A shopper said he was left feeling ‘powerless’ by a high street retailer after he ordered a brand new mobile phone – only to receive a package containing a cheap moisturiser – before being told he could not claim his money back.
Gerard Taylor, who lives close to Bristol, wanted to replace his aging device with an iphone 16e in black from John Lewis, priced at £544.
But he was astounded to find that instead of a new gadget, his parcel contained a 200ml bottle of Olay beauty fluid, valued at around £6.50.
The 59-year-old creative art worker admits laughing at first, but his incredulity soon turned to disappointment after a John Lewis investigation concluded the retailer was not at fault – and any refund would have to be sought through a claim raised with his credit card.
American Express however also turned down his claim on the basis that the package had been ‘delivered’ and he had not reported it as a crime within 48 hours.
It was only thanks to a friend who had a contact at John Lewis that his case was reviewed again and Mr Taylor was offered a full refund.
However, he said the experience had left him feeling let down and frustrated that John Lewis was ‘not properly investigating’ how this could have occurred.
Speaking about his ordeal, Mr Taylor said: ‘I keep my phones forever. I had my first iPhone for seven years, and my current one was bought six-and-a-half years ago, so it’s quite a big deal when I do actually change my phone.’
Gerard Taylor was astounded to find that instead of a new iPhone 16e that he ordered from John Lewis he received a bottle of Olay moisturiser
The 59-year-old creative art worker admits laughing at first – but soon realised he would face several challenges trying to claim his money back from the retailer
Looking around online, he spotted a deal for the iPhone 16e with John Lewis, which had been discounted by £50 off the usual price.
Believing it to be a ‘good deal’, he ordered the device on September 9 and his package turned up the next day.
‘I was leaving the house at around 4.30pm when the parcel arrived. It was just left on the doorstep. I heard the driver’s voice saying, “Alright, mate” or something to that effect and then he just disappeared by the time I got to the door.
‘I picked up the package and went straight around to my friend’s house with my new iPhone.
‘There was nothing dodgy-looking about the parcel. It had all the proper labels and was professionally packaged. The box was about the size you would expect an iPhone to be.
‘But then I opened it and saw a bottle of Olay moisturiser.
‘We both initially thought that was quite funny, but then I thought I’d better do something about this. John Lewis have a good image and I thought they’d be reasonable about it.’
Mr Taylor was told by customer services however that as the package had been delivered he would need to raise a claim through his credit card company, American Express.
Pictured: The moisturiser inside the packaging instead of Mr Taylor’s new iPhone. John Lewis said CCTV footage from inside the warehouse showed the ‘correct item’ had been packed
Within the next few hours, John Lewis then contacted him again to say he had been ‘wrongly advised’ and they would need to conduct an internal investigation first.
Mr Taylor was still confident the issue would be resolved, but on September 15 John Lewis informed him his complaint had not been upheld.
In an email seen by Daily Mail, a John Lewis employee wrote: ‘The item you have advised you have received is not something John Lewis stock and is not an item we would hold in our warehouse.
‘You also confirmed that the DPD parcel was not open and did not appear to have been tampered with.
‘I would advise you to contact your card provider and raise a retailer dispute with them.’
Frustrated, Mr Taylor duly contacted American Express only to be told he ‘didn’t meet with their conditions for a refund’ and was advised to contact the courier, DPD.
‘They also said I should have reported it as a crime within 48 hours’, he recalled, but said he was unable to do so as John Lewis was still at that point ‘investigating’ the incident.
After turning to Citizens Advice for help, Mr Taylor was informed his contract was with John Lewis – and that he should return to the retailer to discuss a refund.
Jo Davis, from North Derbyshire, purchased an iPhone 16 Pro from John Lewis, priced at £1,000, but was stunned to find a black bottle of men’s aftershave instead
But the high street giant maintained it could not help.
‘I felt like I had £544 stolen from me and I was being accused of theft basically, when actually it was the other way around.
‘It was very stressful, the inference that you’re trying to pull a fast one and you’re trying to make money out of them.
‘And I also just felt completely powerless – because in a situation like this they have all the power.’
It was only when his friend stepped in and asked a contact at John Lewis to help that Mr Taylor said he was offered a full refund or new handset without the retailer accepting liability – or offering an apology.
‘I went for the refund, because I didn’t want to risk having the same experience again.
‘I’ve bought quite a lot from John Lewis in the past, but I found the whole thing much more stressful than I thought it would.
‘It was just the unfairness of the situation. There’s obviously something going wrong somewhere down the chain, that they are not properly investigating.’
Anya Carroll, 31, from Bradley Stoke, Bristol was left dumbfounded after she ordered a brand new mobile phone from Sky – only to receive a package containing a large lump of clay instead
In a statement to Daily Mail, a John Lewis spokesperson said CCTV footage from inside the warehouse showed the ‘correct item’ had been packed.
They said: ‘We were very sorry to hear of Mr Taylor’s case, and immediately launched an internal investigation, as well as flagging with our delivery provider.
‘Our own review – which includes CCTV footage of our packing line – confirmed that the correct item was packed and that the Olay box was not present.
‘We make millions of deliveries every year, and issues like this are incredibly rare. While our CCTV shows that the right item was dispatched, we have refunded Mr Taylor and apologise for his experience.’
Daily Mail has also contacted DPD for comment.
Mr Taylor’s experience echoes that of similar cases previously reported by Daily Mail.
Earlier this year, Jo Davis, from North Derbyshire, was left ‘absolutely astounded’ after she ordered a top-of-the-range iPhone 16 Pro priced at £1,000 from John Lewis – only to receive a parcel containing cheap aftershave worth £2.
To add insult to injury, the fragrance – ironically named Me Time – was not sealed and had been used.
The HR manager said she was left feeling ‘very let down’ by the retailer after an investigation found neither John Lewis or Yodel were at fault – and any refund would have to be sought through a claim raised with her credit card.
Gemma Worley, 39, from Cornwall, thought she was receiving a new Lenovo Yoga laptop – only to discover her parcel contained three mouldy pies instead
A trio of baked goodies from Yorkshire Handmade Pies were crammed into the space where her new computer should have been
After three months with no resolution, Daily Mail contacted John Lewis and she received a refund and gift voucher.
Meanwhile Anya Carroll ordered a brand new Apple iPhone 16 from Sky only to receive a package containing a large lump of clay.
After a brief investigation, she was told there was ‘insufficient evidence’ her package had been tampered with before delivery and there was nothing further Sky could do.
To compound her distress, Miss Carroll was advised to keep making payments for the phone she never received – because she would be the one in breach of contract if the money stopped.
She claimed that Sky ‘washed its hands of her’ after reaching a ‘deadlock’ on her case, leaving her just with a lump of white clay to show for her £25 monthly payments.
After being contacted by Daily Mail, Sky agreed to cancel her contract and refund the money she had paid to date.
Daily Mail also heard from Gemma Worley, 39, from Cornwall, who purchased a £700 Lenovo Yoga laptop from Currys only to receive three mouldy pies instead.
The trio of Yorkshire Handmade Pies had been crammed into the space in the box where her new computer should have been.
Currys subsequently apologised and offered Mrs Worley a replacement laptop.
