Great 'Who Pays Compensation If You Ask?' Hunt

MSE_Martin

While filming Make Me Rich, one customer had had a gas bill mess up. As part of the programme when going through her bills, I asked her to call them to sort it, and while doing so said 'ask for compensation for the time and trouble it's caused, as it's their fault'.

Much to her surprise they offered £20, not much but a welcome boost. So which other standard companies, whether utility or not, have offered you compensation if you've asked for it when something's gone wrong and how much?

Click reply to let everyone know your successes (or not)

bulchy

I've been having problems trying to sort out my electricity bill with NPower, and eventually got to speak to a manager, who said I should be entitled to compensation for the inconvenience, I didnt even have to ask, however, the department he told me to contact, when I spoke to the supervisor said I would only be entitled to £20, not the £80 to £90 the manager had quoted. I'm still waiting for written confirmation on this, but will keep you informed.
Sue

chugalug

Not had any problems with my own accounts but I do deal with my mothers. Southern Electric happily paid me the £20 I requested for taking the time and trouble to sort out their mistakes.

payless

Just got £50 from Powergen as a goodwill payment for my in-laws for Powergen not collecting the right DD for last 2 yrs ( was not really expecting that much, but she said what are you looking for, so I asked and she said OK !- that said they aren't the cheapest , so likely paid over £50 more in that time anyway.

Usually fine Orange add a small credit on if you have a billing error
Talktalk have been fair in past also

BT Mobile & 02 at compliant stage

That said would rather they get it right in first place

eposmike

British Gas paid me £20 when the incorrectly moved my gas and electricity to them instead of my next door neigbour. They said they didn't usually do it but I acted indignant and a cheque arrived about two weeks later. I am happily back with my much, much cheaper fixed price Scottish Power until the end of the year.

mrkester

a few months back, i was due to have Telewest engineers come and install broadband downstairs at my house (it was upstairs). I had to wait in from 8AM - 630PM and they were supposed to be coming @ 1130AM approx.They eventually came about 630PM I complained, explained my side of the story, and refused to pay the £75 charge they had asked for. It had already been added onto my latest statement, but the nice lady said that on the next statement, there would be a refund. there was:j :j

MrsP72

Not a utilities company but here goes:
I found my OH a new credit card with HSBC to transfer the balance for 0% no transfer fee. Due to some poor information we were given by one of their operatives, we ended up paying interest on the other card, something we hadn't done before.
I drafted a letter for him, raising attention to the 'training need', but didn't expect anything, as we were stoozing. To my surprise, their customer services agreed to reimburse us the interest, c£80! Excellent customer services.

stuzhunter

I was offered Telewest Off-Peak caller when I joined Telewest. With off-peak caller I am supposed to pay only 6p for any evening local & national calls during the week. Telewest failed to activate the off-peak caller on my account for 2 months. I complained & asked for compensation. I've been offered £20 compensation. I actually spent less than £1 on evening calls during that time.

Do not ever hesitate to complain but complain wisely.

basmiles

As a 'professional' complainer I bring in around £600 a month from complaints. I travel a lot for work so a great deal of these relate to airlines and hotels. I've just had a refund of £650 from Hilton for a poor stay with many errors, £250 from a US hotel for an error in the rate a couple of weeks ago, £270 for a security alert in another US hotel a few weeks before that. On airlines I've had a free upgrade to first with BA due to their catering dispute, a free trip on Concorde - bought with 100,000 BA miles I was given due to a previous problem. I've scored over £500 from my bank in the last year for mistakes, my Amex Platinum annual fee (£275) has been waived. Most of my clothes are bought by insurance or airline compensation for delayed luggage - always look for complicated and tight airline connections. I'm currently in dispute with a credit card company and a mobile phone company. I would expect at least £100 in compensation from each.

Of course I also play the free balance transfer game investing the money in an ISA and high paying deposit accounts and use a cashback credit card. I'm also a seriel collector of Tesco extra points - I now have enough for my £1,500 watch from Goldsmiths (£375 of Tesco vouchers).

I've kept a record for most of this year and have received around £5,000 in cash or cash equivalent benefits from complaints and careful use of offers.

basmiles

stuzhunter

I bought a laptop from Dell & I specifically asked for a fax modem. Dell charged me the full price but failed to install the modem. I complained actively & Dell offered me £50 compensation. I refused the £50 compensation & asked for £75 instead. Dell has now agreed to compensate me for £75. The price of the modem is about £31!

Do not ever hesitate to complain but complain wisely.

stuzhunter

basmiles wrote:

As a 'professional' complainer I bring in around £600 a month from complaints. I travel a lot for work so a great deal of these relate to airlines and hotels. I've just had a refund of £650 from Hilton for a poor stay with many errors, £250 from a US hotel for an error in the rate a couple of weeks ago, £270 for a security alert in another US hotel a few weeks before that. On airlines I've had a free upgrade to first with BA due to their catering dispute, a free trip on Concorde - bought with 100,000 BA miles I was given due to a previous problem. I've scored over £500 from my bank in the last year for mistakes, my Amex Platinum annual fee (£275) has been waived. Most of my clothes are bought by insurance or airline compensation for delayed luggage - always look for complicated and tight airline connections. I'm currently in dispute with a credit card company and a mobile phone company. I would expect at least £100 in compensation from each.

Of course I also play the free balance transfer game investing the money in an ISA and high paying deposit accounts and use a cashback credit card. I'm also a seriel collector of Tesco extra points - I now have enough for my £1,500 watch from Goldsmiths (£375 of Tesco vouchers).

I've kept a record for most of this year and have received around £5,000 in cash or cash equivalent benefits from complaints and careful use of offers.

basmiles

pretty impressive basmiles. I am hoping to reach this 'professional' status soon.