I'm not in dispute with an individual. I'm in dispute with John Lewis. I do not have anything bad to say about the individual involved as they are almost certainly just following a flow chart, a process, they are not permitted to make any decisions, just to follow the process. It's not unusual for a company to have a policy of refuting any claims over a certain amount in the belief that the claimant will just give up and go away, if that's the case they have chosen the wrong person because I will not give up until they have paid me what they owe. If anyone is interested to know who this person knows I'm sure a search on LinkedIn will provide the information they're looking for.

Yes I do have his name, I've redacted all names in posts that I have made.

I received the following email from John Lewis today: Thank you for your letter dated September 1st, and the further feedback provided. In an effort to resolve the matter the offer I was authorised to make, as outlined in my email sent on August 7th 2023, was an £865 cheque in full and final settlement of your claim. We advised the offer would remain open for a period of 21 days and, if we had not received acceptance within this time, that the offer would be withdrawn. I can confirm that as of close of business on August 28th 2023, as we didn't receive your acceptance of our offer, that this has now been withdrawn. We do now consider the matter closed, and have nothing further to add to our previous responses. You are of course free to seek your own legal advice if you do not feel the matter has been adequately addressed. Kind regards Partner & Director Relations Case Manager I don't think they have processed the Letter of Claim yet but I don't see it changing anything, so I will be drafting the Court documentation over the next couple of days

Many thanks, I don't think I'm very likely to give up

Many thanks for your help. I have read the steps involved but I'm really struggling to take in all the information and I apologise for making some schoolboy errors. I have amended the notice of County Court action period to 14 days. Date xxxx Dear Sir Re: Letter of Claim Ref:xxxx We write to you confirming details of my claim against you (John Lewis). We ordered a Samsung RS68A8820S9 Fridge Freezer from you on 17 June, order no 404298754. Delivery was completed on 28th June, at the same time your delivery agents removed our old fridge freezer. During the process of removing the old and delivering the new fridge extensive damage was caused to our kitchen floors by your operatives. The damage caused was deep scratches and gouges approximately 7 metres long. You originally proposed a localised repair without providing any supporting evidence, however you are now offering only a settlement figure of £865 including compensation of £150 as “good will” I have taken the advice of the original flooring contractor, the manufacturer of the flooring and a second flooring contractor, each of whom have clearly stated that repair of the flooring is not possible and that replacement is the only repair process available. As no localised repair is possible, I hold you entirely responsible for the damage caused and for all costs involved in repairing the floor including its full replacement. My claim against you (John Lewis) is £6675 comprised of: – Replacement flooring £5537 Alternative accommodation £820 Compensation £300 Recorded delivery postage £12.05 In support of my claim I provide the following information Quotation for repairs from xxxx Inc. statement that the floor is irreparable Alternative quotation quotation for repairs from xxxx Email from flooring manufacture that repair method proposed by John Lewis is not valid 2x details and prices for suitable alternative accommodation for the duration of repairs Receipts for Recorded Delivery costs incurred so far. If I do not receive confirmation of payment of £6675 from you within 14 days I will start County Court action against you (John Lewis) Yours faithfully Mr xxxx

Thank you

I have accepted your changes and added a response time of 7 days which I will confirm with a date 7 in the final draft. Is there anything else I have missed?

Thank you for all your help so far, here is our Draft Letter of Claim. Date xxxx Dear Sir Re: Letter of Claim Ref:xxxx We write to you confirming details of my claim against you (John Lewis). We ordered a Samsung RS68A8820S9 Fridge Freezer from you on 17 June, order no 404298754. Delivery was completed on 28th June, at the same time your delivery agents removed our old fridge freezer. During the process of removing the old and delivering the new fridge extensive damage was caused to our kitchen floors by your operatives. The damage caused was deep scratches and gouges approximately 7 metres long. You originally proposed a localised repair without providing any supporting evidence, however you are now offering only a settlement figure of £865 including compensation of £150 as “good will” I have taken the advice of the original flooring contractor, the manufacturer of the flooring and a second flooring contractor, each of whom have clearly stated that repair of the flooring is not possible and that replacement is the only repair process available. As no localised repair is possible I hold you entirely responsible for the damage caused and for all costs involved in repairing the floor including its full replacement. My claim against you (John Lewis) is £6675 comprised of: – Replacement flooring £5537 Alternative accommodation £820 Compensation £300 Recorded delivery postage £12.05 In support of my claim I provide the following information Quotation for repairs from xxxx Inc. statement that the floor is irreparable Alternative quotation quotation for repairs from xxxx Email from flooring manufacture that repair method proposed by John Lewis is not valid 2x details and prices for suitable alternative accommodation for the duration of repairs Receipts for Recorded Delivery costs incurred so far. Yours faithfully Mr xxxx Ms xxxx

