Crusader Bringing you comfort and joy in 2016
RIGHTFUL refunds are rounding off 2016 in a happier way than two wronged customers would have thought possible a few months ago. Widow Sheila Broad, 82, paid £655 by debit card for a treatment to her radiators that promised to cut heating bills.
She was alone when the salesman called and said she felt pressured into agreeing the contract with UK Home Save Ltd.
Her rights to a 14-day cooling off period were not explained or observed and she was upset when the work took less than an hour and the treatment could be bought elsewhere for £52.
While firms can charge what they like, there are strict rules around the sales process. After our coverage Crusader received emails from others who had lost out. Sheila’s bank Santander thought she had mis-selling grounds for a chargeback and has since returned her payment.
Meanwhile disabled couple Wilhelmina and Andrew Downie spent £5,000 on chairs they thought would offer them comfort and support, specifically asking for ones that were the same size as those they were replacing. But after a botched home sale where they were unable to try them first, the furniture they received was too awkward to sit on.
They were told by supplier The Mobility Furniture Company Ltd that as they were tailor-made they could not be returned. However, after working with Crusader, son Allan found paperwork from both the original and the new chairs, which revealed a mismatch in measurements that accounted for his parents’ discomfort. After we highlighted this the firm returned the Downies’ £5,000.
Wins such as these have made it another great year for Crusader, which succeeded in clawing back more than £400,000 for victims. Elsewhere sections of the motor industry continued with disappointing treatment of their clients. Kingswood Autos Ltd in Bristol and its director Arthur Chigwaza’s disregard for his consumers’ rights sparked one of our biggest postbags.
Cristina Gimenez test drove one of Kingswood’s used cars, completed the paperwork and handed over £950 in cash. Only then was she told the car “needed minor work” and could not be driven away. That turned into “major engine damage”. Cristina returned the loan car but never got her cash back.
And angry customer Martin Bainbridge kept fighting, together with Crusader, after the Volkswagen car he paid £20,000 for in a credit contract had a faulty satnav that said he was in Germany. When repairs failed, Martin went to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) arguing that his agreement had been breached. It agreed, freeing him after months of worry.
The energy industry has also come under fire this year, not least because the cost-saving digital systems it has devised do not seem to have factored in how humans think and act.
Crusader helped scores of customers to get accurate bills after a year or more of waiting.
Fraud has featured heavily in our postbag, in particular some online subscription scams that took hundreds of pounds from people.
We also had success getting thirdparty agencies to acknowledge their moral, if not legal responsibilities, when things go wrong.
Daughter Jill Stanford and mum Jean had a great time seeing singers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe in the seats they had first paid for after we intervened after a ticket error.
Rail passenger Sophie Donnelly was recompensed when she was charged a penalty fare for mislaying her ticket yet produced proof she had paid. Her treatment laid bare failures in the appeals system, which is set for reform.
So Happy New Year – we are here for you and we will do what we can long after any fat lady has started singing.