The last 12 months have seen a record number of letters sent to our Consumer Champions, and it doesn’t look as though a sudden improvement in customer services at UK firms is going to put us out of business any time soon.
The good news is … there have been fewer complaints about the banks and other core financial services providers. The bad news is … that has been more than offset by increased numbers of readers having problems with energy firms, telecoms providers and disputes with retailers.
Online and email-based scams were ever more sophisticated this year, highlighted by the fact that an increasing numbers of tech-savvy people have been falling them.
Retailers are, sadly, still showing a shocking lack of knowledge of the Sale of Goods Act or rules around distance selling.
Car hire firms continue to be a major problem, often behaving as if they are a law unto themselves.
Here are the highlights – or the lowlights – of 2014.
Scam of the year
Although it has been around for some time, 2014 was the year of the “vishing scam”. In some cases people have lost in excess of £80,000.
In June, we revealed how victims are rung up at home by someone pretending to be from their bank or credit card provider claiming they have seen fraudulent transactions on their card and advising them to move their savings to a new, secure account.
To give the scam credibility, victims are invited to call the bank using the number on the back of their bank card. The fraudsters use the fact that around half of BT lines can be kept open after a call. When they ring back, victims think they are talking to their bank and follow their instructions.
The “courier scam” is another nasty fraud to have taken off this year. The scammers often pose as police officers asking for help trying to catch a corrupt bank teller, and ask victims to take out large sums in cash to be collected by a courier.
The banks have, in recent months, started putting warnings on their website about the vishing scam, but for many victims, these came too late.
If you get such a call, don’t panic. Wait several minutes to make sure your phone line has not been kept open, or use another phone to call the bank.
Banks or police will never ask you to move your money to a new account. This is a highly sophisticated scam that has taken in too many intelligent people – don’t become one of them.
Worst phone and broadband
During the year two telecoms firms stood out as our most complained about: BT and EE.
This week’s news, that they are to join forces, suggests customers may be in for more pain when it goes ahead. Whenever firms try to merge customer databases, service levels often suffer.
EE was formed out of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile and we see too many complaints arriving at our desk. Oddly, most are about relatively simply matters, making the failure even more frustrating.
BT complaints reduced as the year went on, but its wholesale division, Openreach, continues to cause problems, especially for those trying to get a new-build flat connected.
In 2014 it can still take six months to get a new phone line/broadband installed which seems to us incredible.
TalkTalk continues to receive far fewer complaints than it used to.
Our most serious telecom story of the year concerned Vodafone and a string of its customers who had been hit with £10,000-plus bills after they had their handset stolen in Barcelona.
Thieves are targeting tourists in the city, stealing their phones late at night and then using them to call premium rate numbers around the clock until the phone is barred. The mobile operators have resisted pressure to introduce capped bills.
One Welsh teacher received a bill of £15,000 although Vodafone later dropped it after a barrister intervened on his behalf.
If you take your mobile to Barcelona, guard it with you life and if it is stolen report it to the operator immediately – however inconvenient.
Tesco Mobile deserves credit as it is the only firm to allow customers to cap their bills.
Silliest websites
This award has to go to Madbid.com – the penny auction website that says it has sold iPads for £38, and a Fiat 500 for £193.
You can barely open some free newspapers without seeing an ad for Madbid. This site requires users to buy credits which they can use to bid on items. When we featured the case of MN, from Bedfordshire, who complained he lost £50 using the site, we asked other readers to report experiences.
Plenty of readers contacted us to say they had lost money – more letters have come in this week – and had got nothing for the cash they had handed over. Not one reader said they’d bagged a bargain. In our view you would be mad to bid on Madbid.
In May, we revealed how a modern furniture website called Infurn.com had left thousands of consumers out of pocket when the owners disappeared. It was an important reminder to pay for expensive goods using a credit card only.
And remember, any website that asks for a bank transfer should set off alarm bells.
Worst energy firms
The last 12 months have been terrible for the energy firms, and readers’ letters about them grew substantially.
All the big companies have featured this year, but three stand out for offering the worst customer service.
Scottish Power has been our most-complained about firm all year – a complaint by JG from York who couldn’t get the £150 she was owed was typical. We could have run a similar story every week of the year.
First Utility came in not far behind, followed by npower. First Utility even managed to mess up the payment of a £20 goodwill gesture promised to RP from Leeds after it had reunited her with the £500 it owed her. Three times the company promised it had sent a cheque, but it failed to arrive.
Most complained about …
Currys continues to take the top spot for complaints, with customers frustrated when they attempt to claim on warranties on electronic items.
But it is Ikea which now features repeatedly for poor customer services – particularly its fitted kitchen division. Its newish home delivery service has had more than its fair share of problems.
John Lewis, our favourite retailer, has seen a small number complaints compared to last year – and it still sets the standard in how to deal with problems.
Tesco Clubcard holders continued to suffer problems with lost points – we had a letter from a reader this week who has “lost” £110-worth, and who is having great difficulty getting the matter resolved.
There was a noticeable growth in the number of complaints about main car dealers not honouring warranties.
Trouble with airlines
Flight delays – and a lack of compensation travellers are entitled to – formed an ever-growing proportion of letters we received. The issue was made more complex by the fact that many airlines have stopped paying out while waiting for a high court ruling on whether passengers are entitled to compensation following delays caused by technical problems.
Emirates, easyJet, BA and, to a lesser extent, Ryanair were our most-complained about airlines last year. Too many appear to ignore customers, and pressure is on the Civil Aviation Authority to address the issue.
Meanwhile, complaints continue to reach us about easyBus, which left more than one reader in the lurch this year.
Good news: the banks
Overall, complaints about the banks were slightly down on 2013, although there were noticeably more from Nationwide customers. Many complainers had made an online payment only to find that they had keyed in one incorrect digit and, as a result, sent the money to the wrong account.
Banks are supposed to be doing more to help, but our postbag suggests there’s a long way to go. If you intend to make a large payment, send a small sum to test the system, and then send the larger amount when you know it works.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
