1 reviews in the last 6 months See older reviews of John Lewis No issue with John Lewis. Beko not so good. Purchased a cooker hood from John Lewis on 16 Apr 2016 Most of us know that pulling the door off a washing machine isn’t covered by a warranty (see above) – an extended warranty or otherwise. But that didn’t stop sales staff at one store we visited telling us it would be. Around 12.5 million people have bought an extended warranty or care plan on an electrical item in the past three years. But while some shops might be keen to flog them new Which? research shows that some sales staff  at high street stores are sometimes misrepresenting these warranties – meaning you could end up spending hundreds of pounds on something you don’t need. While many of the sales pitches our mystery shoppers heard from store staff gave them the whole story, we also heard inaccurate claims, confusing advice and exaggeration. Some of the information about what extended warranties actually offer and how they compare to other cover you may have (such as the manufacturer’s guarantee) was just plain wrong.

Our mystery shoppers visited Currys/PC World, John Lewis, Richer Sounds, Tesco and independent electronics retailers (Euronics) twelve times each. We didn’t talk about an extended warranty unless it was first offered by the salesperson. We were only offered a warranty on one of our 12 visits to independent retailers (the smallest number of the stores we visited) while Currys sales staff tried to sell us an extended warranty on 11 out of 12 visits. Unfortunately, the information given wasn’t always good. In the visits where we were offered a warranty we rated that visit as a pass, unhelpful or fail. A fail was where, in our opinion, sales staff incorrectly stated consumer rights in relation to the warranty, or materially exaggerated what the warranty covered, or its benefits, compared with protection the consumer would automatically get, for example, under a manufacturer’s warranty. Currys sales staff failed six of our 11 visits and a further four were rated as unhelpful with only one pass.

This compares against just one fail for independent retailers, Richer Sounds and John Lewis and no fails for Tesco. One member of the Currys sales team told us that  their Whatever Happens plan ‘covers everything’. It doesn’t cover weather and water damage and problems due to ‘neglect and misuse’ nor will it cover pulling the door off your washing machine if you have a party as one employee suggested. At other retailers we also got some poor advice about your rights with a warranty. One member of staff at John Lewis told us that an extended warranty can’t be cancelled, something we also heard on a visit to Richer Sounds. Any warranty lasting more than a year that hasn’t been claimed on can be cancelled. What to do if you want to cancel your extended warranty – Consumer Rights guide We don’t believe you need the ‘peace of mind’ protection that extended warranties offer. They can cost nearly as much as the product themselves and most people are unlikely to make a claim.

Electrical products are fairly reliable and even when they do develop a fault you’re often covered elsewhere. For example, according to our annual reliability survey, only 2% of Panasonic TVs owners took their TV to get repaired under warranty in the first five years of ownership. miele vacuum cleaner instruction manualThis means you’re unlikely get much use out of a £139  ‘Premier’ 5-year extended warranty from Currys/PC World, despite costing over half the price of a £269 Panasonic TX-L32B6B TV.how stuff works vacuum cleaner robot Elsewhere, less expensive five-year warranties are available but the chances of you using them remain slim. 3d mr cleaner vacuumTesco’s warranty costs a still pricey £99 when buying a Samsung UE32F5300 TV.

The results from our reliability survey indicate that just 5% were repaired under warranty in the first five years of ownership; essential knowledge, considering the TV itself costs £349. In the event an electrical product you’ve bought does develop a fault, most will already come with a manufacturer’s warranty of one or two years. The Sale of Goods Act also gives you rights to return a product if it develops a fault while your home insurance can offer some cover, although this can cost extra. Bought an extended warranty recently? If you’re having second thoughts after reading our investigation you can actually get your money back. Under the Supply of Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods Order, if you haven’t claimed on your warranty and the duration of the warranty is more than one year you can cancel within 45 days of purchasing it and get a full refund. For more information on cancelling extended warranties, head over to our Consumer Rights website.

Letter to extended warranty provider to cancel within 45 days – pre-written for you My warranty provider won’t honour the warranty, what can I do? What to do if your extended warranty provider refuses your claim – help is at handReview John Lewis now. Published 15 September 2016 Updated 17 September 2016 Perfume department gone down hill Reported 15 September 2016 John Lewis reported this review for breach of Trustpilot guidelines. Published 13 September 2016 John Lewis used to stand for unfaulted 5 star customer service, Used to ! Very rude, late, lazy delivery men Appalling Customer Service - John Lewis Tunbridge Wells Published 12 September 2016 Pet Insurance - John Lewis Failed Again. By far the worst customer service I've ever had Pathetic – expected better. Wrong item delivered, and would only resolve at their convenience Updated 12 September 2016 Absurd and Totally Hopeless - don't expect delivery to agreed date