John Lewis Refused to Cover Cost Of Inherent Fault,Engineers Report

Manxman_in_exile

Ask JL where in the legislation it says that an expert report must come from somebody with a VAT reg. no.

EDIT:  cross-posted with OP

Manxman_in_exile

Al_Ross said:

They are offering about a third of the price I paid,no mention of the cost of the report and they want to collect the faulty sound bar,is this normal?

(Apologies for asking but many people who post here can't distinguish "of" from "off" - and many seem to think "of" means "have".)

Are JL offering to refund you only one third of what you originally paid, or are they only reducing the refund by one third?

Yes, depending on the circumstances of the fault and when it occurred, they can reduce the amount of any refund they pay you to take account of the use you have already had of the soundbar.  And if they are refunding you, they are entitled to the return of the soundbar.

If your engineer's report concluded that it failed from an inherent fault that was present when you purchased it, JL should refund you the cost of the report.

I don't believe you've provided any detail about what has happened so it's difficult for people to give meaningful advice.  What has actually happened?

Al_Ross

I was thinking if they refunded me the full price of faulty product then yes they would be due it back,but if they are only offering me a third of what I paid,then two thirds of the product I still own,so they would not legally have a right to it.

Aylesbury_Duck

Al_Ross said:

I was thinking if they refunded me the full price of faulty product then yes they would be due it back,but if they are only offering me a third of what I paid,then two thirds of the product I still own,so they would not legally have a right to it.

But you've had use of the whole thing up to the point it became faulty.  They're effectively buying it back from you at a reduced price.  It's similar to you selling it on ebay for spares/repair for a third of RRP, you wouldn't be keeping it then on the basis you still owned 2/3rds of it, would you.

Manxman_in_exile

Al_Ross said:

I was thinking if they refunded me the full price of faulty product then yes they would be due it back,but if they are only offering me a third of what I paid,then two thirds of the product I still own,so they would not legally have a right to it.

You haven't given the details I asked for about what happened.

What did you buy?  How much?  How long after purchase did it manifest a fault?  All these things may be relevant in deciding whether you are entitled to a full refund or whether JL are entitled to reduce the refund to reflect the use you have enjoyed of the product in question.

Your idea that if they only pay you a refund of one third of what you paid for it originally then you still own it is, frankly, just wrong.

You seem reluctant to provide detail... 

macman

Of course they will want it back if they give you a refund, partial or otherwise! How else will they then pass the cost back to the manufacturer or wholesaler?

Al_Ross

Are John Lewis liable to re-imburse me for the cost of the report, which proved the fault was inherent. They told me to get a report which I did, but because in their email they never actually said they would cover the cost of the report they are refusing.

Can this failure to re-imburse the report cost be a factor in raising a small claims action against them,and would I win it ?

For an item that cost over £200, and failed just out with their two-year warranty, after paying £60 for a report, I would only have £17 to show for my £200 sound bar

Aylesbury_Duck

Al_Ross said:

Are John Lewis liable to re-imburse me for the cost of the report, which proved the fault was inherent. They told me to get a report which I did, but because in their email they never actually said they would cover the cost of the report they are refusing.

Can this failure to re-imburse the report cost be a factor in raising a small claims action against them,and would I win it ?

For an item that cost over £200, and failed just out with their two-year warranty, after paying £60 for a report, I would only have £17 to show for my £200 sound bar

Yes, they should refund you the cost of the report.  You can take small claims action for the £60 if you want, and I think you'd win.  The £77 settlement for the two year old sound bar seems reasonable.  I expect you could buy a working second-hand one for around that figure.

mattyprice4004

Absolutely no surprise to be honest - it says it all that they left their customer service in the hands of C(r)apita and their small deliveries to Hermes... 

dreamypuma

mattyprice4004 said:

Absolutely no surprise to be honest - it says it all that they left their customer service in the hands of C(r)apita and their small deliveries to Hermes... 

I'm fairly certain Capita haven't managed John Lewis Customer service since around 2018 - JLP probably still outsource though