Broken gadget puts John Lewis two-year promise on electrical to the test

A while ago the Guardian wrote about John Lewis introducing a minimum two-year guarantee on all its electrical products.

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.

RS, Hassocks

The John Lewis website prominently says “two-year guarantee as standard … at no extra cost” on its electricals homepage, yet the product listing for this gadget under the “wellbeing technology” tab states that only a one-year guarantee is included.

I asked John Lewis to look into this and it explained that this item is categorised under “sports” as opposed to being part of its electrical department. It has been in touch to apologise for the confusion, and arranged a refund. It adds: “We’re also reviewing our warranty wording to make sure it’s clear for customers.”

I recently wrote about a reader who owing to new Brexit rules was struggling to post books to Ireland. A number of you got in touch with similar stories. HM from London wrote:

I took my parcel, containing two shirts, to my local post office where the assistant filled out the customs form. Two weeks later it was returned due to “insufficient customs information” (the clerk had written “clothes” and value £0.01). I went back again but this time filled in the form myself, detailing the contents, weight, value, and that it was a gift. It was returned two more times before I used Royal Mail’s online customs form which produces a code at the end. When I went back to the post office the assistant was astonished; they hadn’t been told about the codes! At the fourth time of sending, the parcel made it to Ireland.