I ordered a laptop from John Lewis. It was thrown over my 2m wall. I spent 1 hr on hold for customer services and got through to no-one. I tried the live chat which told me I needed to wait for 85 mins but it cut off after an hour with no response. Incredibly disappointed.

Bought a freezer on line paid for delivery, never came phoned up said they would call back. No one called! Got a text with new date stayed in all day still no delivery. Still not resolved said they can’t send it and waiting on money back!

Terrible customer service experience. I rang the helpline to try and resolve a simple issue. I was waiting for an hour, listening to the same tune on repeat, being told repeatedly by an automated voice that they were sorry for the wait and a partner was doing everything they can to get to me. Being kept on hold for an hour is terrible customer service. I eventually had to end the call because the wait was inordinate and no one was picking up the phone. I will never order from you again, for fear that if anything did require support from you I would not be able to contact you in order to resolve it. To leave someone waiting indefinitely on the phone is unacceptable. Invest in your customer services.

I ordered a breast pump which I urgently needed (I gave birth a week ago any my baby isn't feeding well). The delivery was scheduled for 21 July to a post office. The delivery failed as "nobody was home" - it's a post office how can nobody be home? I called John Lewis, waited over an hour on hold. They said no-one in their delivery team was answering hence nothing they could do. Then the call cut. The agent didn't attempt to call back. I really needed the item and paid £140 for it, really disappointed

Staff very friendly but completely unknowledgeable about their stock, which is what JL used to be known for. In the TV department the assistant had to check online to answer basic questions which I could have done myself. I then visited the Place to Eat and almost every table was littered with uncollected plates and cups. Very disappointing.

I have ordered Items on two occasions over the last two weeks and both time had dreadful experience. What happened to John Lewis? It seems to be taken over by AI and everything is going wrong.
I am not using them again, until they switch back to humans. Very sad where retail is going. Bots instead of humans.

I have always associated John Lewis with quality and excellent customer service, which makes this experience even more disappointing.

I ordered a bin (Order No. 560120108) costing £92.80, which arrived with two dents. I emailed customer services with photographs, and to be fair they quickly confirmed that a replacement would be sent. We also agreed a collection date of 20th July for the damaged bin, and I received email confirmation of these arrangements.

Unfortunately, 20th July came and went with no collection and no communication whatsoever.

I then tried to contact customer services. On my first call I waited 58 minutes in the queue, finally got through, spent a further 23 minutes explaining everything, only for the adviser to disconnect the call without any call back.

I called again and waited another 48 minutes before speaking to someone. When I asked to raise a formal complaint, I was simply told I had to do it online and the adviser refused to help me. She then placed me on silent while I could hear her huffing and puffing, and she would no longer respond to me. It was one of the most unprofessional customer service experiences I have ever encountered.

I am still no further forward. I have no idea when the damaged bin will be collected, despite John Lewis confirming the arrangements in writing.

Receiving a damaged item is unfortunate but can happen. What is far less acceptable is the way this has been handled afterwards. John Lewis has fallen a long way from the high standards of customer care it was once known for.

I sincerely hope someone from John Lewis takes ownership of this and resolves the matter properly because, based on this experience, I would think twice before ordering from them again.

Ordered a 20th wedding anniversary present from John Lewis and paid extra for next-day delivery. It never arrived.

Not only did I waste over two hours trying to sort it out, but I also made a completely unnecessary trip to the Post Office. Despite the delivery failure, my request for a refund of the next-day delivery charge was refused.

The result? No anniversary present, wasted time, and money spent on a service that wasn’t provided.

I always thought John Lewis was a company known for quality customer service, but this experience has been incredibly disappointing. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be the company it once was. Based on my experience, I’d advise others to think twice before paying extra for next-day delivery.

Update more delays

This is completely unacceptable.

I paid for next-day delivery, and my order was due to be delivered yesterday, 21 July. The item was a gift for a 20th wedding anniversary, which is today. Because of your failure to deliver as promised, the gift has not arrived in time for the occasion.

I have now been informed that there is yet another delay. This is simply not good enough.

