I just wanted to post the following observation from issues I have had with companies over the last few weeks. And yes they were all valid complaints I laid out the facts and you can judge for yourself. I didn’t pursue a resolution but these companies actually reached out to me and resolved the problems.
1. Knoxville Utility Board – Had a $1,000 water bill, posted about it and was contacted by KUB and they reduced my bill by approx 60%! (still can’t explain where all that water went, but I think I know what happened.)
2. Comcast Cable – I had an issue with my service and was ready to cancel after no help and no service for 4 days. A nice rep from Comcast resonded to a tweet I put out on twitter and apologized and credited my account for the inconvenience and I was back up and running.
3. Orkin – After trying to get assistance with a termite all clear letter and getting no help, the Area manager called me to apologize and send me a refund for the fees I paid to another company because Orkin refused to help initially.
I post this to show that even while the economy is tanking, it is really nice to see that some companies are owning up and doing what they can to keep customers and make thing right. I honestly didn’t expect KUB to do anything for me, they are a utility company and you can’t fight them, especially when you sell your house and have no legal right to the house or meter anymore. But they stepped up. As for Comcast and Orkin, two more I didn’t expect to step up but they both did and went beyond my expectations. Big thanks to those three companies!
Now 2 companies that aren’t doing so well.
1. Wells fargo. We had a mortgage with Wells Fargo and our escrow account has a large balance in it still. Wells Fargo is saying it will take them up to 3 weeks to refund the funds in my escrow account. To me this is unacceptable since I have only a small window to make my payment and if I’m late they ding me a percentage of my balance plus add on late fees. I think if a mortgage is paid off wells fargo should have a check cut within 5 business days and in the mail. Why does it take 3 weeks? I can log on now and see my account balance is negative and my loan is paid off.
2. Nationwide insurance. I had home owners insurance with my house but now that I sold it I don’t need it anymore so I cancelled it. We had prepaid a years insurance a few months ago so I am owed a years worth of insurance premiums. Nationwide is even worse then Wells Fargo and says it could take up to 30 days to get the refund. Why is it they can auto-withdraw it from my checking account with 24 hours notice, but yet it takes them 30 days to cut a check and send me my own money back?
With all the technology in the world, refunds to customers should be less then 2 weeks, not 3+. And if it’s auto-withdrawn from your account they should be able to put it back into your account in less then 1 week. If not, they should be required by law to pay you interest on the money. After all it’s in their accounts earning interest, why shouldn’t you get the extra few dollars they are earning off of your own money?
In the end, the power of the internet really is great and companies that actively look for consumer problems are pretty cool. As long as the consumer states the facts and can back up what they say it seems like the consumer can easily be made whole by simply getting the attention of the offending company. Should it have to come down to this? That’s open for debate , but it is a great feeling to have companies working to gain, and keep your business.
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