John Lewis Return - Intercepted

Kpmp54

Hi all,

I wonder if you could help me as I am lost and very frustrated with the situation. 

I returned a number of clothes (high value of items) to John Lewis via an Evri Shop drop off. I called 15 days or so later to question where my refund was and the "Profit Protection" team at JL asked me to contact my payment provider to issue a claim as they could not tell me more or help any further.

I tried to claim via Paypal and this has been rejected on the basis that it doesn't fall within the payment protection guidelines. 

I suspect this package has been intercepted and JL will not issue a refund. Could anyone help me please in terms of what are my rights? I am trying to claim via Evri but struggling to contact them. 

I used a John Lewis approved option (I received a QR code etc. from Evri) and sent it to them. I suspect I am not the only one this has happened. If I were to send it via post I am normally insure it but should JL have insurance via Evri for this?

Any help would be appreciated. 

GrumpyDil

If you used a return method provided by John Lewis then my understanding is that the risk of return sits with them.  Additionally as they arranged the return it is up to John Lewis to investigate if they are saying they did not receive the return. I would be going back to them. 

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree, this is John Lewis' problem to solve because having sent it back by their approved courier with a label they provided, they took responsibility for it at the point you scanned it and got a receipt for it.  

Speak to John Lewis again and remind them of that.  What's the value involved?  You mention a high value, so small claims court might be a worthwhile route.

Ms_Chocaholic

Please do comment with how this was resolved when the time comes please as it will help others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

Kpmp54

Thank you for your responses.

To add a bit more colour / detail to the above message.

I returned clothing to the value of ~£700. These were designer clothes which didn’t fit properly all within JL’s returns policy (30 days).

There are numerous return options offered by JL, one of them being Evri which I chose. I’ve done many returns using Evri and never had any issues. 

I packaged the item with the products at home and dropped it to my local Evri drop off location and received the slip (luckily I took a picture of it).

A week or so later we recieved a John Lewis package with women’s Zara Jeans enclosed which we thought was very strange. The size is completely different to the size that my wife wears so it couldn’t have been mistakenly added to the box. We didn’t think anything more of it and put it down to some error which we were planning to call them up on and try to discuss but life / children got in the way.

Putting 2+2 together, I now believe that the parcel was intercepted, after dropping it to the Evri location, and someone has taken the goods that I placed in the package and swapped it out for these (now returned) Zara jeans. This is why JL are refusing to refund and PayPal are not interested.

Does any of the above information change any of the responses? I’m trying to speak to Evri tomorrow but suspect I’m going to get nowhere with them.. 

I’m very much willing to take this all the way to the small claims court, but just want to make sure I have a strong possibility of winning.

Thanks again. 

RefluentBeans

You can speak with Evri but Evri’s contract is with whoever paid them - so in this case John Lewis. That’s why the risk transfers at that point rather than when JL receive it (and the opposite when you receive your items from JL - risk transfers to you when you receive the product). 

As to what happens next; JL will likely claim the package you sent back didn’t have the goods in. You will claim they do. If JL can’t resolve it through their complaints process, then you’ll have to take it to court and see who the judge believes. The annoying part is that you don’t get the weight of the parcel when you drop it off - I’d imagine a package with multiple clothing items in would weigh more than the pair of jeans. 

To help progress the complaint, you can also find the email of the CEO of JL (or chairperson if that’s what they call them now). Whilst it’s unlikely to get a response from that person, it’ll get kicked down to a more senior customer service agent who will be able to go ‘off book’ more. No guarantee of a positive outcome, but certainly can’t hurt. 

If it does fail, then I think your best bet is the court route where you can claim the money back. The process is started by a Letter Before Action - and this will then kick it to the JL legal team who may choose to settle rather than going to court. If you do go to court, then the threshold is ‘more likely than not’ so all you need to do is prove that you more than likely did send the parcel containing the products, rather than you trying to keep the clothes and defraud the company out of £700. The best way to do that depends on what evidence you have. You won’t need a lawyer for this process, and any reasonable legal costs (the filing costs etc) you can also add to the claim. 

Like others have said, it’d be good to know what the outcome of this was and what worked best for you. Hopefully it’ll get resolved before having to resort to court. 

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree with all of the above.

The only weakness in your argument is the matter of the jeans.  I wonder if JL think it odd that you didn't immediately get in touch with them about it.  From their point of view, they've received some jeans from you instead of £700 worth of clothes, they sent them back to you and you took a while (how long?) to respond.  Presumably they think you sent them in error or deliberately, and having sent them back to you, that's the end of the matter unless they receive the designer clothes.

I suspect a letter before action might trigger some action, because if it got to court, I think it more likely that your parcel was intercepted than you're acting fraudulently.

Kpmp54

Thank you all for your responses. I do understand your point regarding the Zara jeans - but these arrived without any documentation to indicate what it relates to which I thought it surprising.

I’ve raised a complaint to JL and will escalate to Chair and CEO. 

One question I have, if it goes to the court stage is should I bring the claim in my name or my wife’s name? The account I used to purchase the products is my wife’s but the delivery details and payment details are in my name. JL won’t speak to me without speaking to her for security purposes. 

Thank you

Alderbank

If the account holder is your wife then the contract, and the consumer rights, are between your wife and the retailer.

So I don't think you should bring a claim in anyone's name. Your wife should bring the claim. The address she had the goods sent to don't change that.

You can assist her as much as you both wish of course. But I think the days when the courts regarded a wife as a chattel of her husband are long gone.

Kpmp54

All - just to keep you updated on the above. We sent a Letter Before Action (LBA) to JL on the 16th June - we sent via post and email, copied in CEO / Chair. We received a very generic response from someone else saying this is matter is considered closed.

Today we've lodged a small claim against JL - will keep you posted on where we get to in relation to this!

Thanks for all of your help so far!

Alderbank

Kpmp54 said:

All - just to keep you updated on the above. We sent a Letter Before Action (LBA) to JL on the 16th June - we sent via post and email, copied in CEO / Chair. We received a very generic response from someone else saying this is matter is considered closed.

Today we've lodged a small claim against JL - will keep you posted on where we get to in relation to this!

Thanks for all of your help so far!

Who is 'we'?

Be aware that MCOL can have only one claimant.

The user guide for claimants says 'if you need to issue a claim with multiple Claimants (for example, on behalf of a couple), contact the County Court Money Claim Centre (CCMCC).