John Lewis replacing TV with a cheaper one

ironman1

Hello, hope this is in the right place.

Recently our tele broke, an internal problem. Luckily we have the free 5yr warranty offered on all sets by John Lewis. So after a while they put us onto a firm that would hopefully sort the problem and give us our tele back.

After a week I phoned the repair people, who said the parts would take about three weeks to come into stock. So we would be without a box for over a month all in, not good with the football season around the corner!

They told a few white lies to JL who eventually called me and said we could have a new set. The options they gave us were all fairly decent, eventually we picked a brand new one worth £500.

Our old tele, which we had bout about 15 months before, was worth £600 at the time. So John Lewis asked for my card details so they could transfer me £100 and then take it back out a few days later, as thats the only way the system recognized this type of transaction. I'm not gonna moan about the new TV costing less than the old one, afterall the new one is better IMO and the price of these LCD's hardly stay high for ages.

But does anyone find this a bit strange, I mean the whole transferring money into my account and then taking it back? The reason I ask is that I forgot all about this weird £100 transaction until I checked my bank earlier and noticed it in there. Before they take it back is there anyone more clued up than me who could advise if im actually entitled to this £100 and JL are covering it up? I mean I did pay £600 for the 'broken' TV and the new one is worth a ton less?

As I said, I'm not greedy, Im happy to get a brand new set and replace the older one, but thought I'd ask on here, because it all seems strange to me, the fact they needed to put in and take out a hundred quid in the first place?!

Hopefully someone can understand this waffle and help me out, thanks!

Mankysteve

Well if you agreed to them doing it that way then no your not entitled to it.

unholyangel

Mankysteve wrote: »

Well if you agreed to them doing it that way then no your not entitled to it.

Not just that, i think the SOGA specifies "like for like" for a replacement and not that they have to be of equal cost. Obviously a tv 15 months old will depreciate as technology is probably one of the fastest sectors for advancing.

Of course JL could have went down the partial refund route which could have resulted in the OP being offered less than £500.

OP, if you are happy with the offer they have made then there shouldnt really be a problem. Although the refund/charge is a little strange, i dont think its anything to worry about.

ironman1

Yeah, as I said i'm happy. But I wanted to make sure everything they were doing was alright. I'm glad they gave me a new tele but obviously if I was entitled to the £100 difference I'd want to know about it.

I've just never known this way of doing things. I mean the card they credited wasn't even the original card we purchased to tv with. Its not even in the same name and address. Also they money has been in the account since Friday and hasn't been taken 'back' by John Lewis yet. Would cause problems if someone accidently spent the 100 i'm sure!

vyle

I'm more interested in these "white lies" the engineer told to get you a replacement tv in the first place.

adam.mt

The transaction does seem odd, but as long as they refund it you shouldn't be worried.

As to your entitlement, it's a replacement 'like for like' so no you wouldn't be entitled to the £100 that the replacement was cheaper than your initial purchase.

Enfieldian

You paid £600 for a TY 15 months ago with the safety of the warranty.

If the model you had then is no longer available then they can't replace your old TV with it, they have to provide a like for like alternative.

The equivalent to your original TV will probably cost about £400 in a couple of years, would you expect them to refund you difference then as well?

vyle

Re-reading the post, it sounds like whoever put the transaction through didn't quite know what they were doing (or the procedure has changed).

Usually, a customer comes in with a letter saying they're having a replacement tv, I call the service department to confirm the original model, or how much credit we're giving the customer, and then I sell the relevant tv.

If the new one is more expensive than the old one, I sell it, take the credit off the total and charge the difference.

If it's cheaper, I just put it through with an allowance for that amount and that's it. No odd money transfers.

ironman1

The money is still in my account, they haven't taken it back and it's been nearly a week.

Might just withdraw it and get drunk!

Vyle- I bought the TV online and all talk has been done over the phone, haven't been into a store, maybe that's why they do the weird card transaction thing?

vyle

ironman1 wrote: »

The money is still in my account, they haven't taken it back and it's been nearly a week.

Might just withdraw it and get drunk!

Vyle- I bought the TV online and all talk has been done over the phone, haven't been into a store, maybe that's why they do the weird card transaction thing?

Ah, could be.

dmg24

ironman1 wrote: »

The money is still in my account, they haven't taken it back and it's been nearly a week.

Might just withdraw it and get drunk!

Vyle- I bought the TV online and all talk has been done over the phone, haven't been into a store, maybe that's why they do the weird card transaction thing?

If you do, please don't come back moaning when they do withdraw the money and you go overdrawn.