So Angry! What to Do?

by Nightengale

Posted: 18 years ago 25 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hi Warriors!

I'm so frustrated and angry right now. I'm not sure what to do and am afraid I might do something stupid....

I do business with a company most Warriors know and many Warriors use (and almost all Warriors would recommend). I've had an account with them for over two years and have never had a problem with them. However, there has been a HUGE billing snafu which has caused MAJOR problems and an outrageous sum in service charges.

The bottom line is that the billing problem is based on a simple misunderstanding and a technicality. But the company isn't willing to do anything about it and I'm out a huge sum in service charges. It's also created a MAJOR cash crunch crisis. Yes, the crisis is temporary, but I can't express how serious the cash crunch is without divulging information nobody really needs to know.

Trouble is, the company is not willing to do anything about it. I am so angry with them right now I can't even express it professionally. I've never been one to post any negative reviews about a company or person and I almost never ask for refunds for anything. (I even hate to ask for refunds and it's only in the past that I've begun to do so when I truly haven't received what I paid for.)

For the moment, I'm not naming the company here. But I honestly feel like I've been treated badly as a customer (and I'm especially sensitive to it since I worked in customer service for years). This is one time when I'd like to warn others (both Warriors and others reading review sites) about my experience with this company. I don't want them to get shafted the way I feel I've been shafted by this company.

For the moment, the company will remain nameless. I'm not vindictive and I don't intend to start. Normally, I wouldn't even bring it up. I've rarely been in the position to feel that customer service I've gotten from any company was so bad that I needed to talk about it (or even that I needed to ask for a refund). Usually, it's not worth my time or trouble. (And that's cost me a lot of money over the years.) But I wouldn't want anyone else to go through what I've gone through with this company either.

What galls me most of all, is that I don't think I have any other recourse. I've already spoken to my bank and the company involved. Both are basically saying, "Sorry, not our problem." I'll just have to eat the service charges and deal with the huge cash crunch the week before Christmas.

This was handled very badly and has created a very difficult situation for me. I just find it outrageous that I'm left holding the bag, more or less.

Two questions for you:

1. Would you say anything in my situation? (Yes, I know I've been vague, but that's been on purpose. I'm honestly not trying to bash anyone.)

2. I really liked this company's service and would have recommended them. I think every Internet marketer needs this service and I thought this company provided the best service of all providers. I still like their set up best of all. My issue is with their HORRIBLE customer service over a rare event (a one-time thing, really), not the service I signed up for originally. I feel it's a terrible position to be in when a customer receives such poor service from a vendor that she doesn't want to return but doesn't feel like any other company is comparable.

Sorry, I know that's a bit convoluted.

Would you go back? Or would you look for another provider?

I'm just so angry right now. I may yet give more details and name names, both here and on review sites. But not just yet...

Thanks for listening.

Michelle

#angry

Jill Carpenter 18 years ago

Is there no one in customer service who can help you - like someone different if you call back tomorrow? Can you ask to speak to a supervisor?

Also, is there a company that serves a similar service?

I don't think you are doing anything wrong to mention the company. I have seen people bash paypal and aweber - both services I use. It did not change my mind about using them. But if someone has a complaint about them or information then I do like to look.
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- Nightengale 18 years ago
  
  Thanks for your thoughts.
  
  Yes, there are other companies that provide similar services. But for various reasons, I haven't ever been entirely comfortable going with anyone else.
  
  As I said, the whole problem was caused by a misunderstanding and a technicality. The company, technically, isn't in the wrong. But the WAY it was handled left a lot to be desired and has cost me hard dollars and cents. Because they're not technically in the wrong, I can't make any legitimate complaint about service not received, etc. But it also means I have no recourse to recover the money it's cost me either.
  
  And THAT's what galls me.
  
  Michelle
  
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- Kat Bartone 18 years ago
  
  Hi Michelle,
  
  I think it can be very risky to identify the company unless you are absolutely certain that the error is clearly and only theirs - and can prove it. Even then I would hesitate.
  
  I have a rule that I've made for myself - I try not to make important decisions when I'm angry or upset about something, because the decision I make under those circumstances is usually not a good one. So I would not make any 'outing' decisions while under duress.
  
  Other than that, I'm not sure what to suggest. I think that you have wisely been vague about the details, but that also means that it's impossible for me to know where the failures occurred, and whose they are.
  
