Hello, I am new to this so I hope I get my post right. We bought two DFS sofas 18 months ago - one large leather 'Oskar' and one smaller fabric 'Shout'. With perfectly normal use, the Oskar sofa has sagged quite significantly in the middle, by about 1.5 to 2 inches. This looks odd and makes the sofa quite uncomfortable as it makes you lean in towards the middle when you sit on it. We were really unhappy about this so I telephoned the DFS store where we purchased it and they agreed to send a Service Manager to come out to inspect the sofa, which he did a few days later. He said that this wasn't a fault but is normal compression or softening of the foam. He stuffed a few sheets of blue foam into the underside of the sofa and told me that he was doing so as a gesture of goodwill as apposed to acknowledgment of a fault in the product. He also told me that we should make sure we sit evenly along the length of the sofa. I disagreed but let him go on his way. I then telephoned DFS Customer Services to express my dissatisfaction and they told me that they would speak to the store manager and get back to me the same day. The next week I heard back from the same store representative that had come to do the makeshift repairs to the sofa and was told again this was not a fault and that this happens with all sofas. I explained that the other DFS sofa we have (the 'Shout' one) hasn't sagged and that I consider this sagging on a sofa that we paid £2,000 for less than 18 months previously was not acceptable. They told me I should take it up with the Ombudsman. I asked them to send me an email confirming that the sag of 1.5 to 2 inches is normal and not a fault. They did send me an email but did not mention the size, even though this was confirmed on the telephone. I hasten to add that I recorded all of these telephone calls. I am at a bit of a loss and feeling really unhappy with the quality of this expensive, saggy sofa and how they have handled this. I would be so grateful for any advise on what to do next. Hope someone can help.

I hadn't actually thought such might be possible until seeing bankfodder's thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?444374-ScottishPower-%96-do-you-want-to-sue-ScottishPower-in-England-%96-Contact-details but am now interested in doing just that. Cut a lonng story short: I am sick, weary and tired of having to do Scottish Power's work for it in terms of (a) accurate billing and (b) best practice customer service, neither of which seem to me to be concepts that this company even faintly understands. Six months ago it issued me with a final bill on my departure to Sainsburys Energy. (Had I realised at the time that Sainsbury's Energy is just a trading name of British Gas, I'd never have gone to it -- but that's another story.) British Gas / Sainsbury's Energy made a complete shambles of this routine switch and not only "lost" the gas meter reading I provided to it but then went on to give Scottish Power a meter reading entirely of its own invention. Scottish Power, therefore, sent me a Final Bill which bore no relation to my usage. As this wasn't SP's fault, I immediately telephoned -- BAD mistake, but at that stage it had my sympathies -- and spoke to an SP rep who brought my account details up on screen and within mere seconds said they had a logarithm (or 'formula'? Can't remember which: both words may've been used) that they ran to check a disputed bill. It was obvious from that, or so I was assured, that the meter reading they'd received from BGSE was wrong. I now provided the meter reading given to BGSE some six weeks earlier and was told the following: 'We will take this up with your new supplier as it's clear that a mistake has been made. Until we have sorted out the facts of the matter, the bill we have issued to you is suspended. This means you do not have to pay anything and you do not have to do anything until we contact you again with a revised bill.' (Note: rightly or wrongly, I don't trust any UK utility company to look after me or my money. Shortly before the switch to my new supplier occurred, I therefore cancelled my monthly Direct Debit payment to Scottish Power on the basis that I'd rather pay it what I owed than have it taking my money and, in the event of a billing dispute, being obstructive about paying any of it back.) Meantime, my supply continued from BGSE. I also received an apology from it for the mess it had made of my switch. As I'd been told not to do anything until hearing back from SP, I left it at that. It wasn't until August that SP got in touch again. I received by surface mail and by email a letter headed FINAL DEMAND requiring that I immediately pay an amount owing from March. The amount was higher than the original, "suspended" bill. No accompanying documentation was provided by way of explanation of how this FINAL DEMAND had been calculated. No explanation was offered as to how I was in receipt of a 'demand' that was 'final' when no other 'demands' had ever preceded it. Thus began a protracted to-ing and fro-ing of email correspondence which achieved nothing other than the waste of many hours of my time. SP's emails were, to my mind, a disgrace, each one beginning with a scripted 'apology' as cosmetic as it was meaningless, and concluding with an invitation for me to go online if I still had a problem because SP was sure I could find "answers" there. I repeatedly provided SP with all the information it needed to act reasonably and responsibly and, at one stage, even seemed to be making progress: one reply I received said that in light of the information I had (repeatedly) provided, the matter was being passed to SP's billing department to investigate with a view to issuing a revised bill if such was appropriate. But I never heard any more about that. Instead, another threatening email arrived -- the usual stuff, about jeopardising my credit record, this despite the fact that I had (repeatedly) said that I was furious about being treated in such intimidatory fashion. This last email was now either a downright lie or an act of blazing incompetence but whichever, it was clearly calculated to make me pay up whether I owed SP the amount stated or not: for the first time, the word "agreed" was incorporated into the text, as in "I can confirm that I have looked into your bill based on the agreed meter readings". Obviously, if the darn things had ever at any time been agreed, then there'd have been no need for me to expend so much effort, disputing the position. It seemed to me I had exhausted whatever level of collective ability -- if any -- might exist in SP Customer Service and so I asked for the matter to be elevated to a managerial level. I also made that request in writing, wasting yet more time reprising the facts. It wasn't merely that I was furious about being patronised / dismissed / misled / and (to my mind) lied to by this company, rather that I had provided SP with inarguable proof of its mis-billing and yet it was giving every appearance of seeking to wilfully ignore that and harass, and threaten, until it had, in so many words, extorted from me monies to which it had no right to claim. If that was how Scottish Power thought it could treat me, then God only knew what it thought it could get away with where a customer, for whatever reason, was less able to challenge its steamroller tactics. SP has sent me no further emails. Instead, I have received an unsigned letter from Pastdue Credit Solutions in which it is claimed that I owe its client a sum of money that is now even higher than the earlier amount owing that was in itself higher than the original bill which an SP representative assured me was "obviously wrong". I have written back to PastDue saying I don't recognise the amount it is saying I must pay immediately and as no supporting documentation was supplied in respect of that claim, would PastDue now kindly correct that omission within the next 7 days. Where we go from here, I'm not sure. A sum in excess of £200 is in dispute. The documented grounds for my challenging SP would instantly demolish its claim in any civil court. I don't, therefore, know if SP would even dare risk going to court -- but am worried (and no consumer should ever have to be "worried" by behaviour as repellent as this) that it might try to sidestep that process and mess up my credit history instead. More than that though: as I said at the start of this post, I am sick, weary and tired of being compelled -- because it is just that: compulsion -- to do Scottish Power's work for it. I have had to repeatedly demonstrate to Customer Service staff how they should be dealing with a genuinely distressed customer; I have had to repeatedly demonstrate how to even calculate a bill. All the hours invested in such labour have been wasted. But why should I be the one who is penalised for the indifference, the incompetence, and the sheer intimidation that is so evident here? I've no idea of what, let's say, a CS manager gets at Scottish Power but if it's £25k a year then I can't see why I shouldn't be on that same hourly-equivalent rate seeing as I've been required to do that same job . So-oo . .. Back to Bankfodder's original thread. I would really, really like to sue this company for compensation in regard to my time wasted / distress caused etc etc, using as a yardstick of claim the equivalent cost of 15 hours' CS Management pay. I haven't done the math because I've only just thought of it but that's by the by. The main question here is: Has any ordinary consumer ever attempted to sue a UK utility company and if so, on what basis / for what amount / and was her / his action successful? I'm guessing that at some point along the line, SP is going to have to roll over and may even offer to make a "goodwill" payment or "goodwill" gesture, coupled with an apology about how a technical hitch occurred or a misunderstanding arose or SP has been dealing with system problems which it has now overcome and really honestly genuinely we're very very sorry, never happen again, blah-blah-blah. But that "goodwill" will be as counterfeit as any and all of its apologies. That "goodwill" will make it appear it has never done anything wrong, and that it is a utility company fit and proper to hold a UK operating licence. Well: I don't want to allow it to skip away into the convenient obfuscation of "goodwill". I want Scottish Power punished. And I want Scottish Power's money in my pocket -- not my money in its.

