The Complainer

How to Complain by Returning Goods

Jasper Griegson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:53:02 +0000

We have all been there. We have bought an article of clothing and, on inspecting it at home have suddenly realised that it looks very different to how it appeared in the changing room at the shop. Similar scenarios include an item that falls apart within a week of purchase or an unwanted gift. When are you entitled to return goods that you don’t want?

The general rule is that you are not entitled to return goods that have nothing wrong with them. Under English contract law, if you buy something, there is no general principle that entitles you to demand the return of something you simply don’t want.

If something is defective, the opposite applies. If you have bought a dvd player and within a short space of time it ceases to function properly you should reject it as soon as possible and either demand a refund or a replacement. If there is a problem of this kind you should not feel compelled to accept second best such as a credit note. Failure to reject could be regarded as acceptance.

If the goods in question are perfectly fine but you still want to return them you may still have a contractual right to do so if the vendor makes that clear at the time of purchase. Many shops such as Marks & Spencer and Argos operate such a policy and, as long as you adhere to their terms, you can compel them to give you a refund or an exchange. Many online companies operate a similar policy as a matter of necessity – in particular Amazon and most mail order clothes retailers.

Despite all of the above and ignoring the law, what should you do if you simply want to return something you have bought even though you have no legal right to do so? The short answer is that most stores will as a matter of discretion accept back goods for exchange or refund – unless of course their are obvious issues of prior use or hygiene. The reason, and one should never underestimate this, is that reputable retailers want to foster goodwill with their customers. If a particular store behaves well, word will inevitably spread that that that is a store worth dealing with. Companies that aggressively adhere to legal rights do exist but the tend to be ones that compete on the basis of price rather than quality service.

On the whole therefore, if you don’t like something, the best policy is to take it back and test the water – you will generally not be disappointed.

How to Complain about a Builder

Jasper Griegson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:06:33 +0000

Complaints about builders are commonplace. When you engage a builder there are obvious pitfalls: the scope for things going wrong is considerable; your project may often involve large sums of money and the issues are often very emotive and close to your heart – especially if your home is involved. When dealing with difficult builders, these are my top tips.

Prevention is much better than cure so always bear in mind the following: (1) Get a recommendation (2) Ask to see references (3) Ask for a proper contract (4) Involve an architect or structural surveyor if the project is sizeable – if necessary to project manage to works (5) Be very clear about who you are contracting with and what the role of any subcontractor will be.
Subject to the precise terms and specifications of your contract your builder should carry out the work with reasonable skill and care, within a reasonable time at reasonable cost. Be very wary of paying too much money in advance.
If you can, pay for the work with a credit card as this may give you an extra avenue of recourse if the project goes horribly wrong or if the builder becomes bankrupt or insolvent – as sadly happens in too many cases.
If things do go wrong, the first thing you should do is collect together all relevant documents including any guarantees or credit agreements.
If someone has been injured or if you thing a criminal offence may have been committed contact Consumer Direct on 0845-404-0506 and speak to the Buildings Regulations Department at your local authority.
If you cannot resolve the issue easily and the builder is a member of a trade association and see if they will assist with mediation, conciliation or arbitration.
You may well need to bring into play your own independent expert to assess the problems and resolve the issues of cost and repair.
Once you are clear about where you stand you should write a very formal letter to the builder setting out the problems and your required remedy. It may be that at this point your may settle the dispute amicably but if not you will need to sue and in most cases of any complexity you will need a solicitor.
Organisations that assist with complaints about builders include the Architects Registration Board (www.arb.org.uk); the Royal Institute of British Architects (www.architecture.com); the Federation of Master Builders (www.fmb.org.uk) the latter of which offers a warranty

How to Complain about a Bouncer

Jasper Griegson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:56:57 +0000

Imagine the following scenario. You turn up to a club with your friends. You are hoping for an enjoyable evening out. A scuffle takes place outside the club unconnected to you and, quite innocently, you find that you have been hit by an aggressive and overzealous bouncer. You end up in A&E with a broken nose. How do you complain?

The obvious course of action is to complain to the police. This has the advantage of being free. The difficulty in practice is twofold. First, the police will not get you any compensation. Their job is to get people fined or put in prison. Secondly, the police are almost certain to do nothing other than in the most serious of cases. They will regard the whole story with some skepticism and are more often driven by inertia in cases of this kind.

If the establishment in question is half respectable you should write a carefully crafted letter to the owner. My experience of clubs is that their attitude will be similar to that of the police and they will be very defensive. They will take the view that their bouncers are always in the right unless and until the contrary is proven. They will not rush to admit liability.