  Above all, in any further communications with them, I would try to remember beforehand what my hoped-for outcome is. I think most people are much more able to listen if they're not being hit over the head with a baseball bat at the same time. Not saying that's what you're doing, or that your anger is not justified - just that our anger can become an obstacle to a positive outcome.
  
  Don't know if any of this resonates with you, but hope so. Good luck.
  
  - Kat
  
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cclegg06 18 years ago

Michelle,

It sounds like such a frustrating situation. You're doing the right thing by venting someplace other than with the company.

You'll have to judge the value of the relationship to your business against the emotional benefit of giving them a piece of your mind.

At the end of the day, keep in mind your business principles (whatever they may be). If you expect the same from your business partners as you do your family and friends, than dump the *******s and let them know why.

If you look at your business as something else, than let it go and put in place the processes needed to protect yourself from a repeat with this group.

Good luck!

Chris
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Sheryl Polomka 18 years ago

Wow, yes you should definately say something, don't apologise at all, I know exactly how you feel.

I had a similar experience just recently myself with Paypal, I didn't say too much about it at first but then I did and publicly

Work From Home Internet Business Blog Archive Banned From Paypal - Permanently Limited

Banned From Paypal

I am 99% sure I will never get the issue sorted but I was very angry and I wanted other people to know what can happen, so I made it public.

Right before xmas too, just what you don't need.
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Debbie Songster 18 years ago

I agree with Jill
You need to speak with a supervisor at the company in question and sort it out with them.

The other thing is finding a comparable service elsewhere if possible. You don't want to be feeling resentful every time you log into this service to use it. Besides after 2 years of being a customer - I would think they would be more willing to fix the problem.

I'm guessing that their excessive billing resulted in bank fees to your account. If it were me, I would ask them to give you a credit on your account with them. You might stand a better chance with the credit then asking them to reimburse you for the fees.

For Thanksgiving we stayed a couple nights over at one of the casino hotels in Laughlin NV - got a great deal $88 total. When I got back home and checked my account I saw that they charged me $2,060.00 for my stay! Someone had keyed in my checkout date as Dec 28 instead of Nov 28. Calls to the bank and hotel had it all fixed that day but I was freaking out too.

Just call that service again and talk to a supervisor. If its an error they made and they aren't willing to work with you then they don't deserve your business. As for the service charges - try and get a credit with this service to cover those and I would try the bank again and see if you can get some reversed.

If that company doesn't do the "right" thing then I think you should let people know who it is. Its not bashing if you stick to the facts.

Sorry you are going through this - especially at Christmas.
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- FrankRumbauskas 18 years ago
  
  I don't know if this is a hosted service you're using but I'm on a trend of getting rid of all of them and hosting everything on my own server. It certainly avoids problems like this. And increases uptime when my own site is the only point of failure.
  
  And saves you a TON of money over time vs. paying them monthly!
  
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Kim Standerline

18 years ago

Hi Michelle

If this has come from your credit card, tell the company you are going to instigate a charge back. I think its warrented in this case

Kim

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Nightengale

18 years ago

Thanks for the advice -- and sympathy.

Debbie Songster and Kim Standerline pretty much have the situation nailed.

Kat, the company is NOT in the wrong, technically speaking. Basically it was my fault. But a misunderstanding and a technicality has caused a simple, small charge to mushroom into an outrageous amount in service charges.

(Thanks for your story Debbie, but in your case, the company WAS in the wrong. In mine, the company wasn't so it doesn't help.)

It could have been handled a lot better by the company though and saved me a lot of aggravation and cash.

I've worked in customer service -- in collections (inbound calls only, thank God). I've been on the business side of this desk. It's NOT fun, but in spite of my anger, I DO understand what happened and WHY it it happened. I'm not an irrational customer who doesn't understand (or pretends not to). It's bascially a domino effect which has caused a huge mess.

Uggghhh!

I wonder if anyone would be interested in a WSO Christmas special? Something about free publicity and getting your press release to the top of Google results....

Michelle

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GeorgR.

18 years ago

Kat, the company is NOT in the wrong, technically speaking. Basically it was my fault. But a misunderstanding and a technicality has caused a simple, small charge to mushroom into an outrageous amount in service charges.

that's basically how i read that also. But here an example:

I go on a trip for 6 months and accidentally leave on appliances in my home, and i also forget to turn off my lights and computers.