OK, The letter was sent today. Is this the website I should be joining County Court MoneyClaim? ccmcc | MoneyClaimsUK WWW.MONEYCLAIMSUK.CO.UK County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) - PO Box 527, Salford, M5 0BY

Yes that’s understood. Do I need to withdraw my initial letter of claim before issuing a new one, will the old one prevent John Lewis responding to this letter?

Many thanks, looks great, I'll accept the changes, send it tomorrow and take your further advice. I'll post back here when I've had a reply (or otherwise) and with drafts of further documents. I already sent them a letter of intended court action nearly 3 weeks ago with a 28 day deadline, so a new one will supersede that.

I think this is about as close to a final draft I can get to without adding personal information. I keep coming back to the fact that the Ecomaster report is based on the wrong flooring!

I completely agree, I'll make some tweaks and post back

I take your point. The letter will be addressed to the individual that I have been dealing with and I though referring to them as "you" would make the complaint against that person rather than against John Lewis. I only got grade C in O level English Language and it was a long time ago.

Dear xxxx Complaint: reference number XXX As you are already aware, we ordered a Samsung RS68A8820S9 Fridge Freezer from John Lewis on 17 June, order no 404298754. Delivery was completed on 28th June and at the same time my old Fridge Freezer was removed by John Lewis. Any customer would have expected the delivery agents to take care of the customers home but in any event, and before delivery commenced, we asked the delivery personnel to take additional care not to damage the kitchen floor because it was quite new and undamaged. Despite this, the delivery personnel dragged both the old and new appliances across the kitchen floor, resulting in deep scratches and gouges approximately 7 metres long from where the fridge was installed to the back door and back again. we pointed this out to the delivery personnel who took photos and noted the damage on the delivery note. We complained to you and after receiving unhelpful responses and 2 weeks after this damage had been caused, I was obliged to write directly to your CEOs office and eventually you instructed Ecomaster to visit our home and perform an inspection. We understand that Ecomaster provided a report on the damage caused by John Lewis to my property. We have asked John Lewis to provide us with a copy of this report but you have declined and you prefer to conceal this report from us. Rather than share the report, you have told us that on the basis of the report you were proposing a solution which involves some remedial treatment of the damaged area rather than the full making good. Despite our entreaty, you have continued to conceal the report from us so we are unable to verify or comment on its findings. Your appointment of eco-master was made unilaterally and without any consultation with us and so clearly it can scarcely be considered to be an independent report and of course we reject its findings. We also reject your proposed solution. You are relying on the following quotation which apparently comes from the eco-master report: Ecomaster confirmed their Surface Repair specialist will be able to, if it's not too deep, sand out the relevant area; remedy this with detail/tinting the area in question, and then applying lacquer. If the scratch is too deep they would use a colour match filler, sand the area, detail/tint as required and then lacquer the area in question. Clearly what you're proposing is a patch up job and which is intended merely to minimise your losses and protect your own interests rather than address all the damage which was caused by your delivery agents to our floor which was in pristine condition at the time. Taking matters into our own hands, have contacted the original flooring contractor who advised the following: The Moduleo Impress LVT vinyl flooring was fitted to the kitchen, small hallway and utility. The vinyl plank has a .55mm wear layer fitted on a screeded floor. A fridge /freezer has been dragged across the floor leaving a scratch/gouge across the kitchen. Having spoken with Moduleo technical department they have advised the whole floor be replaced. They cannot supply a perfect colour match to the existing so a small repair would be of a different colour to the existing. The flooring cannot be repaired on site as it is a vinyl