Click and Collect Compensation

[henrygregory]

Hello and Happy Christmas to all of you.

I recently ordered some items on John Lewis's website and selected to collect from my closest store.
I got an automated email though to confirm my choices and it said that they would be back in touch when my items were ready to collect. I made my order on Thursday. On Thursday PM, I got an automated email to tell me that the items would be in store and ready for collection on Friday afternoon from 2pm.

I headed to the John Lewis store in question on Saturday and after waiting for quite some time, I was told that the order was not even there and that I should come back another day. It takes well over 1 hour to get to the store and there was no way I was going home.
Had to speak to customer services who explained that the items were out of stock so they cancelled my order.

I am furious about the whole situation. My time, fuel and weekend is incredibly valuable to me. I have been in touch with their 'customer service' department numerous times and have finally managed to squeeze a £50.00 voucher out of them. I don't think this is very generous at all considering the expense in fuel and time this blunder has cost me.

What do you guys think?
I would like to take matters further as I am so upset I have had to push them so hard for compensation.

[henrygregory]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

BUMP

[MissFM]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Hi Henrygregory,

How incredibly galling. Like you, I live well over an hour from the nearest John Lewis store so I know what a trek it is - and to add insult to injury they told you the items were in stock before you set out.

In your shoes I would write to the CEO expressing extreme disappointment both with their performance and with the paltry redress, as a first stop.

I'd then, if a satisfactory response were not forthcoming, be thinking in terms of the press

[MissFM]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

John Lewis
Mr Andy Street	Managing Director
Email	andy_street@johnlewis.co.uk
Telephone	0207 828 1000
Fax	020 7592 6333
Website	http://www.johnlewis.co.uk
Social Media
Address	SW1P 1BX, UK
Company Number	00233462
See also	Customer Services

John Lewis Partnership
Mr Charlie Mayfield	Chairman
Email	charlie_mayfield@johnlewis.co.uk
Telephone	0207 828 1000
Fax	020 7592 6333
Website	http://www.johnlewis.co.uk
Social Media
Address	SW1P 1BX
Company Number	00233462
See also	Customer Services

From their website:

Customers

The Partnership aims to deal honestly with its customers and secure their loyalty and trust by providing outstanding choice, value and service.

[henrygregory]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Thanks for your helpful info. I contacted the two people included in your post and got a response the following day saying they would re-consider my incident and would get straight back in touch. That was over two weeks ago.
I am fed up, I feel like no one really cares. It cost me a lot of money to go all that way in both fuel and my weekend time. If they are not interested, I wrote in my original letter to them that I would take legal action.

Can anyone tell me how I can make a small claims case against them? I have already wasted almost two hours on John Lewis in my time in both driving to their store on a fools errand and in writing letters and emails. I am not prepared to let this slide and would be grateful of any assistance you can provide me with. I will not allow these larger companies to ignore good, honest customers like me. People need to be made aware of these sorts of poor examples of customer care.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Write to them again and remind them.

[teaboy2]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Thanks for your helpful info. I contacted the two people included in your post and got a response the following day saying they would re-consider my incident and would get straight back in touch. That was over two weeks ago.
I am fed up, I feel like no one really cares. It cost me a lot of money to go all that way in both fuel and my weekend time. If they are not interested, I wrote in my original letter to them that I would take legal action.

Can anyone tell me how I can make a small claims case against them? I have already wasted almost two hours on John Lewis in my time in both driving to their store on a fools errand and in writing letters and emails. I am not prepared to let this slide and would be grateful of any assistance you can provide me with. I will not allow these larger companies to ignore good, honest customers like me. People need to be made aware of these sorts of poor examples of customer care.

Word of caution, if you took legal action, all you would be able to claim is actual financial loss, petrol. Time would not be relevant unless you took time of work to attend the store and loss wages as a result. They have already given you a £50 voucher, which more than enough covers your petrol costs and a court would take that in to consideration. Assuming they have already refunded you the cost of the goods, then its likely a the court would throw such claim out, as you already accepted their offer of a £50 voucher. If you hadn't accepted there offer of £50 voucher, then that would change things in your favor, but again you would only be able to claim actual financial loss.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Word of caution, if you took legal action, all you would be able to claim is actual financial loss, petrol. Time would not be relevant unless you took time of work to attend the store and loss wages as a result. They have already given you a £50 voucher, which more than enough covers your petrol costs and a court would take that in to consideration. Assuming they have already refunded you the cost of the goods, then its likely a the court would throw such claim out, as you already accepted their offer of a £50 voucher. If you hadn't accepted there offer of £50 voucher, then that would change things in your favor, but again you would only be able to claim actual financial loss.