Accordingly, the only way to force the hand of the club is to sue it in your local county court. The bouncer, as an employee will expose the club to what is called vicarious liability ie. responsibility for the acts of those who do bad things for the company in the course of their employment. The club will not relish litigation for a number of reasons (a) It is time-consuming and expensive to deal with (b) If you limit your claim to £5000 the club cannot recover its legal costs even if it wins so it will be highly motivated to settle (c) The club will not welcome the prospect of adverse publicity which your local paper will doubtless seize upon.

Another course of action is to report the club to those in charge of licensing it at your local authority. If you couple a complaint of this kind with an action in the small claims court that may well be enough to encourage the club into an early settlement agreement.

How to Complain about a Barking Dog

Jasper Griegson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:52:44 +0000

It is perfectly natural for dogs to bark and all of us have a degree of tolerance about noises coming from our neighbours’ property. Loud music, noisy lawnmowers and the like can all be similar irritants of course but what about dogs? What should you do if your neighbours howling hound never ceases its actvity? These are my top tips.

You should obvious start to resolve the complaint in a civilised matter with a cosy chat with your neighbour. Make sure that you drop by at an opportune moment and do not wade in with a hugely aggressive approach to the problem.
Turn up with a peace offering to set the tone of the meeting – a dog chew or something similar would be ideal. This immediately demonstrates that you are reasonable and want a sensibly negotiated outcome.
Offer obvious practical suggestions such as a dog door that allows the dog more access indoors. There are also devices such as special collars that spray water when the dog barks – dogs can be trained out of barking incessantly.
Give your neighbour a bit of latitude after your first complaint. It may take time to re-train the dog or make other changes. An agreed solution is infinitely better than the opposite.
If nothing changes you can of course report the matter to the department in charge of noise abatement at your local council. They can serve a statutory notice on your neighbour which carries the force of law.
If the dog in question is barking because it is chained up for long periods of time or is being abused or maltreated in some way then you should report the case to the RSPCA who in some cases can intervene. In extreme cases you should obviously report the matter to the police who also have statutory powers to intervene.
Another extreme solution is legal action but this has many drawer-backs – it is expensive, uncertain and may simply lead to an ugly war of attrition with your neighbour. This can lead to all sorts of unpleasantness and there are cases of such disputes becoming malicious in the extreme. Complaints involving neighbours are very sensitive and should be approached with the dire consequences of a protracted battle being borne in mind.

How to Complain About a Bad Haircut

Jasper Griegson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:47:14 +0000

Question: What is the difference between a good haircut and a bad one?
Answer: about two weeks.

A man will perhaps typically be less bothered about a disaster at the barbers shop than a woman who has paid a prince’s ransom for the hairdo of her dreams. In any event however, anyone who has suffered badly at the hands of a hairdresser feels rightly aggrieved. If you pay good money and emerge from the salon looking like a scarecrow you feel hard done by having parted company with your hard-earned cash.
The difficult thing about a bad hair-cut complaint is twofold (i) the issue of what constitutes a bad hair-cut can be very subjective indeed and (ii) the relationship between you and the person who has cut your hair is very much a one-to-one and your complaint is personal.
So what can you do if it all goes horribly wrong? This is one type of complaint where, contrary to my general advice, you have to complain there and then on the spot. Although you won’t think of it in legal terms, the arrangement between you and your stylist is a contractual one. If the stylist fails to cut straight, fails to adhere to your instructions or, on any view, turns your mop into the hair equivalent of a car crash, then you should refuse to pay. This is your contractual right. Be polite, give your name and address but withhold payment – if you fail to be transparent you could commit a criminal offence – so be careful. In theory you could claim damages for the cost of putting the defective handiwork right and for the embarrassment/inconvenience but this will be difficult.
If the shop in question is part of a large chain then you could right to the head office or if you have been a long-standing customer then you should trade off the value of your future custom if you believe that the hair-cut from hell was an extraordinary departure from the salon’s normal high standards. It is possible to imagine circumstances in which the problem was so so bad that the complaint would warrant an claim in the small claims court – a calamity just before a wedding or one involving personal injury but in truth that would be a remedy of last resort.
One final word on the subject. If you chose the bad-haircut, be it a mullet or a pink punk creation – don’t complain, get a life instead.

How to Complain about Flights

Jasper Griegson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:36:36 +0000

The days of glamorous air travel are long since over. Flight delays, lost luggage and the general struggle of getting through an airport makes the whole concept of flying unappealing. And things do go wrong – so how can you fight back?

