If there’s been a common theme in this column during 2013 it has been
‘complain’. And the more the year passed the more I realised that
although the principles of complaining were always the same, the details
for each firm and each sector – telecoms, finance, retail, and so on –
were all different.
So I was delighted before Christmas to meet
James Walker the creator of a new website called www.resolver.co.uk
which automates the process of making complaints and helps you through
all the fiddly bits that can be tricky for an individual to navigate.
The service is free but you have to join and give your email and other
details – Resolver promises not to pass these on to anyone without your
permission. It makes its money by telling firms what is being complained
about and what annoys customers – all data is kept anonymous.
Resolver takes you through the steps you need to make an effective
complaint. First, what are your rights? Some things cannot be rectified
even though they were very annoying. Second, what went wrong and what
would action would you like? Fill in the details and Resolver will draft
a letter of complaint to the right person at the correct address. You
can even click on a variety of smiley faces tell the software how
annoyed you feel – and it will tailor the language to suit!
You click a button to email the complaint to the right person. When
you get a response Resolver will tell you and advise what to do next.
That could be escalating the complaint up the management hierarchy. If
that does not work then Resolver will tell you if there is an Ombudsman
or dispute resolution service that you can complain to. Ultimately it
may advise taking court action – though it won’t directly help you
through that.
At all
stages Resolver keeps copies of your complaint and any response
preserving a timeline of documents for you. Very soon an app will be
available so you can telephone the firm from your smartphone and
Resolver will record the conversation and store that alongside all the
other case documents.
Some of the top complaints people make through Resolver include late
flights, broadband not working, holiday not as expected, energy bill
wrong, insurance premiums too high, or a gym has refused to let you
leave your contract.
At the moment Resolver handles complaints to energy and water providers,
travel companies, telecoms and broadband suppliers, some finance firms,
leisure services, call out support, and some retailers. It covers more
than 1000 firms and others are being added all the time. In future it
may be extended to include complaints about Government services.
Resolver is new and I would be very interested to hear of
experiences about how well – or not – it works. Leave a comment beneath
this article or email me at
paul@paullewis.co.uk
And resolve to make that complaint in 2014.