John Lewis wouldn’t trade my free breakfast cap for a vegan alternative

I am a regular John Lewis customer and have a My John Lewis membership card, which means I receive vouchers and special offers.

I was recently sent a voucher that I could use John Lewis restaurants, that was for a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich.

I’m vegan so I contacted John Lewis customer service to ask if I could exchange it for a vegan item of similar value.

I was surprised when I was told that it was not possible to exchange the reward.

What about people who cannot eat certain foods for dietary or religious reasons? Is this discrimination? KL

Helen Crane from This is Money replies: All you wanted was a breakfast cap that matched your values, but you found yourself in a row with John Lewis when your request for a vegan alternative was rejected.

The token you have received is a so-called personalized voucher.

Every time you swipe your My John Lewis card in a John Lewis or Waitrose store, it records what you’ve purchased and then – supposedly – ​​offers you benefits tailored to your preferences.

Some retailers have adopted this system instead of a points-based system, where you get money based on how much money you spend.

However, something must have gone wrong with John Lewis’ digital data collection as you’ve never bought bacon and eggs.

In a John Lewis customer service email you showed me, an employee said it was “sorry to hear that you feel it was discriminatory for you to have received the offer you did.”

They said the vouchers were allocated by a ‘sophisticated computer programme’ based on your purchases, but that ‘when the rewards are allocated, they are allocated at random and we do not know the dietary needs of a My John Lewis customer.’

They then refused to replace it with something more suitable.

So were you entitled to a vegan sandwich? I looked at the fine print on the My John Lewis card and on paper at least it doesn’t look like you were.

In relation to the personalized vouchers it states: ‘The customer is not entitled to receive an alternative item or to any refund, cash alternative or exchange of an alternative voucher for that offer window or selection date, as the case may be.’

Whether it counts as discrimination is a more difficult question to answer.

In general, companies are free to set their own rules about the products they sell (or give away) to customers.

For example, restaurants are not legally required to offer a vegan option.

However, ethical veganism is a protected characteristic under the ‘beliefs’ section of the Equality Act 2010, which does carry certain rights.

According to the Vegan Society website: ‘You have the right not to be treated unfairly or disadvantageously by any service provider because you are vegan. This also includes the catering industry.

“You have the right to request and receive vegan food (advance notice may be required).”

But to do anything about this you would have to file a lawsuit, which would cost a lot more than a vegan sausage and egg sandwich.

Whether or not you were legally entitled to it, I thought John Lewis had turned this into a bit of a pig’s ear.

I contacted John Lewis to ask why he refused to go ahead and offer you a vegan baptism.

I’m happy to report that what you were previously told was incorrect – and vegans can indeed get a meat and dairy-free alternative to items included in a My John Lewis reward.

A spokesperson said food rewards were ‘based on a member’s location in relation to a John Lewis store with a Place To Eat cafe.’

She continues: ‘The breakfast sandwich can be swapped for a vegan alternative, and for our other catering rewards, other vegan alternatives are available, such as vegan milk alternatives and a vegan cake option for our cake rewards.

‘Unfortunately, it appears that (CL) has been given incorrect information on this occasion and we are doing everything we can to ensure this option is communicated more clearly.’

You have also been contacted to offer a £25 voucher to apologize for the confusion.

I’m glad the retailer resolved this for you and avoided leaving you with egg on his face.