Perhaps he could ask RLP to act on his behalf? :bolt:

[bluebottle]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

John Lewis are in breach of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, as they failed to exercise reasonable care and skill in the service they provided and in the supply of goods you ordered. The Act allows those affected by such failures to seek compensation for consequential loss, which includes the cost of fuel, car parking, etc.. Some retailers, mainly, multiples, are too ready to fob people off with vouchers and store goods that are often far less a loss to them than having to pay hard cash for the loss they have caused the customer. If more customers refused to accept giftcards and vouchers from retailers who have committed breaches of the law and torts against those customers and forced them to pay hard cash, as they should, retailers would make damn sure such shoddy service is addressed and the likelihood of it being repeated is significantly reduced.

[wales01man]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

so accepting their vouchers may be considered as adequate compensation by a court if a case was started ,makes sense to me how much compo does someone want ?

[bluebottle]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

The offering of vouchers is smoke and mirrors, Wales. A voucher with a face value of £50 may cover goods worth only £5 in real terms. If the OP has, for example, had to pay £30+ in hard cash out of their own pocket, that is the compensation they are entitled to receive, not goods worth a sixth of that amount. The only thing that makes retailers act to mend their ways is hitting them where it hurts them most and that is their bank account. A customer who has been caused financial loss is under no obligation, legal or otherwise, to accept vouchers or "store goods to the value". Travel operators are notorious for fobbing off customers with vouchers as the majority of people who have had Holidays from Hell and been treated badly by the travel operator, understandably, do not want to go on any future holidays with that operator.

[wales01man]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Did they accept the voucher?

So your saying £50 is £5 so should they get £500 in vouchers?

Is there another real world other im not part of maybe the advice should be take them to court and then what if the OP loses?

[bluebottle]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Did they accept the voucher?

So your saying £50 is £5 so should they get £500 in vouchers?

Is there another real world other im not part of maybe the advice should be take them to court and then what if the OP loses?

That is not what I am saying at all, Wales. If a retailer has caused a customer to suffer a financial loss of, say, £30, as a result of the retailer's failure to comply with their duty to exercise reasonable care and skill, as required by law, then the retailer should reimburse that customer with the £30, not try and fob them off with a piece of paper or plastic to exchange for goods that probably cost the retailer only £5.00. The retailer has, effectively and in reality, short-changed the customer by deceiving them into believing they are being compensated in kind, which is often not the case. Strictly speaking, the retailer cannot coerce a customer who has suffered a financial loss as a result of the retailer's failure to comply with a statutory requirement to accept a voucher or giftcard and the customer is under no obligation, legal or otherwise, to accept the voucher or giftcard.

[wales01man]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

Question was did they accept the voucher?

[bluebottle]

Re: Click and Collect Compensation

It will depend on the actual losses the OP suffered.

Travel operators are notorious for fobbing people off with vouchers as alleged compensation for Holidays from Hell. The travel operator will claim it is full compensation. This is, in fact, untrue. All it does is hold the travel operator liable for the wholesale cost of the holiday, which may be significantly less than what the customer paid. The profit the travel operator has made from the customer has not been refunded as it should be. A full refund means exactly what it says and that is the price paid by the customer which is the wholesale cost plus the operator's profit.

I had a case where a certain computer store messed up a service on a computer I had taken in, necessitating my having to take it back. One of the staff lied to me that I was only entitled to store goods for the cost of fuel I had used to get home and then drive back because of their carelessness. What they offered me were goods I knew only cost them £1.50 wholesale. The actual loss I had suffered was considerably more than that. The General Manager was summoned and, give him all credit where it was due, even he agreed the member of staff was taking the piss. I was reimbursed, in full, in cash, by the General Manager.