Asda Complaint

Typical my daughter went hungry read on:
Firstly, i'd like to say that I have been a loyal Asda customer for over 10 years. I spend over 52 per cent of my annual income (£3273) in my local north Watford store. I am a single parent of a child aged 14 and a son of 20 who live at home. Over the years I have been an enthusiastic supporter of your store recommending them to many friends and family. In all my ten years of shopping at Asda I have never had cause to complain and the staff on the whole have been helpful and friendly. I did have cause to complain on Thursday 13/12 and, given my previous experience, was in turn shocked, humiliated and angry at the way I was dealt with by a number of staff including the Duty manager "Gary" (no surname as it is the policy of this Asda store not to give out surnames - Liam Birmingham informed me there is only one Gary)
The Security manager Vicky
The customer service manager Sue
Security guard Riz.

Before leaving for Asda I phoned my bank and confirmed that my available credit was £17.45. It was my intention to go to Asda to make a small purchase and obtain £10 cashback. I arrived at the store at approx. 2.45 p.m. went to the cigarette counter bought some tic tacs for 40 pence and asked for £10 cashback. At some point after entering my security pin code the transaction was somehow cancelled. Having encountered some problems with the card readers at the kiosk previously I asked the colleague if I could make the same transacation at a different terminal. This time my card issuer denied the transaction. I tried again at the self service area and again my card issuer denied the transaction. I was now concerned that my account had somehow been wrongly debited and that I would not have money to buy food for the evening meal and for breakfast the following morning. I phoned my bank and ascertained my account had been debited or appeared to have been debited a total of £10.80 (the first attempt to buy tic tacs and obtain cashback and the 2nd purchase of tic tacs) the colleague assured me that Asda had not taken the £10 from my account merely the 80 pence for the tic tacs and indeed this is what the til receipt appeared to confirm. I tried to explain that whilst that APPEARED to be the case the actual reality was that I now could not obtain access to the £10 I was intending to use to purchase food. At this point I become upset and in a raised voice asked her to call the manager. The colleague then disappeared behind the desk and appeared to be on the phone. A security guard, Riz, had now arrived. He intruded my personal space, and being intimidated I had to ask him to stand back - I explained to him that I merely wished to see a Manager. Two women appeared, Sue the customer service manager, and another woman who was not wearing a name badge (Liam informed me in a telephone call on 21/12 that this woman was Vicky) . Now surrounded by 5 colleagues confusingly talking at once I tried to explain that whilst it may not have been Asda's total responsibility (I believe the bank also have a responsibility to me as it later turned out), I asked Sue, if Asda had not debited my account of £10 then who had. I got some answers from Sue and Vicky ranging from "the bank has it", "we haven't got it", "it has been earmarked for debit by your bank but hasnt actually been debited" and most confusingly of all from Sue "in limbo". I tried to point out that I didnt really care who had it - one thing was certain I most certainly did not have access to it - that my child would be returning from her long walk home from school, tired and hungry. I had nothing to eat in the house and that I was extremely worried that she would have to go hungry unless something could be done by somebody to try and find out what had happened to the £10.80 I had in my account before I went into Asda and the available balance in my account which was at that moment £6.50. A tall man now appeared who I now know to be Gary the duty service manager, although at the time he refused to give me his name or position due to the Data Protection act. He appeared to have some authority and made the sensible suggestion that this be continued in private (quite a large group of onlookers had formed) I was escorted to the security guards room - I was humiliated as I felt like a shoplifter which is exactly what I supposed I would have looked like to a casual bystander.. In the security office I was asked to sit down whilst Sue, Gary, Vicky and Riz stood over me. Sue now explained to me that my account had merely been "earmarked" for debit by my bank and that the money would be re-credited to my account in 3 to 4 working days. I was obviously clearly upset and angry by this point and told them that none of this was helping my in my current situation, namely, THAT MY DAUGHTER WOULD GO HUNGRY, if I could not get this issue resolved. At this point Gary, clearly having lost his patience with my irksome presence suggested that I should leave the store and "go and sort it out with your bank". Very angry now I left the store informing them all that I would return.

I made the 1.5 mile round trip, in freezing weather, to a Lloyds branch in Garston. I explained the situation to the cashier and she looked at my account she confimed that I had attempted to make two purchases each of £10.40 however the 2nd had failed. Asda had only debited my account for 80 pence. £10 HAD been "earmarked" for debit and that was not available to me to spend. The cashier informed me that if Asda could remove their "earmark" I could then phone Lloyds and they could remove their "earmark". This would involve a short call from firstly Asda and then Lloyds to the 3rd party (paystream I believe) and the money could then be re credited back to my account. I returned to Asda pretty confident that all this could now be sorted out and my daughter would not have to starve.

I returned to the store and asked Riz if he could telephone Gary as I would like to talk to him. For the first time in any of this he asked me for my name. He then, I presume, called Gary and said "we have a Mr. Toss" waiting for you, at this point I repeated my name very loudly and clearly. Gary did not want to see me unless I had a printout from the bank. Riz and another man at the security desk (no name badge) had a short, obviously amusing, conversation during which I think he referred to me in the Asian vernacular as "ben chod" (phonetically spelt).I might have misheard this, although, I have a wide circle of Asian friends and giving that he had already insulted me by calling me Mr. Toss I dont think I did. I was livid and said nothing and made my way to the customer service desk. I was really really concerned now that my daughter would indeed go hungry that night.

