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Caught up in the mechanism in these modern times,
consumers must fend for themselves.
Ventura County Star (CA)
August 1, 2006
Gretchen Macchiarella
Somewhere buried in the fine print of sales contracts and disclosures there is a line that says it's your problem if something goes wrong. Whether a sofa is ripped when it is delivered, the plumber didn't really fix a leak or interest calculated on a credit card is incorrect, consumers are on their own to fight companies to get a problem resolved. In many cases, a business might have little incentive to fix an expensive mistake. "It always ends up in the lap of the consumer to find a solution," said Shirley Rooker, president of Call For Action Inc., a national nonprofit consumer hotline.
Khosrow Moazez of Thousand Oaks knows firsthand it can be a headache. He spent countless hours trying to sort out a bill from a home equity line of credit. Moazez, who has a bachelor's degree in accounting and keeps meticulous records, noticed right way when the "ending balance" on his March mortgage statement didn't match the "beginning balance" on his April statement. There was an additional $467 on the balance. After long calls with a customer service call center, he received a letter that apologized for a computer malfunction that added a past due amount to his account. The next month it happened again, adding almost $900 to his balance and a past due amount reaching into the thousands. He called again and was given the same answer: The statement is wrong because of a computer error. "Every time it is, 'We are sorry.' But I have a problem and sorry doesn't help," Moazez said. His bank did not respond to a request for comment about the company's customer service policies.
Argue like a pro When dealing with a company, Rooker said it is important to know what resolution is acceptable and to be sure that the person on the other end of the phone is actually able to provide that. She said the consumer is in the strongest position if he or she is polite, has good records of all communication with a company, including names, dates and what was decided, and is ready to climb the chain of command. "You need to be organized about it," Rooker said. "You may have to pressure them to get what you need, and if you are prepared and you have all your facts in front of you, you are on much firmer footing."
Contacting the Call For Action hotline or filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau can be the next step. Rooker said when there is no fraud involved, the hotline volunteers are able to resolve 85 percent of complaints by contacting companies on behalf of callers. It might not always be exactly what the consumer was asking for, she said, but the outcome is generally fair for everyone. The Better Business Bureau reports similar results. Consumers need to remember that they are not always entitled to a refund or exchange, said Rick Copelan, president of the BBB that covers the Tri-Counties. "A lot of it is just a breakdown in communication, a difference in expectation and, I think, there is a general feeling out there among consumers that customer service isn't what it used to be."
The BBB suggests that consumers try to contact a business before filing a complaint. Copelan said many times the issue can be resolved just by getting the request to the person who has the power in the company to grant it. "If people learn to keep their facts straight, keep emotions out of it and get away from this feeling of entitlement, they generally do pretty well," Copelan said, "and if they don't, they call us." The BBB tries to help consumers and businesses come to fair resolutions, but Copelan said it is always worth filing a complaint even when there might not be a resolution available. If the BBB can't help, Copelan said the office can get the complaint to someone who can, even the District Attorney's office.
Satisfaction possible Patrick Walton, owner of Camarillo Car Care Center, said businesses have the opportunity to head off a lot of consumer problems. The automotive industry has a bad reputation because of the expense that can be incurred, many consumers' lack of knowledge and basic transportation issues. Camarillo Car Care has a 99 percent customer satisfaction rating from AAA, which survey's customers after their transaction. Walton said that is because he heads off a lot of problems. There is a full-time courtesy shuttle that runs customers to where they need to be, as well as $10 per day rental cars. "Their concern is transportation," he said. "If we can overcome those problems for those folks, it's easy." And if there does happen to be a complaint, Walton said, the best way to make a customer happy is to own up. "The easiest thing you can say is, 'We were wrong, we're sorry and we are going to fix it,'" he said. The only thing he requests in return is that people are civil. Past 'please' Civility can get you a long way, Rooker said. She suggests a lot of "please" and "thank you" along the way. But sometimes that isn't going to do it.
Ultimately, disputes can end in small claims court. "You are better off if you can get a third party to intervene for you without having to go to court," Rooker said. Oxnard consumer rights lawyer Nicolas Vrataric cautions consumers from jumping to court over small issues. "It's like bringing a hammer to kill an ant," he said.
For the big issues, the law provides significant protection, including the right to collect attorney's fees on top of refunds or damages. The law is written to not require an attorney, but the fact of the matter is that the law is very complex for consumer issues. Consumer rights covers a lot of ground, Vrataric said. "Your average person, although they have access to all the information, might not even know where to go," he said.
Consumer rights can fall under numerous categories, such as the automobile "lemon law," insurance company regulations, state consumer legal remedies act, unfair competition laws and other regulations. Consumers are often bound by a sales contract, which might contain pages of pre-printed language trying to limit a company's liability or keep the case out of court, Vrataric said. He added that it makes sense that businesses want to avoid refunds and replacements. "They make money by selling products, and they lose money by replacing them," he said. Which is why people need to be their own advocate, he said. Try writing a letter so that the issue is clear and fax it over to the business to get a confirmation it was received. In the case of outright fraud, Vrataric said, consumers can skip the formalities. It won't work. That, he said, is where he comes in, and all the politeness stops.
Cost of contention Self advocacy might be important, but Moazez said it was frustrating and costly. He sent letters with canceled checks showing he had paid on time and called over and over. It cost him photocopies and tons of time. "If they can't manage my account, they should have to prove that they didn't get the check, not me proving that I sent it," he said. There are plenty of people who don't pay close attention, and wouldn't notice the errors for months. By then, it would be difficult to dig up all the documentation. "You rely on big companies and rely on the computer to not make mistakes, but computers make more mistakes than people," Moazez said.
Moazez's discrepencies have not been fully resolved Rooker said most companies will be responsive. "It is so much less expensive to serve that customer's needs than go out and get another one," she said. Companies that lack customer service are easy to spot, Rooker said, because "people who are unhappy with a business tend to talk about it." She said anyone looking to make a major purchase or a long-term commitment to a company, such as an insurance provider, should check them out. Get online, she said, or talk to family and friends. The BBB has ratings, AAA through F, on nearly all business, members or not, on its site at http://www.ventura.bbb.org/.
Law Offices of Nicolas C. Vrataric
826 South "A" Street
Oxnard, CA 93030-7140
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Our law firm represents clients in Oxnard, California, and in the surrounding Southern California area including the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Camarillo, Carpinteria, El Rio, Fillmore, Goleta, Isla Vista, Malibu, Moorpark, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Ventura, Westlake Village; Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Los Angeles County, and along the Pacific Coast Highway.
