Another week, another customer service fight 😉
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those who will argue the toss over the slightest thing, expecting immediate recompense for anything and everything. But if I pay for something and the end result is, well, a bit rubbish, then I will stick up for myself.
Recently I ordered a camera case from eBay. Ok, I know. It was cheap – just £5 from Hong Kong – but I’ve had other similar goods before and not had a problem. This time, though, the product was less than satisfactory. The logo badge on the front was loose and so badly finished that the tops of some of the letters were missing and the plastic edges were sharp. And to make things worse the case was too large for my camera – even though this was, supposedly, specifically for my model of camera.
Anyway, I contacted the seller, explained the problems and requested a refund. It took them a few days to reply but when they did they asked for some photos of the problems. I happily did this and sent these along. However, upon seeing these they responded in 2 ways…
- To suggest that the extra space in the camera case were for “accessories” such as memory cards
- To say that they would refund the item, but not the P&P
The second point, you’d think if fair enough. However, in this case, this was one of those items with a “nominal” selling price but a big P&P. This was (I don’t know if it’s still the case) a fiddle to pay less fees to eBay. That would mean that I wouldn’t get back over £4 of my original cost.
As to the first point, well, most of the room was in the side of the case. Enough to fit a USB memory stick into but certainly not an SD card. Or battery. No, this was a rubbish excuse. So I told them that (in more polite terms). I also pointed out that the item was (and remember this phrase) “not fit for purpose”. Being the nice person I am I suggested a compromise – a refund of £3 would be acceptable.
In the end, they refunded the full amount. An excellent conclusion, done with no shouting, screaming or threatening – just the way it should be.
Talk to me!