John Lewis refusing to refund..help please

dmg24

Is it one from this range?

http://www.johnlewis.com/Pictures+and+Paintings/Pictures+and+Paintings/Pictures+and+Paintings/View+All/4195/0/1/ProductType.aspx

If so, these are made to order. The fact that there are more than ten in stock, is just the JL system's way of saying that they are available to order.

fiendishly

"Now you can have fabulous artwork in a size to fit your space. Simply select from one of three sizes and your choice will be made up and delivered within 14 working days.

We can offer something for all tastes from soothing landscapes to funky pop art and classic photography to bold abstracts and floral studies.

The high quality image resolution creates exceptional clarity, depth and richness of colour. It is printed directly onto high grade canvas and hand stretched onto a solid wood frame. "

I think they probably have a good case for saying it is made to order, even though they do state they have more than 10 in stock.

marlowtech

dmg24 wrote: »

Is it one from this range?

http://www.johnlewis.com/Pictures+and+Paintings/Pictures+and+Paintings/Pictures+and+Paintings/View+All/4195/0/1/ProductType.aspx

If so, these are made to order. The fact that there are more than ten in stock, is just the JL system's way of saying that they are available to order.

Yup - those are the ones...

marlowtech

fiendishly wrote: »

"Now you can have fabulous artwork in a size to fit your space. Simply select from one of three sizes and your choice will be made up and delivered within 14 working days.

We can offer something for all tastes from soothing landscapes to funky pop art and classic photography to bold abstracts and floral studies.

The high quality image resolution creates exceptional clarity, depth and richness of colour. It is printed directly onto high grade canvas and hand stretched onto a solid wood frame. "

I think they probably have a good case for saying it is made to order, even though they do state they have more than 10 in stock.

My thinking is that they are using this as a means of not holding stock. If they are made to an individual specification/size then I would be ok with it - but they're not. They are just produced to 3 different sizes.

Appreciate your help though - I'm trying to get through to the right person and struggling.

What I find interesting is why they offered vouchers, and then withdrew this offer when we asked for a total refund!

ceebeeby

Gosh, I have to say you're quite right. The returns bit is not very obvious, although the made to order bit was (although I wouldn't know that this didn't mean I couldn't return it).

Perhaps you could telephone customer service and ask to speak to a supervisor directly. Remaining very polite throughout, make your complaint regarding obscurity of the returns policy and request that this be 'better' highlighted on the web page in future. You could also ask if they would consider a one-off refund on this occasion (particularly if you're a regular customer) or maybe it would be better to accept the vouchers if you truly don't like the picture.

Failing that, do you know anyone with a wedding coming up?

hollydays

Yes marlowtech-that is not very customer friendly i agree,seems a bit like spite.
When i had faulty goods from them,i actually had to push them to understand the goods were not fit for purpose ,they tried to get me to do an exchange,which i didnt want.EVentually they saw my point and couldnt have been more helpful.
If they offer you vouchers again,you could sell them on ebay.

dmg24

They are ordered in by JL as and when someone orders them, so perhaps they are better described as 'ordered to order'.

Have just thought of a better way to describe the 'more than 10 available' comment. What they are saying by that is, if you wanted more than 10, they could get them.

I know some have had negative experiences with them, but I have always found JL to be quite reasonable ... in the end. I would call them again, staying very calm and polite, and ask if it would still be possible to get the vouchers.

If the phonecall doesn't work, I would be inclined to go into a store and speak to someone. Again, be polite but quite firm, and raise your voice ever so slightly ... they really don't like a scene!

Best of luck with getting it sorted x

hollydays

dmg24 wrote: »

They are ordered in by JL as and when someone orders them, so perhaps they are better described as 'ordered to order'.

Have just thought of a better way to describe the 'more than 10 available' comment. What they are saying by that is, if you wanted more than 10, they could get them.

I know some have had negative experiences with them, but I have always found JL to be quite reasonable ... in the end. I would call them again, staying very calm and polite, and ask if it would still be possible to get the vouchers.

If the phonecall doesn't work, I would be inclined to go into a store and speak to someone. Again, be polite but quite firm, and raise your voice ever so slightly ... they really don't like a scene!

est of luck with getting it sorted x

agree with this.

marlowtech

For all of you that are hanging on to hear the latest update (because this is really interesting after all) - spoke to a lovely lady at customer service. Unfortunately all systems are down but she gave me loads of advice, was familiar with the "made to order" thing and said that although she shouldn't say so, she thought this was very un-John Lewis like.

So, I have to call back at 5pm and escalate it to a Manager, making a service complaint, and then escalate it again to the CRM Team.

She seemed really optimistic that they'd take it back. Fingers crossed...

stugib

Just to add another argument you could use, I think the spirit of this clause in the DSR is that retailers shouldn't be left with stock that is unsellable or very difficult to resell just because the consumer changes their mind, e.g. are left with initialled, or unusual sized goods. In this case I can't see why the picture can't be re-sold to the next person who orders a S/M/L/whatever version of your picture.