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Complaint letter
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Mr. Brian Lynnee
Managing Director
Time Technology Park
Burnley
LANC.
BB12 70G

Thursday, 22 August 2002

Dear Mr. Brian Lynnee

I am writing to you to complain on the services I received from Time Computers, in particular, the response received from customer manager, Mr. Jone Cruncell. I made my order over the phone on 5th August with Mr. Sherr Khan and agreed the delivery will be within 10 days. On 17th August 02, Mr. Jone Cruncell, the customer service manager stated that they did not inform customer by phone even when mistakes occurred by your team while they were aware that customer was anxiously waiting for the information.

On 2nd August 02, I spoke to Dean, one of Time sales adviser regarding to Time laptop computer advertised on computer shopper magazine. Dean requested my debit card details before I made my decisions on weather purchasing it and he reassured me he could not use the card without confirmation by e-mail or fax. The confirmation of E-mail was failure to send it out in the evening of 02 August and Dean said that he would not process the order until he received the e-mail. I tried to contact him on the following day as he was off on Saturday and the other staff said he would be in on Sunday. However, Neither was he in on Sunday. I started to speak to different sales person and I made my order with Mr. Sherr Khan on 5th August that was on Monday. The first thing in the early Monday morning, I told Dean the reason why and when I made order with the other sales person (Mr. Sherr Khan).

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I put my order with Mr. Sherr Khan and confirmed the product against the specification advertised on the computer shopper that is the best one my friend recommended it to me. I was exciting and expecting to receive the best one I chose among the huge laptop selections. I have never purchased anything from Time computers and I started to think the company is a really good one to stick with as the impressive features, performance and the warranty said from the review.

I have given Sher the debit card details and the delivery address. And Sherr said to me that the clearance of fund would take 48 hours and then he could process the delivery. The delivery date was paramount to me as the laptop will be used abroad and the flight tickets has reserved. I told Sherr my concern and I had a very positive reply. " Leave it to me, I will sort it out for you." I felt so pleased and the reassurance I received from Sherr had doubled my confidence to purchase laptop from Time.

As the address for which the laptop needs to be delivered is different from the card owner's address, I was required to send fax to him before process order further even though this indeed caused me inconvenience to copy and send fax over. Anyway the fax enclosed with those important information including the detail of delivery address, the type of laptop and the credit card details. I sent this fax to Mr. Sherr Khan in order to make sure everything is going smoothly. I informed Sher before I sent fax over. The fax had been passed over to Sherr by one of his colleague who received the fax and promised to pass fax to Sher. Then the only thing left to me ought to be waiting and receiving my laptop soon!

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After 3 or 4 days, I heard nothing from Time; I called Time and spoke to Sherr and ask him when I will receive the laptop. Sherr told me " we can not get the fund from your account, we can not process further until your fund has been cleared". Looked at the date, I started to worry that the time has passed by and I asked Sherr weather it will delay the delivery as the reason we both know and he said delivery was not a problem and after Time received the fund, delivery will be within 3 or 4 days. And he asked me to speak to my bank.

At once I spoke to my bank, the result beyond my expectation, the fund has been taken out on 8th August and I did not know and did not receive the goods neither. I told Sherr immediately and said to him please make sure the goods will be delivered to the correct address on time and the only thing I need to know is the fund is taken out. I have engaged with other businesses and my time is treasure. Sherr gave me a very assertive answer and told me he would sort it out for me. That was happened on 14th August (Wednesday).

Another frustrating day passed, no one contacted me. "Well, I think, it takes time to put things right. Give them more time and be patient." On Friday, 16 August 2002, I had to make inquiry about it. The things had gone wrong and had been too far from the right; Sherr was not that promising any more. He started to change his tune and repeated saying that they cannot get fund and after the fund was cleared, the delivery would have no problem. I was so angry and I asked him why did he contact me as I had given my contact numbers to them both telephone number and mobile number. And every time, when he was not there, the other sales people kept promising to pass message to him and he would give me a call back A.S.A.P. But none of them did. At this time, I was full of suspicious in particularly after I found out the fund has been taken out from the account.

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As a consumer, the basic thing is to get goods they have paid for it. No one can explain why I haven't received the goods. Sherr passed me to his manager, Brian. Brian promised me the delivery could be arranged at the same day, if the fund has received. I became crazy and hold my temper and told him patiently that my bank has clearly said Time computers has drawn out the fund and if they deny the fact that the bank would contact their dispute department to contact Time.