After 6 months i come back and face a HUGE bill from the utility company. Now i could argue that i wont ever pay this since i was not even at home..but no question, the company is in the right charging that money. I could even "prove" to them that my house was emtpy ....but...well you get the idea...
What i want to know is whether you have a solid base to stand on to tell them that their charges are unjustified...maybe even get a refund for paid charges....it seems you already tried to explain the situation but they are un-cooperative and think their charges are legitimate?

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Raydal 18 years ago

It's a tough position to be angry and broke at the same time. Not safe to
make a decision at this time IMHO. But I know the feeling when dealing
with companies that see you as just another account number.

Let the pressure of the moment subside before you decide what to do next.

Hang in there.

-Ray L.,
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Adam Kenzington 18 years ago

Hi Michelle,

If you can't get satisfaction, and the company says your stuck...I'd change companies. Show your displeasure with you wallet! That's the only thing they understand.

You may not be comfortable with the competitors, but you will probably have this sticking in your crawl everytime you get their bill.

Let them know they have lost you as a customer, and that you will tell everyone who will listen about your trouble with these Christmas stealing so and so's...

The getting a credit idea was good, too

Hope it works out for you,

Adam
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imaddict 18 years ago

Originally Posted by Nightengale

Would you go back? Or would you look for another provider?

If the latter is an option and they can provide you with equal (barring the recent incident) or better service then most definitely ditch them and move on.
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GeorgR. 18 years ago

its extremely difficult to give advise since the details are not clear.

You are talking about "service charges"...but we need to know whether this "service charges" are legitimate or not?

You also mention a billing SNAFU...here its also not clear if this happened on their end only...or is originating from an error on your side.
(Example would be you give a wrong email address/account nr...and then something screws up and some odd "billing charges" occur to fix the problem)
I just cant see a company continuing w/ "servicecharges" if they're 100% unsubstanciated and/or you dont even get the service you are billed for - if so, on what grounds are they billing you???

If that's the case, you should (or should have) immediately cancelled any relationship with them...CC charge back....paypal dispute, whatever....who in the world gets charged for something they did not buy?
And why does your bank as well as "the company" say "sorry, not our problem" <--- ???
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- Jill Carpenter 18 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by GeorgR.
  
  And why does your bank as well as "the company" say "sorry, not our problem" <--- ???
  
  I might have a thought on that one - My adwords account was hacked, a lot of money was spent, and my bank said because of my agreement with google/adwords there was nothing they could do about the funds.
  
  The refund had to be processed by adwords. But - speaking of which this is another point, if you are not going to be refunded isn't the company able to "write off" what happened?
  
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  Nightengale 18 years ago
  
  George,
  
  I've been deliberately vague about the details. Sorry, I know it's a bit confusing, but I'm trying to get advice without revealing the details or bashing the company.
  
  AvenueGirl,
  
  The company overcharged me (or so I thought). The bank charged the fees. (I wasn't prepared for the charges.) I'd disputed the charges around Halloween and thought all was taken care of. Now apparently the dispute was resolved and now all fees (and then some) have been debited to my account again.
  
  (That's what I get for using a debit card instead of a credit card. )
  
  Again, there are more details to it, but that's the gist of it. Hope that's clear enough.
  
  Michelle
  
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Melody 18 years ago

Hi Michelle -

Not sure what happened - but it sounds like something that happened to me a couple of years ago with a hosting company - had a blog that was hacked and used to send out zillions of emails. I started getting bounced emails, contacted them and they found the offending files and removed them for me. I was shocked to get a bill from the hosting company a couple of days later - they had charged me $800 for bandwidth - even though they KNEW what had happened.

I hit the ceiling and promptly got a supervisor on the phone. I had been a customer for a long time, and tried very hard to keep a tight rein on things - but things can happen on a shared account, and after some wrangling back and forth I got the money refunded.

I also switched companies a month later - after 5 years with the company - and never being reimbursed for downtime....I wasn't thrilled with their attitude when something happened on my side.

And yes - I understand bandwidth costs - but so does downtime -

The bottom line is go up the food chain - find someone that can reverse the decision.

PM me if you need some suggestions!

melody
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Mary Green 18 years ago

Hey Michelle, sorry to hear about what is going on. I wish there was something I could do. Unfortunately if the company isn't wrong there isn't a lot we can do, but smear their name if they are being unfair, lol. I know that isn't nice, but what are you left to do?