The most common complaints concern flight delays. The truth is that your holiday time is immensely precious such that if you lose a day or two through flight disruption, you feel justifiably robbed and monetary compensation never seems quite enough. When an airline sells you a flight, it is bound by contract to take the you to the stated destination but there is no guarantee of arrival time. Within the EU there is a tariff of compensation depending on the length of the flight and the period of delay save in exceptional circumstances. My simple advice is to “go for it” whatever the delay and see what happens.
Your first port of call with any air travel complaint should be with your travel insurer. Policies vary widely and needless to say there are lots of exclusions but anyone travelling should have cover to deal with such issues as delays and lost luggage. Keep careful notes about everything that happens and hold on to relevant receipts so that formulating your claim is easy. Do bear in mind that airlines only have to provide nominal damages for lost luggage and the do so on the basis of weight – a lost case containing rags will be assessed in the same way as a bag of designed clothes and the amount given is feeble.
If a problem arises during the flight procedure then action you are best advised to act immediately – at least to put down a marker. Whilst on the plane, the issue should be raised with the cabin crew and, if necessary, a complaint form requested. Whilst in the airport, complaints should be taken up with an airline representative. If neither of these options provides an adequate response (which is often quite likely) then a formal complaint letter should be addressed to the airline at a high level. Alternatively if the complaint relates to a scheduled flight then it can be referred to the Air Transport Users Council (AUC).
Complaints relating to charter flights should be taken up directly with the tour operator because you have a contract with them and not the charter airline. Reputable tour operators and travel agents are often members of the trade bodies, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) and if a travel complaint remains unresolved then it should be taken up with the appropriate organisation.

How to Complain about HS2

Jasper Griegson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:34:42 +0000

Over the centuries there has been a tradition in this country of peaceful protest in the name of a good cause. Although we do not have a written constitution like the United States we have a long tradition of upholding the right to free speech. Before the Internet the methods open to people who wanted to complain about something were somewhat more limited although sometimes very effective. A shining example of a modern protest is the campaign against the proposed high speed rail link that is planned to connect London to Birmingham at supersonic speeds, sometimes referred to as HS2. There are several politicians in favour of it and a committee of them has been set up to supposedly take soundings and gauge public opinion. If you are opposed to HS2, what is the best way to complain.

If you prefer snail mail you should start by writing to your MP. His or her name can easily be found by going to: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/.
If you feel very strongly you can make an appointment to speak to your MP at his or her surgery to explain your concern – this will obviously be especially pertinent if your constituency is in one of the affected areas.
It also would not be a bad idea to write to the Prime Minister and a few members of the cabinet. Never be afraid to go to the top.
If you want some rich sources of information go to the some of the websites that are in areas likely to be affected by HS2. One example of this is the Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre whose website www.hoac.net lists some excellent resources for information and protest.
www.stophs.org is a more mainstream website for the campaign and you can also sign up to an anti HS2 petition on www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-hs2.html.
If you are keen on a more DIY approach another option is to write to or email all of the relevant MPs yourself. The key plays are (1) Philip Hammond – Secretary of State for Transport (2)Theresa Villiers – Minister of State for Transport (3) Norman Baker – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport and (4) the relevant Transport Committee Members – Louise Ellman; Steve Baker; Tom Harris; Julie Hilling; Kelvin Hopkins; Kwasi Kwarteng; John Leech; Paul Maynard; Gavin Shuker; Iain Stewart; Julian Sturdy.

How to Complain About Jobsworthism

Jasper Griegson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:33:45 +0000

There are a number of things in life that irritate me intensely. The inability of the England football team to take penalties, deafening television adverts and London Underground all blight my life to a degree but there is one thing that I simply cannot abide under any circumstances: the Great British Jobsworth.

