Help needed! John Lewis won't honour a NEFF guarantee

stuart_thefc

I don't know where else to go, so perhaps others can help me in this forum...
My wife and I bought 2 NEFF integrated fridge feeders from John Lewis in January 2020 from their 'Clearance Event' in store.
10 days ago one broke down and we arranged a NEFF engineer to visit in the hope of a repair. Unfortunately NEFF advised it need to be replaced and to contact JL.
JL have refused to replace the fridge freezer and offered to refund the money for us to buy a replacement, but...

• We got a great deal when we bought them, effectively £375 each. So a refund will not cover the cost of a replacement
• They are a pair in our integrated kitchen with a 60/40 split, so to replace one would look strange and cost more money to replace the panels

Any thoughts or legal know-how to help us get what we thought were great products from a great retailer?
Ideally we want it repaired or replaced. At worst a replacement with no additional cost.
Thanks and I hope you and yours are keeping safe and well in this mad world!

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Your refund will put you back to where you were before you bought the item. You bought at discount, so you will only get a pro rata refund based on that.

TadleyBaggie

The NEFF guarantee can only be honoured by NEFF, it's nothing to do with John Lewis. It sounds that JL are dealing it with the standard consumer rights, and a full refund after a year is more than they are obliged to do.

Spank

Sounds like JL are refunding what you paid for the fridge? If so that means you've had a years use for nothing, which is brilliant.

Did the engineer say how much it will cost to fix it? It might be cheaper than buying a new one even with the JL refund.

Aylesbury_Duck

If that's what they've offered then they're doing more than they absolutely need to, so the only way you'll get a like-for-like replacement is to put the £375 refund towards buying one.

DiddyDavies

stuart_thefc said:

Any thoughts or legal know-how to help us get what we thought were great products from a great retailer?

I would say that a full, no quibble refund after a year is one indication that JL are a great retailer.
Have you had a look online to see if there is anyone close to you selling a second hand appliance?
You may get lucky and find one.

stuart_thefc

Wow! I did not expect that everyone would fall on the side of JL/NEFF.
So can anyone explain why offer a 2 year guarantee if the only obligation is a refund of some sort, or even worse, a pro-rata refund! These are integrated units within a fitted kitchen, so even with a refund, I will have to potentially get new units and a professional fitter in to fit/replace the defective appliances. And if @Spank really thinks one year of use from a built in appliance from NEFF is 'brilliant' then perhaps the lesson is to buy cheap and unbranded rather than 'quality'.
Some comments suggest JL are just doing what they need to do under the 'Consumer Rights', but part of the JL brand is based on doing the right thing and exceeding our expectations. The appliance failure is with NEFF and I'm sure that JL is a significant buyer of Bosch Siemens Home (BSH) Group appliances, of which NEFF is a sub-brand. Therefore, they should be pushing back to BSH to take responsibility of their products and to either repair or replace the defective appliance - right?
Finally, I'm pretty sure the guarantee is not discounted or reduced based on the discount applied against recommended retail price. I bought a new product at a discount price and I'd like that product replaced or repaired.
Thanks again for your comments.

Undervalued

stuart_thefc said:

Wow! I did not expect that everyone would fall on the side of JL/NEFF.
So can anyone explain why offer a 2 year guarantee if the only obligation is a refund of some sort, or even worse, a pro-rata refund! These are integrated units within a fitted kitchen, so even with a refund, I will have to potentially get new units and a professional fitter in to fit/replace the defective appliances. And if @Spank really thinks one year of use from a built in appliance from NEFF is 'brilliant' then perhaps the lesson is to buy cheap and unbranded rather than 'quality'.
Some comments suggest JL are just doing what they need to do under the 'Consumer Rights', but part of the JL brand is based on doing the right thing and exceeding our expectations. The appliance failure is with NEFF and I'm sure that JL is a significant buyer of Bosch Siemens Home (BSH) Group appliances, of which NEFF is a sub-brand. Therefore, they should be pushing back to BSH to take responsibility of their products and to either repair or replace the defective appliance - right?
Finally, I'm pretty sure the guarantee is not discounted or reduced based on the discount applied against recommended retail price. I bought a new product at a discount price and I'd like that product replaced or repaired.
Thanks again for your comments.

