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Have you ever been punished for complaining?

Ed Bowsher
by Lovemoney Staff Ed Bowsher on 02 March 2010  |  Comments 9 comments

Have you ever complained to a retailer and then been put on a 'blacklist' by that retailer afterwards?

I was rather disturbed to read this comment on the bottom of one of our articles.

A reader called smg2108 says that he/she was unable to get service from Carphone Warehouse because Carphone had placed smg on a customer blacklist. Seemingly, this was because smg had complained last year after a phone was returned after repair without a memory card.

It's a pretty shocking story. In a world with fewer and fewer different retailers, getting blacklisted by one of the big boys could be a very serious inconvenience. So I'm curious. Has anyone out there ever had a similar experience? Have you ever complained to a retailer and then been punished in any way for that complaint? Either with Carphone Warehouse or with another retailer?

If you have, just let us know in the comments section at the bottom of this article. Then if we get some interesting feedback, I'll write another blog post or two on the topic.

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Comments (9)

  • smg2108
    Love rating 0
    smg2108 said

    In response to Ken1961, I was neither rude nor aggressive; however, I did ask that the staff look through all the boxes that had been returned from the evening before to see if the memory card had been missed. I was the last customer in the shop the previous evening and the first the following day so it was reasonable to suggest it should/could still have been there. I did ask for the Head Office address in order to write a letter of complaint regarding having to buy a new memory card, but it was done calmly,not aggressively. In response to how I found out I was on a blacklist - nearly a year later, I attempted to buy my son an in-car charger for his 'phone. It apparently is Carphone Warehouse's standard practise to ask for your name and post code, which were furnished. It was at that point I was told that I could not be served. I had not previously had the courtesy extended to me of advising that this was the case, and had no knowledge prior to this that I was 'persona non grata'. No reply to my original letter has ever been received. The assistant at this second visit was very nice and actually told me that the company blacklisted people all the time if there is an issue with a customer. How I interpret this is that the customers are not afforded the right to complain; My family all have their phones with Carphone Warehouse, but will not renew with them at the end of their contracts. 

    Report on 15 March 2010  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • CuNNaXXa
    Love rating 362
    CuNNaXXa said

    The question I would ask is who has the authority to add names to a blacklist, and what procedures are in place to ensure that names added to a blacklist are genuine, and not added out of spite.

    For example, in any staff member of Carephone Warehouse can add names with inpunity, then this would mean that ALL Carephone Warehouse customers are under threat for even airing their opinions. This certainly smacks of censorship, where someone can be penalised for offering an opinion that is not to the liking of CPW staff.

    So, what systems are in place to ensure that CPW customers are being treat farely regarding this blacklist?

    Is there a three strike rule or similar setup, or is it simply one offense, instant ban?

    What procedures are in place to allow members of the public to challenge the ban?

    Why isn't there a mechanism to inform the member of the public that they have been banned?

    Who audits the bans to ensure fairness and equality (including consistency)?

    While any retailer has the right to deny access to their shops and services to any member of the public that they wish to, we also have to remember that if someone already has a contract with that retailer, then there is a natural provision for the contractee to have access to the contractor's facilities as part of the package being paid for.

    If smg2108 has a mobile phone contract set up through CPW, and it is still active, then he has every right to demand to know why he is being banned from CPW shops, especially in light of the fact that he is paying for that service they offer (it is implied that if you bought your phone and contract from CPW, then they would service you and your phone during the contract period. If this service has been withdrawn by CPW, are they technically withdrawing from their side of the contract).

    I think a CPW senior needs to address this issue either directly with smg2108 or indirectly with this board. Having a scenario where someone is being snookered from getting their monies worth is certainly not an ideal situation.

    OK, lets put it another way. I recently bought an expensive Plasma TV from Curry's. Now if Curry's decided to ban me because, say, I refused to take out their extended warranty, they would effectively be blocking my rights under the Sale Of Goods Act, and would be terminating my contract with them, meaning I could return the TV under the SOGA, if only I could re-enter their shop.

    I also have to question the level that triggered the ban. If someone is shoplifting or being abusive to staff (to the point that physical violence is being used), then I would suggest that the shop is well within it's rights to ban the person from every outlet of that store. Even more so, I would expect the police also to be involved as the actions are criminal in matter.

    On the other hand, if we are being threatened with a ban for merely voicing our dissatisfaction of a level of service, then this clearly demonstrates that a retailer is quite prepared to compromise on quality and is purely interested in profit. Remember that retailers make a profit by serving us, and the key word is 'serve'. If they cannot even bother to maintain a high quality of service, and think they can make a profit through quantity rather than quality, they will soon get a name for themselves.

    As for smg2108, I suggest you start bombarding CPW head office with letters asking to justify your treatment at their hands. If you have been a customer for any length of time, express such facts. Tell them that you are dissatisfied with the label they have attached to you, and feel that it may even be defamatory, especially in light of the fact that you may have been asked to leave a shop in front of other customers.

    You may find that CPW review your case and decide to reverse the decision to ban you. You may even find making a reference to this thread might help, as they will realise that this could generate bad publicity.

    After all, the only people who complain are those who think they have been wronged. If you had genuinely been a bad boy at CPW, you probably wouldn't have brought this matter up in the first place.

    Report on 14 August 2011  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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