Compass 24 - the final insult

[kimhollamby]

Re: An immediate response

I agree that we would want to see any dispute between supplier and customer resolved in a satisfactory way. In my experience any dispute that drags on and on a) tends to get divorced entirely from the original complaint which might be relatively minor and involve other parties and b) rarely gets solved in such a way that either party feels good about it afterwards. We'll do what we can to help end this one today if possible.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[kimhollamby]

Fleas aren\'t biting

It's not directly my job to deal with the commercial side of things (he says donning tin helmet)...I just like to see things sorted when they go wrong, as they will do from time to time with any company outside of those incorporated on the planet Krypton. I personally very much enjoy it when I experience good customer service (it seems all-too rare in whatever I buy) and equally know what it feels like when something goes wrong. Whn it goes wrong and is quickly put right, I like that a lot too.

In terms of the percentages we've seen a few complaints about Compass here and have flagged all of them up the line. At no stage have I canned any posts regarding complaints and would only ever do so if the facts presented were so incorrect as to comprise a serious libel threat (remebering of course that Compass 24 and its employees are an entirely separate operation to IPC). This is the only complaint that appears not to have been resolved as far as I am aware, which makes it no more excusable but there you are.

The Compass arrangement with ybw is still fairly young, it is subject to all the usual caveats in terms of the website's requirements and I can assure you that if we were getting bombarded with complaints then we would certainly review the arrangement. There are improvements that need to be made in some areas and Matt Harvey has publicly posted comments about those. There have also been positive comments made by customers about the service and if you search on Compass you can read those also. That's not a sales pitch of any kind, just a quick run-down on the facts.

ybw.com also offers a Shopping Quay area with links off to other e-commerce services (you can also now link to these through our http://www.ybw.com/search page) and we are more than happy for users to check out all of those options - if they had a similar glitch I'm sure we would respond in similar fashion.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[milltech]

Re: An immediate response

Peter is not, and is not likely to be, a customer of mine. He has taken against me because I once put a commercial announcement on a newsgroup he subscribes to. I do not know the rights or wrongs of his case, but I have seen a certain intemperance in his responses on other matters, and (in my case) a willingness to jump to an entirely false conclusion and then to put it into print.

Compass should do the right thing, (whatever that is), but readers of this group should also I think be prepared to consider that empty barrels sometimes make the most noise, and that forums give us all a chance to have our say but it doesn't mean we know what we're talking about, (usually obvious in my case).

One persons unfortunate experiences should not necessarily cause us to cease shopping with the same supplier. Those people who have had the pleasure of knowing David Lewin know him to be a kind and honest man, an ex. President of the BMIF, and actually the last person I can think of as suitable to be branded some kind of rogue trader.

John

 

[ccscott49]

Re: An immediate response

You are getting personal, is this really the right thing to do? Lets leave the argument between the people/companies it started with please.

 

[Buck]

Re: Fleas aren\'t biting

Kim, my comments on hearing bad things about Compass don't stem from here, I don't look in that often after all but from colleagues in general, although I have to point out that I have never dealt with them, so anything from me is second hand information, however in general customer service in the U.K. is probably at an all time low at the moment.

Buck

Urrrgh.

 

[milltech]

Re: An immediate response

You're probably right but this 22 line thread has already provoked comment from lots of us. My personal opinion is that David Lewin is neither a liar nor incompetant, and I think those comments by Peter are personal enough to warrant some kind of response. I like David Lewin as a man, (a fact unchanged by his being a competitor of mine), he has been helpful to me and I enjoy his company.

John

 

[ccscott49]

Re: An immediate response

Soehow I think the man himself should defend himself, but I've said enough and will now butt out of this, I should have kept my nose out in the first place, I have dealt with compass a couple of times and have no complaints.

 

[milltech]

Me too nm

.

John

 

[kimhollamby]

Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

This complaint, as we understand it, concerned the order of a table from Compass direct with its website (not via ybw-marine-store) which arrived damaged at the nominated delivery address, a marina. The marina signed for the package without noting damage. The customer fixed the item prior to notifying Compass but believed the packaging to be inadequate. The customer chose not to exercise a 14-day money back scheme because he was not aware of it.

There have been various communications between the customer and Compass since that time; also more recently between ybw.com's Matthew Harvey and Compass. There have been at least three occasions on which this subject was raised on the forums and on each occasion this too has been brought to the notice of Compass.

Two credits notes have been issued, one for GBR40 on 21 June and a duplicate on 15 July, both to the customer's address in Lancaster. The option for returning the table also remained open.

David Lewin feels that he has tried to accommodate the customer in a very fair way and appears equally frustrated that this matter has not reached an amicable solution. The customer feels that Compass has not responded correctly.

