I feel badly treated by John Lewis and want to warn others that its guarantees are not being honoured.
I purchased a Toshiba TV from the Birmingham store two years ago for £379. It came with a five-year guarantee. Recently, a problem arose with the picture – horizontal lines appeared on the screen, which subsequently got worse.
I called customer service which asked for pictures by email. I supplied these but received no reply. When I called again, I was told the TV would be collected and inspected at the workshop. Now I’ve been told this won’t be happening as its engineer had examined my photos and concluded that the lines were caused by me damaging the screen.
I have suggested that John Lewis has the decency to inspect the TV before accusing me of causing the damage, but this has been refused. What has happened to John Lewis that its staff are behaving like this?
JF, Birmingham
A quick look online suggests that banding, as it is called, is mostly caused by loose connections at the back of the set.
Sadly, we are no longer surprised by stories like this. A decade ago such a letter would have been a shock, but it is now too common.
Happily, John Lewis has agreed to pick up the TV and give you a full refund. No explanation as to your experience has been offered.
Meanwhile, we recommend Richer Sounds as the place to buy TVs, hi-fi and similar products. We get almost no complaints in our inbox about the company.
And finally
Many readers have been in touch over the past few weeks to ask whether they are entitled to refunds or extensions to railcards bought before the crisis hit.
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the rail industry, says they are deemed “non-refundable” because their cost can often be covered by the savings on just one journey. A three-month extension to all railcards would be a pragmatic solution, but this, too, has been ruled out. Sorry.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions: http://gu.com/letters-terms