If it all comes down to it, I would find the address and name of the owner and send them a personalized letter about your situation, asking for a waive on it. This could be helpful.

Mary Green
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- ShayB 18 years ago
  
  I am so sorry to hear this.
  
  This is one reason why I use a prepaid Mastercard or Visa for things such as this. I only load onto the card what I need.
  
  If someone tries to overcharge the card, there is nothing on there, and no bank account connected with the card - so no fees.
  
  If the card is compromised, then I simply destroy that card and purchase a new one.
  
  It makes me feel safer about doling things online, and it has come in handy more than once.
  
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ryan99599 Banned 18 years ago

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- Nightengale 18 years ago
  
  Mary,
  
  Thanks for the thought. I'm NOT looking to smear anybody's name. I would never do that. I can spot somone who's blown something out of proportion from a mile away. Even if I named them, I would be honest ( as I have been here) and state that I wasn't happy with the way they handled it. I wouldn't say they were in the wrong if they weren't.
  
  But it's a good point. Now that I've cooled off a little, I've decided I won't name them at all. I wasn't looking for vengeance in the first place, but I don't want anyone to mistake a bad review from me for sour grapes. So the company goes unnamed.
  
  Nathan,
  
  That's a very generous offer. Thank you, but no. I will be fine. But thank you for the thought.
  
  But watch for another post from me in just a couple of minutes. You've given me a great idea!
  
  Shay, thanks for the idea and sympathy. I appreciate it!
  
  Michelle
  
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- GeorgR. 18 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by ryan99599
  
  looking for internet marketing software & ebook???
  
  sorry...didnt see it here
  
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Daniel Deegan

18 years ago

Sorry to hear about the situation, I would try and contact people as high up in the company as possible to discuss the matter. Even to just make them aware of the situation and how unhappy you are about it. Me personally I would out the company and explain the situation tactfully in public simply to help someone else avoid the same thing happening to them. Also the company may not like the bad press so to speak, and will rectify the situation simply to protect their image. It's not the nicest things to do, but it can be quite effective.

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Nightengale

18 years ago

Originally Posted by Gorilla Writer

Me personally I would out the company and explain the situation tactfully in public simply to help someone else avoid the same thing happening to them. Also the company may not like the bad press so to speak, and will rectify the situation simply to protect their image. It's not the nicest things to do, but it can be quite effective.

Gorilla Writer,

THIS is why I considered outing them. Not out of vengeance but simply to get results. Like you said, sometimes there's just no other way to get results. I'm not above doing it, but because it was a tehnicality and a customer service issue, I still hesitate to do it.

Michelle

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Kay King

18 years ago

George made a good point - was it a company mistake or a misunderstanding on your part? I don't see enough information to give advice on this.

Are you angry that the customer service was rude (which should be reported to supervisors there) or because they didn't take action you requested? Is it something you could have reasonably been expected to know? Or something the company should have told you about?

Give a bit of time for it to settle in so you can think clearly about it. Actions taken in anger usually aren't a good idea. Good luck in finding a solution.

kay

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ExRat

18 years ago

Hi,

The company overcharged me (or so I thought). The bank charged the fees. (I wasn't prepared for the charges.) I'd disputed the charges around Halloween and thought all was taken care of. Now apparently the dispute was resolved and now all fees (and then some) have been debited to my account again.

So the outstanding bill is at your bank for bank charges? It sounds like because the other company aren't in the wrong that it is pointless pursuing them.

Have you tried talking to your bank about it?

I had many problems in the past with bank charges, and every time I simply went to the bank, pleaded my case and they agreed to halve my charges every time.

Years later the banks were forced to refund many charges (UK) because the amount they had charged was deemed illegal. So I figure that when they halved mine, they were aware of this and were trying to 'keep the peace' by halving mine.

But if I hadn't asked, I wouldn't have got.

It also helps to find a particularly sympathetic member of staff who has the authorization to be able to do this (basically, the woman who helped me ummm 'liked' me

)

Hope this helps. I would also add that within every catastrophe, there is a lesson of equal value.

Whatever boxes you left unchecked, you will not do so in the future. Skant consolation right now I realise, but in my experience, in the long term if you learn whatever lesson is within, you will get your money's worth.

Example - I manage my finances better nowadays. The bank sometimes offers me a cup of tea when I walk in. The women there fancy me for other reasons nowadays.

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So Angry! What to Do?

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