Refunds and Compensation - The Good, the Bad and the Unexpectedly Wonderful
The way a company handles things when things go wrong probably has more impact on reputation than whether they get things right or wrong in the first place. As such, good Customer Service should be a priority for all companies. As you'll see from this post, some excel - and some don't.
My last trip to France resulted in a surprising number of requests for refunds or compensation I thought I'd share my experiences with you as some deserve showcasing for the excellent customer service and some need shaming, in the latter category I'm including Ryanair despite the incident being related to a visit last December (rather than my last visit).
The Good
I did not experience 'good' Customer Service with any of the organisations - the service was either poor or excellent. The RAC were initially my candidates for good service, but the fact I had to contact them several times and then go through a fairly convoluted process saw them drop into the bad category - but only just.
The Bad
Ryanair (Airline) 0/10
My experience with Ryanair Customer Services was dire, the worst I've had since complaining to a double-glazing firm back in the 1980s.
I know Ryanair has a bad reputation but, until now, had always felt it was a little undeserved. The flights themselves has always been fine - they are a budget airline after all. Yes, the way they add extra charges at each stage of the booking process is annoying but you come to expect that.
However, since trying to correspond with Ryanair Custmer Services (trying being the operative word in more senses than one) I will now go out of my way to avoid flying with them (hence taking a Eurotunnel Frequent Traveller Account - see below).
To cut a very long story short, back in December our flight home from Limoges was cancelled due to bad weather. Ryanair were well within their rights not to compensate us as weather is out of their control. I contacted my insurer who told me to contact the airline and request a written statement as to why the flight was cancelled. By June this year, despite repeated letters and emails and involving the Alternate Dispute Resolution Service (ADR) , I was still without this letter. It wasn't going to cost Ryanair a penny. I'm convinced that they were assuming I was seeking compensation despite me going out of my way to explain this was not the case.
Just prior to heading to France on the latest trip I called the ADR to see how this could be progressed. A senior person there called a senior person in Ryanair Customer Services and finally I received the information I needed - needless to say, without any form of apology.
A big thank you to ADR and a raspberry to Ryanair.
Eurotunnel (Train Co) 3/10
I signed up for a Eurotunnel's Frequent Traveller Account which, despite the moan that follows, is excellent value for money.
I contacted Eurotunnel to request a refund of the £20 surcharge I had paid on arrival at Folkstone. The charge arose as I arrived early and was offered an earlier crossing that would see me in France 90-minutes early. As this was a peak travel time it would cost £20 extra. I took the offer an joined the queue for the train.
For reasons that remain a mystery, the lane I was in was not boarded. We got on the following crossing but that meant a time saving of only 60-minutes and I doubt I'd have paid £20 for that.
Eurotunnel declined my request for a refund on the basis that I had still travelled on a peak crossing. Apparently my argument that I had paid to travel 90 minutes earlier (and once in the queue had no option but to board the next available train) did not persuade them.
To be frank, I thought I only had a 50:50 chance of them making the refund butit is still disappointing customer service.
The RAC (European Breakdown Cover) 4.5/10
These guys were there when I needed them and their help was very much appreciated. They covered the cost of being towed to a garage as well as the associated labour charges. I paid the labour charges myself and then requested a refund from the RAC. This is where they let themselves down from a Customer Service point of view.
They didn't respond to my request for the advice on the procedure I needed to follow to make the claim, which I submitted via their online form. When I followed up, I was waiting 10 minutes and was then offered a call-back (this was quite good, I thought), but 90 minutes later no call back had been received. I called again and was asked to send my invoice by email after which I would receive a form to complete. They did eventually make the refund, but their lack of responsiveness combined with a convoluted procedure (ideally they would have simply received a copy of the invoice from the garage and sent me a cheque proactively) means I'm marking them down.
The Unexpectedly Wonderful
Britline (French Bank) 10/10
My Britline debit card was twice rejected (with two intervening transactions being accepted) and so I wrote to them asking for an explanation as to why this had happened and, if not due to an error on my part, reassurance that it would not happen again and compensation for the £12.50 foreign currency transaction fees uncured as a result from my UK bank.
They responded quickly and explained that there was a monthly limit on my card. I now recalled that this had been clear in the literature I'd read when signing up for the account. So, embarrassingly, the fault was mine. Despite this, their email concluded that they were going to credit my account with 15 Euros. I immediately replied that, as the fault was mine, there was no need for them to do this - but do it they did.
Skoda (Car Manufacturer) 9/10
If you read the account of my last visit you will know that disaster struck rather expensively before I had even reached Paris. I had a fuel injector fail which resulted in 128 Euro tow charge, 150 Euros labour and 750 Euros for the part. The RAC European Breakdown covered the tow and the labour but the cost of the parts would be coming out of my pocket - or so I thought.
The Service Manager at the garage mentioned, almost in passing, that it may be worth contacting Skoda UK, as I had a full Skoda service history, to see if they would refund some of the cost. Sceptical but with nothing to lose, I contacted them. My car is 7 years old and is approaching 100,000 miles on the clock - why would they help?
Well, the news is they have refunded in full. Incredible.