Been having problems with Vodafone all year - they just get worse and worse! I called in Feb to report poor network coverage. They assured me it was just 4G upgrades and would be over soon. They promised that once the maintenance was finished they would refund my monthly tariff, back dated to when the problems started. In March, I was still having problems (ironically even the call to complain failed from my mobile as I had no signal!). Same story but conveniently they had no record of my previous call and compensation promise. However they offered £15 goodwill and a months tariff. Pretty poor considering I had only been able to communicate via imessage / whatsapp (anything using wireless but not Vodafone's line!) 90% of the time since December. In May I had had enough and with my contract up in June I called to discuss leaving. The representative I spoke to gave me my PAC code and explained that it's activation would be the start of a 30 day notice period. We agreed this would work fine as my contract was up on 6th June. I passed this code to my new supplier on 9th May and they activated it on 12th May. An subsequent online chat with another rep after this was the most dreadful customer service experience of my life! He was rude, sarcastic and unhelpful. I had got in touch again as my credits had not been activated. He agreed to arrange these then he also then told me I would have early termination fees added to my final bill! After 2 hours (!) online chat, he and a superior assured me that this would be waived due to the advice their other colleague had given me. So, obviously, on Sunday I received a bill including termination fees. A phonecall got me nowhere. The rep (again conveniently) could not see the online chat transcript promising to waive the fees. So I got back on online chat and the rep checked the transcript and again arranged to waive these and resubmit my bill. I am yet to receive the recalculated bill and struggle to believe that it really will be changed. Pretty sure they will take the money then I'll have the mother of all fights trying to get it refunded. More time, more stress. I don't think I can put into words how shocked I am that such a company has such terrible procedures and gaps in communication between departments. Never, ever again will I go back. Vodafone has a long way to go in terms of customer service (bordering on aggressive in some situations) and also coverage for their customers. They really do not care!

Have been trying to deal with Vodafone over the last few weeks on two issues and their customer service has hit new lows. I work in London and Brighton - first issue is for the last month there's been no vodafone coverage in the bn1 area of brighton due to a fault that has no time scale to be fixed. When you start looking into it, VF customer service send you round the departments, each one making you carry out pointless and time consuming diy tech support. Eventually you find everyone else on a network forum with the same problem, then on going back to VF they say they can't fix it, they won't offer a discount and you can't get out of your contract, despite the service not working. Issue 2: they have no coverage at one of the London sites, where I've been using a suresignal - good when it works, but it is intermittent, problematic and very user-unfriendly. To set it up you need to be able to open ports on router etc etc) - plug and play it isn't. Cut a long story etc mine died, hours on the phone having to convince vodafone tech support it wasn't working, they finally agree to send a new one, then nothing. Delivery date passes, no text, no call, can't track it down, nada. More calls to customer services - the usual rudeness, passing around and hanging up etc More than a week later I finally get a call back, but on the brighton network issue - Davey the vodafone rep proceeds to withdraw a previous £10 goodwill payment (which was laughable to start with, on a spend of £80k to date) and say the suresignal that had been ordered for me had also been withdrawn (without letting me know!) as their policy is now to charge £65 for any fault on one (above package and call costs). Remember, this is a device supplied by vodafone to allow the phone to work at all! Being as I now get no coverage in two out of my three workplaces with vodafone being so spectacularly unhelpful I have to make other arrangements with a telecom that works. Do I press vodafone for compensation to pay for this or do I just quit the contract and stop paying them? any advice welcome

