John Lewis delivery problem

MyRealNameToo

thomastf said:

£500. I’m worried if I lose having to pay costs etc. was wondering if anyone also had experience of small claims with John Lewis. 

I sued JL in connection with a faulty freezer. They appointed DWF Law LLP to deal with the case for them. 

Their initial offer was full claim excluding interest and court fees. I rejected it saying I'd waive the interest but not the court fees. They came back accepting the offer and paid it about 3-4 days later at which point discontinued the case. 

In my case they had accepted that the freezer was faulty and we had agreed an appropriate value for it. They had denied liability for the damages to the goods in the freezer and denied that I had any claim on the linked fridge bought at the same time. 

thomastf said:

£500. I’m worried if I lose having to pay costs etc. 

The case should end up in the small track (aka small claims) as thats the recommendation for any claim under £10k of property damage though ultimately its the judges decision and is actually based on how long the case will take to hear. 

In Small Track, as long as the rules have been followed etc, then the parties cannot claim for their own costs so the only thing you are risking in principle is the court fees and a modest amount were the other side to call an expert witness. Judges have discretion though and in principle can award costs (win or lose) if they feel the rules have been sufficiently broken. There was a case a while back when someone had sued a company for under £5 but hadn't even informed the firm of a problem and jumped straight to issuing court papers. The judge awarded them the £3.21 or whatever it was but refused to award court costs and told them to pay the expenses, including lawyer, of the defendant as they had not followed the CPR rules and the judge felt the whole case was vexatious so was a couple of grand to pay net of the £3.21

Ayr_Rage

If the kitchen is so small and the gap so tight how did you expect the delivery team or anyone else to bring the fridge in and slide it into place?

What were you proposing to do with a piece of carpet?

As they have not offered any remedy and you have already sent a LBA then all you can now do is proceed with court action.

pinkshoes

thomastf said:

My kitchen floor is ripped in 2 places where the fridge was pushed in. Only the fridge can have done this because it is behind the door. I thoroughly cleaned the floor etc before delivery and it was perfect. . I understand it’s my word against theirs so not sure about the stress of small claims now. 

A court will decide on a balance of probabilities, and if JL aren't confident they'll win then they will no doubt settle out of court.

1. Do you have any photos at all that show the un-marked floor?

2. Who took out the old fridge? From the way it is ripped, is it obvious that the rips were caused by a new fridge being pushed in rather than an old fridge being pulled out? Can you upload a photo of the rip? Is it feasible to get an independent person to write a statement saying that the rip was clearly caused by a fridge being pushed into place?

3.If there was damage there already, then surely the delivery people would have pointed this out before delivery so they wouldn't get blamed for something they didn't do? I'm assuming it's quite an obvious rip?

thomastf

I thought they might have used a trolley with wheels maybe ? The space is big enough for a large fridge but you cannot stand either side so it would need pushing into place rather than lifting

thomastf

No photos of unmarked floor but floor only fitted in April 25. 

Fridge was removed by removal men and a thick mat was put down to cover floor. Same mat I offered John Lewis men. 

I have tried to get someone to write letter but nobody can say exactly how it happened as they weren’t there. 

The rips are going the way of something being pushed in rather than out. 

eskbanker

thomastf said:

I have tried to get someone to write letter but nobody can say exactly how it happened as they weren’t there.

Not sure what this 'someone' means - are you referring to the lack of response from JL or something else?

thomastf

I mean I rang a few flooring companies to see if they do letters to prove damage but they don’t 

saajan_12

Ayr_Rage said:

If the kitchen is so small and the gap so tight how did you expect the delivery team or anyone else to bring the fridge in and slide it into place?

What were you proposing to do with a piece of carpet?

As they have not offered any remedy and you have already sent a LBA then all you can now do is proceed with court action.

presumably place the carpet on the floor right in front of the fridge's final resting position. Fridge on carpet. Then push fridge off carpet and into its space. The fridge only comes into contact with the floor in the space it will eventually cover, so no visible rips. The area in front of the fridge always has a carpet on it, so no rips there. 

pinkshoes

thomastf said:

No photos of unmarked floor but floor only fitted in April 25. 

Fridge was removed by removal men and a thick mat was put down to cover floor. Same mat I offered John Lewis men. 

I have tried to get someone to write letter but nobody can say exactly how it happened as they weren’t there. 

The rips are going the way of something being pushed in rather than out. 

The "only fitted April 25" is irrelevant other than when it comes to the amount you're claiming. 

If the rips are going the way of something being pushed in then that is decent evidence. Photograph it. Then also use the fact that the delivery men would have pointed the rip out if it was already there as that also goes in your favour.

You've sent the LBA, they're telling you to take it to court, so just take it to court. The court fee will be about £80 depending on the size of the claim. If you win then they pay this. If you lose then you only lose £80.

The whole thing is done online:

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/make-claim

eskbanker

pinkshoes said:
The court fee will be about £80 depending on the size of the claim.

OP said they're claiming £500, so only £50 fee, although it would be £70 for £500.01!