Terms and Conditions.

I am an imbecile.

I believed the hype. I saw their shiny ads and like a sucker I was drawn in. The introductory offer seemed too good to be true. In the end, it was, and I paid for it. Why? Because I didn't read the fine print.


No one likes being ripped off. Even the most thorough and intelligent of us get swiped in some way. Businesses have to make money, logic we all understand, but those three words above give companies licence to extract as much money out of their customers, sometimes without moral justification.

I was talking to a company today, that used to provide me with a service I no longer use. I spoke to a lady, who clearly stayed unemotive throughout, who informed me that according to their records, I had NOT cancelled my subscription to their service. So, for the past three months I was charged E70 per month for a service I wasn't using. Not only that, but because they have a 31 cancellation service, I was probably going to be liable for another months billing!

The most frustrating aspect of it all is that I know I cancelled it - but I have no evidence that I did. They state they have a record of all calls made and the time I called to cancel, wasn't registered on their system. The conspiracy theorist inside me said it was very convenient from their point of view, but now I was riddled with self doubt. Did I cancel it or did I imagine it?

I work in a business that is almost entirely based on the emotional connection between customer and company. Satisfaction with our company, from the customer viewpoint, is very high in comparison with similar companies. We provide a service that is excellent, and yet we are harsh on ourselves that it could be so much better.

We do understand various different scenarios where the customer is dissatisfied. We try our best to resolve the issues as soon as possible, so that the customer may consider buying from us in the future. The main difference is that we are humans, dealing with humans.

We don't read from a script and pride ourselves from thinking outside the box. We listen to a person with a problem and make judgements accordingly. We DON'T repeat the same line eight times when posed with a legitimate customer query. This type of stance doesn't allay the customer fears that they are not being listened to. It merely annoys the customer even more.

So when you're next purchasing a service from a home provider, follow these simple steps.

Firstly, speak to a human. Use relaxed banter and commonality to establish a relationship. If this person is not a robot, you may find an actual answer to your question. Be aware that some of them do not deviate from their training manual. Get the things you want - no more, no less.

Secondly, pay for your product or service via Direct Debit. This gives you the control to stop a payment by contacting your bank. Do NOT give them your direct bank details. I found this to be an expensive lesson. You could potentially save yourself a major headache in the long run.

Thirdly, ask for your contact details to be deleted from their marketing department. They may have commercial partners that they may share your information with - make sure this doesn't happen. I got calls from this company for 18 days consecutively, and they never call at an appropriate time. I told them today that this borders on harassment.

Lastly, ask about the terms and conditions of your contract. Ask them to forward details on to you via email. Some nefarious ones, have odd cancellation policies on many products and services, which incurs a further few quid from your pocket. I understand that reading these mundane pieces of information are mind-numbingly boring, but it's necessary.

Compare and contrast prices before you make a decision. We all love a bargain and don't mind telling others when a service is excellent.

Equally, we should scream it loudly when we are unfairly swindled.