I no longer want the item, as it has missed the occasion it was intended for. I expect a full refund immediately, including the next-day delivery charge, as the service I paid for was not provided.

Please confirm that my refund has been processed without further delay.

Update

Finally got hold of someone. They’re refunding me—but for the wrong amount. It’s just another example of the incompetence and couldn’t-care-less attitude I’ve experienced from John Lewis. I’ve now deleted my account and won’t be shopping with them again.

Disgusting! Disgraceful! Disappointing!
I cannot recommend John Lewis home furniture to ANYONE after our experience.
We paid a premium price for a chest of drawers because we expected a high-quality product and professional workmanship. What arrived was beyond disappointing. The quality of the assembly is so unbelievably poor that I genuinely struggle to believe it was put together by a professional. The finish is dreadful, the workmanship is careless, and it looks like it was assembled by someone with no pride in their work. Had my husband built it himself for the first time, I would have been disappointed. To receive it in this condition from a company with John Lewis's reputation is simply unacceptable.
What made the experience even worse was the customer service. We spent well over an hour trying to get through to speak to an actual human being. Instead, we were forced through endless automated systems before finally resorting to a chatbot, where we had to upload multiple photographs of the faults. That was yesterday. Today, we still haven't received a meaningful response—only automated messages acknowledging our complaint.
To add insult to injury, these automated messages cheerfully tell us they "hope you find this experience delightful." There has been absolutely nothing delightful about it. The entire process has been frustrating, time-consuming and deeply disappointing.
John Lewis has built its reputation on quality products and exceptional customer service. Sadly, our experience has been the complete opposite. We have received poor workmanship, an unacceptable level of customer support, and a complaints process that feels designed to keep customers at arm's length rather than resolve problems.
This has been one of the worst retail experiences we have ever had. We paid extra expecting quality and convenience, and instead received an appallingly assembled piece of furniture and customer service that has been slow, impersonal and ineffective.
I would strongly advise anyone considering buying John Lewis furniture to think very carefully before parting with your money. Based on our experience, I would give this purchase and the after-sales service 0 out of 5 stars.

They are now reaching out privately when I want it public so everyone knows not to trust John Lewis as all they have done is broken promises numerous times

This has been one of the worst customer experiences I've ever had. I ordered a cabinet, but the courier found every excuse not to deliver it to my flat, despite this being part of the service I paid for. I was then forced to rebook the delivery and spent 45 minutes on hold with customer service to do so. The failed delivery, lack of support from the courier, and excessive waiting time are completely unacceptable. Based on this experience, I would never buy from John Lewis again.

I recently ordered a garden table which was advertised on the website as 98cm long. When it arrived it was 178 cm long and as it was made of stone I could not lift it. A misdiscription on their website.
I spent 90 minutes on the phone trying to arrange collection and they said not for a week. I then had to cover it to protect it from the rain as it was lying flat on the patio. I received an email asking if I was happy with the service and to call if there was anything else! I could not get through on the phone again!!!! Then they tried to charge me a collection fee and deducted that from my refund, plus they would not refund me until they had collected the table.. It was a shambles and not what I have experienced ever before by John Lewis.

Big fan. Has everything in one place.