Whilst queuing at the customer service desk I luckily caught sight of Sue and after listening to me explaining what my bank had told me she deigned to actually make a very short call to Paystream who informed her that nothing could be done until the following day. Again I explained that I had no money to buy food that evening. She remained totally unconcerned about my circumstances. She told me to return to the store the following day made some comments in the complaints log and informed me that Tracy would deal with me the following day.

I returned home in tears. Luckily I had an egg and 3 slices of bread in the house and Ailsa, my daughter had egg on toast for her evening meal. My son went to a friends for tea and I fasted. She did, however, for the first time in her life leave home in the morning without any breakfast inside her.

I returned to the store the following morning at 9 a.m. I told Beverley on the desk that I was here to see Tracy and that there was information regarding me in the book. Tracy was not to be found so I asked to see a manager. Without any shouting or hassle I was quickly joined by Jameel who I believe was the night manager. He quickly ascertained what the problem was and made the necessary call to Paystream. Finding a more sympathetic ear than I had the previous day I outlined my treatment exactly as above. I told him that I didnt really want to mention the "ben chod" incident (FYI it means go f*** your sister or sister f**cker) as I felt that this was probably a very serious matter and could result in disciplinary action (it would have at any of the companies I've worked at) it is also possible that I did mis hear this as well but regardless of this I dont feel that colleagues should be speaking in a foreign language in front of customers. He appeared as shocked at my treatment, as anybody who has heard what happened has been shocked, and offered me £10 vouchers as a goodwill gesture. This course of action right at the beginning of all this would have saved everybody including me the time and trouble that all this has now taken up. I thanked him for the gesture but informed him that the way I had been dealt with was more important than £10 worth of gift vouchers. I told him that I wanted some answers and he told me to write out a summary of my complaint in the complaint log.

I'd like to say that the service I received from your customer service call center has been outstanding. Jason and Danny were particularly helpful and eventually someone from the store, Liam Birmingham, People Services Manager, contacted me by telephone. He told me he would investigate and get back to me today which he did. He did not answer ANY of my questions during this conversation. He felt I was "patronising" and was "offended" by some of my assertions. I told him that I sympathised with him and being talked to in that fashion is not pleasant and I had exactly the same experience on 13/12, add humiliation a feeling of shame and impotence at not being listened to and he had some idea of my shopping experience that day! Anyway he offered a general apology. The staff concerned, there has been enough time and there are enough of them to have got their stories straight, have obviously been engaged in much !!!! covering and I am sure I am portrayed as some kind of nutter, a habitual complainer or some such other character. Seeing as he would not answer my questions maybe someone at your head office could. I intend to send a copy of this letter to the local paper "The Watford Observer", the BBC consumer affairs programme "Watchdog" and tell anyone who will listen of my treatment. If you dont answer my questions I will take my custom, along with that of my immediate family, and anyone else I can persuade after telling them my story to your rival Tesco store. I intend to ask Tesco how they would have handled my complaint and ask if their press department might like to help me tell my story. I will, literally, walk (I have no car) those extra miles just to avoid being treated like scum.

I would like a written or face to face apology with the members of staff concerned and answers to the following:

1. Do you have CCTV footage of this incident to confirm numbers of personnel involved.
2. Why did nobody initially ask me for my name or any contact details
3.Why was I told by Sue that it would take 3 to 4 working days for the money to be returned to my account. It actually took less than 24 hours after calls by Asda and Lloyds
4. Why was the data protection act invoked in order for staff not to reveal their names to me as if they had something to hide. Is this Asda company policy. Liam said it was company policy in "that store".
5. How should have this issue been dealt with according to company procedures
6. Is it acceptable for Asda colleagues to speak, and unless I misheard insult customers in a foreign language
7. I dread to think what my Christmas would be like if this had happened during my Christmas shop. What procedures will you put in place to prevent this happening to me or other customers in the future.

Regards

The_Stoic wrote: »

Hopefully big organisations will someday soon wake up to the fact that customers can now organise themselves and act collectively using the internet. I have forwarded the letter posted on the forum to the customer services department to be forwarded to the executive and will tell every person I know how I was treated. I will take my £3273 I spent last year at this Asda store and spend it elsewhere. My family and no doubt some of my friends, when they hear how i've been treated, will hopefully boycott them too. I'm going to ask everyone how much they spend at their local store and if they would be willing to switch to a rival grocers. I will then send the total amount of money this company are losing through this one action over ten pounds - a trifling amount to a big corporations making hundreds of million of pounds worth of profit every year. A large slice of this revenue comes from single parents like me on benefits. Be prepared to hit them where it hurts - THE BOTTOM LINE - its all they really care about.

I thought you only spent 52% of that £3273 in asda. To asda though they've annoyed a woman who basically spent 40p. They'll apologise but I doubt they will care that much.

The Stoic,

Please don't take offense, but I can't imagine anyone reading your post to the end. It's way too long and meandering.

If you sent a letter like that to Asda, you're not likely to get anything back except for a standard "We're sorry for the service you received" response.

Edit your letter to include ONLY the relevant facts. Things that seem interesting or vitally important to you are not going to be to other people.
What happened? (clearly, concisely and chronologically).
When did it happen? (what time, what date).
Who was involved? (names and job titles).
What impact did it have on you? (did it cost you money, for example)
What do you want them to do to put things right? (Something reasonable, relative to the situation).
Most importantly, make sure you complain to the person who has the ability to sort your problem out and/or compensate you.

Good luck.