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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Miles Brignall

Not such an Easylife when my digital hearing aid fails to charge

modern digital hearing aid in woman's ear
Only the sound of silence when hearing aid doesn’t charge. Photograph: Alamy

Several weeks ago we bought a rechargeable digital hearing aid from Easylife. It arrived promptly and worked well on day one, but it would not recharge as instructed.

We emailed customer services and were offered a free pickup with a subsequent replacement. We waited in all day in vain. We again contacted it and received an email saying “they had tried to call without success to discuss the pickup”. We then phoned to be told of a 36-minute delay to speak to an agent. In the end it took 47 minutes, and another 20 minutes for the agent to organise another pickup day. Which, of course, turned into another wasted day – nobody came or phoned!

We’re at the end of our tether. Can you help? JB, Barrow in Furness

Take a look at the online reviews of this mail order firm and you’ll find you’re not the first person to complain about long call waits. The company told us it repeatedly tried to call you; you’re adamant this was not the case.

Greg Caplin, the firm’s chief executive, told Money it processes 100,000 orders a month, most without problems. “Unlike many other service companies, our system advises our customers of the wait time, so they can choose to hold or call back when it’s not so busy. The wait time costs us money, so it’s not in our interest to keep anyone waiting longer than necessary.”

Happily, the non-charging aid has now been replaced by a different courier.

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

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