Getting somewhere with AOL - advice needed re. compensation please

RuthnJasper

Evening all,

Having posted here about the five months of absolute hell that AOL have put me through - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2745228= - I have, after following ShammyJack's sage advice, been contacted by someone useful and seemingly able to help.

He is ringing me back on Tuesday next week and has indicated that he would like me to name some amount that I would consider reasonable compensation.

I am not, by nature, a greedy or vindictive person - in fact, it takes a great deal even to get me angry - but, as you'll see if you read my original thread, I have been through five months of hell and near-ruin thanks to AOL's incompetence. In fact, the chap I am in contact with informed me that I have the dubious honour of being the "worst case of incompetence and mishandling he's ever witnessed". Hmmm... lucky me. :think:

Anyway, being neither grasping nor malicious-minded, but having genuinely suffered over this matter, I simply have no idea what amount I should suggest to him. I am being refunded the money that I have lost out on, throughout the whole sorry saga.

I really would appreciate some helpful advice on what a reasonable amount to suggest might be.

Thanks ever so much.

Roo x

RuthnJasper

Oh dear... no-one loves me...:(

Electron_2

Hmmm, there is no easy answer to this. Hopefully you have got a 'diary' of events written down to make the process easier

Well first you have to work out monetary losses you have suffered which is fairly straight forward, ie loss of earnings, cost of phone calls, bank account fees incurred etc.

Claiming for the general damages is harder to define, by this I mean the non-monetary aspects of the specific harm suffered. This is usually termed 'pain, suffering and loss of amenity'. Examples of this include physical or emotional pain and suffering, loss of reputation, loss or impairment of mental or physical capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, etc. This is not easily quantifiable.

A couple of weeks ago a man who had problems with Npower for 3 years, received 15 incorrect electricity bills and had at least 14 visits from debt collectors was awarded £3,000. He estimated that he had spent 300 hours fighting his cause. This should give you a rough idea what figure would be fair, my gut feeling is for 5 months of hell is £350 to settle out of court. But remember you are the expert in this situation and only you can know what the real cost to you has been.

A link to the Npower dispute is here
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/landmark_victory_for_energy_client_who_fought_against_incorrect_bills_1_1163470

Hope this helps and good luck. :kisses3:

PNPSUKNET

I would say £100, they are not going to give you anymore than 6 months equivelent broadband amount

RuthnJasper

Electron and PNPSUKNET: Thank you both SO much for your advice; it's incredibly helpful and I appreciate the time that you've taken to offer it.

Given all the facts and behind-the-scenes shenanigans, coupled with the misery the problem caused, I was kind of thinking in the £200 - £300 area. Electron, thank you for that link - I think I remember hearing an interview with the Npower guy on the radio. I was quite impressed. I'll read the article you recommend.



I don't think the matter will go to court, as AOL have already admitted their incompetence in my particular case. I'll be grateful once the whole mess is sorted out, to be honest.

Very many thanks once again; I'm most grateful. x

kwikbreaks

Consumer ADSL products don't come with any service level agreement and the contracts usually exclude consequential loss. After 5 months of poor service my betting is that they are thinking in terms of a month or two free.

solventsoon

Hi Roo
Have they already refunded the £150 they took from you account and any charges you incurred because of this? If not, that's the first thing to claim.

Next I would think you'd be entitled to a few months of free service for the sheer inconvenience - maybe 4-6 months as a ballpark figure.

Then I think they should give you a sum as a goodwill gesture and as compensation for possible loss of earnings - that's the difficult one to decide on though but I would have thought around £200 would be fair depending on how much you have lost because of the problems, of course.

Hope that helps a bit.
spoon x