This is a work of fiction. As everybody knows, all good fiction starts with “Once upon a time”, so please excuse this paragraph, and let’s get started. Once upon a time, there was a little mobile phone company called Now Here that had a slogan ‘The future is Bleak, the future is Now Here’. This little mobile phone company wanted to play with the big boys, so it decided to join with another little mobile phone company called Coffee Nothing and form a new company that would be big. Then it could play with the big boys! So the two mobile phone companies joined together. They wondered what to call themselves, and were thinking they could just join up their names, but Coffee Nothing is Now Here did not sound like a very good name, and the Boss did not like coffee that much anyway and said that this name was way too long. So they dropped some words,and joined others and eventually came up with Nothing Nowhere, or NN for short. And they decided to think about their Execrable Customer Service. The Boss did not know what Execrable meant so he decided to call it their Excellent Customer Service instead, because he knew what Excellent meant, and he thought that at least one part of their Customer Service should be excellent, even if it was only the name. There are some other companies that also appear in this work of fiction. A company called Small and Limp, called SL for short, developed a new mobile phone operating system called Doors, while another company called Thumpier made some smart new phones that used Doors. Thumpier decided to let NN be the only company to sell the best of their new phones. Now there was a guy who worked with computers, and unfortunately this guy was not very cool, so we will call him Uncool Guy, or Ug for short. Some guys who work with computers are very cool, so long as they work with stuff made by Adam’s. Adam’s make all sorts of things, and give their products names like Nose-Phone, Nose-Pad and Nose-Pod. Anybody who uses this stuff is known as a Nose-Sheep, and although they have such a silly name, they are very cool indeed. And Nose-Sheep love to buy all the cool new things that Adam’s makes. Ug works with computers that run SL’s software for computers. Now that is very uncool indeed, and I must apologise for introducing such a low tone into this story, but that is how it was, in this work of fiction. Ug was really interested in the new version of Doors, because he would be able to run the same Doors on his PC and on his phone. How cool is that? Okay, so it is not that cool, not as cool as having a Nose-Book and Nose-Phone. No siree! Ug had had long dealings with one of the big phone companies that NN wanted to be like. But this company didn’t have the new Thumpier phone, so what was Ug going to do? He decided to leave his big phone company, and take out a new contract with NN, shelling out a large number of clams, so that he could get the new Thumpier phone. Well, right from the start Ug had problems with his mail. It seems that the mail and contacts database on Ug’s new phone had got corrupted. What was he to do? Well after Ug had tried several things, some of which made a temporary improvement, he decided that he should ask at the NN shop as to what needed to be done. Poor Ug didn’t know that Excellent Customer Service really stood for Execrable Customer Service. Well the shop said that Ug’s new Thumpier phone should go for Repair, and it would perhaps take a week or two, or perhaps as it was cold, it might take a little longer than that. So Ug passed his new Thumpier phone across to NN, and was loaned a small phone that could not do email, could not do internet, could not take photos, could not play games, had only a tiny screen,could not talk to Ug’s PC and was really only good for making and receiving calls. It wasn’t a bad phone really, so long as you only wanted to make and receive calls. But Ug’s heart wanted more than this – this was why he had shelled out a load of clams to get such a nice Thumpier phone. Ah well, it was only going to be for a short time. Isn’t it funny how stupid Ug was! He totally believed that when NN said that they had Excellent Customer Service, that the Customer Service would be Excellent for him. He didn’t realise that the Customer Service was there to be Excellent for NN. He had no idea that it should really be called Execrable Customer Service. Ug didn’t know that NN was going to lose his phone. Ug didn’t know that NN was going to do nothing, except put him off and say No for six whole weeks. Ug didn’t know that he was going to spend a great deal of time in trying to find out what had happened to his brand new Thumpier phone. Ug didn’t know that he was going to be ignored by Customer Services. Ug didn’t realise that Customer Services keep people hanging on and take so long about things and make everything so difficult that eventually customers give up in despair. The Boss doesn’t understand the word ‘attrition’, but he does know how to run Customer Services in such a way that the most energetic of customers eventually get worn down and give up the fight to get what was rightfully theirs. After three weeks had passed,Ug started to ask for a new phone as it had been a very long time – nobody at NN wanted to give him a phone. Poor Ug. That is probably why Ug is such an Uncool Guy, because he actually trusts people and then gets caught out. Silly Ug! Well one day Ug decided that he had had enough. He was going to cancel his contract with NN, and go to a company that could actually provide a service. Oh no! That sort of thing makes the people at NN very angry, because if Ug leaves, then who will shell out clams so that they can keep their jobs? Isn’t it funny, how Ug has been saying for weeks that he wants a new phone, and NN have said No, and now Ug is saying he doesn’t want a new phone, and NN are saying you have to have one? In fact the people at NN suddenly realised that they did love poor Ug after all, and when he didn’t want a new phone, they offered him two new phones to stay. And after weeks of them not phoning Ug to let him know what was going on, they now phone him cheerily every day. But they still don't tell him what is going on! But never mind. Customer Service insisted that Ug would have to shell out a load more clams so that he could leave, and this means that no people would lose their jobs at NN. Yay! That was getting a bit tense there for a while – what a good thing this is just a work of fiction. The Boss chuckled as he stroked the cat, and said “Our Customer Service really is Excellent”. Poor Ug is very unhappy, but at least the Boss is happy. And now Ug has to shell out loads more clams, and doesn’t have anything at all to show for it. The other phone companies don’t have the new Thumpier phones, but would Ug want to try another of those after this bad experience? Don’t miss our next exciting instalment…

Hi guys, First of all, Happy New Year! I am looking at buying some sofas for my living room. I was looking at DFS sales, but then I couldn't help, but notice the horror stories of how many problems people were having with DFS's customer services and their 10 year warranty. I'm worried and need some recommendations of a whom i should buy from as i don't want a rubbish warranty that is useless when i need it. Can anyone please help or advice? Thank You

I ordered a shower screen from homebase online, paying for home delivery as unable to fit item in my car. I took a day off work to take delivery of item (as 8am-8pm was the only timescale they could give). A dining room table from Argos was left outside my front door (they didn't even knock). They won't send another shower screen and they won't refund me as I used my husband's credit card - although of course they were quick enough to take the money. Very upsetting dealign with customer services as each time have to wait 24 hours for email response or phone calls take an hour each time. What can I do and what are my legal rights?

I placed an online order with Matalan a few months ago, and a couple of days later received a card to tell me the delivery company had called. As I was not home (I work during the day), they had taken the goods away and would try again the following day. I found the card when I came home for lunch, and phoned the courier to get them to drop off the goods with a neighbour - they refused. I tried to arrange delivery on a day when I was going to be home. They refused - they would only attempt delivery for three consecutive days, then send the goods back to Matalan. I tried to find out what time they would deliver - they would not tell me. I tried to arrange delivery at my workplace two miles away - they refused. The courier was only interested in posting three cards through my door, as then Matalan would have to pay them. I immediately phoned Matalan (too long on hold - I gave up), and emailed, but their response time to emails is so slow that I had the full set of three cards before they even acknowledged my communication. I was completely frustrated - the items I wanted had been inches from my house, three times, and I couldn't have them. I sent a detailed email to Matalan setting out the history and demanding a full refund. This took some time, but eventually I got my money back. They also dismissed the courier and hired another one. They also sent me a money off voucher. Excellent customer service is not difficult, and it makes a great deal of sense. Matalan had lost me as a customer, but by their actions they rescued the situation. They also have some free publicity - I tell people about it. Thanks again Matalan - you are the best example I have seen of effective customer service.

Hi there, Hoping to seek some opinions as to how to deal with an online retail company. I purchased goods via their website for next day delivery. I wasn't avaliable to receive orders due not being at home. How as I requested order to be redelivered if not able to deliver I assumed they'd do just that. 2 days on, I decided to contact the company, and check the tracking system, only to find that it stated on their system that my order had been delivered and 'signed for by customer,' I asked them to explain how this was possible, and was told they'd contact their contracting courier company. It took several days of my enquiring, demanding to speak to the courier management team (but denied) and a finally being issued a £15 good will gesture before I was advised they'll send the courier back to the delivery address to retrieve the parcel??? Courier attended unsolicited and left a missed u card stating that parcel was left outside my property? I contacted the customer service manager via email and advised them of the discrepancy of the alledged delivery, and complained about everything from personal inconviniences, having to investigate an issue that wasnt my responsibility, to the embarrassment of my neighbours thinking I was questioning their honesty. I mentioned the Sales of good act, and distant selling reg and asked when I'd recieve my order? No reply given, so contacted them again. Without any personal reply I receieved an automated email advising me of a new dispatch date for my order in part as an item was no longer avaliable. I also noted that the partial refund they made for the missing item was for a sum lower than the item cost! I am extremely disgruntled as the customer service manager hasn't had the respect to reply to my email directly. I've had no formal apology. Nobody communicated with me to arrange a new delivery date one was just allocated. Given the circumstances I feel i should have been asked if I wanted an alternative item at the very least. And now I've been shortened a refund. Having shopped with them quite a few times in the past I'm so displeased at being treated this way.

I bought a new Panasonic Plasma TV from Currys on the 17th April this year. I didn't take out any extra cover so it is within the standard 1 year warranty. 3 weeks ago, the TV started buzzing loudly so I contact Currys who came to pick up the TV promptly. I was told I would have the TV back within a week to 10 days. They then called to tell me that the PSU was broken and that they had to order the part. I called them last week and was informed the TV was due to be delivered last Friday but it didn't arrive. After calling them that day I was told that the part had only just arrived and no repairs had been done yet. They apologised for the mix up. I called them yesterday and was informed that the part had not even been delivered yet. I was then told that if they could not repair my TV within 28 days, then I could go into any Currys store and collect a new one on that day. If a new one wasn't available, they would reimburse me in full. As 28 days comes around next Tuesday, I thought I would nip into my local Currys store to ensure I could collect a new one if my TV isn't repaired and sent back in time. The manager abruptly informed me that this wasn't the case and they can have my TV for as long as they see fit as it's not an 'essential item'. Please could you help me confirm my rights as a consumer? Currys are not being very helpful and I can't find any info on their website. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

can anyone help me with how to deal with TK Maxx and thier couriers, Hermes? or has anyone else had the same problem? i ordered a dress in the sale with a pre sale value of £214. it hasnt been delivered. i discovered this less than 24 hours after the claimed delivery and rang customer services--assuming it had been misdelivered. However, the courier from Hermes, was rung while i held on the line and she told the tk maxx customer services people that a young woman had signed for the parcel at my address. I was told my daughter had signed. This would be hard as i don’t have a daughter. since the courier insists that it was delivered and signed for, i hae been left with the bill the courier is either incompetent or a thief and no action is being taken to rectify the situation... any advice or help? Thanks

