John Lewis Refusing Apple Watch Repair within 2 Year Guarantee

screech_78

littleboo said:

screech_78 said:

The guarantee doesn’t cover accidental damage. So if your product has accidental damage such as dents or scratches, your guarantee is void. You don’t have a valid claim on this as it’s over and above your statutory rights. 

So that leaves you with claiming on your consumer rights, however if you purchased more than 6 months ago, you’re going to need an independent report which states the fault isn’t due to mis-use. You’d be amazed how dents can affect the inner workings of a product. If your claim was successful, JL could then repair, replace (if they stock the same model) or provide a partial refund to take into account usage. It’s going to be up to you to prove your case. 

The letter you’ve written is really inflammatory and isn’t going to give you any goodwill. You could escalate, email the Chairman or CEO. But I’m fairly sure you’ll get the same answers. 

I'm not sure that's correct. It's quite normal for a watch to pick up scratches and other cosmetic damage during normal use. The watch should still work if its "reasonable", however that's defined The question is whether the damage has caused the watch to stop working, or if the failure of the watch is unrelated to the damage. The earlier car analogy is relevant.
JL don't seem to have stated that they consider that the reason the watch has failed is due to damage beyond what would be considered normal, they described it as "used but with a slightly scratched screen"

It’s correct as far as the terms of the guarantee go. JL guarantees don’t cover accidental damage and your warranty is effectively void if CID (customer induced damage) is present. It states this in the terms of the guarantee so the OP would need to go down the consumer rights route and prove the fault isn’t related to the damage. Scratches would very rarely constitute damage so I believe there is more to this. 

Rebmat

Thank you for your comments. I note there is some discussion with regards the 'scratches and dent'. I have attached a photo taken by JLP of the watch. Would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the severity of the 'damage'.

HillStreetBlues

TBH I would reject a claim too, looks like it's been a few rounds with Tyson.

GingerTim

That's taken a bit of beating.

RefluentBeans

Taking away from the scratched glass, the actual metal looks like it is damaged (slight crumpling and exposed aluminium) on the lower left of the watch. I assume this is the dent. Unfortunately the appearance is important in warranty cases - and given the watch does look damaged, I would also probably reject the claim. 

However, this doesn’t negate your consumer rights. Your warranty rights are written very much in favour of them being able to reject the claim for cosmetic damage, but your consumer rights are must more strict. But - they may request a report to state if the product was inherently faulty (which is covered) or from user use (drops, bangs, smashes and scratches), and whether the watch should’ve stood up to it from its selling (I.e. a ‘military tough’ watch shouldn’t break if I drop it on my pillow from 2 feet, even if it was a result of me dropping it - it’s inherently faulty). If they ask for this, you’ll need to weigh up the cost of the report as a potential loss (which you can claim back against the retailer if it supports your claim) as these reports tend to be a bit more expensive, vs the likelihood of the CRA claim being successful. Personally, I don’t think anyone could say for sure that the watch damage didn’t cause the issue, but you may feel different. 

If all else fails you could ask them to give you a credit voucher (as a gesture of goodwill, and not them admitting the watch is faulty) to buy a new watch. They’d be more likely to go for that as it secures a future sale. 

henrygregory

Hi all, I am slightly late to this forum. I am actually quite surprised at the comments here.
I have had Apple watches since they came out. I always have two, one for bed time and one for day time. By bed time one is 100 times more scratched than the one in the OP's image, the screen is cracked and broken away to the extent you can see the circuitry inside, the glass is sharp also as obviously, some of it has broken away. I have accidentally worn it in the shower several times, despite there clearly being an open hole with circuirty there and STILL it works.

Apple watches are currently costing around £400 a pop. This isn't a £15 Casio from Argos, so my opinion on this matter is quite on the contrary to everyone else who has posted.

My watch is so much more battered than the photo of the OP's. I my opinion, I think John Lewis are ripping this customer off. 

Having experienced JL customer service in the past, I have had nothing but poor experiences every single time. The last, granted, the product was out of warranty but even pre-purchase, I have had a lot of negative experiences with this retailer. 
I am not sure what the OP did but if I were them, and it had 100% not had water damage and that was the only damage on it (as shown in the photo), then I think I would be contacting the card company I used to pay for the device with as I don't think you have been treated fairly at all. If my watch can be as battered as it is and still works, then your one should be. My second one (the one I wear during the day) is a Series 8 so still quite new. The screen is cracked on the corner and the metal casing has far more damage than yours and it still works a dream. 

It is a watch, it is going to get scratches and dings. 

Skiddaw1

Have to say that I agree.

It's a watch after all, and if worn a lot of course it's going to show. I don't see how that in itself gets JL off the hook.

Bradden

Skiddaw1 said:

Have to say that I agree.

It's a watch after all, and if worn a lot of course it's going to show. I don't see how that in itself gets JL off the hook.

I think the consensus is that the dent isn't an inherant fault and therefore the guarantee is now void.

DullGreyGuy

Given this post is from January and the OP hasn't been back to the site since January I think we can assume they've moved on.