I didn't really get the rest and recuperation I needed, the past few days have been quite problematical. Husband has been really testing my patience - enough said about that. Problem relative has been a pain in the backside as well. And there have been other stresses....
For the past 6 months or so we've (well, I've, it's me who deals with finances) been in dispute with a service provider. Quite out of the blue, several months back they informed me that we owed them a few hundred pounds. I immediately disputed it, as I was quite sure we didn't. 2 or 3 weeks later, I had an email from them saying it was a mistake on their part and we didn't owe them anything. Good, I thought, that's the end of that. A month or 2 went by and then I had another letter (from a different person) saying we did in fact owe them money....yet again I disputed it. After another 3 or 4 weeks, yet another letter (snail mail) from them - a covering letter plus 4 pages of figures and abbreviations which made absolutely no sense to me at all. I wrote back (this was at the beginning of November) saying that this last letter from them was not clear in any way, shape or form, it appeared to be just a cynical attempt to bamboozle me with inexplicable figures, meaningless abbreviations and garbled nonsense. No reply to my letter addressing any of my concerns, they just sent an invoice. By this time, and due to other things going on which had drained my brain and emotions, I lost the will to live - well, to continue fighting them - and simply paid up, although reiterating that I didn't believe we owed the money but was too exhausted to carry on trying to get them to see when they clearly weren't listening to me. Last Friday late in the afternoon, however, I had an email from a senior case manager, apologising for the delay in responding to my early November letter and asking for my phone number, so she could discuss the concerns expressed in my letter.
I got out the offending letter from them (good job I'd kept it) and went through all the figures with a fine tooth comb, to refresh my memory and see if I could make any sense of it, before she rings me. And I spotted a huge glaring error in their calculations - I can't believe I missed it the first time around. Well, I guess it was because I was just so worn down with the constant back and forth, we owe them money, no we don't, yes we do thing (and other things affecting me at the time) and more or less just skimmed through the figures and unexplained abbreviations as my eyes glazed over. Well, now I know that we didn't owe them money - as I actually knew all along - and they in fact owe us £412, quite a substantial sum. And the proof of that is in black and white in their own letter to me, it's a definite indisputable mistake on their part. So when she rings me, if this isn't the reason why she's ringing, I shall hit her with it, along with a promise to escalate the matter to an ombudsman if they don't put it right and refund our money.
Honestly, everything's a battle these days, it's no wonder I'm so run down.
I've focused on good, clean, healthy home-cooked food these past few days and am pleased to say I've lost 4lbs, no longer feel bloated and my guts and joints are feeling so much better. This persistent rain and wind isn't doing my mood any good though, hurry up Spring!
Oh, dear, Sooze. Why is everything a battle? Well, it does seem like it sometimes. You do start to get the feeling that some companies just try to blind you with facts and figures, so you end up giving in, just for a bit of peace. I hope, when she calls, she's full of apologies and offers some recompense for all the unnecessary hassle. I won't hold my breath, though! Sorry your couple of days off didn't materialise. Life does get in the way sometimes! I hope you can reschedule them soon. xx
ReplyDeleteThat is so annoying. I would also mention that from the 1st Feb you will be charging 10% interest each day, on that amount until they repay it. It really is poor of them.
ReplyDeleteYou must also ask for compensation - a similar thing happened with my neighbour, he not only reported it to the Ombudsman but also said he was claiming compensation for time wasted and all the upset he'd had to endure - so should you - he got a nice little sum for his trouble. You've already gone through the stress now make them pay for it, too many poorly run companies in this country now. All AI and nobody with brains anymore. Good luck and hugs Sooze, Elaine
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, that is an extraordinary amount that they owe you. If they don't agree, go to the Ombudsman immediately.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
When you are in our situation Sooze and trying very hard to cope with everything a carer has to cope with, the last thing you need is to have to sort out problems created by other people. I dread having to replace any household goods etc, there is always problems with the process. It feels nothing is working. I think lack of training, inefficient technology and lack of staff are the cause of all this. When I actually get someone who Is friendly, helpful and competent I’m just so grateful..it should be the norm not the exception. This is not an age thing, everyone is experiencing this problem. I hope this situation is resolved quickly for you Sooze. June xx
ReplyDelete