Ordered an LG tv with installation and take away old tv add ons. Delivery scheduled 20/07/2026 and text received day before confirming slot between hours of 08.11 and 10.11am. We waited and waited. No delivery arrived! Waited on phone for 60 mins for customer services to find out why it was late and when to expect. Get through and immediately they cut you off, chat took two hours to get a reply and that was clearly not in UK and a complete lack of understanding about situation. Called customer service three more times and no response. No courtesy call, text or email from JL to advise of lateness. Shocking!
Television finally arrived FOUR HOURS LATE! Excuse was lorry broken down but they’d managed 7 other deliveries before mine! Still working that one out! I don’t believe it.
They attempted to install TV and it’s BROKEN! So we now have a broken new tv sitting here that doesn’t work. Still waiting for a call that we were going to get within two hours of delivery to sort situation out. We actually called up - yet again - then having to endure What’s App messaging to then 40 mins later get to speak to someone - who advised Tv out of stock now! I also spoke to Technical and Comment from the advisor in technical to me ‘these things happen’. I found that comment extremely rude. Lack of empathy and understanding of situation. Could hardly hear the person, foreign accent and speaking too fast! Collection of broken one can’t be until 27 July. No refund until then. So here we are with a £549 broken tv, no refund until collected. JL couldn’t care less that we are stuck with nothing.
JL have become some company that tries to trade on its past reputation and has been smashed to pieces in recent years. Sadly those days of a person understanding problem and WANTING to help resolve the situation went a long time ago! They have become a very poor second rate company who don’t care about their customers just their hard earnt money. Having used them for 50 years I find it very sad that they have come down to this and just show no empathy towards their customers like they used to. They don’t even try to get problems rectified - just couldn’t care less. To be honest I don’t think their future looks too bright if they carry on like this. You are a disgrace JL!

I recently used the WhatsApp chat line to raise an issue with delivery. What a pain that turned out to be ! Had to keep the chat open for 1 hour 25 minutes or so. Really frustrating and time consuming. On the plus side I received a call from an advisor the next day and we had it all sorted in 5 minutes ! Please John Lewis, make it easier for a 1 to 1 call - much more efficient and less stressful.

I wish to give specific mention to 2 John Lewis customer service representatives who went above and beyond to make me feel a valued customer when their senior managers had failed in their duty to do so. One colleague Abeljolie, in furniture aftercare dept despite being out of his rota hours sorted a resolution for damage to a piece of furniture delivered to me when I never had the promised contact from his senior managers. Another colleague Clodine in customer services, spoke repeatedly to her managers to resolve damage to another order I had received. These JL employees reminded me of the company of old, sadly not evidenced by many of their senior colleagues. Thank you to both these partners, they should be commended.

Extremely disappointing experience.

I ordered flowers through John Lewis and wanted to include a personal message. The website clearly stated that I would recieve a link at checkout to add my message, but no link appeared.
I then tried contacting customer services and was left waiting on the phone for over an hour without speaking to anyone. There was no way to get help or resolve the issue.
For a company with such a strong reputation, this level of service is unacceptable. Ordering flowers is ofetn for a special occasion, and something as simple as including a personal message shouldn't be this difficult. The lack of customer support only made the experience even more frustrating.

Based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend using they improve their ordering process and customer service

Tried to order a washing machine online.

The delivery date was this Wednesday 22nd then changed to Wed 29th. Jojn
Lewis want to charge for delivery, take old machine away and fit new one a lot.

Tried all evening to speak to customer service to see if could get us a machine before next week. Online says customer service open till 9.00 pm called 4.32 for 24 mins no answer then again at 6.56 for 1hour and 17mins no answer, again 8.56 no answer, poor service. In the end cancelled order and can get elsewhere tomorrow.

Feel John Lewis customer service is not what used to be at all. Nothing in store to buy everything online, staff say you can Order and pay for click and collect or pay delivery. Whats the point in having staff and a store might aswell be online only.

Very disappointing!!!!!!!

I have placed an order for two items a fortnight ago. The first item said delivery within 3-5 days. It has not appeared. JL cannot tell me when or if it will be delivered
The second item (a dishwasher) has now failed to appear on two separate agreed days. I tried calling customer service towards the end of the second agreed day. I waited an hour being repeatedly told my call was important and everything was being done to get someone to speak to me. After an hour I gave up and ended the call. I was subsequently told (the next day) that the dishwasher had not been dispatched due to staff sickness. Did no one think to tell us? That's a day of my life wasted.
John Lewis get your act together!

**The experience over the past three months of purchasing a Belling range cooker from John Lewis has left my 87-year-old mother upset, frustrated and feeling extremely let down by a company she has championed for decades.**

For many years she has been a loyal John Lewis customer and, despite spending over £1,200 on a new cooker, refused to shop elsewhere because she trusted the John Lewis name and the customer service it has always been known for.