The comments may not have been what you wanted to hear but they are correct.

JL have actually offered more than your statutory rights against them. Maybe not as much more as you would have hoped, but more nonetheless.

Any NEFF warranty is in addition to your statutory rights and its terms are whatever they are. Providing they are complying with those terms you have no right to anything more. 

Either company might choose to offer a gesture of goodwill but that is up to them. JL arguably have made such an offer although clearly not as much as you hoped.

Yes, many say that JL have rather tightened their approach on such matters in the last year or two. As long as they meet their legal obligations, how much further they go is a commercial decision.

JJ_Egan

(Wow! I did not expect that everyone would fall on the side of JL/NEFF.)

What did you expect to be told lies by the forum as opposed to facts .

Warranty / Guarantee from NEFF depends upon what is in the T&C .That may not give you any rights for any sort of refund from NEFF ,

That is not your Consumer Rights under the law as pointed out .

You are asking about consumer rights not JLs  goodwill or company ethos .

Alternative route you take JL to the small claims court for the costs over and above what you paid .

Spank

stuart_thefc said:

Wow! I did not expect that everyone would fall on the side of JL/NEFF.
So can anyone explain why offer a 2 year guarantee if the only obligation is a refund of some sort, or even worse, a pro-rata refund! These are integrated units within a fitted kitchen, so even with a refund, I will have to potentially get new units and a professional fitter in to fit/replace the defective appliances. And if @Spank really thinks one year of use from a built in appliance from NEFF is 'brilliant' then perhaps the lesson is to buy cheap and unbranded rather than 'quality'.
Some comments suggest JL are just doing what they need to do under the 'Consumer Rights', but part of the JL brand is based on doing the right thing and exceeding our expectations. The appliance failure is with NEFF and I'm sure that JL is a significant buyer of Bosch Siemens Home (BSH) Group appliances, of which NEFF is a sub-brand. Therefore, they should be pushing back to BSH to take responsibility of their products and to either repair or replace the defective appliance - right?
Finally, I'm pretty sure the guarantee is not discounted or reduced based on the discount applied against recommended retail price. I bought a new product at a discount price and I'd like that product replaced or repaired.
Thanks again for your comments.

I said one year's FREE use is brilliant. You can want all you like but the retailer chooses what action to take.

Aylesbury_Duck

stuart_thefc said:

Wow! I did not expect that everyone would fall on the side of JL/NEFF.
So can anyone explain why offer a 2 year guarantee if the only obligation is a refund of some sort, or even worse, a pro-rata refund! These are integrated units within a fitted kitchen, so even with a refund, I will have to potentially get new units and a professional fitter in to fit/replace the defective appliances. And if @Spank really thinks one year of use from a built in appliance from NEFF is 'brilliant' then perhaps the lesson is to buy cheap and unbranded rather than 'quality'.
Some comments suggest JL are just doing what they need to do under the 'Consumer Rights', but part of the JL brand is based on doing the right thing and exceeding our expectations. The appliance failure is with NEFF and I'm sure that JL is a significant buyer of Bosch Siemens Home (BSH) Group appliances, of which NEFF is a sub-brand. Therefore, they should be pushing back to BSH to take responsibility of their products and to either repair or replace the defective appliance - right?
Finally, I'm pretty sure the guarantee is not discounted or reduced based on the discount applied against recommended retail price. I bought a new product at a discount price and I'd like that product replaced or repaired.
Thanks again for your comments.

That's not what was said.  Spank made the point that you have had one year's use of the unit and have been offered a full refund.  The full refund is the brilliant bit, because you're not necessarily entitled to a full refund, only a partial one.  

As for "falling on the side of JL/NEFF", all people have done is pointed out that JL have done everything they are expected to do and in fact, a little more than they have to do.

You need to heed people's explanation of the differences between consumer rights and guarantee/warranty rights, because you're confusing the two.  Only you can tell us what the guarantee provides for, so if you're "pretty sure" it doesn't involve a discount, then check that, but again, exercising that guarantee is done with NEFF whereas you appear to have exercised your consumer rights with JL.