I guess that other countries have the equivalent. I do not know the Dutch or Japanese phraseology for “It’s more than my job’s worth” but I assume that the notion is not confined to these shores. I can imagine that the Germans and the Swiss have one or two rigidly-minded officials who adhere to the rules (as interpreted by them) without even a passing consideration of what common sense might tell them. Regrettably there are some people in this country who would leave even the most officious teutonic jobsworth in the shade.
The most striking feature of a jobsworth’s behaviour is their capacity to swear blind allegiance to a set of principles that they do not understand but which they will willingly misinterpret – often with a misguided sense of political correctness. Let me give you a good example. Last week I wrote to a mobile phone company on behalf of a client. I am a solicitor and I wrote on my firm’s headed-notepaper so you might imagine that this would have produced a sensible response. The reply I received was that the company could not reply to me because of “Data Protection”. This was of course utter nonsense – I was duly authorised to write the letter and why on earth would a solicitor be doing otherwise? Notwithstanding my normal rule which is to avoid sarcasm, I have written back asking the person to specify which Section of the Data Protection Act 1998 (as amended) I may have transgressed. ”Data Protection” like “Health and Safety” have become the haven of imbeciles who refer to these terms with gay abandon – largely in order to make their lives easier and ours more complicated.
Effective complaining is about breaking down barriers and not being palmed off with the hot air and hogwash that all of us encounter far too often. Do not tolerate clap-trap of this kind. The best way to do this is to go over the heads of the jobsworth minions – the organ grinders rather than the monkeys usually display far more genuine concern than those who hide behind fictitious rule-books and regulations. I would love to think that the next government will pass a law that reintroduces the death penalty for jobsworths. Sadly I fear that we live in a country where the very opposite will happen.

How to Complain About Noise

Jasper Griegson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:28:02 +0000

One of the forgotten heroes of English legal history was a man called John Connell OBE. You are unlikely to have ever heard of him. More than 50 years ago he formed what sounds like one of the quaintest English organisations to have ever come into being – the Noise Abatement Society. This wonderful manifestation, created no doubt by huge collective irritation, still exists today. One of its great achievement was to have nuisance recognised as a statutory tort – in other words creating a law under which, in some cases, you can sue when you ears have been bombarded by an excess of decibels.

As I get older and grumpier I am becoming increasingly frustrated at the way that we are constantly deluged with a din in situations where it is totally unnecessary and avoidable. To me a noisy pub is as bad as a smoke-filled one – why do I have to endure a selection of rowdy musak when trying to enjoy a pint of bitter? I am not alone in gravitating towards music-free watering holes and noisy pubs are not the only places at which those present have their lug-holes tortured. Last Saturday I attended a youth sailing event in the Docklands area of London in which my son was competing. The sun was shining, spirits were high and there was a great atmosphere save for one thing – a DJ who was to determined to blast everyone present with 12 hours of loud music. It was wholly unnecessary. I regarded it as nothing less than pollution.
What can you do about noise? On a microcosmic level you can do a lot when your neighbour starts up his lawnmower at 7am on a Sunday morning – complain directly, involve the environmental officer at your local counsel or in extreme cases – sue. Also, on a minor level, you can at least educate your children about the perils of listening to an excess of ipod intake day and night – I wonder what state their hearing will be in in 30 years time? Much harder are the problems that besiege us all – traffic, low flying aircraft, developers building a block of flats near-by and so on. What you can do is to lobby your MP, involve your local authority in cases where you and others have a group gripe and last but not least you can make a donation to the Noise Abatement Society – see www.noiseabatementsociety.com for details. Go for it.

How to Complain About Nuisance Telephone Calls

Jasper Griegson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:26:47 +0000

Nuisance telephone calls are deeply distressing. They come in differents forms but in many cases amount to a form of harassment that can cause great upset.

On the one hand there are phone hoaxers who simply make abusive or revolting calls as a result of their own psychological inadequacy. Their acts constitute a criminal offence under the Prevention From Harrassment Act 1997 which also gives rise to civil law remedies. In extreme cases there is no question that your best form of complaint is to the police who ought to take reasonable steps to assist. At the other end of the spectrum are nuisance marketing calls which, at the very least are extremely annoying. Some are automated and the more sophisticated ones come from abroad which makes them more of a challenge to block. What can you do?
If you want to complain you need to gather up your evidence. When the call is made make a note of the date and time, the incoming call number (if your system displays this) the nature of the call and its duration. All of this information will be critical to the police if they can pursue the hoaxer or to BT if they are able to trace and put a block on the caller.
In order to get BT to help you need to be pushy. There is a helpline that gives general advice (telephone 0800 661441) but they will not do anything. A better port of call is the BT Nuisance Call Bureau telephone 0800-411422) (office hours 8:30 until 5:00 Monday to Friday). If the hoaxer puts 141 in front of his number to disguise his identity (which results in a caller withheld display) the call can still be traced although BT do not readily admit this. If the hoaxer is sloppy he may not dial 141 in front of his number in which case you should simply dial 1471 to discover this.
As an aside, be very wary of any nuisance marketing call that demand you call back. If you do so you may well find that your return call is charged at a horribly high premium rate. There are similar scams operating in emails and in hard copy fake invoices that invite the recipient to call a “helpline”. When you do so you later discover that your call was charged at £5 per minute. Not nice.