Sometimes it seems there's no way to get a good deal from big companies, but if you wait till they mess up, they come crawling to you.
I don't like to complain to companies, but inevitably they give you cause to. That's British business for you! Recently I've complained about a few things, such as...hang on. This definitely deserves a list:
My broadband provider
- My bill has been incorrect three months in a row.
- They failed to make changes to my account details.
- They messed me around on email...I'm not going to get into that. Let's just say there were hideous errors made by people who can't read.
- They messed me around on the phone: an hour wait; being cut off; being constantly transferred; no one knowing who's responsible for what or even what their own names are.
- I was unable to speak with someone senior! They wouldn't even give me the name of a supervisor I could speak with, let alone the department head.
A DVD delivery company
OK, I just signed up for the free £20 voucher, and then I cancelled before I had to pay anything, but they didn't say I'm not allowed to do that! Besides, I gave them a chance to win me over and they failed. Anyway:
- The cancellation terms were devious-nasty!
- They failed to deliver my free voucher.
- There was no customer services email address to write to on their website.
- They failed to deliver my free voucher.
- There was no postal address to write to on their website.
- I eventually found an obscure email address and contacted them. I was told to email another company who was apparently responsible for the voucher. I later learned (I knew this would happen!) that the original company was responsible after all.
- Plus they failed to deliver my free voucher!
My mobile phone company
- Whilst renegotiating my deal, they agreed to increase my free minutes and texts, halve my phone bill, and send me a new phone. They then failed twice to send me the new phone and they didn't halve my next bill as promised.
- They told me the terms and conditions had changed, but when, as instructed, I went to the website to see what was new, they didn't highlight the changes. Grrr!
- I was messed around a lot by email.
- I was then told that I'm not allowed to communicate by email, but the phone number was an expensive 0870 number! I could find no alternative, not even on saynoto0870.co.uk/.
- I had to call them several times, and my problems still weren't resolved.
- I had to give them my address three times, as they kept getting it wrong.
Naturally, I complained to all three. There's no better way to complain than to write a letter, but an email may suffice for your initial complaint-rant. Whichever method you choose, here are some tips:
1. Let them know you're angry!
State just how dissatisfied you are with their service, but keep it clean!
2. When the rants over, list their errors
You might want to use a bullet list or separate paragraphs for each grievance. It helps if you include times, dates and names of people you've communicated with.
3. Tell them what they have to do to make it right
Here are some suggestions, based on my own complaints:
- With my broadband company, I said that they must send correct bills in future, refund what they owed me, and provide compensation for the stress involved and the terrible service I received.
- With the DVD delivery company, I said they must send the (damn) voucher!
- With my mobile phone company, I said they must give me an extra 20% off and an unbelievably modern new phone, and I said they must explain the changes to their terms and conditions.
4. Give them a deadline to agree to your demands
Fourteen days is typical, although by this stage I'm usually mad enough to give them seven.
- I gave the broadband company seven days to make an initial response and fourteen days to refund my account, plus compensation.
- With the DVD delivery company, I said they had seven days to respond satisfactorily. I would have given them fourteen if I'd written a letter, but in this case it was an email.
- With the mobile company I gave them just seven days. They'd messed me around enough already.
5. Tell them what you will do to them if they don't make it right! (A tip within a tip: it helps to know their complaints procedure.)
- Broadband: I informed them I'd write to their chief executive officer and consider submitting a complaint about their unacceptable complaints procedures to the consumer body Ofcom. "Ha! Tough guy me!" you might be thinking, but companies should make their complaints procedure clear. They should tell you who to contact in the first and second instances, and tell you which consumer body to write to. (If you're going to complain to consumer bodies, make sure you've given the company enough time to respond first.)
- DVD delivery company: I said I'd write to their head office address. I think I also hinted at court action, which was a bit much, but I was having fun! I haven't lost any money over this after all.
- Mobile phone: I told them I'd cancel my contract, cancel the direct debit and switch to another provider.
The results
Some of my demands may have been optimistic, which is why I had mixed results:
- Broadband: I received a very apologetic phone call saying that I'd be refunded within fourteen days and that the bill would be correct from now on. They didn't offer compensation. At the time I was busy, so I forgot that I'd asked for it, otherwise I would have pressed. Still, I'm satisfied with the result so far. I've received my refund, and I'm waiting for the next bill with complaint-writing pen poised and ready.
- DVD delivery company: this is the worst result of the three. I've been passed around by different people, although I did receive one well-written email about 'getting to the bottom of it'/'every effort to be made to resolve' etc. It's not worth court action of course, but I'm going to make myself a complete nuisance until they sort it out. Plus they've now sent me a phone number, so there's no stopping me.
- Mobile phone company: I received a call saying that they agree to reduce the cost of my contract, and they agreed to send me the phone I asked for. I received it yesterday and await my next phone bill. I've heard nothing about the terms and conditions though, so I still have to pursue that.
Overall, I'm happy with the results. My broadband bills appear to be back to normal, I've got a flashy phone, and cheaper phone bills, all because I complained. My top tip for getting a better deal then? Wait for them to mess up, then complain!
Complaints procedure: if you don't like my tips, the email address to write to is shhh!fghbrrrwwgoawayfglll. Failing that, you could always complain to my CEO and Ofcom, or Ofwat, the OFT, the FSA, the CIA, the KGB...
Forget complaining, it's all effort! Instead, vote with your feet and switch providers: compare credit cards, compare mortgages, compare personal loans and compare savings accounts.