say a matter of principle.
When we got in touch with the company it zoomed into action. “In response to the customer’s request, our customer service team immediately credited £10 to the online account used to purchase the original item. Unfortunately, on this occasion the refund wasn’t credited as our team didn’t realise that the customer hadn’t provided a personal email address. We have since apologised for the delay and sent them a £10 gift voucher in the post.” You have now confirmed that you have received this.
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