CUSTOMER service is in crisis, with complaints and call wait times both soaring.
Every week our Sun Money inbox is inundated by customers who have been fobbed off by a company.
The Financial Ombudsman Service, which resolves disputes between financial firms and customers, received 95,349 complaints in the second half of last year — a 20 per cent increase on the same period in 2022.
Ofcom, which regulates the telecoms industry, also reported a year-on-year rise.
And the energy ombudsman saw an 84 per cent increase in year-on-year complaints too.
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Consumer expert Jane Hawkes, who runs the blog ladyjaney.co.uk, says: “Staff shortages, hybrid working and cost-cutting have all negatively impacted quality of service and products.”
Energy customers typically sat on hold for more than 35 minutes last year, according to a study by Microsoft — far higher than the optimal industry standard of 20 seconds.
Banking customers also face long waits on hold, despite firms shuttering branches and leaving customers reliant on their phone lines and digital services.
Jane says: “Customers do not have time to be hanging around on hold, trying to squeeze in a call during their lunch breaks.
“Long wait times, reduced contact options and the difficulty in trying to get through to a real person are just classic fob-offs to put customers off contacting companies.”
This week, our Consumer Champion Laura Purkess reveals some of the worst examples readers have written in with — and explains how to fight back.
OVERCHARGED BY OVO
Many customers are left frustrated when it comes to contacting their energy provider.
Account executive Shruti Gupta, 22, spent nine months battling with Ovo to get a £1,000 bill reduced before it eventually admitted she only owed £150.
Shruti, from London, received the demand “out of nowhere” for the period September to December 2022, when she had been living with friends in Cardiff.
It said their usage was far higher than the estimated bill readings, even though it didn’t have their actual meter readings.
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Shruti and her housemates rang Ovo “every day” before the supplier finally recalculated their actual meter readings and found they only owed £150.
Shruti says: “We took it in turns to call and we’d just get passed around, spending hours repeatedly explaining the issue.”
She took the case to the Energy Ombudsman, which ordered Ovo to pay an extra £100 compensation.
Ovo said: “We apologised to Ms Gupta for the inconvenience and provided a goodwill gesture.
“The issue was resolved in September 2023.”
BROKEN BROADBAND
Ironically, telecoms firms are often very poor at communicating with our readers.
Mum-of-one Lorraine Thurman, 54, spent hours on the phone in tears to BT after her broadband cut out for three weeks.
Two BT engineers left without fixing the problem and a new Smart Hub also failed to fix it.
Lorraine, from Rothwell, Northants, says: “I couldn’t get anybody to take me seriously.”
When Sun Money contacted BT, it sent out an engineer who checked things more thoroughly and he found a fault in the main junction box in the street.
BT paid Lorraine £350 in compensation, but she has now switched to TalkTalk.
RUN-AROUND BY FORD
General engineering manager Chris Wilkins was battling to get his car back from Ford for five months before we stepped in.
In December last year, Chris, 44, from Waterlooville, Hants, had his 2015 Ford Mondeo recalled over a safety issue with its driver’s airbag.
He took it to his nearest garage, Hendy Ford in Portsmouth, for a repair that should have taken half an hour.
But the safety check spiralled into a five-month saga after the mechanic found a problem with the car’s steering rack.
Chris was told it would take seven days, but the date was repeatedly pushed back until we intervened.
Then the dealership miraculously found the required part and Chris will finally pick up his motor this weekend.
A Ford spokesman said: “We’ve contacted the customer and advised them we were escalating this with our internal parts team.”
HOW TO FIGHT BACK
If you have a complaint, contact the company first.
If you call and are on hold for a long time, try other avenues, such as its social media or the live chat function on its website.
Keep a note of names, dates and times of any correspondence you have with the company.
Write a brief summary of your issue, too.
If the company makes any promises over the phone, follow up in writing as soon as possible confirming what was said.
If the company does not resolve your issue, check to see if there is an ombudsman you can appeal to for help.
For complaints about financial companies, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
You must complain to the company first and if they don't respond within eight weeks or you're not happy with the outcome, then you can escalate it to the FOS.
Start a complaint by visiting financial-ombudsman.org.uk/make-complaint.
For energy complaints, it's the Energy Ombudsman.
For retail disputes, try an Alternative Dispute Resolution Service like Resolver.
Disputes expert Scott Dixon, of The Complaints Resolver, added:
"Most complaints fall under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where goods and services sold must be fit for purpose, as described, satisfactory quality and last a reasonable length of time.
"Perseverance breaks resistance every time. Stick to your guns and don't be fobbed off."
