One of my non-communications suppliers apparently found a creative way to manage its cash flow: take extra cash from its consumers.
Last month, I received an extraordinary bill from the supplier. They had charged me a the equivalent of two full years in advance on my maintenance plans. When I called to inquire, I was told that credits were being applied – don’t worry, they will show up as a credit on next month’s bill. However, in the meantime, the full amount was deducted from my bank account.
So I was supposed to have a credit balance for $772.44 sitting on my account, that they get to use instead of me. I was told that the company doesn’t issue refund cheques and they don’t pay interest.
Of course, that was before they ran this on me.
The best line was from their outsourced executive support centre telling me that this isn’t really cash out of my pocket, because there is a credit on my account.
No ombudsperson. No Commissioner of Complaints to go to. Telecom consumers have a variety of means to seek recourse; this company doesn’t seem to answer to anyone. I had money grabbed from my account and I was told I had no recourse. Their CFO had found a cheap line of credit – take the money from the consumers.
Instead, I searched the company website until I found a real name and phone number – and told my story to the head of media relations. I started off with a line like “I guess you folks are having some financial problems, eh?” and that seemed to get his attention.
Media relations triggered a call from the real executive offices who agreed that they should be couriering a refund cheque to me.
It shouldn’t have been that hard. Of course, with the cool and rainy summer we are having so far, I may have had more cottage time available for research in customer service methodologies.