Over the past two months my Wife has applied £40 in top ups to her Iphone payg account with Orange. 13 minutes and calls have been used and small amount of internet data up/download. Both top ups promptly disappeared, and there is at present 76p credit left. After 4 call centre calls, a supervisor 'Vinay' promised (on 13.10.12) that the £40 credit would be restored to the phone within 48 hours. I checked today (16.10) and this had not been done. Further calls to the Call Centre were fruitless.The staff seem to refer toa script of excuses, 'data roaming charges' etc, when the phone has only had UK use, and the data roaming function has not been switched on. The facebook Orange helpers provide pro-forma responses but don't actually do anything. An email to :- [email protected] also provided a fob off response to contact the customer care centre, which I had already done. My wife has received no service for her £40 - there must be a legal issue here - any idea's / advice anyone ?

Thanks.

Your not the first to ask this question (lol)...... If not Spanish then Aldi/Lidl or M&S/Waitrose !!! we'll see. I did wonder how Santander would be effected if the Euro collapsed.

My email to [email protected] did the job ! I received a phone call from the ceo's office at 10am yesterday promising and explanation and further phone call by 11am which happened. The outcome was that epting a staff member had made an input error (one of several) while adding my wifes details to my account, and had not ticked a box to show that my wife required the same overdraft ! The computer then 'thought' that no o/d was required on the account and so it 'fell off''. When the o/d was re-applied for, the request was forwarded to underwriters who make all lending decisions. One standing order was stopped and then re-presented. The overdraft was re-instated yesterday and the s/o paid. Santander wrote to the creditor informing of their error and accepting responsibilty for any charges. To be fair, once the ceo's office was involved, this matter was dealt with very quickly and efficiently. I must say however, that the service from the Branch staff and call centre was ineffective. They seem to be severely restricted in what they can do, and who they are allowed to contact. The call centre staff refused to allow me to speak to their supervisors and I was told that the underwriters could not be contacted by call centre staff or customers. The complaints manager was also unavailable and was not 'customer facing' and I was blocked at every stage. The contact procedure seems to be dealt with in two stages : Stage one is customer call centre and Stage two is the complaints dept. The operators in both departments both seem to be trained to record problems and provide advice, but cannot actually solve and issues. The other issue is the '0844...' rate phone contact line. If you're on the phone for long periods, this will quickly become expensive. Advice - contact [email protected] for a prompt solution. I got the impression that there are problems within this large organisation and that senior management do really care and are trying to improve things - they do have their work cut out ! I was offered £200 compensation and 6 bottles of wine which I duly accepted. Still waiting for my phone bill !! Thanks to all at Cag for your support.

Some links ..... http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/feb/26/santander-britains-worst-bank Just google 'Santander complaints' and take your pick !!

Following online advice from Santander, I visited my local branch today to add my wife to my current account. It had previously been solely in my name and from inception had a £1000 overdraft. We completed some forms and were informed that the account was now in joint names, and my wife would shortly receive a debit card for the account. I specifically asked if my debit card would be valid, or if a new one would be issued. I was told that my card would function as normal, and nothing concerning the account would change. About half an hour later, I tried to use my Santander debit card for a small purchase in a local shop. There should have been £800+ available credit in the account at this point. My card was declined twice. I returned to my branch to find out what was wrong. They were unable to tell me, but could say that no overdraft was now available on my account. They were also unable to contact the Underwriters who would assess if the overdraft could be re-applied to my account !! After several hours of telephone calls to the Santander Call centre and their complaints dept, I was getting nowhere so emailed the CEO of Santander at [email protected]. Some interesting articles in the Guardian and Daily Mail today re. Santander. It appears that Santander are withdrawing overdrafts either with, or without notice, so anyone with a Santander overdraft needs to be aware of their tactics. Branch have promised to phone me tomorrow, so we'll see !!!

For Dell also read 'Alienware' - also based in Eire and awful to deal with. Their policies are not in accordance with the U.K CCA. Buyer Beware.

Alienware are based in Eire, and as such are not subject to U.K consumer regulations. You need to research the relevant Eire law, and possibly E.U legislation. You do not mention how you purchased the item - if a credit card was used, you may be covered by the card company. Good luck, JR

Hi, The block should be insured. Your MA must supply you with a copy of the insurance (by law) if you request it. Sounds like an insurance claim to me. J

Hi All, I've been trying to claim the cost of a faulty computer system (purchased online from a non UK company) using a LTSB credit card. LTSB have done their best to side step the claim, trying to liase with the merchant on my behalf, and trying to delay as much as possible. The Customer Concerns dept (Brighton) are virtually impossible to contact by phone, and all obstacles are placed in your way to make things difficult. I've complained to the FSO, who is now contacting LTSB for a final response. Has anyone issued a MCOL against a bank or CC company for a Sec 75 Claim ? I wondered if it was a contractual breach (for the wording of the MCOL form), and then the cost of defective goods are claimed. Any advice would be gratefully received. With thanks, JR:-x

Hi, Have you contacted the local Trading Standards dept - sometimes a phone call to the dealer can help. Good luck, Jonnie.

Hi, I wonder why the last owner sold this car. Failure of the head gasket at this mileage is unusual. If you contact the servicing Audi dealer (details in service record) they may be able to supply more detailed information on each service, or any reported faults. The service history should be carefully checked to corroborate mileage - the repairs to bearings that you quote is unusual. I would look for indications that this car had problems prior to sale. Failure of the head gasket is generally down to manufacturing defect (faulty seal/gasket) or overheating producing head warping. I would also contact Audi UK and ask if they have seen this problem on this type of engine before. If the leak on the gasket at time of service was minor, then it would be difficult to detect,prior to major failure. Good luck, Jonnie

Hi All, After following the full procedure through to Hearing date allocation (21.6.07), on 5.6.07, I received an offer of full settlement including contractual interest and fees - (Amount £421 Claim no 7QZ17567) from Sechiari, Clark and Mitchell. I did try to settle prior to bundle submission, but SCM said that they were too busy, so bundle was submitted and I waited. Keep the faith. J.:grin:

Hi Patti, It may be an idea to describe the events to-date in a very factual way, in writing.Send one copy to Powergen, and the other to Energywatch.This should hopefully focus Powergen and encourage them to deal with the problem.Energywatch have a website and phone number, so give them a ring.Powergen don't always comply with requests made by Energywatch, so be prepared for this and don't be afraid to escalate to the Ombudsman if needed. Hope this helps. J.

Hi and thanks for the information. The dispute was subsequently dealt with by Energywatch who negotiated settlement with Powergen who refunded the overpaid amount and cancelled an outstanding bill. Escalation to the Ombudsman apparently prompted their action, until that point they were quite obstinate. I would advise any other power consumers to involve energywatch and then escalate to Ombudsman if they want action ! Good luck to all out there taking on these giant faceless corporations !!!! J.