tales archive2
Consumer Tale - Wallet Defect
SITUATION:
A few years ago, I purchased a Louis Vitton wallet. In the past year, a separator flap inside the wallet's dollar bill section started to lose its finish. The rest of the wallet was still in perfect condition. So, a few weeks ago, when I was downtown shopping with my wife, I decided to pop into the Louis Vitton shop.
ACTION TAKEN:
I asked to speak to the store manager. I told her that the wallet was purchased about five years earlier. She responded that the wallet was no longer under warranty. She then advised that the wallet would have to be sent away, in order to obtain an estimate for the required repair. She advised that the estimate and repair process would take at least eight weeks or more. I told her this was not acceptable and so she decided to take a picture of the defect with a digital camera, so she could send it to the repair center.
I followed up twice in the following week. Finally, six days later, the manager advised that the repair would be done for free, but she would need my wallet for at least eight weeks, etc. I told her again that this was not acceptable. I mentioned that a wallet of this quality was not supposed to react so poorly to normal wear and tear, in only a few years. Also, I was unwilling to be without a wallet for the repair period she indicated, which clearly was totally unreasonable.
I was persistent and insisted that I wanted a new wallet. I told her that I was prepared to call the Louis Vitton head office in France, if necessary, to pursue the matter.
RESULT:
Later the same day, the manager called me back to advise me that she had received permission to exchange my wallet for a new one. I went downtown the next day, gave the manager my defective wallet, and received a new wallet.
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Consumer Tale - Delta Flight
SITUATION:
A few years ago, my friend and I were flying from Montreal to Cincinnati on a Delta airlines flight, on our way to the Breeders Cup Thoroughbred Racing Championships at Churchill Downs, in Kentucky. Our flight was scheduled to leave on a Friday morning at 9:30 am. We arrived at the airport at 8:00 am, only to be advised that our flight, which had been re-scheduled a day or two prior, had, in fact, left earlier the same morning at 7:30 am.
Obviously we were quite upset. Especially, as a Delta representative informed us that all passengers were supposedly notified regarding the flight time change a few days ago. We told the representative that no one from Delta had ever called us.
We ended up with a flight leaving Montreal for Toronto later that day, with a connecting flight from Toronto to Cincinnati. Unfortunately, this change to our itinerary, coupled with weather delays in Toronto, resulted in our arrival in Cincinnati in time for a late supper. If we had caught the original re-scheduled 7:30 am direct, non-stop flight out of Montreal, we would have arrived in Cincinnati at 10:00 am. Hence, we effectively lost an entire day.
ACTION TAKEN:
The Monday after our return to Montreal, I called Delta Air Lines customer service, and asked to speak to a supervisor. I related what had transpired. The supervisor was reluctant to do anything to compensate us, as he indicated flights get delayed all the time, etc. I persisted with my complaint that Delta was at fault and we deserved to be compensated for their error.
The Delta customer service supervisor finally agreed to send us a Delta travel voucher for $150.00 US each, good for one year from the date of issue. This was a dollar amount equal to a one-way fare from Montreal to Cincinnati.
RESULT:
We received the vouchers, via regular mail, within a few days.
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Consumer Tale - Rental Storage (submitted by site visitor)
SITUATION:
A few months ago, I called a warehousing company to ask about the cost for a rental space to store my furniture. They told me that a ten foot by ten foot space would cost me $75.00 per month. I decided to proceed. Two days after I had my furniture moved into their storage facility, I received a call from the warehousing company to advise me that they did not have a ten foot by ten foot space available. However, they agreed to provide me with a ten foot by twenty foot metal container for the same price.
I pre-paid the first month at a cost of $75.00, plus a $50.00 one-time membership fee, plus taxes, for a total cost of $141.00. At the beginning of the second month, I received a bill for $288.26 for the same space. I called them to inquire why I wasn't being charged $75.00 plus tax. They said this was the cost for the larger space my furniture was occupying, and that the charge of $75.00, plus taxes, had been charged for the first month only, as a courtesy to me, since the space I originally wanted was unavailable. Following a few more telephone calls, I felt I had no other option but to pay the $288.26 and remove my furniture from their storage facility prior to the end of the second month. Thus, it cost me $429.26 to store my furniture for fifty-seven days.
Please let me know how I can recuperate the additional amount of money I paid, compared the original quote.
Note: this is an edited version of a tale recently submitted by MY, Montreal
OUR ADVICE:
We suggest you call warehousing company's general manager and tell him exactly what has happened to you. Tell him about the ten foot by twenty foot space for the price of ten foot by ten foot. (It would be best if you had something in writing about this from the warehouse company, or least a date, time and name, etc.). Be firm, but polite.
Ask the general manager to explain the charges. If you still feel the charges are false or unjustified, and the general manager does not want to adjust them to what you feel is correct, then we suggest you contact the l'Office Protection Consumateur and file a complaint.
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Consumer Tale - Lost Luggage (submitted by site visitor)
SITUATION:
Several weeks ago, my fifteen year-old daughter was flying back from Israel to Montreal. Having participated in a tour in Israel with her camp, the group was heading back to camp in the Laurentians for the remainder of the summer. Unfortunately, upon her arrival in Montreal, we soon determined that the airline had lost her luggage. We immediately filed the required claims report with the airline involved. All of my daughter's clothes and personal belongings were gone, including the precious film of the photos taken on her trip.
Aside from the substantial amount of money required to prepare my daughter for summer, was the significant amount of time required to do so. My daughter is currently at camp without any of her belongings. We were forced to hastily purchase some new clothes for her, but what we did buy is not nearly enough to get her through the remaining time at camp. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to replace the all of her lost items.
Despite following up with the airline with every conceivable action we could take, we still have yet to hear anything about the status of the airline's search. We really need your help and are anxiously awaiting your reply.
Note: this is an edited version of a tale recently submitted by RW, Montreal
OUR ADVICE:
We suggest you call the airline's head office and ask to speak to the president. If you are politely persistent, you will be passed to an executive assistant. We know this for a fact, as we followed this approach ourselves with the same airline a few years ago. (We had been forced to stand for an entire flight from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale, since we had been literally sandwiched in our own seat by a man in the seat beside us who must have weighed over 500 pounds. Watch for this consumer tale.)
The airline's executive assistant will listen to your issue and will likely ask you to send in a letter, with any back-up you may have. Our experience is that if you are well prepared, polite, but very persistent and insistent, you will get proper compensation. We believe that every airline has a procedure in place that pays for loss of luggage and contents up to a certain amount of money.
Should you fail to make any progress, you may want to consider filing a complaint with Transport Canada, or even the local l'Office Protection Consumateur. You may be surprised how effective these complaints may be.
Your tale is a good example of poor customer service, which may be a contributing factor to why so many airlines are struggling financially.