The only reason they don't get 10/10 is the fact that this service appears to be a closely guarded secret - had the Service Manager not almost incidentally mentioned it, I would have been many hundreds of Euros out of pocket.
My last trip to France resulted in a surprising number of requests for refunds or compensation I thought I'd share my experiences with you as some deserve showcasing for the excellent customer service and some need shaming, in the latter category I'm including Ryanair despite the incident being related to a visit last December (rather than my last visit).
The Good
I did not experience 'good' Customer Service with any of the organisations - the service was either poor or excellent. The RAC were initially my candidates for good service, but the fact I had to contact them several times and then go through a fairly convoluted process saw them drop into the bad category - but only just.
The Bad
Ryanair (Airline) 0/10
My experience with Ryanair Customer Services was dire, the worst I've had since complaining to a double-glazing firm back in the 1980s.
I know Ryanair has a bad reputation but, until now, had always felt it was a little undeserved. The flights themselves has always been fine - they are a budget airline after all. Yes, the way they add extra charges at each stage of the booking process is annoying but you come to expect that.
However, since trying to correspond with Ryanair Custmer Services (trying being the operative word in more senses than one) I will now go out of my way to avoid flying with them (hence taking a Eurotunnel Frequent Traveller Account - see below).
To cut a very long story short, back in December our flight home from Limoges was cancelled due to bad weather. Ryanair were well within their rights not to compensate us as weather is out of their control. I contacted my insurer who told me to contact the airline and request a written statement as to why the flight was cancelled. By June this year, despite repeated letters and emails and involving the Alternate Dispute Resolution Service (ADR) , I was still without this letter. It wasn't going to cost Ryanair a penny. I'm convinced that they were assuming I was seeking compensation despite me going out of my way to explain this was not the case.
Just prior to heading to France on the latest trip I called the ADR to see how this could be progressed. A senior person there called a senior person in Ryanair Customer Services and finally I received the information I needed - needless to say, without any form of apology.
A big thank you to ADR and a raspberry to Ryanair.
Eurotunnel (Train Co) 3/10
I signed up for a Eurotunnel's Frequent Traveller Account which, despite the moan that follows, is excellent value for money.
I contacted Eurotunnel to request a refund of the £20 surcharge I had paid on arrival at Folkstone. The charge arose as I arrived early and was offered an earlier crossing that would see me in France 90-minutes early. As this was a peak travel time it would cost £20 extra. I took the offer an joined the queue for the train.
For reasons that remain a mystery, the lane I was in was not boarded. We got on the following crossing but that meant a time saving of only 60-minutes and I doubt I'd have paid £20 for that.
Eurotunnel declined my request for a refund on the basis that I had still travelled on a peak crossing. Apparently my argument that I had paid to travel 90 minutes earlier (and once in the queue had no option but to board the next available train) did not persuade them.
To be frank, I thought I only had a 50:50 chance of them making the refund butit is still disappointing customer service.
The RAC (European Breakdown Cover) 4.5/10
These guys were there when I needed them and their help was very much appreciated. They covered the cost of being towed to a garage as well as the associated labour charges. I paid the labour charges myself and then requested a refund from the RAC. This is where they let themselves down from a Customer Service point of view.
They didn't respond to my request for the advice on the procedure I needed to follow to make the claim, which I submitted via their online form. When I followed up, I was waiting 10 minutes and was then offered a call-back (this was quite good, I thought), but 90 minutes later no call back had been received. I called again and was asked to send my invoice by email after which I would receive a form to complete. They did eventually make the refund, but their lack of responsiveness combined with a convoluted procedure (ideally they would have simply received a copy of the invoice from the garage and sent me a cheque proactively) means I'm marking them down.
The Unexpectedly Wonderful
Britline (French Bank) 10/10
My Britline debit card was twice rejected (with two intervening transactions being accepted) and so I wrote to them asking for an explanation as to why this had happened and, if not due to an error on my part, reassurance that it would not happen again and compensation for the £12.50 foreign currency transaction fees uncured as a result from my UK bank.
They responded quickly and explained that there was a monthly limit on my card. I now recalled that this had been clear in the literature I'd read when signing up for the account. So, embarrassingly, the fault was mine. Despite this, their email concluded that they were going to credit my account with 15 Euros. I immediately replied that, as the fault was mine, there was no need for them to do this - but do it they did.
Skoda (Car Manufacturer) 9/10
If you read the account of my last visit you will know that disaster struck rather expensively before I had even reached Paris. I had a fuel injector fail which resulted in 128 Euro tow charge, 150 Euros labour and 750 Euros for the part. The RAC European Breakdown covered the tow and the labour but the cost of the parts would be coming out of my pocket - or so I thought.
The Service Manager at the garage mentioned, almost in passing, that it may be worth contacting Skoda UK, as I had a full Skoda service history, to see if they would refund some of the cost. Sceptical but with nothing to lose, I contacted them. My car is 7 years old and is approaching 100,000 miles on the clock - why would they help?
Well, the news is they have refunded in full. Incredible.
The only reason they don't get 10/10 is the fact that this service appears to be a closely guarded secret - had the Service Manager not almost incidentally mentioned it, I would have been many hundreds of Euros out of pocket.
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