Is it me or is John Lewis's refund process fucking stupid

[HoneyDragon]

Faulty item.

Went through relevant people to confirm faulty was told I could return it via Waitrose and get a refund, as they weren't currently able to replace it in the time I'd need it by.

Went to return it. Waitrose had to call JL to get returns order. JL said no. Spoke to JL explained it was set up their end. Got left on hold on the store on the stores ohone for over 20m before JL said apologised and said they'd made a cock up with the turns number on the system and issued a new one. Return item with as the requested original proof of purchase.

Told refunds take up to 14 days once it was all processed!

Baring in mind theyve already buffered the process up and I expressed my concern they said best to call and check item received.

I did on Monday they said not received but they'd check and to call Wednesday.

On Tuesday I had a email stating they could CONFIRM I HAD RETURNED THE ITEM on the 20th of April but that as of the 25th they'd still to acknowledged it as received to issue the refund.

I've just called this morning and they've said it's still not returned. Even though their email confirms they no it has been returned by their courier to the warehouse.

So the item is there. They no it's there but they expect customers to wait fourteen days for them to acknowledge it's there then go and ask accounts to issue a refund.

What happened to them being customer service focussed?

Am I really unreasonable to think if they acknowledge in writing they know the item is returned they should be able to refund it?

And I know, first world problem but it's nearly £200 and I need the cash to replace it.

[HoneyDragon]

Oh god my typing awful. Sorry. I shouldn't type when vexed

[thefairyfellersmasterstroke]

I love John Lewis merchandise, hate the store itself! I find them rude, snooty, and defiintely not customer-friendly so your experience is just about what I'd expect.

YANBU.

[unfortunateevents]

When did you originally buy the item?

[HoneyDragon]

January, unfortunate but as the issue provisionally was thought to be software but given its intermittent they've finally concluded it's the hardware and faulty.

[HoneyDragon]

Here's the exact wording of the email

I can see from the order details you have returned the item on 20 April. We have not yet received the item back and the refund can take 14 days to process

What does that mean?



They can see it's returned, but haven't yet received the item? Which is it?

[UppityHumpty]

It means they've probably not yet logged 'received' in whatever database they use that ties delivery up with a refund. Maybe it needs to be tested etc.

I personally find JL's return process excellent. Maybe this is a Waitrose/JL interface problem.

[MrsJaniceBattersby]

Had major problems with them

[ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual]

I never return JL stuff via Waitrose anymore. Too many things were going missing and I only realised I hadn't received the refunds because I bothered to check my account for those particular transactions.

[MatildaTheCat]

I regularly buy from JL and get items delivered to local Waitrose which is excellent. However, if you need to return an item it has to be at JL which is a bit less convenient.

If said item was paid for using Paypal then forget all notion of convenience. The cashier has to phone PayPal, pass the phone to the customer, go through 56 security questions before agreeing to the refund which can take up to 28 days.

And even then I've had issues with no refund. It's not so easy to remember to check each transaction so JL probably keep quite a few refunds.

I need to not use PayPal but no other store does this stupid rigmarole.

[HoneyDragon]

Nope. Confirmed it's at JL end. It's basically sat there until it's marked as received.

I asked about testing inspection previously but they said it's a straightforward refund. But these things take time.

Certainly I don't have this experience everywhere else.

What really annoyed me is when they say that they are looking into reviewing their process as customers complain a lot

[HoneyDragon]

28 days for a PayPal refund!

Anywhere else they are normally much faster than debit card etc

[Wando1986]

It means you have returned the item to store as requested but their warehouse haven't yet received it from the store. So they can't issue the refund until they have. Not hard to get your head around, OP

[LineysRun]

I stopped buying from John Lewis when I had a horrible experience with delivery, the product and the 'customer service' dept. They were so rude and unhelpful.

[Judashascomeintosomemoney]

Apart the initial cock up with the return no. - which they acknowledged and apologised for, this sounds like standard returns procedure. I've returned items to both M&S an Russell and Bromley this week and they both did the same. The item has a bar code which was scanned by the PO. Based on that I got an email saying we can see you've returned the item (at this point they don't actually physically have it though). When they had received it at their warehouse (JL and Waitrose probably don't use the same warehouse I'd imagine), they sent an email saying we're processing your refund. A few days later I got the money back in my account. Their returns policy states that it may take up to 14 days for the refund to be processed but in reality it's usually always much sooner.

[HoneyDragon]

Wando.....it left the store. That's why they can see it's returned. Not returning. Returned. Waitrose have confirmed it has left them.

But thank you for the wee humphy face.

[HoneyDragon]

Judas that's what I kind of expected, upto 14 days but the CS advisor said allow 14 days for JL to process the refund on receipt of item.

They said the warehouse processing is the part that takes the time. And I suspect how items get lost.

[BeMorePanda]

contrast with Lakeland.

me "Hello Lakeland I'd like to return this item - order number 1234"
LL "Certainly - I've refunded your account today and we will be up item in the next 7 days"
Me "wow amazing awesome thank you".

[HoneyDragon]

[HoneyDragon]

Or Amazon actually. Within twenty minutes of Collect+ scanning your parcel you get an email stating they've issued your refund.

[MrsGWay]

Once you have handed it over to Waitrose you should be refunded as you no longer have the item. Otherwise JL or Waitrose could lose it in their system and it is their fault not yours.

[HarrietKettleWasHere]

Oh they are buggers.

Their postal returns take ages too. Returned a £129 dress in Jan. Got the refund in March as I bought it online with a voucher, (card thingy) but didn't have an online account with them, couldn't be arsed setting one up, just typed the card details in and had it delivered to a Waitrose. They then couldn't refund me as not having an online account meant they 'had nowhere to refund it to'

Except they didn't tell me that. They just left it until I tried to spend the money on the card again and it wasn't there. Eventually got them to credit it to an online account I'd set up in the meantime, but it took weeks.

I hate them but my boss insists on giving me my Christmas bonus for them in vouchers.

[HoneyDragon]

I'm just cross that provisionally they told me to take it to Waitrose for a straightforward refund and then keep moving the goalposts.

Oddly enough it makes me reassured they have form for such bollocks. At least it justifies my concern over my item getting processed.

[PollyPerky]

I can't see why you are upset or confused.

You only returned it on the 20 April. They can see that from the IT stuff they have. It's now the 25th so it is in the warehouse somewhere.

It's very common for refunds to take up to 14 days before they refund appears on your credit card statement. That's what the '14 days' means. This happens will almost ALL companies though some go as far as saying allow 28 days for the refund to show on your statement.

I don't think you have any valid reason to be upset.

[PollyPerky]

Harriet you were in the wrong. If you paid for an item with a voucher, you can't expect the credit to be sent to you if you didn't have an account. How would they pay you? They aren't going to put cash into a credit card account.

[HarrietKettleWasHere]

well i assumed it would be sent electronically back to the card I paid with Polly. I thought that's what the point of giving out cards over paper vouchers was.

However even if that wasn't the case, they had my email address and never did they email me to confirm the return or flag up that they did not have anywhere to return the balance to, it took me a lot of phone calls to them to chase/explain, so I do not believe that I was in the wrong there, actually.