CitizenCard warning.

Sunblind_Duck

My wife recently paid £15 for a citizen card, which gave the impression that it was acceptable everywhere as proof of ID. However, when she tried to use it at her branch of Natwest, they would not accept it, saying it was company policy. My wife then tried to contact Citizencard via their website, and was unable to do so, as her email address was not on their database, this in spite of the fact that the address had been used throughout the signing-up process.
I then went onto the Citizencard facebook page and registered a complaint. This was removed almost immediately. I then posted a further complaint, again instantly removed, and discovered I had been blocked from making further posts. I am now in a situation where I am totally unable to complain. I feel that this card was sold without limitations being explained. There is no contact phone number, by the way.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance.

wealdroam

Sunblind_Duck wrote: »

I am now in a situation where I am totally unable to complain.

That is a little bit of an exaggeration.

At the bottom of every page on their website you will see an address:

Sunblind_Duck wrote: »

I feel that this card was sold without limitations being explained.

I've had a quick glance, but I can see no mention of any bank accepting the Citizen Card.
I think it is unrealistic to expect them to list every establishment that doesn't accept the card.




Here is a short extract from their T&Cs:

10.3 The Card contains a PASS hologram which means that it is endorsed as a valid form of ID and proof of age by the government, police and trading standards. All national retail trade associations (together representing most of the shops, supermarkets, pubs and clubs in the UK) and most domestic UK airlines recognise the Card as valid ID and proof of age. Ryanair does not accept CitizenCard or any other ID apart from Government-issued ID.

However, no guarantee can be given that a particular premise, or individual working at that premise, will acknowledge and/or accept the Card as valid ID or proof of age.

10.4 The Company is in no way liable for non-acceptance of a Card under any circumstances. A lawful holder of a Card must therefore satisfy themselves that a premise at which they intend to use their Card will acknowledge and accept the Card as valid ID and proof of age.

10.5 Under no circumstances will The Company entertain requests for refunded payments in instances where a Card is refused. Payments to CitizenCard are made to cover the cost of the Application Processing and Validation Service, not for the Card itself which remains at all times the legal property of The Company.

And another pertinent extract:

13.2 If you wish to complain about something please email complaint@citizencard.com or write to:

Complaints, CitizenCard, 36 Bromells Road, London, SW4 0BG.

13.3 If you remain dissatisfied write to:

The Chief Executive, CitizenCard, 36 Bromells Road, London, SW4 0BG.

13.4 If you wish to refer your grievance to a third party please contact your local trading standards department or Citizens Advice.

Sunblind_Duck

Thanks, but I wanted to contact them by phone, so why don't they have a phone number on the site? And why, instead of addressing my concerns, did they delete my posts and ban me? This is not the way reputable companies behave. Naturally, they only have glowing praise on their facebook page. Criticism is not allowed. And why was my wife not able to access the customer service page, instead receiving a message that her email address is not on record? There was no problem when she was ordering the card. Overall they give the impression that the card will satisfy ID checks wherever it is shown. In fact, it is a glorified 'proof of age' card, and, in fact, that is printed on the card. Also, they are very keen on bringing the use of Police and SIA approval to the notice of potential users. But, mainly, I would like to know why they don't seem to want to help people who have subscribed.

wealdroam

Sunblind_Duck wrote: »

Thanks, but I wanted to contact them by phone, so why don't they have a phone number on the site? And why, instead of addressing my concerns, did they delete my posts and ban me? This is not the way reputable companies behave. Naturally, they only have glowing praise on their facebook page. Criticism is not allowed. And why was my wife not able to access the customer service page, instead receiving a message that her email address is not on record? There was no problem when she was ordering the card. Overall they give the impression that the card will satisfy ID checks wherever it is shown. In fact, it is a glorified 'proof of age' card, and, in fact, that is printed on the card. Also, they are very keen on bringing the use of Police and SIA approval to the notice of potential users. But, mainly, I would like to know why they don't want to help people who have subscribed.

All very reasonable questions... and people on this forum can only guess at the answers.

If it's too much effort to right a real letter, then sadly those questions may remain unanswered. Of course that may be one of the reasons they act as they do.

If I were you I would keep the card and just learn the restrictions as you come across them.

I am not sure why everyone expects companies to allow the publication of criticism on their websites (I include facebook, twitter, etc. as 'their websites'), but it does seem upset customers expect this.

Edited to add:

They do have the answer to your first question:

Why isn't there a CitizenCard customer support phone number?

Our aim is to give you the best value proof of age/photo ID card available. We don't have an expensive callcentre, instead we offer customer care by email.

It is best that all conversations are kept to emails so that we both have a record of any correspondence - this allows us to reference your application or card membership in more detail and to deal with your queries quickly.

Sunblind_Duck

'It is best that all conversations are kept to emails so that we both have a record of any correspondence - this allows us to reference your application or card membership in more detail and to deal with your queries quickly'.

All very well saying contact us by email, but as I said, when I attempted to do so, I was told that my wife's email address was not related to any account. This was inaccurate, but it prevented me from lodging a complaint by their 'preferred method' as I was unable to access the help facility. I have a feeling that I have been given the runaround. How can they lose an email address? They are very elusive, and it seems to me that they want to make contacting them as difficult as possible.

wealdroam

Sunblind_Duck wrote: »

All very well saying contact us by email, but as I said, when I attempted to do so, I was told that my wife's email address was not related to any account.

Was that when using complaint@citizencard.com?

There are three email addresses mentioned in their T&Cs. Which ones have you tried?