Complaints, customer perks, investing: get your own back on companies you’re stuck with

Sometimes leaving a firm isn’t really an option. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept substandard services or unfair price hikes.

‘Shop around’ has become a mantra for people like me, and with good reason.

Too many people end up paying over the odds for things like their energy bills or their mortgage simply because they don’t take the time to compare different deals available to them and find the packages that might work out cheaper.

But shopping around isn’t always an option.

With our water suppliers, for example, we are stuck with a single firm based on our location. I can’t move to South West Water or Northumbrian Water ‒ they simply aren’t an option for me.

Even in areas where it isn’t an outright monopoly, shopping around may not be much of an option.

If you’re desperate for superfast broadband, and Virgin is the only business in town providing it, well then your choice is pretty much made for you.

But being stuck with a firm doesn’t mean you have to put up with questionable service or expensive bills.

There are ways to get your own back and ensure that you are getting decent bang for your buck.

1. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!

The first option is to kick up a fuss.

Obviously, this should only apply if the supplier has wronged you in some way, whether that’s by hiking your bills without justification or failing to actually provide you with the service levels you expect.

I know this is something that I’m particularly bad at; I’m far too likely to roll over and take it when a firm lets me down.

But the truth is that we need to fight back when we get fobbed off with substandard service or unfairly hiked bills.

Being a (polite) thorn in their side can prove effective at getting the business to raise their game.

If you’re a bit wary about where to start, I can vouch for the excellent Resolver service.

It’s absolutely free and essentially builds your complaint email for you.

You get a case file, which then keeps a record of your complaints too. I’ve used the service myself, and it’s been a great help.

2. Milk those customer perks

Some firms offer their existing customers perks and rewards, such as discounts ‒ or even freebies ‒ with other retailers. 

If you’re stuck with a supplier, and you can’t move elsewhere in order to save money, it makes sense to make the most of these offers when suitable.

Of course, there’s no point spending money on items or services you don’t really need, just because there happens to be a discount on offer.

3. Pay as little as you can

Just because you can’t, or don’t really want, to leave a supplier, that doesn’t mean you have to pay a fortune for their services.

This is particularly true of broadband providers.

It pays to at least research the market so that you can speak to the firm as and when your initial contract comes to an end, and highlight the sort of price rival suppliers are offering.

You don’t need to threaten to leave either. In my experience, just mentioning the prices other firms are charging has been enough to get them to drop my renewal price or throw in some form of added extra.

You might not be able to shop around to a new provider, but you can still shop around and find a better deal from your existing one.

4. Profit off their profits

Removing the ability to shop around properly may mean you end up spending more on a particular service than you might like to.

So why not take a different tack, and help yourself to a portion of the profits that firm makes from customers like you, by investing in shares in your supplier, if they are publicly listed?

You may not be able to do much about price rises, but it would mean you get a little something back, whether through dividends or increases in the value of your shares.

There’s no escaping the fact that this is a risky strategy.

You could end up in the worst of both worlds of course, being forced to put up with shoddy service or hiked prices, as well as losing money on your investment. 

But if it pays off, it may at least make those price rises a little easier to swallow.