Entry bubble A Successful Consumer Complaint

By: Jess | September 17, 2009 | Category: General

Woman using wireless Internet

You may remember that a few weeks ago I was having horrible problems with my Internet service so I turned to the Consumer Action Handbook to figure out how to file a complaint. Many of you also commented that after I filed the complaint I should ask my provider to reimburse me for the time I had been without service.

I just wanted to take a quick minute to thank you all for that advice. I did request to be reimbursed for service lost, and my provider agreed. I'm waiting to get my next bill to make sure the credit went through. If it does, I'll be reimbursed for about half the cost of the bill and—for all the trouble they put me through—they also offered to cut my monthly bill in half for the rest of the year.

The company was also quick to respond to the complaint letter I sent to the vice president of customer relations. A very nice woman called me and listened to my problem. Since a technician had just been to my house to fix the problem, she told me to call her if we had problems again and she gave me a direct number and her normal work hours.

When my service dropped less than an hour after the tech had been there, I called her right back and she immediately called a supervisor and got a technician out to solve the problem.

My Internet hasn't been perfect since then, but it's been better and I'm happy that I have a person I can contact directly with future problems.

So thanks to all of you for your great advice and I encourage you to use the resources at ConsumerAction.gov if you ever need them.

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Entry bubble How to file a complaint

By: Jess | September 03, 2009 | Category: Money

customer service agentThis past month my Internet service provider has been the bane of my existence. My service has been fickle, at best. More often than not, it will work for a few hours and then stop. And then I'll spend another hour on the phone with customer service trying to troubleshoot.

They've sent a technician once to fix the problem, and our service worked for a week or two, but then last week it went out again. I wasted more time on hold and talking to very nice and very helpful customer service agents. (That's not sarcasm, the people I spoke with this time around tried to do the best they could.)

But alas, my service still goes out every couple hours and then stays out for several more.

I finally had to file a complaint against the company. I've never had to do that before so I turned to ConsumerAction.gov for advice on what to do.

My first instinct was to call up my Better Business Bureau, but ConsumerAction.gov advised that I try to contact someone higher up at the company first. So I hunted around on the company Web site until I found a contact name and email for the Vice President of customer relations.

Then I followed some of the suggestions from one of the sample complaint letters and read about next steps to take. I decided I'd wait a week before contacting the BBB to see if the company could resolve the problem. Earlier this week I got a phone call from the company telling me they were trying to get the problem fixed as soon as possible and I have another technician coming out this week.

I really hope this solves the whole problem. I hate paying so much for service and then not having it and I'd really rather not have to file a complaint with the BBB.

Have any of you ever had problems with a company that you had to file a complaint against? What was the process like? Was it easy or tough and did you get the results you wanted?

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: complaints   customer   internet   jess   service  

 

Entry bubble Read the Fine Print

By: Nicole | August 29, 2008 | Category: General

Mouse DetectiveHave you ever wondered about the full page of microscopic text that flashes for .02 seconds at the end of a car commercial? Well, the folks behind MousePrint.org certainly have. In fact, they have taken the time to review lots of ads to see what information is hidden in the fine print, and they’re willing to share their discoveries.

The website doesn’t just cover car ads either. Their retail section can keep you up-to-date on which companies are downsizing their products to hide rising costs, and their sweepstakes section can give you the skinny on unlikely giveaways.

If you have a complaint about a misleading advertisement, you should contact the company first. If that doesn’t work, there are steps you can take to resolve the issue.

And while we’re on the topic, I have some fine print to share about myself. I’ve accepted a new position at the Federal Trade Commission. Don’t worry. I will still be hard at work empowering consumers, and I will be leaving you in very capable hands. Our new Friday blogger, Ginger, is sure to keep you on your toes.*


*Nicole cannot be held accountable for Ginger's ability to keep you on your toes. All previous claims from Nicole expire as of August 29, 2008. Sorry, no refunds.

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: ads   advertisements   cars   claims   complaints   consumer   nicole   retail   shopping   sweepstakes  

 

Entry bubble Hotel Hygiene

By: Jake | November 19, 2007 | Category: Health

I go to Philly, I get sick. I go to San Diego, I get sick. Long story short, I travel, stay in a hotel, and I come home ill. I thought I was wearing myself down on the trips and the headache, sore throat and stomach ache were just the hometown allergens welcoming me home. That was until a friend sent me this blog post from the Consumerist.

The video is down now, but if you were to watch it you'd see sights scarier than anything you saw on Halloween. The hidden video camera investigation shows hotel maids in all five different hotels of five different chains in Atlanta rinsing and wiping glasses dry (sometimes with dirty bath towels and in one case wearing cleaning gloves they used to clean the toilet) and putting them out for the next guest.

The experts in the news report maintained that this is a serious health code violation since, of course, dirty glasses spread disease. Most of us don't pack glasses when we travel. Generally, I buy a gallon of water and other drinks and use glasses and ice in the hotel. I'd rather not buy dishwashing liquid and do dishes while on a trip, so from now on I'll just get smaller bottle drinks to be safe.

To be fair this could be an incident isolated to Atlanta and the rest of the nation's hotels put their glasses through a dishwasher--twice. But if you are like me, you see it was five different hotel chains and you can’t help but wonder.

If you stay in a hotel and suspect or see a hygiene problem, you should file a complaint with the hotel. If you are unsatisfied with how your complaint is handled or you see evidence of a larger problem, you should speak with the local health department. You can find local health departments by visiting the state health department website where the hotel is located.

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: complaints   department   health   hotel   hotels   hygiene