John Lewis, Never Knowingly Undersold

Nick6659

I purchased a washing machine from John Lewis online yesterday(1 June) and subsequently found the same model £100 cheaper from another online retailer (AO.com). I applied to JL via their website for a price match comparison and reimbursement of £100. This was refused and here is JL’s reason. “We've checked with Appliance Source and we’re unable to accept the price match on this occasion. This is because this competitor is not a retailer we currently price match. I’m sorry for any disappointment this causes. If you’d like any further details on our pricing policy, please visit our Never Knowingly Undersold website page, or if you reply to this email I’ll be happy to answer any questions.” I did check JL’s t&c’s before applying for a price match and yes according to them, this isn’t a like for like comparison. However, I’ve decided to get some views on whether JL  are being fair to customers with their price promise-their rules could easily be stacked against the customer. In fact MSE took up the  cudgel in 2017 - please see Martin’s comments on the site. Is this worth pursuing further?

theonlywayisup

Appliance Source is who you seem to have applied the NKU price match with.  Yet you say AO in your OP. Which is it?

JJ_Egan

( This is because this competitor is not a retailer we currently price match.)

T&C  they do not cover all retailers .

ElefantEd

The time to check for the cheapest price is before you buy it, not after, if the price is your main concern.

Why would anyone bother to check the price of something elsewhere after they'd bought an item?  The only reason I can think of is to try and take advantage of a 'price-matching' offer because John Lewis is preferred for other reasons. In other words, the purchase isn't identical in all respects and JL are within their rights to decline.
Obviously the OP is also within their rights to return the washing machine to JL (assuming it was an online purchase) for a refund (possibly minus a percentage if the machine has been used) and buy the same machine for the lower price from the other retailer.

Andy_L

Nick6659 said:

I purchased a washing machine from John Lewis online yesterday(1 June) and subsequently found the same model £100 cheaper from another online retailer (AO.com). I applied to JL via their website for a price match comparison and reimbursement of £100. This was refused and here is JL’s reason. “We've checked with Appliance Source and we’re unable to accept the price match on this occasion. This is because this competitor is not a retailer we currently price match. I’m sorry for any disappointment this causes. If you’d like any further details on our pricing policy, please visit our Never Knowingly Undersold website page, or if you reply to this email I’ll be happy to answer any questions.” I did check JL’s t&c’s before applying for a price match and yes according to them, this isn’t a like for like comparison. However, I’ve decided to get some views on whether JL  are being fair to customers with their price promise-their rules could easily be stacked against the customer. In fact MSE took up the  cudgel in 2017 - please see Martin’s comments on the site. Is this worth pursuing further?

They don't price match on-line only retailers. 
"First, we need to be sure that the product is available through a high street competitor which has a national presence, rather than, for example, an online-only company. "
Which seems fair as they have all the overheads of maintaining shops unlike, eg, AO.com

pbartlett

JL have never price matched with online

mattyprice4004

Seems fair enough to me, bricks and mortar running costs are a lot higher than online only.