John Lewis refused refund can I do anything?

[Canidoanything]

I made an expensive mistake today. I bought a chrome book from John Lewis rather than a laptop. Yes I know it was a stupid mistake to make and I should have checked what I was buying. I also know refunds are not guaranteed unless faulty which is why I bought from John Lewis, I thought they were meant to be customer service oriented.

DS opened the box up (he’s 13) but didn’t take it out the box & certainly didn’t use it.
Tried to return it 6 hours after buying but was refused refund, exchange or credit note as box had been opened.

I do understand it was opened and I am furious with DS but the return conditions online say John Lewis will refund if item has been “inspected” as long as it hasn’t been used.

I’m really upset. £270 is a lot of money for me to lose.

I spoke to the duty manager who was very nice and very understanding, he kept saying “I understand it hasn’t been used” but just kept repeating there was nothing they could do.

Is it worth persevering with or should I just accept it was an expensive mistake?

Beside the point, but we have a couple of Chromebooks in the house and are very impressed with them

@Divineswirls

I didn't know this rule and thank you for bringing it to our attention.

My MacBook Air bought 4 years ago and my DS laptop bought a month ago were both bought in store and work perfectly.

I will however buy all future ones online from now on. They have great free guarantees which we like buying from JL.

Does having it delivered to a local Waitrose count as buying in store of as being delivered?

As long as you ordered the item via the internet, you're covered by distance-selling regulations :)

My relative works in a JL store and I've sent a screen shot of your pit and they said it would be 100% accepted as a return in their store.
They also said :
Go onto live chat online to contact them and discuss further. Do not let it go.

*of your post (not pit) 🤪

What store was this and did you have your receipt?

Footprints that’s very kind of you, Thankyou. It says online chat is “currently unavailable”. I know it was my mistake but I genuinely thought they would recognise it as one and offer exchange or credit note.

They also said it makes no difference wether you bought it online.

If live chat is unavailable it means they are too busy or it's out of hours which I think it is now.

Had exactly the same with JL and a Chromebook. Or rather a part that was broken that they were convinced we had broken when we hadn’t. Refused to replace. Told us it was damage caused by us. I quoted all the relevant laws etc at them given the age of the product and the fact it was ordered online and they wouldn’t budge. It was made worse by them refusing to do anything in the middle of homeschooling, which I did stress to them. Absolute cowboys. Customer service has got worse and worse over the last ten years.

As long as you ordered the item via the internet, you're covered by distance-selling regulations

Except you’re not. As we found! Now going through the card company we used to buy it with. Truly despicable service!

I think that is really poor of John Lewis. I bet the sticker didn't say "not returnable if opened".

Now I've read why, it makes sense that they don't want it back because of fraud but most people don't read the ins and out of the returns policy when they buy something and really the store should be pointing it out to you at the the time of purchase on such a high value item.

@footprintsintheslow

That goes against John Lewis' published returns policy. The managers if your friend's store may make these decisions in store, but they are making them out with the published returns policy.

Once an item has been opened, it is not eligible for return. With electronics, this is because they cannot resell it. Anything could have been uploaded onto the product, virus or key logger or whatever. They cant sell it on again. They can sell it to a company who to refurbished chromebooks but thate all they can do with it.

They dont need to refund, not by law or by their own policy.

I'm sorry OP, but what was your son playing at? I cannot imagine either of my kids opening up a brand new, unopened expensive item which I had bought and put to the side. This isnt John Lewis' fault and there is no reason for them to be stuck with an item they cannot sell.

I'd only buy online now after buying a laptop from PC World and having to argue with them to get them to take it back. I paid for a particular spec took it home and got DH to set it up. It was only then that we realised they had given me a different laptop but you couldn't tell from the outer box. They initially refused to take it back and I admit to getting stroppy until they swapped it for the right one.

Definitely online only now, and certainly not the idiots from PC World.

John Lewis are really good, this doesn't sound right to me. I remember buying a tablet from them and they said they had a policy whereby if I didn't like it I'd be able to return (they had a whole section of the area dedicated to reduced 5% off customer returns). I just thought this 2as the norm for JL but maybe it was just the store.

I meant to add in this case I can understand where JL are coming from unfortunately

@finallymightbehappening is this actually a high value item at John Lewis? Chromebooks are considered a budget option and JL sell top of the line ranges.

Also it wouldn’t matter what the sticker said, as OP’s son opened it without asking her.

JL’s website makes it clear that opened or unsealed items cannot be returned for a refund unless faulty, so I don’t see why the store would have a contradictory policy like a PP suggested.

@SuperMonkeys

Beside the point, but we have a couple of Chromebooks in the house and are very impressed with them

I agree. I have a really expensive Windows laptop and DD has a Chrome Book. I know which one I prefer.

Tbf op is £270 is you budget than any laptop at that price is going to be rubbish. You are better off with the chromebook.

Oh OP. I would be so annoyed if my DS did that.
Try again via on-line chat. Twitter is excellent too for enquiries (complaints!) btw. I always get a very quick response when I use that.

Just to add, I would keep the chromebook

This isnt John Lewis' fault and there is no reason for them to be stuck with an item they cannot sell.

No, it isn’t JL’s fault but they could sell it.
Most likely at a loss (reduced price).

I really feel for you OP and as I said, be mad at your DS. He was way out of line opening it.

@Canidoanything

I was annoyed with DS as I’d already decided to return the item but he opened it. I totally understand John Lewis’s position and wasnt expecting a full refund but did hope they would let me exchange it for a more expensive item ie a laptop. I said I would exchange it there and then if it helps. My DH bought himself a MacBook on 21 December online from John Lewis which he collected from a Waitrose store. He opened it, even turned it on! Then decided to return in early Jan. He returned it to the Waitrose store to be sent away for a refund and he actually got a full refund from John Lewis. How is that possible?

Argg that is gutting. I ordered an iPad from John Lewis online recently and I only realised I had mismeasured the screen size I needed once I'd opened the sealed box.

I didn't take the screen protector off or anything but I had opened it. I sent back via Waitrose and wrote on the returns form that I accidentally bought the wrong size and I was going to reorder the more expensive one (which I did once refunded) and they refunded me in a few days, no quibbles. I was convinced they were going to call and say sorry no can do as you have opened it.

Maybe online returns are a bit more forgiving as they don't want to go through the hassle of sending the item back to the customer or maybe the store can't repackage the goods like the returns centre can. I don't know if you could try returning to another store or by post if you said you couldn't get to a store currently?

@Librariesmakeshhhhappen
Oh god you are right. Egg on my face. Totally hold my hands up. But you were being incredibly smug and that riled me.