Shopper buys £800 telephone from John Lewis…solely to obtain two bars of Tony’s Chocolonely glued collectively

A shopper was left bemused after ordering a new mobile phone from a renowned retailer – only to receive two bars of chocolate glued together instead.

Jack Bennett, 36, from Rugby, Warwickshire, thought he had found the perfect Christmas present for his wife, Katie, when he bought a brand new Apple iPhone 17 from John Lewis, retailing at £799.

Having placed the order, the parcel arrived at his door just under two weeks later, delivered by a DPD courier.

But when the project manager opened the box, the only items inside were a pair of superglued Tony’s Chocolonely bars, which retail at around £4 each. 

Believing the retailer would be able to help him, Mr Bennett spoke to customer services but was left dumbfounded after being told he could not receive a refund – because he had ripped the parcel label when opening the box and had therefore ‘damaged’ the package.

He was also told John Lewis and DPD did not stock that specific chocolate bar and were therefore not at fault.

Adding to his woes was the fact he had taken out a no-interest payment scheme with John Lewis, resulting in £200 being taken from his account every two weeks – despite his assertion he never received the phone. 

The retailer initially told Mr Bennett he would need to raise a claim through his bank to receive his money back. 

After Daily Mail intervened, John Lewis reviewed the case, apologised and confirmed they had issued a refund to Mr Bennett. 

The father-of-two said the whole saga had been a ‘really unpleasant experience’ – and claimed John Lewis had tried to ‘wash their hands of me’ rather than believe he was the victim of a fraud.

He added the incident happened at a ‘stressful’ time for his family. His five-year-old daughter, Harper, has a genetic condition called tuberous sclerosis, which causes tumours to grow within her body. 

She had only recently gone through an operation to remove tumours from her brain and had wanted to buy a new phone to ‘do something nice’ for his wife.

Speaking about his ordeal, Mr Bennett said: ‘I ordered the phone on November 17. When the courier delivered the package, I opened the door and he had placed it on the ground by my feet. 

‘He took a photograph, I thanked him, picked it up and put it on the meter cupboard by the front door while I got ready to go out.

‘Before we left the house I thought I’d better just check the contents – and couldn’t believe it when I opened it and found two bars of chocolate.

‘I was trying to think back and wondered whether I had made a mistake, but I definitely hadn’t – and then realised it was a fraud because they were glued together.

‘I immediately thought to call John Lewis, hoping they would be able to help me.’

Mr Bennett was assured the retailer would look into the situation, but an hour later he received a call telling him there would be no refund.

‘I was told the chocolate I had received was not stocked at their warehouse, so it wasn’t possible that I would have received it [from John Lewis]. They said I should contact my bank for a refund.

‘I was quite angry at that, because they were implying I had been making all of this up.

‘As it was a high-value item, I had expected they would need to undertake an investigation, but it just felt like they hadn’t bothered – and they didn’t take my concerns seriously about a problem with their supply chain.

‘Either there had been an error, which I suspect was not the case, or it was malicious and deliberate.

‘I was highlighting this issue to them, but they were happy to fob me off.’

In a statement, John Lewis confirmed the matter had now been resolved and said: ‘We were very sorry to hear about Mr Bennett’s case. 

‘We serve millions of happy customers and cases like this remain rare, especially as we regularly review our security measures to stay one step ahead of fraudsters.

‘We take all reports of fraud incredibly seriously, and conduct thorough investigations. Having fully investigated Mr Bennet’s case, we were able to offer a refund – and are grateful for his patience.’

Daily Mail also approached DPD for comment. A spokesperson said: ‘We have carried out a full investigation, including a review of all security footage and can confirm that the parcel was delivered compliantly and without any sign of the packaging having been tampered with. 

‘We also have no reason to suspect the driver, who has been with us for eight years.’

The circumstances suggest Mr Bennett could have fallen victim to a scam known as refund or return fraud.

In these situations, the fraudster will purchase an item – or intercept a bought item – remove it from the box and then replace it with items of a lesser value that have a similar weight.

They will then attempt to return the item and claim a refund.

A situation could then arise where the package is erroneously sent to a genuine customer with the lower value items still inside.

The latest incident comes after several consumers asked Daily Mail for help after they were targeted by similar scams.

In October, Toby Kippax, who lives in Newton Abbott, Devon, took advantage of a Black Friday deal to buy a Google Pixel 10 for £599 from John Lewis.

But he was shocked to discover that instead of a shiny new gadget, his parcel contained two books of red-and-white slips from parcel courier DPD brandishing the words: ‘We tried to deliver your parcel!’ 

The 42-year-old solicitor remained confident that a ‘trusted’ retailer like John Lewis would help rectify the problem. 

Mr Kippax, however, claims he was instead met with ‘stonewalling’ from both the retailer and DPD.

He said he was left unimpressed by the high street giant’s ‘dismissive’ response to his complaint and said he had been made to feel like a ‘liar’.

After Daily Mail intervened, Mr Kippax was offered a replacement phone.

Meanwhile Gerard Taylor, who lives close to Bristol, said he was left feeling ‘powerless’ after he ordered a brand new mobile phone – only to receive a package containing a cheap moisturiser.

He had wanted to replace his aging device with an iphone 16e in black from John Lewis, priced at £544.

But he was astounded to find 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.

‘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.’  

Last January, 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. 

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.