John Lewis - What Do You Think of Their Customer Service?

[AnotherRandomUsernom]

My elderly father bought a Beko washing machine from them over a year ago. It leaked from the soap dispenser so he had it replaced. The new one also leaked and he has had 4 engineers calling round advising him to use specific soap, only to use about 2 programmes and to use a cleaning program once a month. Despite all this, the machine still leaks.
I’m worried he is going to slip on the floor. He uses a walker and life is difficult enough already. I’m worried about him catching covid from all these engineers calling over. He spent all day today on the phone trying to get through to JL then was told to get a code from Becko but he didn’t manage to get through to Becko today. He has to try all over again tomorrow. I don’t think he’ll have any luck getting the code as we’ve been through this process before. Becko refused to give us the number and JL refused to help. Surely it is his consumer right to have a refund. What is going on with customer care and consumer rights these days? I think it’s shocking that an elderly and vulnerable man should be treated like this by John Lewis.

@AnotherRandomUsernom

Merrymouse, I’m sure they didn’t reimburse you for the cost of the food you had to throw away either did they? I m sure they would have been liable.

No - or the ongoing cost of not being able to store food for more than a day or the hours spent trying to sort it out.

If I had had more band width at the time I would have taken the complaint further.

There seem to be so many unregulated areas of society with the customer coming off worst. I suppose it doesn’t help that we have a government that can’t even regulate themselves, but my issue is with JL today.

I know it would have cost a fortune. I had this problem when I ordered a faulty fridge from AO. However AO did reimburse me the cost of the food also. There’s no way John Lewis would have done that. I would never order electrical goods from John Lewis.

@AnotherRandomUsernom - stop telephoning them.

try [email protected] - (CEO John Lewis)

After several weekes of their mis information, this was the only way we got our tv which stopped working during lockdown (while under 5 year guarantee) refunded.

prior to that was a freezer fault which went on months.

We no longer shop there.

We have also had bad experiences with JL and it’s such a shame as they used to be our ‘go to’ for everything and now we avoid them. We have had a washer dryer incorrectly installed, and an large item delivered that was a different colour online and the box was blocking our only exit door from our home and JL said they could not collect for weeks (too big for us to return to post office). We use AO now and their service is fantastic! Like JL used to be. I sent you a PM with a suggestion of something to try. I really hope you get it sorted.

I’m off out to run a few errands for my Dad this morning and then over his place. He has a timeline of events so far which I will have a look at and put together in an email to Sharon.

I will report back with her response. Thanks mumsnetters!

It's dreadful. Tv that went back multiple times with videos of faults (randomly changed channels) took about six months of complaining (only for them to botch refund) and had customer service operators who lied on the phone!

Expensive (£100) sandals who's soles split not refunded as been worn (one or twice) outside of 28 days! (Wore them about four times in five weeks) Again customer service operatives lied and sent me to the wrong place, with multiple returns refused. Thankfully was able to exchange in store.

I don't buy from JL anymore, which is a shame as I shopped there very regularly and do like their stuff. I had to completely go over the top to complain with regular calls, detailed notes. So many hoops to jump through, all designed to wear someone out rather than continue with a genuine complaint.

From memory there are two layers of customer service. Outsourced, which try to fob you off (general customer number) and some in-house who do have some peer to return goods and offer compensation. Ask for it to be escalated.

Dreadful. They used to be so good and I always shopped with them for large purchases on the basis that you could rely on them to sort out problems. No longer. I'm currently chasing them for a £700 refund after they delivered the wrong item- have been stuck with the incorrect item ands no money for weeks. You can't call their complaints dept and getting a response to emails takes weeks. Never again.

I used to buy a lot from JL. All my kitchen appliances, computers, clothing, make-up, shoes, etc, all from them. I don't shop with them anymore.

Since November I've bought £2K worth of appliances from Appliances Online. Their customer service is great, unlike that at JL.

Not so long ago I wouldn't have considered buying anywhere other than JL... It's a shame things have gone downhill.

OP, I have just left a job with the agency JL use for customer services. My advice to you in this case: call the tech support number with your DF present and get him to give you permission to deal with the issue - make sure they note it against the order number. Then going forward you will be able to deal on his behalf. Then ask to escalate to a senior manager as your DF is vulnerable and cannot be without a WM. You should also ask them to deal with it by email so all is in writing.

Nom de P, would you believe it, I have already tried this. Spoke to the customer service department on numerous occasions and explained how vulnerable he was but they wouldn’t budge. John Lewis customer service is scandalous. How are they still trading. I hope they go under as people don’t deserve to be subjected to this sort of treatment. It can only cease when they cease to exist.

Dishonest, unethical and untrustworthy. They’ll sell you anything for a profit, and you’ll be stuck with it even when health and safety are compromised.

No, not customer services. They don't deal with electrical faults. It has to be Technical Support on 03456 100381

Always used to shop at JL but had a nightmare when an expensive laptop we'd bought for DD developed a fault after 2 weeks. They refused to refund or exchange and sent it for repair which took 3 weeks to get back. I was appalled with the lack of customer care.

Either use AO or Costco now for electrical items, never had any issues.

I hope you and your DF get things sorted out op.

Their customer service is handled by Sitel which tells you everything you need to know.....

Agree - used to be great, now awful. Won’t buy from there again now.

Had great service from them. An outdoor table developed rust one week before the five year guarantee ran out, they sourced a brand new replacement and delivered it, and bonus free installation too.

Thanks Nom de P. We are waiting for someone to call back. Not sure if they’re from Technical Support but we’ll see what they have to say.

I have my father’s timeline in front of me. He has written “Engineer - unmasked - coughed a great deal. Tried to blame me for using quick wash - which I have never used. Then blamed soft “mains water” for not dissolving pods in —————— (where he lives)!!

I’m furious!! Who do these people think they are?

Worldgonecrazy, just as well your table wasn’t made by a company like my fathers washing machine then. You might have had a different experience entirely.

As above electrical aftersales is outsourced. In house customer services are generally better, though not at weekends IME.

In terms of fault finding, a couple of things occur to me.

Do you live in a hard water area? If so limescale could be an issue. Try a descaler treatment and then using Calgon or equipment tablets in every wash. You also need to do a hot wash once a month.

Another thought is whether the water pressure on the inlet pipe is too high. A plumber may be able to advise although worth looking on you tube first to see if you can do it yourself.

If you incur any costs send a copy with a cover letter to the head of director services. At Hamilton Business park in Scotland

It’s dreadful now, used to be amazing but then they outsourced to capita I think? I won’t use them ever again.

I had a faulty dyson hair dryer, they refused to deal with it and demanded I contact dyson direct. So now I buy direct from everywhere. Rude little man, I still hate him 🤣

I was also asked to send back a smashed casserole dish even after I sent photos