She had visited the Cheltenham store several times before ordering and found the staff in the appliance department to be knowledgeable, friendly and genuinely helpful. They are not the problem. Throughout this experience the in-store colleagues have consistently tried their best despite clearly being restricted by the systems they have to work with.

The problems began immediately after placing the order online. My mother wanted removal of her old cooker and installation of the new one, but after waiting around 40 minutes on the phone I was told this couldn't easily be added and that the only solution was to visit the store and reorder. As my mother no longer drives, this meant family members taking time to transport her to Cheltenham, where the staff cancelled the online order and placed a new one with installation included.

Just before delivery she then received a text suggesting installation and removal were **not** included after all. Another lengthy call to customer services resulted in being told they couldn't even view an in-store order and advised us to return to the store yet again. This resulted in another unnecessary journey for an 87-year-old customer, including one visit during one of the hottest days of the year. The store eventually confirmed everything was correct, but by this point we'd spent well over two hours on the phone, made multiple trips to the store and still had no confidence that the order had been processed properly.

Unfortunately, this was only the beginning.

The cooker was delivered and installed by AO on behalf of John Lewis. The delivery team were polite but clearly under pressure and did not fully test the appliance before leaving. Had they done so, they would have discovered that the main fan oven immediately tripped the electrical circuit, meaning half of the brand-new cooker simply didn't work.

When we contacted John Lewis, rather than taking ownership of the problem we were simply given the number of another third-party company to contact ourselves. That company was initially impossible to reach, leading to yet another visit to the Cheltenham store. Again, the staff were sympathetic and helpful, but because after-sales support had been outsourced they could not directly arrange a resolution.

After waiting around two weeks, an engineer attended and told us that although the cooker could potentially be repaired, if it were his own he would expect it to be replaced. He also explained that my mother was within her consumer rights to request a replacement and said he would submit his report accordingly.

However, we have continued to receive completely conflicting information. John Lewis has said it must be repaired. The third-party repair company continues to call to arrange repairs. My sister then took my mother back to the Cheltenham store, where she was assured it would be replaced and that the matter would be resolved. Yet even today the repair company insists that only a repair has been authorised.

What should have been a straightforward purchase has instead become nearly three months of confusion, conflicting advice, repeated phone calls, unnecessary journeys and considerable stress for an elderly customer.

My overwhelming impression is that John Lewis has outsourced so much of its delivery and after-sales service that nobody actually owns the customer experience. The call centre can't see store orders. The store can't directly control the third-party providers. AO handles delivery. Another company manages faults. Another sends engineers. As the customer, you are left trying to coordinate organisations that don't appear to communicate with one another.

The greatest disappointment is that this no longer feels like the John Lewis my mother has trusted for most of her adult life. The people in the Cheltenham store have been consistently professional, kind and helpful, but the systems around them have failed completely. For an 87-year-old loyal customer, buying a premium cooker should have been an enjoyable experience. Instead, it has become exhausting, stressful and deeply disappointing. That is not the level of service anyone expects from John Lewis.

I’m extremely disappointed with my recent experience with John Lewis.

Immediately after placing my order, I realised I had selected the wrong size and contacted customer support straight away to request a change. However, within just nine minutes of submitting the order, it had already been processed, meaning no changes or cancellations were possible. I was still waiting to speak to support when the order had already become unchangeable, and by the time I reached an advisor, there was nothing they could do.

The only solution offered was to wait for the parcel to arrive and then return it, or attempt to refuse the delivery. However, refusing the delivery is not a realistic option, as parcels are often left at the door without confirmation or the customer being present. In practice, this means the delivery can be marked as completed even if I have not personally received it.

So the only option I was given was to wait several days for the parcel to arrive, arrange and pay the time and effort of returning it, and then wait up to two weeks for a refund after John Lewis receives it back. This entire process could take several weeks, and this was the only solution provided.

The explanation from customer support manager was simply that the order had been processed quickly and therefore nothing could be done. While I understand the need for efficient processing, making an order completely impossible to amend within nine minutes leaves customers with no realistic opportunity to correct an immediate mistake.

This has been an extremely frustrating and inconvenient experience.