A shopper hoping to buy his wife the perfect Christmas present was left stunned after his order for a brand new mobile phone arrived containing nothing but two bars of chocolate glued together.
A Festive Order Turns Sour
Jack Bennett, a 36-year-old project manager from Rugby, Warwickshire, placed an order for an Apple iPhone 17, retailing at £799, with John Lewis on November 17. He intended it as a gift for his wife, Katie. The parcel was delivered by DPD roughly two weeks later.
Upon opening the box, Mr Bennett's anticipation turned to disbelief. Instead of the coveted smartphone, he found two Tony's Chocolonely bars, worth about £4 each, superglued together. He immediately contacted John Lewis customer services, expecting swift assistance.
Retailer's Refusal and Customer's Anguish
To his further astonishment, Mr Bennett was told he could not receive a refund. The retailer cited the fact he had ripped the parcel label when opening the box, thereby 'damaging' the package. He was also informed that neither John Lewis nor DPD stocked that specific chocolate bar, so they could not be at fault.
Compounding the issue was a no-interest payment plan Mr Bennett had taken out with John Lewis, resulting in £200 being deducted from his account every two weeks for an item he never received. The retailer initially advised him to seek a refund through his bank.
Mr Bennett described the experience as 'really unpleasant', claiming John Lewis had tried to 'wash their hands of me'. He stressed the incident occurred during a particularly stressful period, as his five-year-old daughter, Harper, who has a genetic condition called tuberous sclerosis, had recently undergone brain surgery.
A Pattern of Parcel Problems
This incident is not isolated. Several other consumers have reported similar experiences with high-value tech orders being substituted with low-value items:
- Toby Kippax, 42, from Newton Abbott, Devon, ordered a £599 Google Pixel 10 from John Lewis in October only to receive a box full of DPD parcel slips.
- Gerard Taylor, 59, from near Bristol, paid £544 for an iPhone 16e but found a £6.50 bottle of Olay moisturiser inside the box.
- Jo Davis, from North Derbyshire, was sent a used bottle of cheap aftershave instead of a £1,000 iPhone 16 Pro she ordered from John Lewis in January.
- Anya Carroll, 31, from Bristol, ordered an iPhone from Sky and received a lump of clay.
- Gemma Worley, 39, from Cornwall, bought a £700 laptop from Currys but was sent three mouldy pies.
In many cases, customers reported facing initial resistance from retailers, being made to feel like 'liars' or having to navigate lengthy claims processes with their banks.
Resolution and Retailer Response
Following intervention by the Daily Mail, John Lewis reviewed Mr Bennett's case. The retailer apologised and confirmed it had issued a full refund. In a statement, John Lewis said: 'We were very sorry to hear about Mr Bennett's case... Having fully investigated Mr Bennet's case, we were able to offer a refund - and are grateful for his patience.'
The company added that such cases 'remain rare' and that it regularly reviews security measures to combat fraud. A DPD spokesperson stated a full investigation, including a review of security footage, confirmed the parcel was delivered compliantly with no signs of tampering, and they had no reason to suspect the driver involved.
The Refund Fraud Scam Explained
The circumstances suggest victims may be falling prey to a scam known as refund or return fraud. In this scheme, a fraudster purchases an item, removes the valuable product, and replaces it with lower-value items of similar weight. The package is then returned for a refund. In some cases, these tampered boxes erroneously re-enter the supply chain and are sent out to genuine customers.
This leaves innocent consumers fighting to prove their innocence while being left out of pocket, highlighting potential vulnerabilities in retail and courier supply chains that fraudsters are exploiting.
