Moving house is supposed to be a highly stressful thing to do. Apart from anything else, there's all the people whom you have to notify of your change of address. What makes it all the more stressful is when they get it all wrong, and you have to endure more phone calls and call centres.
For us, let me give you our top three:
1. Virgin Media
I reported favourably a little while back. Well, I take it all back now! In our previous house we had telephone and broadband via a BT line. Our new house, however, has cable, so I asked for the old service to end at our old house and a new service to begin at our new house. That was OK, they said. "Could I keep my old email address?" I asked. "Yes," they replied.
When I rang up to check on something I asked again about using the old email address and they said it was no problem. Connecting up at the new house went smoothly and I had various "automated emails" telling me my old service was ending.
Then I got a bill for another month's broadband and calls on the old house! On ringing up they said it was an error and they would cancel it. I just asked again about ensuring that we kept our old email address and was told, "Oh, no! That goes when the old contract ends!"
So, folks, if you email us, it will soon change! In the meantime I'm composing my letter of complaint for misleading me, presumably so they could get the sale ...
By the way, do watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNBjV10X64A a song about the fact that if you die, Virgin media still bill you for broadband. Very funny ... unless it happens to you.
2. Nationwide
As we don't own the house we have moved into, we are not responsible for buildings insurance. We had both buildings and contents insurance with Nationwide. So the request was quite straightforward really - end the buildings insurance and transfer the contents insurance to our new address.
The telephone call seemed to go well enough. But then I got 2 different letters on the same day, saying different things, and neither was what I'd requested! Another telephone call and the person seemed to understand what had happened and all seemed well. Until I got the letter from that saying they had cancelled the buildings insurance and they would be happy to quote for contents. What!?! I rang them up. To transfer the contents insurance was not possible (why did the first person not tell me??). So there was about 6 days during which I was not insured.
Finally I've got contents insurance on the new place. That letter of complaint will be written after the one to Virgin Media ...
3. esure car insurance
When I rang to tell them my address change, I had just received their letter to tell me it would soon be renewal time. So I asked about this on the phone. The premium would be the same, he told me. I asked if there was a better deal, and all of a sudden my new address means it's about £50 cheaper! Had I not asked, of course, I think the original cost would have remained. "Customer loyalty" these days means you get more expensive premiums. Always shop around - OR - just ask for a better deal!
But back to esure. Nothing came through, so I rang. You know they ask you for your postcode and your house number, and the rest of the address comes up automatically. Well they did that, so they sent it to my new house number and postcode, but the rest of the address was the old one??!? After this came a flurry of letters and motor insurance certificates! The best one insured me from 14/09/2009 to 13/09/2009 Yes, that's right! I was insured for minus one day! Does this mean I pay a negative premium?
They seem to have got it right now, and only two phone calls later!
So, there we are. The joys of moving house!
No comments:
Post a Comment