Customer of 30 years ends up in arrears after making arrangements to keep account paid-up
Wendy Knowler follows up on a case of a major retailer's customer service failure, which drove the consumer to close her account.
Stephen Grootes is joined by consumer ninja Wendy Knowler on The Money Show.
When you've been a loyal customer to a company over many years, you'd expect good treatment from them, or so one would think.
Well, Wendy Knowler this week relates a shocking case of customer failure by Truworths, which led to the person in question closing her account.
Caroline de Beer, who'd never missed a payment in 30 years, was being extra-responsible when she paid a second instalment on a recent purchase as she would be overseas when it was due and wasn't sure what her connectivity situation would be.
“I actually paid a little more than I thought it would be because I didn’t want the account to go into arrears,” she told Knowler.
Despite this forward planning, what happened is that her account DID go into arrears!
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De Beer says she was told that the amount she paid was not treated as an instalment because she'd failed to go into a store to tell them she was paying early.
On top of that, the person she dealt with over the phone was unpleasant and 'treated me like an errant debtor,' she says.
Checking Truworths’ Ts and Cs, de Beer found no clause instructing account holders to go into a store to advise them if they wanted to pay an instalment in advance.
When she emailed the company to say she wished to settle her account in full and close the account, she was met with another inappropriate response.
"None of her issues were addressed, no apology issued, no regret expressed that she felt so strongly about her negative experience that she was closing the account she’d had for three decades; no ‘thank you for your custom over 30 years’."
Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist
Knowler took up de Beer's case with Truworths’ joint deputy group CEO Emanuel Cristaudo, raising both the accounting issue which put her into arrears despite her forward planning, as well as the way she was treated.
Cristaudo took it upon himself to personally contact the customer and apologise for what happened.
He explained that if the customer wants the extra payment to be allocated as their next instalment they would need to advise Truworths accordingly by email, OR call into the contact centre or in-store.
De Beer decided to reinstate her account in the end as she felt the exec had 'really made an effort' and the account could come in useful.
Truworths also put a few hundred Rand in the account - 'I should think so!', Knowler exclaims.
"Companies would do well to check their systems and their touchpoints - and the tone their people use to engage with customers to see if they align to their claim to value their customers."
Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist