John Lewis price matching

StockportGerbil

Hi!
My partner was given £50 in John Lewis vouchers. A few weeks later our printer gave up the ghost and it seemed a good idea to put those vouchers towards the cost of a new printer. John Lewis's prices are not terribly competetive, but they say they will match the price of local shops.

So we pitched up with the advert from Dabs.com for the printer we wanted and they refused to match the price despite the fact the dabs are just up the road from here and I've bought plenty of stuff over the counter from them in the past. They also groused about matching comet's price for the printer and wanted to match PC worlds price. :-(

If we didn't have the vouchers we'd have gone to dabs.

The lesson is to take John Lewis's price matching claims with a pinch of salt.

Is there any point writing a complaint to head office?

Kevin

April2

Trading Standards would be better - their advertising to match and then refusing to do so is a clear breach IMHO.

Altarf

StockportGerbil wrote:

John Lewis's prices are not terribly competetive, but they say they will match the price of local shops.

So we pitched up with the advert from Dabs.com for the printer we wanted and they refused to match the price despite the fact the dabs are just up the road from here and I've bought plenty of stuff over the counter from them in the past.

As you say John Lewis will price match 'bricks and mortar' shops (and they don't have to be local), but not internet only retailers.

Not disputing that you have bought stuff from Dabs over the counter, but you would never guess that they had a shop from their web site. Quoting from dabs.com

"dabs.com is an Internet retailer" "Please note: we do not offer a customer collection service from our offices"

So given these statments by dabs themselves that you cannot buy over the counter, I can see why John Lewis may have refused the price match.

I have always found John Lewis to operate their price match policy in a more honest way to any other high street retailer.

oldagetraveller

Altarf wrote:

As you say John Lewis will price match 'bricks and mortar' shops (and they don't have to be local), but not internet only retailers.

Not always, unfortunately. Some years ago we were buying some furniture in Liverpool and found the same cheaper at a store not far from John Lewis (George Henry Lee as it was then). Went back to GH Lee and quoted the lesser price and was told "we don't price match with

---

"
So went back to

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and bought the stuff there!

Altarf

I have never found anywhere that JL won't match with on a like for like basis, i.e. in stock, not display goods or shop soiled, not a members club (e.g. Costco) etc.

seth

Might save me P&P?

If you quoted the price in comet in store and PCworld in store then I'd take it up with the JL management they are always good.

They should do this, they beat any price I could find for a TV in toenham court road, and they included free delivery basic installation and 5 year warantee.

Phonix

I tried to get e2save to match a price under their pricematch guarantee. They wouldn't match it. Apparently the reason being, they'd lose too much money if they did.

shopndrop

I asked John Lewis at Cheadle to price match a steam cleaner and was told that it was at the discretion of the department manager who refused. Notice they no longer have "not knowingly undersold" on display in store or on carrier bags.

italiastar

It really depends who you speak to - I would contact Head Office and ask them to refnd the voucher if they wont price match - after all Dabs for you is a local retailer.

I personally think vouchers are a scam - people lend the shops interest free and then you are forced to shop with them - I wonder how many vouchers get lost.

Altarf

shopndrop wrote:

I asked John Lewis at Cheadle to price match a steam cleaner and was told that it was at the discretion of the department manager who refused. Notice they no longer have "not knowingly undersold" on display in store or on carrier bags.

Nobody seems to have told John Lewis that.

http://www.johnlewis.com/jl_assets/pdf/undersold.pdf

To quote:

Each branch routinely checks prices in local shops. If we find the same product being sold at a lower price, we automatically reduce our local price to match.

The branch checks the prices of shops in the local area that customers might realistically cover during a single shopping trip. Details of the area covered are available on request from Customer Services in your local branch.

If we find another shop within this area selling at a lower price the same product that is part of our own standard offer, the branch will lower its shelf price to match. As a result all our customers benefit from the lower price, not only those who spot the difference.

The comparison must be with exactly the same item (brand, model, colour etc) and we expect the competitor to offer the same availability on the item as we do. We match the shelf-edge price at which the competitor displays the item for sale to customers generally, but not a negotiated or special price for particular individuals (eg their store card holders).

We expect the goods to be offered on equivalent terms, and so we take into account any ‘hidden extras’ charged by the competitor, such as delivery charges for items that normally have to be delivered. We do not price match in respect of outlets which are not normal shops, eg membership clubs, market stalls, duty free shops, mail order catalogues or the internet.

If you find the same item you have just bought from us selling for less at another shop in the UK, we will refund the difference.

We make this offer as we do not wish you to regret buying from us.

We consider it reasonable that claims are made within 28 days from the date of purchase. We will meet such claims on the same basis as the price checking by our branches described above. In addition our promise to you extends beyond the local area to cover any normal shop in the UK (where you find the same item on display at a lower shelf-edge price with the same availability and terms).

While we normally try to obtain special order lines which are not part of our standard offer, we reserve the right to refuse such orders where it would be uneconomic for us to do so.

zappomatic

I work at the Oxford Street store, and we have many posters mentioning "Never Knowingly Undersold", with racks of leaflets with text similar to above. We have a big stock of these leaflets too! They're not always quite so hot on their undersales as they should be, but never the less providing the price you want matched meets the criteria mentioned above and in the leaflet there will be no problem. If their is, go to the Customer Service department and your problem will soon be solved, and the offending Partner dealt with.