The owner of a small business contacted TDR for help with his phone provider. The customer had opened a business account and purchased a new iPhone on a monthly contract, which became faulty within a short period. The customer returned the phone to the provider’s local store who arranged for it to be sent away for troubleshooting and a repair if necessary. In the interim, the customer used their personal phone for business activities. The customer regularly contacted the store for updates and felt let down by the lack of communication.
Things began to escalate when the customer was informed that the phone had gone missing in transit. The provider took no responsibility for the missing phone and advised the customer that he would be liable for the ongoing monthly charges despite not having the phone in his possession. The customer spent two months dealing with the provider by phone and in store about the issues. He thought it unfair that he would have to pay full price for a repaired phone when he expected a new replacement, and he wanted a refund of the charges while the phone was under repair.
Ultimately, the customer decided to end his business account with his provider and contacted TDR for assistance.
TDR’s facilitator shared information between the customer and his provider. This process clarified some of the details about what had happened and the contractual obligations on both sides.
During the facilitation process the parties found a path forward, by reaching a mutually agreed settlement in good in faith. The provider agreed to terminate the customers business contract, with no additional fees, and to apply credit calculations for the time lost against the final amounts owed. The customer agreed to pay the balance of the account and to collect the repaired phone from his local store.