voucher code failed to deduct from the total. it is directly on their website but I could not post link here. the code is also on various other voucher sites, I tested the booking total with and without the voucher code and it makes no difference, therefore this is false advertising, CS has admitted it has not deducted anything and the amount charged was usual rate. I assumed it would deduct right at the end of transaction but pressed continue and it went straight to payment complete. I would have booked elsewhere if I had not done sums and found avis plus code would be cheaper. the avis deal works out much more expensice now than next best deal elsewhere. I called CS 0844 number and am very upset at my treatment. I was on the phone a total of ONE HOUR at a high call rate. passed me to several different lengthy calls, at 5p per minute for one hour. I talked to four people in total and got nowhere -one rep said he could not refund the money but I was correct about the code and they could give me a credit to use as money off additonal driver/petrol etc, I declined as I did not want those things and they said I had to go to CS again, to someone who was very evasive and repetitive, saying well it obviously 'did not work' on that booking - so why is that my problem, it is valid code, not expired and it was an online booking and fulfilled all their conditions, plus other reps said it should have reduced the total, I was not getting anywhere so I asked for a manager, he said manager was not around, I asked for manager call-back and he reluctantly took my number and told me to hold, I held for 10 minutes and I believe he deliberately left me there so I would hang up, which I did, plus manager never did call back. I am now complaining to them I want the 15% off my booking credited back to my card, plus gesture of goodwill for my hassle and phone calls. rep admitted they often make partial refunds after the rental period, but why should I wait, as problem has occurred NOW. suggestions and advice appreciated

Hi there.. I would like to get some advice in regards to a Vodafone UK problem which seemed to be unresolved after 4 months despite taking the necessary steps/actions as advised/recommended by Vodafone. I feel extorted by them as I am the one to bear the brunt for their mistakes yet I am having to continue to pay them £26 / month. Below is a chronological order of the events. Late-October / Early-November 2011 (1) I attempted to take ownership of my friend's Vodafone account (contract expiring Nov 2012) but my application was unsuccessful due to a failed credit check. I asked for reasons of the failed credit check and was told to contact experian. (2) Vodafone staff also hinted that my old university student halls address (back in 2008/09) was used for the check, and on one occasion, even got my date of birth wrong. I tried to reason with them that the address mistake was not my fault, but I was told to send an email to their credit liaison team to appeal and also to get a copy of my credit report from Experian for which I paid £15. (3) My details were updated at Experian. It seemed that the addresses they have on me are outdated. In addition, I was told that the electoral roll details will be updated in their system in December 2011. (4) I was also informed by Experian that Vodafone rejected my request most probably due to my recent move from Bristol to Leatherhead and that my name had yet to be on the electoral roll. They could not see any other reason for me to be declined credit. (5) I sent out 2 emails to credit.liaison [at] gb.vodafone.co.uk but my emails were not responded. I accepted the fact that I had to wait 90 days to re-apply. Early-January 2012 (1) I called the local town council (Mole Valley) and they confirmed that I am listed on the electoral roll. (2) I called Vodafone w/c 9 Jan 2012 to confirm the details they have on me (including previous addresses). They managed to confirm my date of birth and account number but was not able to confirm previous address as the guy could not access my profile. The reason I was given is "your account is locked for 90 days from Oct 2011". 18 January 2012 (1) Immediately 90 days from Oct 2011, I called Vodafone (08700 719 038) to re-attempt the transfer of ownership. I tried to explain my situation to the lady who answered my call but was cut short. She insisted I first give her the mobile number I wanted to transfer which I did. She confirmed my identity by asking my date of birth and password. I was also asked to confirm the postcode of my current address which I also did. She then put me on hold for 5 minutes, and when she got back, she told me that I had failed my credit check. I told her that she did not even give me the opportunity to confirm my previous addresses but she insisted that she had followed the proper procedures and told me to wait another 90 days before re-applying. (2) I argued that I'm not going to wait another 90 days as I did not authorise her to perform the credit check and asked to speak with a manager. I then spoke to one "Tony Henry", and asked him which address was used for the credit check to which he said "XXX (2008/09 Uni halls address)". I replied that it was incorrect and explained that his staff has not allowed me to verify that. (3) I also told him that I have been paying for the account for the last 3 months by direct debit. He insisted that his staff followed the correct procedure. (4) He said he will speak to his superior "Michelle Stewart" and told me to expect a call within 48 hours (Friday 20 Jan 2012). 24 - 27 January 2012 (1) I never received a call from Vodafone. Instead, on Tuesday 24 Jan 2012, I decided to call them back. I tried to speak to Tony Henry or Michelle Stewart but never got a chance to. I had to re-explained my entire situation (again) to the person who answered my call and was put on hold. I was then told that Michelle Stewart wants me to email her (email address ending with tsc.co.uk) a copy of my credit report, which I promptly did on the day itself. (2) I never received an email from Michelle Stewart acknowledging the receipt of the email. I called Vodafone back on the Thursday 26 Jan 2012 and was asked whether I had sent that email to Michelle Stewart. I replied, "Yes, on Tuesday itself". I was then told that Michelle was away on business and will only be back the next day (Fri 27 Jan 2012). (3) I called on the morning of Friday 27 Jan 2012 and asked to speak to Michelle Stewart. Was again unable to speak to her. I was then told that Michelle Steward rejected my appeal and that she has listened to all my recordings and deemed that Vodafone staff have not done anything wrong at all. I was told to "try again" in 90 days. Additional Information (1) I paid another £15 early this month (Feb 2012) to have another look at my credit report. Spoke to Experian and they cannot find any reason for a rejection. Just so you know, my credit score is 907 with no record of late payments. (2) As of the latest credit report (8 Feb 2012), Experian told me that the last credit check performed on my account was October 2011. They also confirmed that there were no credit checks performed by Vodafone on me this year (2012). --- I would be really grateful if someone can provide me with some advice on how to deal with this problem. Suggestions to just cancel my direct debit with them are not an option. The contract with Vodafone ends in Nov 2012 and I'm paying £26 a month now and I am not able to move my personal (O2) number to Vodafone as I am only the authorised contact and not the owner of the account. Thank you for your attention. Please do not hesitate to contact me if further information is required. I have copies of the emails I sent to Vodafone. Really appreciate your time. Eugene

