I don’t keep a diary, but if I did then the pages of the past month would have been littered with tales of everyday consumerism – good, bad and ugly. I’m sure you’ll recognise some familiar themes…
Clueless car dealers
I need to change my car soon, so went to test drive a couple of options. When I asked one dealer a few basic questions about the car, he simply started reading the blurb off the manufacturer’s website. Another chap – similarly clueless – accompanied me on the test drive. How do they manage to sell any cars, I wonder?
Rip-off insurance
I received a renewal letter for my boiler cover (I know it’s poor value, but my ageing boiler is starting to struggle…). Spotted the huge premium hike, so called to query it. I didn’t even need to utter the words ‘I’d like to cancel’ before they dropped the price by 60%. 60%! But there was no apology for attempting to take me for a ride…
Terrible trains
Talking of which, my commute on Southeastern and Thameslink trains has been the usual mix of late running, overcrowding and broken seats. Our latest rail survey reveals just what my fellow commuters think of their services. And our Rail Refunds campaign now has more than 40,000 people supporting our super-complaint to make refunds for delayed trains easier.
A happy customer
Popped into Richer Sounds and saw the Which? booklet on ‘Your consumer rights’ at the counter. We worked with Richer Sounds to get these booklets in their shops, so I’m really pleased to see a retailer educating shoppers about their consumer rights, not deflecting them. Crucially, staff knew the products, gave a fair price and great service. Why can’t others do the same?
If you had a 2016 diary (perhaps you do!), would yours be filled with any similar stories to me?