finish. In an attempt to obtain a second opinion, I have also contacted IVC, the manufacturer of Moduleo flooring who advise the following: At no time would we recommend or recognise this as an approved repair method for our Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring. The lacquer layer is applied during production and is specific to our materials. Any adjacent planks with a different lacquer will, in all likelihood, look different to the factory finish and will certainly have a differing durability/resistance. If this repair is carried out it will render the material outside of our warranty conditions and the installation would need to be covered by the repairer’s warranty. The duration of the warranty for this material is 20 years in a residential setting and I have attached a copy for your information. The repair method proposed to us by John Lewis is a recognised repair method for wooden flooring, it is not a recognised repair method for the textured LVT flooring which we have installed in our home. We were later able to confirm through John Lewis that Ecomaster believe we have Amtico flooring fitted, however we informed John Lewis that we have IVC Moduleo on 26th July. Clearly Eco master do not have sufficient experience or expertise to carry out a competent inspection or report on the kind of flooring we have installed, or the damage which was caused to it by your delivery agents The repair method proposed to us by John Lewis is not applicable to the extensive damage caused to my flooring and the floor cannot be repaired, it therefore needs to be replaced and we provide 2 quotations of which the cheaper one is the preferred option. John Lewis’ offer of £865 which included £150 of “goodwill” compensation was made with a 21 day deadline for acceptance and therefore expired on the 28th August. This sum is insufficient to effect any satisfactory repair to our flooring and full replacement is required. John Lewis also stated in their email of 7th August that they would not pay for the replacement of undamaged flooring. Both of the reports we have submitted state that any form of localised repair will not match the adjacent flooring, the colour, texture, finish, materials used and wear properties will all be different, additionally any form of repair as suggested by Ecomaster will render the remaining 18 year warranty on the affected flooring void. A repair to the damaged area cannot be considered in isolation as it will not be possible to match and will have reduced life. The only viable repair method for the damage to our flooring is to replace all of it. The flooring fitted to our home extends the full width of the back of the house and from the front door to the back door, providing front and rear access as well as access to the living room, downstairs bathroom and staircase. In addition, all the furniture and appliances from the kitchen and dining room will need to be removed, occupying all the space in the living room. As the remedial work is likely to take a minimum of 4 days we will have to move out of our home for this period, as we did when the flooring was first fitted. Ms Xxxxxx is disabled and cannot travel far (medical information to be added in the final draft) we have a large dog and 2 cats, limiting our choice of alternative accommodation. Therefore, in addition to the works required to make good the damage caused by your delivery agents to our floor, we will be obliged to relocate for the period of the works. This will incur additional expenses all of which flow naturally from the negligence of your delivery agents. The expenses incurred will be foreseeable and reasonable. We have obtained two quotations relating to the cost of suitable accommodation for the days during which we will be obliged to vacate our home. The quotations are included with this letter and of course we recognise our obligation to mitigate our losses and so we will choose the cheaper of the two. Accordingly, I am expecting John Lewis to reimburse us to the tune of £6637 comprised of: – Replacement flooring £5537 Alternative accommodation (current estimate £800-1000, up to date quotations will be attached to final draft) I look forward to hearing from you yours sincerely I think I've filled in all the blanks, I don't have an accurate cost for alternative accommodation but I will perform a search on Air BnB. I'm not proposing to proceed against the delivery agent and have made an amendment in red, unless I've made that less than clear elsewhere.