What I really want to know is where the laptop is after the fund has been taken out and the delivery date should be within the agreed time as we both agreed from the beginning of the sale with Sher. Brian said the delivery would happy within the same day was quite reassure me. No one tried to tell me what was going on and I had to make another phone call on Saturday, 17th August, which was the last day to our agreed delivery date.

This time ironically, I was passed to customer service manager, Mr. Jone Cruncell, he apologized to me and explained to me that the delivery has been out by courier, but that was mistakenly delivered to a wrong address. I was released by the news they have recognised the fund has been drawn by them and they made mistake on the delivery address. Problems started from the very beginning - the fax, then the fund and the last thing was the delivery.

If there is no problem with the fund, I expect that Time should make arrangement on the delivery immediately as Brian, the sales manager said at the same day. Surprisingly Mr. Jone Cruncell was argued with me on he could not do anything about it, but to apologize to me. When I mentioned about Both Sherr and Brian had said the delivery could be arranged at once after the fund is cleared. He kept saying that he could not do anything about the mistake he made. The only thing he can do is to wait until the goods coming back and redelivery on next Monday and he promised that I could receive the goods on Tuesday, 20th August or alternatively gave me a full refund.

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No words could describe the feeling I had when I heard what he said to me. I only purchase a computer laptop from Time and certainly do not expect to suffer mistakes he made in his management. I trusted what my friend and computer shopper advised me and purchase PC from Time, but did not expect to receive continuous excuses on why not yet receiving goods on time. At this stage, the fund has been cleared 9 days ago and I have not received the laptop, no phone calls to tell me what had happened and why had it happened and I have to make many phone calls to chase up different people and every time I got different answer from them.

After Mr. Jone Cruncell apologized to me, he was very patient to listen what I said. Although there had been so many mistakes occurred, I am still of a little hope and put trust on my first order with Time computers, like the said that it is the best, the most impressive laptop and can compete with the other branded laptops. Even though, I cannot take it abroad with and will not be able to use it neither this time. I gave it up again and double checked with Mr. Jone Cruncell and asked him to make sure the delivery would be on time this time because a friend of mine has to ask time off to receive the goods when it is delivered. He kept saying that there would be no problem this time and the goods would be delivered on time and I put my trust against his words.

On Tuesday, 20th August, I received nothing but a carry case f from courier and called Sherr immediately back and he said normally they should get delivered together, but this time this was separate. On 21st August 02, it was one o' clock already, Sherr told me something had gone wrong again. My heart has fallen down. He asked me to ring courier to make query on the consignment number which is 1702 1120 2320. The consignment number he gave it to me was the number they delivered to the wrong place. The Courier clearly stated there was no parcel going to the correct address on 21st August 02. Sherr could not do anything about it. I was appreciated for what he had done so far.

I have been forced to push over my limit. I am not happy about this. Certainly in this case, Time has not shown any customer cares or any efforts to stop this mistake continuously happening. What Mr. Jone Cruncell said had made me even angrier, he cannot give a good reason on why he did not deliver what he promised me last Saturday again and also he is not communicating effectively on the event had happened and even worse, he is refusing to refund it to me. I am very disappointed by the lack of management of Time computers.

I am addressing my issues to you, the managing director of Time Computers and express my disappointment and resentment with Time Computers and I am desperately looking forwards to hearing from your soon.

One thing I should mention here that I was quite pleased to put my order with Sherr and Every time, he sworn that there was no problem and let him to sort the problem out for me. This impressed me. I am confused by how many people I have to speak to and how long do I need to wait to receive my goods or perhaps refund.

Due to my consumer rights if you can not give me an answer I wish for a full refund as I now do not trust Time to build my laptop, and I will be sending this letter to the Which magazine highlighting problems with your organisations service.

Yours sincerely

Jessica Rechard

Time has promised to refund it to me, but the questions are how many promises have they made and how many promises have they not broken?? Problems still remain unresolved......

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How to avoid problems
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The safest way to pay for mail-order, purchases over £100 is by credit car. Under the Consumer Credit Act you gain a level of protection- gold cards and charge cards are not true credit card company to double-check your level of cover.