Hi everyone, Hope you can help, the Co-op are causing me no end of stress and I'm starting to wish I never took my loan out. Today I recieved a default notice which was quite a shock. The thing is, I hadn't recieved any previous requests for payment, but I'm now allegedly two months in arrears? I spoke to them today and after much to-ing and fro-ing, the guy on the other end finally admitted they hadn't sent me any letters. He said it had to go through several managers but he would 'unoffically' start my payment from this month. It was like this was such a big favour to me! Plus I have to call them bach tomorrow to check it's OK. I've just started a very low-paid internship and I don't think I can afford to pay £116 at the end of this month (which is only three days later than was demanded in the default notice). I'm really annoyed with their customer service, and I have a feeling I've gotten a raw deal. I would love some advice, PLEASE!!!!

I have an issue with EMO Oil ( A division of Shell), on which I would like comments please. I had a standing order arrangement with EMO Oil and the agreement was that they would replenish my tanks as they believed that we were using the oil - which suited fine. In December they raised my monthly direct debit from £60 a month to over £200 a month without warning. At this time we contacted them, asking for the reason for the increase and telling them that we did not want to continue on this basis. They said that this was fine and that they would amend their records. On Tuesday this week we received an unwanted delivery of oil from EMO and when we contacted them to tell them we did not want this as we were moving house, they said that we have never contacted them and they told my wife she was lying. Naturally, my wife got upset and angry and, unfortunately, she fired back. I have spoken to the "customer service" team at EMO this morning, and the belligerence and attitude of the person I spoke to was unbelievable. Basically, she called my wife a liar, and said that we had never made a call. When I challenged this, politely I may add, she told me she was not interested in talking to me any more and was going to terminate the call - which she did!!!! She further added that no-one had called and that it was "tough on us" and we should have written in - which we were not advised to do. she backtracked with my wife yesterday, and said that we did not call on the 4th December but we did call on the 11th?!!!!! - who is the liar? Has anyone had experience of this kind of practice? What can I do? They are quoting £300 to remove the oil we do not want and other than that it appears we do not have a leg to stand on? Is this how any customer should be treated? Is it because they believe they are all powerful, and can do and charge what they like? HELP!!!!!

It looks like I'll be taking Comet to the small claims court. 1. cooker broke after 13 monts 2. comet refused to repair / replace 3. got an electrician's report stating the fault was 'with the appliance' 4. comet still refused 5. just about to send my final letter (attached) .... then to court! Any advice / reassurance gratefully received! Joe

A short account of my abysmal experience as a BT customer. I became a BT customer in mid-May. Phone and internet services worked. Despite 19 phone calls taking up hours and hours BT could not get my Vision service working. The services were bought as a package so I cancelled them as a package, as per OfCom’s advice. What followed then were another 20ish calls (I’ve now phoned BT in excess of 40 times) and approximately 20 hours on the phone. Assurances of “full refunds” and “cancellation fees waived” were granted only to be retracted on subsequent phone calls. I asked for explicit notes to be kept on my account. These were apparently made (even read out to me), only for me to find that they hadn’t. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve fought the same battle over and over again. I asked for written confirmation (email), of my discussions with customer “service” operators, but was told it wasn’t possible. I asked for the address of the complaints department but was told there wasn’t a dedicated complaints department. I’m 35 and have just endured the most shocking customer experience in my life. BT are plagued by a pathetic customer service ethos, total ineffectiveness and are, most shockingly, devoid of any will to respect or honour its customers’ rights. I’ve emailed the CEO with a lengthy complaint communicating my disgust at my treatment and seeking assurances that my credit history will not be adversely affected as a result of BT’s billing and account inefficiencies (I am still receiving bills by email and post despite cancelling the account and returning the equipment to them months ago). To date they still owe me £265.46. I have been promised this several times only to have to fight for it again on the next phone call. I should’ve known better. I was warned not to go with BT but was lured by the high speed internet. Hopefully it’s nearly over now. Advice for anyone considering using BT… ask yourself if you value being treated with fairness and respect. I’m not prone to complaining or writing snotty letters, but I’ve been really disgusted by them. I’m ashamed they’re British and can’t wait to sever ties with them. I will never again knowingly pay BT for a service where an alternative exists. I’ve now moved to Sky, of whom I can’t speak highly enough so far (I know they have their detractors too). They’ve been in a whole different league to BT in terms of their customer care. Had a slight issue with broadband, but one 10 minute phone call and it was resolved. Turned out the BT Outreach engineer connected up the microfilter in the wrong place… (sigh). I will update this post with BT’s response, should I even get one…