Dear xxxx Complaint: reference number XXX As you are already aware, we ordered a Samsung RS68A8820S9 Fridge Freezer from John Lewis on 17 June, order no 404298754. Delivery was completed on 28th June and at the same time my old Fridge Freezer was removed by John Lewis. Any customer would have expected the delivery agents to take care of the customers home but in any event, and before delivery commenced, we asked the delivery personnel to take additional care not to damage the kitchen floor because it was quite new and undamaged. Despite this, the delivery personnel dragged both the old and new appliances across the kitchen floor, resulting in deep scratches and gouges approximately 7 metres long from where the fridge was installed to the back door and back again. we pointed this out to the delivery personnel who took photos and noted the damage on the delivery note. We complained to you and after receiving unhelpful responses and XX weeks after this damage had been caused, I was obliged to write directly to your CEOs office and eventually you instructed Ecomaster to visit our home and perform an inspection. We understand that Ecomaster provided a report on the damage caused by John Lewis to my property. We have asked John Lewis to provide us with a copy of this report but you have declined and you prefer to conceal this report from us. Rather than share the report, you have told us that on the basis of the report you were proposing a solution which involves some remedial treatment of the damaged area rather than the full making good. Despite our entreaty, you have continued to conceal the report from us so we are unable to verify or comment on its findings. Your appointment of eco-master was made unilaterally and without any consultation with us and so clearly it can scarcely be considered to be an independent report and of course we reject its findings. We also reject your proposed solution. You are relying on the following quotation which apparently comes from the eco-master report: Ecomaster confirmed their Surface Repair specialist will be able to, if it's not too deep, sand out the relevant area; remedy this with detail/tinting the area in question, and then applying lacquer. If the scratch is too deep they would use a colour match filler, sand the area, detail/tint as required and then lacquer the area in question. Clearly what you're proposing is a patch up job and which is intended merely to minimise your losses and protect your own interests rather than address all the damage which was caused by your delivery agents to our floor which was in pristine condition at the time. Taking matters into our own hands, have contacted the original flooring contractor who advised the following: The Moduleo Impress LVT vinyl flooring was fitted to the kitchen, small hallway and utility. The vinyl plank has a .55mm wear layer fitted on a screeded floor. A fridge /freezer has been dragged across the floor leaving a scratch/gouge across the kitchen. Having spoken with Moduleo technical department they have advised the whole floor be replaced. They cannot supply a perfect colour match to the existing so a small repair would be of a different colour to the existing. The flooring cannot be repaired on site as it is a vinyl finish. In an attempt to obtain a second opinion, I have also contacted IVC, the manufacturer of Moduleo flooring who advise the following: At no time would we recommend or recognise this as an approved repair method for our Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring. The lacquer layer is applied during production and is specific to our materials. Any adjacent planks with a different lacquer will, in all likelihood, look different to the factory finish and will certainly have a differing durability/resistance. If this repair is carried out it will render the material outside of our warranty conditions and the installation would need to be covered by the repairer’s warranty. The duration of the warranty for this material is 20 years in a residential setting and I have attached a copy for your information. The repair method proposed to us by John Lewis is a recognised repair method for wooden flooring, it is not a recognised repair method for the textured LVT flooring which we have installed in our home. We were later able to confirm through John Lewis that Ecomaster believe we have Amtico flooring fitted, however we informed John Lewis that we have IVC Moduleo on 26th July. Clearly Eco master do not have sufficient experience or expertise to carry out a competent inspection or report on the kind of flooring we have installed, or the damage which was caused to it by your delivery agents The repair method proposed to us by John Lewis is not applicable to the extensive damage caused to my flooring and the floor cannot be repaired, it therefore needs to be replaced and we provide 2 quotations of which the cheaper one is the preferred option. John Lewis’ offer of £????? which included £150 of “goodwill” compensation was made with a 21 day deadline for acceptance and therefore expires XXXX date. This sum is insufficient to effect any satisfactory repair to our flooring and full replacement is required. John Lewis also stated in their email of xxxx date that they would not pay for the replacement of undamaged flooring. Both of the reports we have submitted state that any form of localised repair will not match the adjacent flooring, the colour, texture, finish, materials used and wear properties will all be different, additionally any form of repair as suggested by Ecomaster will render the remaining 18 year warranty on the affected flooring void. A repair to the damaged area cannot be considered in isolation as it will not be possible to match and will have reduced life. The only viable repair method for the damage to our flooring is to replace all of it. The flooring fitted to our home extends the full width of the back of the house and from the front door to the back door, providing front and rear access as well as access to the living room, downstairs bathroom and staircase. In addition, all the furniture and appliances from the kitchen and dining room will need to be removed, occupying all the space in the living room. As the remedial work is likely to take a minimum of 4 days we will have to move out of our home for this period, as we did when the flooring was first fitted. Ms Xxxxxx is disabled and cannot travel far (medical information to be added in the final draft) we have a large dog and 2 cats, limiting our choice of alternative accommodation. Therefore, in addition to the works required to make good the damage caused by your delivery agents to our floor, we will be obliged to relocate for the period of the works. This will incur additional expenses all of which flow naturally from the negligence of your delivery agents. The expenses incurred will be foreseeable and reasonable. We have obtained two quotations relating to the cost of suitable accommodation for the days during which we will be obliged to vacate our home. The quotations are included with this letter and of course we recognise our obligation to mitigate our losses and so we will choose the cheaper of the two. Accordingly, I am expecting you to reimburse us to the tune of £XXX comprised of: – detailed detailed detailed detail I look forward to hearing from you yours sincerely We have accepted all the changes you suggested and add an additional paragraph in Red. John Lewis are now only making a cash settlement offer and are no longer propose the repair by Ecomaster. Also the report from Ecomaster (which we haven't seen) is for the wrong flooring. Many thanks for all your help with this, my level of confidence that we will reach a positive outcome is increasing.

