John Lewis dishwasher leak forced buyers into hotels for eight months

John Lewis customers were forced to live in hotels for eight months after a dishwasher installed by the retailer leaked undetected for more than a year, leaving them to fund repairs themselves amid a dispute with the company’s insurer. The dishwasher, installed by John Lewis, had been leaking imperceptibly for over a year before damp was discovered saturating walls and floors in the kitchen, hall, and dining room [1]. John Lewis accepted liability for the leak but passed the claim to a claims management company appointed by its insurer and then stepped away from the process [1]. The customers, an elderly couple, were repeatedly told that if they did not accept what they considered substandard repairs, they risked having to pay the costs themselves [1]. Delays forced them to live in a series of hotel rooms with their dog for eight months, with no cooking facilities and a food allowance of £10 a day [1]. The couple eventually contracted and paid for their own repairs to make the house habitable again [1]. A surveyor appointed by the customers concluded that walls had been replastered by the claims firm’s contractors before they had sufficiently dried, and that a damp membrane was required to prevent residual moisture from leaching back into the rooms [1]. The claims firm confused a membrane with a damp course, argued that this amounted to “betterment,” and refused to refund the customers in full [1]. It later agreed to pay half the cost, leaving a £3,300 shortfall [1]. Gary Rycroft, a partner at Joseph A Jones Solicitors, said that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the retailer remains legally responsible to the consumer, even if it appoints insurers or claims firms to handle the claim [1]. “If the claims process stalls, or is mishandled, the retailer can still be liable,” he said [1]. John Lewis, founded in 1864 on Oxford Street and now operating 35 stores throughout Great Britain, is part of the John Lewis Partnership, a trust held on behalf of its employees [6]. The retailer initially refused to comment, citing an “open legal case,” though the customers had not threatened or started legal action [1]. Almost three months after the Guardian’s first contact, John Lewis refunded the customers £3,300 as a “goodwill gesture” [1]. That sum included £2,000 the company had already offered to compensate for distress and inconvenience [1]. A John Lewis spokesperson said: “We apologise that the original installation did not meet our high standards on this occasion. We have worked with the customer to resolve the issues identified, and have paid very significant compensation to cover remedial works and associated personal costs” [1]. The company has refused to increase its compensation offer for the impact of the ordeal [1]. In a separate case, JA of London reported that Cole & Mason replaced a pepper mill given as a wedding gift 24 years ago after a plastic bracket failed, sending a new mill with a lifetime guarantee at no charge [1].