I have signed my elderly parents to their BB and home phone deal. I have been trying for 2 days to get through to them but no answer. Total waiting time now nearly 4 hours!!! Consumer Direct say nothing I can do. I've sent them email after email. They take a week to reply. I have un-answered questions - what should I do? STAY AWAY FROM PRIMUS THEY ARE TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My complaint centres around the purchase of 2 new Blackberry Curve 8520 which were ordered on 24th May 2011. These were purchased from Orange's website – although at the last minute I had to call the telesales team to buy the offer on the website. I took screenshots of the website offer as you scroll through the pages. In short the offer was to buy the phones for £129.99 with the Dolphin Pay as you go package. I would receive free BBM and if you topped up £10 per month you would also receive free internet and free unlimited texts. After receiving the phones (and activating them) it became apparent immediately, that the internet was not working. I called Orange on the evening of 26th May. I was informed that I must pay £5 per month to Blackberry to activate the Blackberry Internet Service. If I did not do this, BBM would not work. I informed the agent that I purchased the phones on the basis of the advert and in my mind FREE means FREE. The first agent told me that Orange don’t charge any extra - its Blackberry. I refused to accept that argument – my contract is with Orange - Orange made the offer and I accepted it. I was then told that I should know that Blackberry charge £5 per month and its not Orange’s responsibility. I refused to accept that position especially considering I had not owned a Blackberry before. Eventually I was put through to the supervisor Victor on extension 63742. He listened to my complaint and asked for 30 minutes before calling back. At 8.02pm on 26th May 2011, Victor called back. He accepted the basic premise that if Orange had advertised the offer, then I should get it. He asked if he could discuss with the other departments in Orange and come back to me the following day. He was back on shift at 1.30 when he would expect to have received replies from the other 9 departments. At 3.30 pm on 27th May I spoke to Mayur who told me that Victor was not signed in. He tried to handle the complaint but it was like going back to the beginning all over again. He clearly did not understand the issue and was of no help at all and I could not get to speak to a supervisor. At 4.10pm on 27th May I called again because I had not been called back, I spoke to Avhi. He was also of no help at all and in fact he told me that the website clearly did refer to the BIS service and cost and he tried to show me where it was. When we came to the page he told me the bit he was referring to was on his screen and implied it must be my computer’s problem. I told him it was the same on 3 of my computers at home. I said I wanted this sorted right now. Still of no help at all and I could not get to speak to a supervisor. At 4.40pm on 27th May Victor called me. He had looked at the website and agreed with me that Orange had indeed advertised the phone as free BBM and free internet and texts when you top up with £10 per month. He explained that the matter had caused a great deal of discussion at Orange. Apparently he had also discussed the matter with his boss Tauseef ext 66924. Due to the abnormality of the issue, he needed more time but did not want me to suffer as a result of Orange’s mistake. He offered for Orange to pay £5 for both of the mobile phones to be activated on the blackberry internet service for the first month whilst Orange found a way to find an amicable resolution for me. He said he would need a couple of days only. I explained that I was on holiday the following week. I would call on my return if I had not heard from him. I heard nothing. On Saturday 4th June, I called and was told that Victor was not signed in. I asked for Victor to be emailed to call me. On Monday 6th June, I called and was told that Victor was not signed in. I asked for Victor to be emailed to call me. On Wednesday 8th June, I called and was told that Victor was not signed in. I asked for Victor to be emailed to call me. On Saturday 11th June at 10.33am I lost patience waiting for Victor. I called and spoke to Nir. Victor was still not signed in. I made a formal complaint about the lack of response and a complete failure to deal with the issue. I demanded specific performance of what was advertised. I wanted to speak to Victor’s boss and was refused. I asked for an email address so I could send the screenshots of the adverts for your records. She told me that she would keep trying Victor and I would receive lots of texts telling me that she was still trying. We received 1 text in the afternoon and that was all. No one called. On Sunday 12th June at 5.19pm I called again. After a protracted discussion with an agent I was finally put through to a supervisor Rashid Ext 67506. He agreed that if that was what was advertised, I should get it. He needed 30 minutes to read through all the paperwork. I was going out so I asked him to call back at 8.30pm.He agreed. No phone call at 8.30pm. I therefore called again at 21.55 on Sunday June 12th. I was told that Rashid was not signed in. I was told that Victor was not signed in. I asked to speak to the supervisor. I was told the supervisor would call back in 10 minutes. There was no call back. On Monday 13th June at 5.10pm I called again and spoke to James Ext 62543. James was very pleasant but I had to go through the whole matter all over again. I asked to speak to the supervisor. James told me that his supervisor was on a call and would call me back. I said respectfully that I did not believe he would based on past performance. I asked for his name – Chandan ext 62342. I asked when I would receive a call and he said within 24 hours. I said that was not good enough and I wanted to write in and make a formal complaint – I asked for an email address. James told me that only Chandan could give me the complaints email address. I was not happy. Again I said respectfully that I did not believe I would receive a call back. James said that he came back on shift at 1.30pm the following day and would see to it personally that I was called back. I said I would call back at 5.40pm if I had not heard anything. No Phone call. I called again at 8pm on Tuesday 14th June. I spoke to the agent and reminded him that this was now the 15th call I had made. James was not signed in, Changdan was not signed in, Victor was not signed in, Rashid was not signed in. This was ridiculous. I asked to speak to another supervisor. I was told I was being put through. The line went dead. I called back again straight away (time 8.15pm). This time the agent put me straight through to a supervisor called Tauseef 66924. Tauseef told me that Victor had come to him for help on 27th May and he had put notes on the account then. He informed me that there had been a mistake on the UK website and this had affected 20,000 customers. Orange UK were looking into the matter but the size of the issue had made it more difficult to come up with a proper solution. He told me that the account notes clearly shows my complaint and also shows that both Victor and Tauseef had looked through the website and agreed that I was correct in my interpretation of what was advertised. £5 had been credited to each phone as a goodwill gesture to pay for the blackberry internet service whilst the matter was resolved. It was unfortunate that a solution had not yet been found. I explained to Tauseef that I was very cross with the dreadful response I had received since speaking to Victor and all the broken promises about calling back, He took the details of the agents and supervisors I had spoken to and said he would ask them to explain themselves. Broken promises to call back was an unacceptable lack of integrity. Tauseef has put a note on the account relating to my complaint and also stated that if I have not received a satisfactory response by 26th June, that a further gesture to pay the next month’s blackberry internet service for each phone will be required. However at this time he could do nothing until Orange UK had decided what they were going to do. My Complaint ·I wanted specific performance of what was advertised or something that achieves the same effect at the advertised cost for my children’s phones. ·I wanted an apology for the dreadful service I have received. I have been a loyal customer to Orange for many years (in fact I was forced to move my account to Vodaphone for about 18 months by my main customer) but moved back to Orange as soon as I could. If it was not for this loyalty, I would have told you to take the phones back for a full credit and moved the whole lot to O2 whilst reporting Orange to Ofcom. ·I want recognition for the time I have had to spend handling this matter. I estimate that I have spent over 10 hours on the phone to your company on this issue alone. For the record I am a freelance Finance director and I charge £850 per day for my time. I emailed the executive office and Tom Alexander personally. After lots of warm words Orange flately refused to honour what was advertised and explained that it was MY RESPONSIBILITY to research the phones and work out that FREE did not mean FREE. I now have to send the mobiles back for a full refund. I will now take out a 24 month contract with someone else for free phones (and cashblack) and £10 per month contract for 30 minutes talk time, unlimited texts and 100mb of data (I assume this will be plus the £5 BIS). I am now also seriously considering moving my business accounts as well. Orange are both dishonourable and their customer service is disgraceful!!!