If something goes wrong with a purchase make on a credit card, the credit card company may get involved on your behalf - and, in certain circumstances, it maybe able to provide you with a refund However, this may only apply if you are the primary card holder - the same level of protection may not be available to the secondary card holder. To be on the safe side, always buy on your own credit card account for yourself.

Business purchases aren't covered by the PPA's Mail Order Protection Scheme, and business purchasers using a company credit card don't usually have the same protection as a private buyer.

You may gain extra peace of mind if you buy from a company that is a member of the Personal Computer Association(PCA). The PCA is the only trade association in the UK specific to the PC market. The PCA can get involved if a dispute arises between you and one of its members.

Dennis Publishing, which publishes Shopper, is the only magazine company in the UK that has joined the PCA and fully supports its aims and objects.

If you have access to the web, check out www.pcassoc.org or drop them a line at PO Box 48, Royston, Herts SG8 6JS and ask for a copy of the PCA's code of practice and a list of member companies.

When you make a purchase, be sure to use the Direct Order Form. Keep a copy of the form and the advert from which you ordered. Your first recourse is consumer law, which clearly states that suppliers must deliver goods as advertised.

In order to complete the Direct Order Form you must check all the details such as price, delivery date, who took your order and so on - in case there is a dispute over fulfilling the order. The Direct Order Form acts as a written contract between you and the supplier and may provide you with additional protection under the terms of the PPA Mail Order Protection scheme set out in the guarantee on the left.

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10 short cuts to a great deal
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1. Use the Product Locator at the back of the magazine to track down advertisers who can supply what you want
2. Get your questions answered: Does the advertised price include all necessary parts? Does the final price include postage or delivery? When will the order be delivered? What is the returns policy if faulty goods are supplied?
3. If you want to use something for a particular job, make sure you say so when you buy it and confirm in writing. If it can't do that job, you'll be able to get your money back more easily.
4. Check out the maintenance and service deal - ask for written details. If your equipment goes wrong, is there a guaranteed response time? Is it back-to-base or onsite cover? Be wary of 'extended warranties'- they are rarely a good deal.
5. If you're buying on any sort of credit agreement, read the small print carefully to make sure you know when repayments have to be made and how much interest you have to pay. Be aware of the terms of any 'zero interest' or 'pay later deals. Failure to comply can compel you to pay high interest charges.
6. Place your order. Confirm the price of each item, stating the issue and page on which the ad appears. Confirm availability- is the item in stock right now? Confirm delivery details - cost and date, and if delivery date is important to you write 'time is of the essence' on your confirmation.
7. If your order is placed by phone, send written confirmation using the Direct Order Form immediately - and make sure you keep a copy of both the form and the advert that offered the goods for sale.
8. When you take delivery, check that everything you ordered is there and working - you may have only a day or so to notify the supplier of problems according to their returns policy. If the packaging is damaged, don't sign for the goods until you're sure they're OK, even if it means keeping the courier waiting. Don't throw packaging away until you're satisfied with your purchase - you may need it to return the goods.
9. Keep a copy of all correspondence with suppliers; make notes during phone calls. Make sure you get the name of the person who handles your purchase.
10. Don't just buy on price, unless you really know what you're doing. Paying a little extra for after-sales service and support can pay dividends.

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Useful contacts
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As soon as your equipment arrives, check that everything has been sent exactly as you ordered. You should have checked the supplier's return policy and kept a copy of the advertisement from which you ordered and of the Direct Order Form.

If faulty goods are supplied you should write to the supplier immediately providing a brief account of the cause of your dissatisfaction. Include copies of your Direct Order form and details of all people with whom you have spoken at the supplier. Make a record of

the date, time, contact name and content of all telephone conversations you have with the supplier until the matter is resolved.

Your local Citizen's Advice Bureau and Trading Standards Office are the next ports of call if you aren't getting satisfaction. You'll find their phone numbers in the local phone book. Both these organisations can provide you with useful information, free advice and may be prepared to intervene on your behalf. They can also advise you if and when you should contact your credit card company.

The Periodical Publishers' Association, Queens House, 28 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JR. Tel: 0207 404 4166, can also provide you with advice. If the supplier is a member of the Personal Computer Association (PCA), then get in touch with the PCA at PO Box 48, Royston, Herts SG8 6JS or www.pcassoc.org.

If all else fails, you can write to the Ombudsman, Computer Shopper, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD giving full details - please write, we cannot deal with problems over the phone. (From computer shopper magazine 1 Sep 2002)

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