OK, Here's the draft of the letter of complaint. I have left out all personal details, names of companies other than Ecomaster and John Lewis, medical details and sums of money, I will add these in when I send the letter together with the various quotes and documents i refer to.

You have suggested that I write a detailed letter of complaint, but I already have a very long email trail with John Lewis setting out just about everything. In any case since I sent the letter of court action they are refusing to discuss any details, they just keep stating that their position hasn't changed and repeating their very low offer. If I send a letter of complaint I expect the same response. Also they are no longer offering a repair, just a sum of money. So I'm just checking whether this is a strictly necessary step or whether I can go straight to a revised letter of court action? The Subject Access Requests went off to John Lewis and Ecomaster today.

I have previously taken advice elsewhere but now I've found this very useful forum I'm not taking advice from elsewhere. I'm new here but I'm not here for a laugh either, please be gentle with me. I think I've answered the question on ADR, I don't have anything in mind, it was in the template that I found elsewhere and I thought it was a requirement, that's all. In any case John Lewis have declined. I take your point about 28 days notice etc. which came from the template I used, and I'm addressing that now by starting a new letter of claim which will supersede the less than accurate one I have already sent. I've probably been a bit naïve in expecting better from John Lewis. I've dealt with them for decades and hoped for better.

Wow, lots to take in and respond to. I'll write a new letter and post it here in a day or two. The letter I sent was indeed a template from Which and ADR was part of the template, in any case John Lewis have declined the offer. I wasn't bothered about the timeline anyway so 28 days didn't bother me. from the email trail I have with John Lewis regarding the independence on Ecomaster: It remains the case that Ecomaster is independent of John Lewis. They will provide an unbiased report of any relevant issue we ask them to and, in turn, share their report and recommendations with us for review. I understand why you feel differently, but rest assured this isn't the case. And their refusal to share the report For the avoidance of doubt, the report that's shared with us is an independent report and is not tailored to our requirements as you suggest. However it is for us to consider and use, and is not something we would look to share with customers.

Thanks for the comments on my letter of claim, I take on board all your comments. The original letter had a 28 day deadline, that was 14 days ago so I can issue a new one today with a 14 day deadline. I already have 2 estimates, the second one is from John Lewis themselves and is £1000 more expensive, I've provided the cheaper one. Alternative accommodation is difficult to find as it needs to be disabled friendly, have accessible parking and cater for our 2 cats and one dog, I've submitted the only one I could find within reasonable distance, I could submit another and rule it out on distance as my partner is unable to travel very far even in a car. I understand that I can't claim for an independent witness in advance and I put the cost in as an estimate in case we had to go to Court. I was going to ask about how/when an independent witness is appointed. John Lewis have tried to argue that Ecomaster are Independent, however I don't believe they can be as they are a subcontractor to John Lewis and have quoted for the repair, in any case John Lewis have "concealed" the report. Ecomaster claim on their website that they are "independent" but I can't see that they can be in this case? Are out of pocket legal expenses really not recoverable? I understand that "distress" is not claimable, but can I claim for time taken to prepare all the documentation and the inconvenience of having to move out of my home for 4-5 days etc.

Yes i did future proof myself by paying for an additional pack of 14 LVT planks, but the damage covers over 30 planks so there aren’t enough, the letter from the manufacturer also states that they won’t match due to so light bleaching the existing floor,. I’ve already made this clear to John Lewis but it’s a good point and I will make it clear when I submit my case to the court.

