1 week Ago By [email protected] (James Rodger)
John Lewis shoppers have been warned over a little-known two-year rule at the high street giant. John Lewis, which has a store in Birmingham , has sparked fury among readers with its repair or refunds policy online. A customer wrote into the Guardian newspaper and fumed: "In February 2023 I bought a £200 Therabody PowerDot muscle stimulator there for my partner to help with health issues.
She has only used it occasionally. When it broke, I wasn’t concerned as I knew the retailer has a two-year promise on electrical goods. "However, when I asked about getting a refund, replacement, or a repair, I was told it only came with a one-year guarantee.
I checked the definition of an electrical appliance and the Therabody muscle stimulator is one! I feel John Lewis needs calling out on this." READ MORE All the parts of England and Scotland facing snow AGAIN before end of January The John Lewis website says “two-year guarantee as standard ..
. at no extra cost” on its electricals homepage. But the national newspaper reported the product listing for this gadget under the “wellbeing technology” tab states that only a one-year guarantee is included.
After being approached by the newspaper, John Lewis explained that this item is categorised under “sports”. But it apologised and offered a refund, saying: “We’re also reviewing our warranty wording to make sure it’s clear for customers.” A reader fumed: "I was bought a Bose speaker which came from John Lewis.
Within 6 months it developed a fault. JL just referred us back to Bose customer support who insisted on a repair rather than replacement. I am left without the product while it is shipped to a repair centre in Poland with zero updates on when it might get returned.
It has come back repaired but feel the JL of old would have sent a replacement and dealt with the faulty item." A second said: "The Consumer Rights Act (of 2015, which replaced the Sales of Goods Act of 1979) states that products must be of sufficient quality. In practice, this means that retailers often have a duty to repair or replace faulty items even after a warranty period ends.
"Whether John Lewis offer a one or two years warranty period is immaterial here. If the item could reasonably be expected to last more than two years, then John Lewis is accountable for repairing or replacing the item. For more expensive electronic items - such as a TV - the general rule of thumb is that a TV should not fail within 6 years (and the retailer should replace / repair without quibble).
After 6 years, the buyer should get an independent report demonstrating that any fault is a manufacturing issue (rather than wear and tear or user misuse).".
