A customer contacted TDR after realising that his credit score had been affected by an overdue broadband payment that he was unaware of.
The customer had recently sold a business and no longer had access to the email account and credit card linked to the broadband account. Despite the provider emailing the customer to say that the automatic payment had failed, he was fully unaware as he couldn’t access that email.
The provider did eventually text him and within minutes of receiving the overdue payment text, the customer updated their payment method and paid their bill.
The complaint
The customer contacted TDR expressing disappointment about the provider's poor customer service as he was not contacted through other means until after there had been a negative impact on his credit score, giving the customer little chance to address the issue before it had consequences. A simple text or call on the day of payment failure would have negated the issue entirely.
The customer highlighted the provider’s customer care policy in which they claimed to try contact their customers via several methods when there is an overdue payment.
The provider was initially of the opinion that it is the customer’s responsibility to keep payment methods and contact details up to date, and there was nothing they could have done differently.
Next steps
TDR helped the customer and provider to work through the issues at mediation.
The customer explained how they were disappointed that the provider had not tried to reach out to them via other means than email until after they had reported the debt to a credit rating agency. The customer shared with the provider how the communication sequencing had impacted him and how a negative credit score rating could have dire consequences for someone else.
Through this conversation the provider reflected on their policy commitments, how they had communicated with the customer and the sequencing of communication.
Outcome
Throughout the mediation process, there was an opportunity for the customer to give feedback on how he would have liked the situation to be handled and how the provider could improve their communication and sequencing of notifications.
The provider took this feedback on board and agreed with the customer that they could see the need for improvement. Furthermore, the provider apologised for the way this case had been dealt with and informed the customer that they would contact the credit rating agencies to try to rectify the negative impact on his credit score.
After the exchange of feedback and the apology, both parties agreed that the case was to be considered settled and resolved.
Lessons learned
It’s important for consumers to raise issues when they occur as it can make a difference for someone else. It’s also important for organisations to have internal processes in place to identify any trends and opportunities from complaint and feedback channels.
This complaint provided valuable insights. It enabled the provider to identify an issue and make improvements as a direct result of the feedback.
This case also highlights the value that constructive mediated conversation can have, as this allowed the customer to be heard and to pass on valuable feedback about their experience to the provider.