Again, thanks for your very prompt reply, I have posted the redacted pdf. You'll notice the estimated total costs exceed £10,000, this is just an estimate and in any case I'd keep it below £10,000 to get in as a small claim. I'm just preparing the SARs. Can I be specific about what information I need them to include, such as emails between John Lewis, their insurers, Ecomaster etc.? Redacted John Lewis-letter-before-small-claims-court-claim V1-1.pdf

Thank you for the very prompt reply. I really get the point about careful preparation being key and I don’t want to jump the gun and make a simple mistake, I can get the SARs off today As far as the written reports go this is a little more difficult. I already have a quote from the original flooring contractor stating that’s it’s not repairable and needs to be replaced, I. Also have an email from the manufacturer saying the proposed repair is not going to work, would void the warranty and needs to be replaced. Finding an independent flooring expert is a little more difficult and costly, so far I have only found one who wants £800 for a report. Ecomaster are the only company suggesting a repair as remedial action, everyone else is stating replacement. Im a bit reluctant to post my letter of claim here as it contains lots of personal information but I suppose I could redact it. A bit of financial perspective, the cost of replacing the floor is just over £5500, although I have a second quote from John Lewis flooring for just under £6500. The area covered is about 50% of the downstairs of our home, we would have to move out to disabled friendly accommodation while the work is done at a cost of about £1000, plus independent reports at £800 each, Court and legal fees etc. I’m looking at a claim which could be just short of £10000

I bought a new kitchen appliance from John Lewis and paid for them to remove the old unit at the same time. Delivery day came and I asked the delivery guys to take extra care not to damage the 2 year old kitchen floor which was unmarked (18 years of the warranty on the floor remaining). They dragged the old appliance across the floor damaging it and then dragged the new one across it causing scratches and gouges 7 metres long, they wrote on the delivery note that they had damaged the floor and took some photos. I called the original flooring contractor, they said it couldn't be repaired and the entire floor would have to be replaced as the flooring was no longer available and even if it was there was no way it would match due to batch variations etc. Eventually, after I emailed the CEO, John Lewis sent a company called Ecomaster to inspect the floor, Ecomaster produced a report for John Lewis that they refuse to give me a copy of, proposing that they would sand down the floor, tint it and apply lacquer. It's a textured vinyl floor so alarm bells started to ring as this didn't sound like a proper repair, the original flooring contractor just laughed at the suggestion. I went to the manufacturer who sent me a letter saying that this was not an approved repair method, the floor couldn't be repaired, it would invalidate the remaining 18 year warranty and needed to be replaced. I've since tried to contact Ecomaster for further details but none of the contact methods they offer on their website have produced anything other than an automated reply. I've since done a bit of research on Ecomaster, they have a Trustpilot rating of 3.6 and a Googgle review rating of 2.7, I wouldn't want them to be working on my home even of they could offer a viable repair method. Every flooring company I have spoken to have said the damage cannot be repaired and the whole lot needs to be replaced. John Lewis have offered me a cash settlement equal to about 15% of the replacement cost of the floor which I have turned down as it doesn't begin to cover the cost of repairs. John Lewis say they won't pay for replacement to the area of floor which is undamaged and have said they have no further comment to make I have considerable experience of dealing with motor insurance and the concept that you only pay for the repair to the damaged part of the car when it's written off is alien to me. If the car can't be repaired you write it off, my floor can't be repaired so It's a write off and needs to be replaced. I've issued John Lewis with a Letter of Court Action and intend to follow it up by starting a Small Claims Court action in about 2 weeks. I have also spoken to 2 Subject Matter Experts/Expert witnesses who have also stated the floor is not repairable and needs to be completely replaced but I haven't paid for their reports yet (the reports aren't cheap). I'm confident that I can prove the entire floor needs to replaced and cannot be repaired. John Lewis have confirmed receipt of my letter of court action and say they have nothing to add at this stage, they have refused mediation. They haven't confirmed anything or denied anything, I have a signed delivery note stating they caused the damage and they have made a derisory offer that doesn't begin to cover the cost of repairs. Maybe they just don't believe anyone is prepared to take them to Court, I've heard they like to play a game of who blinks first and won't take me seriously until they receive the Court documentation? On the face of it this seems quite straight forward: They damaged the floor, it can't be repaired, they need to pay for replacement. But am I missing something?