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Dear Katie,
I am really annoyed with John Lewis. As I am sure you know, its existing Partnership cards will stop working at 6pm on Oct 31. This is because John Lewis is changing its credit card provider from HSBC to a company called NewDay.
I have been invited to apply for the new card, but I will not be allowed one. This is simply because I do not have a mobile phone. At present I have a card reader to use if online purchases need approval and this has always worked very well.
However, NewDay says it cannot issue card readers because it is not a bank, just a “financial services company”.
I have offered to supply my landline telephone number instead, but it is not sufficient. NewDay needs a mobile phone number to confirm identity if I happen to be out and about. I simply cannot understand why this is necessary.
I have complained to John Lewis and Waitrose, where I do all my grocery shopping, but have got nowhere. I have pointed out that if I cannot use the new Partnership card to take advantage of its reward points, I will have to consider shopping instead at Tesco or Sainsbury’s, where I can use Clubcard or Nectar points.
After more than 30 years of shopping at Waitrose this would be a real shame. Surely I cannot be the only non-mobile phone user who is similarly frustrated?
– MAB, Suffolk
Dear reader,
For years John Lewis’s Partnership cards have been loved by customers as they allow them to earn points when they shop that can be swapped for vouchers to spend at John Lewis or Waitrose. However, since the switch from HSBC to NewDay was announced, you’ve been far from the only John Lewis cardholder to grumble.
Aside from this issue with ditching card readers, others have complained about their credit limit inexplicably being drastically reduced, limiting the card’s usefulness for higher earners who make big purchases. And who knows what other problems could come out of the woodwork once customers are moved over to NewDay?
John Lewis Finance said it had terminated its agreement with HSBC because “their strategic business goals and ours have now changed”. The Partnership perks will stay the same with the new cards, but I can’t help wondering whether the switch was a way to save some pennies behind the scenes. I see that NewDay’s website boasts of a “cost effective” approach.
When I approached John Lewis, it defended its decision to ditch card readers and insist on customers using mobiles to apply for cards and then authenticate their payments. It suggested that its decision was in line with the wider industry, which was phasing out “PINsentry” card readers for security reasons.
However, when I asked UK Finance, which represents banks and credit card companies, it said this was not the case.
Instead it confirmed that, although mobile phone authentication was growing in popularity, PINsentry card readers were not being phased out by the industry. Customers struggling with mobile phones should be offered other appropriate authentication methods such as calls or texts to landline phones or card readers, the trade body said.
When I told John Lewis about this, he went away to double check. Later it came back to say that actually customers with NewDay cards would not need a mobile phone to authenticate their payments after all. This felt like an about turn, but John Lewis insisted that its position had not changed.
Instead of using a mobile to authenticate payments, it said customers could opt to get a text to their landline, although obviously this would mean the card could only be used from home for shopping online. It added that a mobile phone number was still needed to apply for the account, though, and a landline number would not suffice.
He told me that when you applied for your current Partnership card you had supplied a mobile number, which presumably belonged to someone close to you, as you say you don’t have a mobile. So, if you decide to reapply for a Partnership card, perhaps you could supply this same number again and then request texts to your landline phone?
On the other hand, if you decide it is all too much hassle, you could still bag special offers through a MyWaitrose account. And if you have had enough of John Lewis all together, I am sure that Tesco or Sainsbury’s will be happy to have your custom.
A John Lewis spokesman said: “Mobile phone authentication is regarded as industry best practice. It’s the simplest and most robust protection for our customers and speeds up the application process. We are sorry to hear the customer is frustrated and want to reassure her that we did explore alternative processes but came to the conclusion that using mobile phone authentication was the best way to protect our customers from fraud.
“Our new John Lewis Credit Card app gives customers a great experience and is the most convenient way to manage their card as it can be used on the go.”
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