John Lewis Sales Policy

sofaless

Hi all, wondering if you could answer a quickie for me?

Just been in to John Lewis to buy a Garmin fitness tracker for £259.

A supervisor showed me to the display case of boxed watches and said 'If you see the one you want just call a partner and they'll take it out for you'. Great!

I called a partner and ask to see the watch only to be told that she could take the box out to show me the box but couldn't open the box to let me see the watch? The supervisor confirmed that this was correct and further went on to tell me that if I bought the watch and it didn't fit etc that they wouldn't accept a return.

This has left me a little confused to be honest.

Is it normal and acceptable policy not to allow customers to see the product they are buying?

TIA!

DoaM

If that's the policy they wish to follow then they're quite entitled to do so. You're as equally entitled to tell them to "shove it" and take your custom elsewhere.

Were there no demo watches on show? (JL often have demo devices available).

sofaless

😂 I left quickly before I did exactly that.

They did have some models/styles on demo but not this particular one obviously.

I just find it so bizarre! It's like some sort of pot luck! 🙈😄

Aylesbury_Duck

Most products like that now come with a factory seal on the box. It seems sensible policy to not break that because you wouldn't be happy if you bought one and found the seal was already broken. As said above, there's usually a display model, perhaps not the exact model but a variant, but if there wasn't in your situation, take your business elsewhere.

dj1471

You can always order online to collect in store, this will give you the right to a change of mind return as it'll be a distance sale.

DoaM

dj1471 wrote: »

You can always order online to collect in store, this will give you the right to a change of mind return as it'll be a distance sale.

Provided that payment is also made online ... if payment is made on collection then it is no longer a distance sale.

Mabel2012

If you "try" the item John Lewis no longer refund even if you bought online. Just looking at some technology item is just not enough. Sometimes you have to try the features, like on a Fitbit. I also thought if I bought online I could return it provided it wasn't damaged. I was wrong and was refused a refund. 

What does Amazon and other retailers do with the returned technology items. 

davidmcn

Mabel2012 said:

What does Amazon and other retailers do with the returned technology items. 

Amazon sell "refurbished" items, which I suspect are mostly just returns that they've checked over.

Mabel2012

I thought refurbished items were faulty items that had been repaired. John Lewis told me the Fitbit would have to be returned to the manufacturer as they couldn't sell it and it had user data on it. It had been Factory Reset before returning it to them but because I told them I tried it out they said thy couldn't accept it. About four years ago I bought an HP laptop from them, used it for a week or so and didn't like the keyboard or the screen. I took it back after a couple of weeks, got a refund, and bought an Acer from them instead. I'm now thinking of buying another laptop but I think I will buy in Currys instead of John Lewis. Refusal of a refund has rather soured my relationship with John Lewis. 

It seems my consumer rights if I buy online are no better than If I buy in a store. I just have a much bigger choice if I buy online. 

davidmcn

Mabel2012 said:

I thought refurbished items were faulty items that had been repaired.

Nah, not really worth a retailer's while trying to repair things.

neilmcl

Mabel2012 said:

If you "try" the item John Lewis no longer refund even if you bought online. Just looking at some technology item is just not enough. Sometimes you have to try the features, like on a Fitbit. I also thought if I bought online I could return it provided it wasn't damaged. I was wrong and was refused a refund. 

What does Amazon and other retailers do with the returned technology items. 

That's not strictly true. JL have to comply with the CCRs just like any other online retailer in the UK. If "trying" the item means you're doing only what is "necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods" then JL are legally obliged to and do give you a refund. However, there are goods were it is obvious what their nature, characteristics and functioning is without having to remove them from a sealed box.

As far as what they do with the returns, they either try and sell them off during the Sales and also dispose of them via certain auction sites.