John Lewis - when did this start?!

pops5588

I like John Lewis, but I haven't shopped there for a good 6 months or so and have never had any problems.

However my grandmother is a very loyal customer and goes in there quite often if she needs something. She just called me in a bit of a frazzle asking me for my help in canceling a John Lewis credit card that she doesn't want. Obviously I asked her why she had it if she didn't want it and she said that every time she has gone into John Lewis over the last couple of months she has gone to the till and been met with seriously heavy pressure sales people trying to get her to sign up to a credit card with them!! She said that normally she manages to hold her own and stand her ground but today she crumbled because the girl she was being served by was just so incredibly pushy.

My grandmother is nearly 80 but is by no means an old biddy. She is a 24/7 carer for my grandfather and she has more energy than anyone I've ever met, she is an absolute rock for everyone in my family and if I turn out to be half the woman she is then I will consider myself lucky. So I know for her to have been worn down enough to sign up to a credit card she doesn't want there must be some serious sales pressure going on here.

I'm not very happy to be honest. I know there isn't much that can be done other than to cancel the card for her and advise her to stay away from now on, but I must say I'm disappointed in John Lewis. Has anyone else come across this from them recently?

peachyprice

Are you sure it's a credit card and not the new 'My John Lewis' card which is just a loyalty card? Did she mention free coffee and cake every month?

pops5588

Nope, definitely a credit card and my mum popped round this morning to check on granddad and she's confirmed it's a credit card.

peachyprice

I'm surprised, did she show your Mum the paperwork? I've never had any mention of credit cards in John Lewis and I shop there a lot, in three different branches. Sounds like your particular branch it taking a leaf out of Debenhams bad books.

I would certainly write and complain on your Grandmother's behalf and get her to complain too when she cancels it.

Thomas_the_tank_engine

There does seem to be a culture change going on. Its not the old John Lewis we used to know and love. They seem to want to screw every last penny out of their customers. Got to pay for their large bonuses somehow I guess.

tomtontom

I'm a regular in JL and have never been offered a CC either. I would suggest contacting the store MD or head office.

pmduk

Could it be their partnership card?

pops5588

I went to her house last night and looked over it. Definitely a credit card. I think I will do a note of complaint and contact the store that pushed it on her.

I appreciate that retail is a low-paid, thankless job and I've been in a position myself where I have been forced by managements to ask customers if they want to open a store card. But if a customer says no, that is the end of the matter as far as I'm concerned. It's the badgering and pushing that I can't stand. I don't know if this is one rogue sales assistant who is on a one-woman-mission to smash all sales targets (certainly worked with one or two of those myself in the past) but the way that this has been "sold" to my grandmother is unacceptable.

iclayt

If I'm shopping with my mum and she gets the heavy sell for anything in a shop - credit and store cards especially - she always asks the person behind the counter quite loudly if they have one. More often than not they fluster a bit and quite obviously haven't got one, so she flounces away with a "Well, why should I have one then?" - quite embarrassing sometimes :embarasse

I used to have to sell store cards and if someone said no I left it at that, but if my manager was nearby I'd have to at least ask "Are you sure, you could save another 10%..." etc one more time. I hated it - we didn't live in a well off area and half the time when someone agreed to it I'd phone up to process their application and their credit would be declined - they'd leave red faced and I felt awful doing this to people.

Absolutely no one should feel so pressured into signing up to a credit card in this way, I think it's disgusting and exploitative - I wouldn't hesitate to complain on my grandmother's behalf. Likewise mine is a very sprightly and strong nearly-80 and the thought of anyone badgering her like this would certainly result in letters of complaint being fired off to both the store and head office, with the sales assistant's name from the receipt if I had it.

Paully232000

I would cancel it for your grandmother first off, and then if you feel it is worthwhile write a latter/email to john lewis stating your problems.

As someone mentioned this being similar to Debenhams, I was in debenhams a few weeks ago and this happened to an older person in the queue a few people in front of me. I should have said something but I didn't.

The sales assistant was talking/insisting to a customer about the credit card, and getting the customer to sign up for it, but you could tell from the questions etc the customer was asking/talking about that she had no idea this was a CC. Bad form in my book.

bod1467

Do you have power of attorney over your grandmother's financial affairs? If not then you will not be able to do anything - at least not without her first formally granting permission for you to do so.

(Just saying. They'll likely cite data protection rules stop you taking control of this, so you need to be prepared for it. Forewarned is forearmed, and all that).