Hi CAG, I am having major problems with Vodafone, ever since last July and upgrading my phone to iPhone 4 Vodafone have constantly billed me incorrectly and every month they manage to suspend my phone services, and cancel the Direct Debit that i've set up with them over the phone. My wages get paid on the 1st and I always try and get every bill paid on or around the 1st, every time I phone Vodafone they say they have changed the billing cycling and the money will come out on the 1st of the next month.. My partners phone around the 25 of the month gets a text message saying you're bill is overdue please arrange a payment. What I can't figure out for the life of me is why after almost 10 months of constant phone calls and speaking to different members of the Accounts / Collections team they can not get a simple thing right such as taking the money on the 1st of the month. Last month I actually spoke with a Manage who assured me that everything was sorted. And tonight I have had to phone them again, and asked for a manager and NO ONE called back I am really starting to lose my rag with this situation and may have to cancel my service with Vodafone as this is getting beyond a joke now, and there seems to be no resolution in site I have been a very happy vodafone customer for 7 years and I still have a good 14 months contract left, but I need some help with this.

18 months ago I bought an electronic pen. "What's one of those?" you may ask. It's just a pen that records what you write and plugs into a computer. It's cute. It was £149.99 from Amazon UK. I didn't use it much (less than 20 A4 pages) and when I came to use it a couple of days ago the on/off button had failed, making the device largely useless. I contacted Amazon and explained that the Sale of Goods Act section 14(2B) meant they must repair, replace or refund my device as I think 20 A4 pages of writing and 18 months for a £150 device is not "satisfactory quality", particularly on the grounds of "durability". As I spend a *lot* of money with them, I expected a quick response saying "We'll swap it out for you, no worries.", if only because the device is only £99 now, but instead I've spent most of today being point blank refused by one of their "Executive Customer Relations" operatives. She refused to answer any of my questions and instead repeated falsehoods from the SoGA. I'm really confused by this behaviour. The discussion culminated in this person inviting me to shop elsewhere! (I spent £600 at Amazon in the last 30 days) I was also told that this person was not willing to continue the conversation, so I now must communicate with them via paper mail! Has anyone else experienced this kind of bad stuff from Amazon UK? I'm going to continue to pursue it, as I don't see what possible leg they have to stand on, but I asked a friend of mine who had a similar problem and was sent a mailing label immediately after he quoted the Sale of Goods Act. What gives? Are they normally this inconsistent?

Does anyone know if anyone is running a campaign against companies using expensive 0870 and 084 phone numbers for customer complaints, and making customers hang on in lengthy Muzak queues while paying for the privilege? I have recently had a shockingly bad experience with O2 customer service, when I tried to upgrade one mobile phone and ended with my cancelling two contracts I had held for nearly 10 years. So if there is not such a campaign, I plan to start one and would like to hear from any potential supporters. It is entirely wrong that consumers have to pay extra to lodge a complaint -- especially if any portion of that call cost actually goes back to the profits of the company being complained about. It is also morally wrong that companies can put consumers through the "on hold" hell -- there should be a legally enforceable time limit on how long one must hold before being answered, a limit on how long one can be made to wait, and an overall limit on how long one can be on the line before speaking to someone who can resolve the issue. These limits should be enforced by fines. Millions of hours are spent monthly, if not weekly, by customers (both business customers and private consumers) trying to speak to company customer service departments. Effectively, they are financing companies' customer service centres with their own time. The impact on the economy must be a gigantic waste of productivity. This expense and delay act as powerful disincentives to making any complaint, and that is probably deliberate. Companies use telephone customer service as shields to hide behind against complaints. It is also possible to wait for a long time, finally get through, and then be cut off "accidentally" by the customer service agent, which is totally infuriating. O2 did this to me recently. I believe it should be an offence subject to statutory fine to make complainants hold on to a customer services line for longer than a short time, say 3 minutes max, and an additional offence to cut off people who have been holding on before they have resolved their complaint in one phone call. Companies should also be required by law to record all phone calls coming in to or going out from customer service departments, and to begin every call by giving the customer a unique reference number which identifies the recording. It should be the customer's right to be provided with a good copy of that recording within no more than one week. It should also be compulsory for companies to train all customer service staff in the basic art of repeating key information back to the customer as it is being given, for instance repeating email addresses, phone and account numbers as they are said, to make it impossible for the customer to be made victim to errors in data collection. If these measures were put in place and enforced, I strongly believe that companies would for the first time have a very strong incentive to get things right first time and to look after their customers properly. The UK economy would receive an enormous boost in productive time. And people would no longer have to endure experiences from hell to get their consumer rights, nor pay for that hell. Anyone agree? Thanks, Noel