Those are the facts as objectively as I can establish them. I would imagine the whole process has been fairly easy to solve since the agreement on 21 June, irrespective of paperwork, by exercising the right to spend the GBR40 credit.

In the interests of everyone's sanity is it possible to draw a line on this one?

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[Buck]

Re: Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

It certainly seems that the good people a YBW have gone above and beyond in trying to help out here, despite not being obliged to, and in retrospect and in view of these facts it would appear Compass have acted equally well.

Buck

Urrrgh.

 

[suse]

Also make the small claims court summons a long long way away from where the company is, to make it difficult to attend.

This worked an absolute treat with a problem I had with a different company - money back by the end of the month!

 

[Guest]

Re: Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

I said in e-mail to you I would respond to this Kim, here it is.

There are various other issues in my original complaint which you haven't mentioned but I'm sure anyone interested can look up the archives.

I haven't actually criticised your roll in this, merely pointed out that, as a business partner of Compass promoting their service you do have some responsibility for the quality of their service. My gripe is with Compass, my reason for cancelling subscriptions is a protest at the people you associate with.

I have (surely obviously) not received one credit note from Compass, never mind two credit notes. Had I done so I would have posted a satisfactory conclusion to the affair here and left it at that. The address you e-mailed me is correct incidentally so there must be another reason for none reciept which I would suggest lies at the Compass end, my bills seem to find me with little trouble. If you want to arrange a registered delivery to my work address I will e-mail you that off forum. I fail to see how I can "exercise the right" to a none existant credit note!

I am more than willing to "draw a line" under this but I'm not prepared to be fobbed off with another "lost in the post" story. I'm more than prepared to acknowledge good customer service when applicable, I have done so in other threads on this forum.

Regards,

Peter
http://www.mistressofmourne.com

 

[pvb]

This really isn\'t the right place...

If you have a genuine grievance, just take it to your local Trading Standards people. Compass are no strangers to the Wiltshire Trading Standards Service, so it might be your quickest solution.

Alternatively, just lodge a Small Claims Court action. It's cheap, easy and relatively quick.

Complaints on this forum won't ever rival the force of law.

 

[ParaHandy]

Re: Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

<<bills seem to find me with little trouble>> there's an all too familiar ring about this. More power to your elbow - keep banging away.

What Mr Hollamby is too coy to tell you is that according to Compass "Most of the (increased) business is coming through the ybw.com portal".

 

[kimhollamby]

Re: Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

I'm not being coy about anything and frankly am a bit hacked off that you think that's the way I operate.

As emphasised in e-mail correspondence with PTK yesterday I'm not taking any sides, just trying to get this thing sorted out. The point I made several posts back is that I don't think there is anything stopping PTK spending the 50 per cent credit he has on a table he has decided to keep. If he gets thrown out when trying to do so I will be well ahead of the rest of you in the queue asking why.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

BOY! So you do get mad! Never mind what he has to say Kim, I think the chap who brought this up in the first place, has now got his answer and you have defended your and your magazines honour admirably, I said I mwas going to retire from this, I am now!!

 

[Guest]

Re: Where we are at as of Monday 29 July

I've sent you an e-mail on this Kim. I'll ring Compass tomorrow and try to spend my "virtual" credit note and will report back. I'd still like to know what happened to the real credit notes.

Regards,

Peter
http://www.mistressofmourne.com

 

[david_e]

Re: Hacked off

Understandably so Kim, if Compass were all bad then there would be no Compass.
What I note is that when I complained about IPC you sorted things out straight away, what I also note having taken a quick look at PTK's website is a certain 'strain coming through'. I think the old saying 'A picture paints a thousand words' is appropriate here (there are many pictures so many thousands of words).

I wonder about his comments about the changing colour of the antifoul and a promise to relay XM's comments on the site (can't find these anywhere, so does that mean that this is a lie?). I thought most people know that many types of antifoul change colour after a period in the water.

It is right to defend yourselves, can't understand anyone getting so hot under the collar about £40. I for one will continue to enjoy the forums which have introduced me to a wide variety of different folk, been a massive source of learning and also help, not only from other users but also from the likes of JJ.

In fact, to save myself from trucking down to the newsagents every month I am going to subscribe to all 3 publications at SBS (where I can get extra freebies!)

Keep up the good work.

PS Has PTK logged off yet as promised, or not?
PPS Be careful when looking at his site, it brought a virus warning flag up. More appropriate would have been a snoring warning, what a yawn it is.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by david_e on 31/07/2002 07:59 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Hacked off

Talking of antifoul, I had some once, Jotun I think, it went on red, then when the water hit it, went a pink colour, much to the amusement of everybody (it seemed) on the Dart, then started to go green, with the copper in the stuff! Mind you it was bloody effective!!

 

[david_e]

Re: Pink

Pink can be rather effective in certain situations, especially when spread across one's bottom.