Disputes: how to complain about a company

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Not impressed with your utility provider and been mucked about? Here's how to complain effectively...
Not impressed with your utility provider and been mucked about? Here's how to complain effectively...



Recently, a BTOpenreach engineer damaged line equipment outside my house, knocking out my telephone and internet.

Over the next three days I spent countless hours being passed from pillar to post by my service provider, Sky, who couldn't give me any clear indication of when it would be fixed.

And the blasé attitude of the Sky reps in dealing with the situation was infuriating and didn't instil me with any confidence.

So I waited...and waited some more...before getting so frustrated that I contacted a BTOpenreach executive directly (which I think Sky should have been doing) and the problem was sorted the following day.

I was then contacted by two Sky Executive support reps who admitted it had been a "massive inconvenience" and the coordination and communication had not been acceptable. They then offered me a derisory £20 in compensation, saying they felt this was fair reflection of the "massive inconvenience" and point blank refused to increase their offer.

Sky's offer just made me madder because I felt throughout no one wanted to take ownership of the problem or cared about getting a resolution, and it certainly didn't reflect the amount of time I'd spent trying to sort out their mess. It seemed Sky didn't care about keeping a customer happy or retaining them.

I then countered that Sky could send that £20 to a nominated charity as I didn't feel comfortable accepting their insulting offer and I'd rather the money went to a good cause. But they said no to that too – they'd consider the complaint satisfactorily resolved if they did that and I'd made it clear I thought things had been handled very badly.

Mistakes happen, I realise that, but it's the attitude the company takes when addressing them that makes all the difference. And quite frankly, I felt that Sky's attitude stunk on this occasion!

And I'm not alone. According to uSwitch, seven million Brits have lost out financially due to not understanding their consumer rights. Recent research from the energy regulator, Ofgem, found that 57% of domestic consumers weren't satisfied with the way their complaint had been handled by their energy supplier and in nearly half of cases where the supplier considered the case resolved, the customer did not.

There are often so many organisations involved in delivering your gas, electricity, phone or internet that a single source of the problem is harder to pin down, making it easier for your provider to pass on responsibility, says Stephen Murray of MoneySuperMarket. He also

points out that companies have to better appreciate how frustrating it is to be without a utility on which customers rely.

But how should you complain without losing the will to live and get results?

1. Record all your calls to your service provider regarding your complaint and take note of the time, date and name of the person, as well as their job title or department. Recording landline calls is easy with a play and record telephone adapter for around £15 from electrical retailers like Maplin. All companies as standard say they record calls for training and quality purposes. There's a good chance you'll be taken more seriously if you point out you're doing the same because the provider will know you have verbal proof. Follow-up each call with an email, including your account number, outlining the matters discussed in the call, specifying how the problem has impacted you (i.e. not being able to make any calls in an emergency or costing you money if it's a billing issue), and how you'd like it resolved. This paper trail is important.

2. Know your rights. Check your provider's customer charter and complaints procedure online, which should include the names and contact details of independent help and advice, such as Citizens Advice. Also read the guidelines in the government's Consumer Rights Bill. Energy providers have to comply with Ofgem's Standard of Conduct (SOC), which covers issues such as missed appointments. Helen Dewdney, author of How To Complain: The Essential Consumer Guide and The Complaining Cow blog, points out that consumers are covered by The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and The Consumer Rights Directive 2013, so it pays to read up on them while presenting your case. If it's an energy supplier, they must resolve the complaint within eight weeks.

3. Don't be put off. It can feel like they just want you to go away, rather than deal with the problem, but be polite and persist, and ask to have the complaint escalated. If they say no manager is available, firmly say you're happy to stay on the line until they're available or out of their 'meeting'. If you're on social media, like Twitter, succinctly outline your complaint tagging the provider's official account. Companies don't like complaints to be seen by a wider audience, so customer service teams on social media tend to be a lot more pro-active. The downside is that you can't 'speak' to them.

4. Go higher. Complain to the company's CEO. Often with a little digging online, you can figure out their direct email address, but also send a recorded letter. But if you feel you're getting nowhere, ask the company to issue a letter of deadlock, then go to the relevant ombudsman. For energy suppliers, it's the Ombudsman Services Energy and for telecom companies, it's either the Ombudsman Services Communications or CISAS, depending on which one your provider is registered with, says Dewdney.

It can feel like a lot of effort for David versus Goliath battle when you have a complaint, but if you know your rights and responsibilities, companies will start to take customers more seriously and work harder to keep them and make amends when things go wrong.



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How To Complain
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