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I am certain others could add significantly to this list, but this is just my provable experiences. 1. Hewlett Packard scanners. I purchased a very good scanner a few years ago which works perfectly with my old Windows ME system. It will not work with Windows XP and the company do not give a damn. On the Internet are many people who castigate the companies customer services. From my experience with them I have to agree. Who wants to pay a lot of money for hardware to find only a few years later it can no longer be used. Many other makers give software support for those with older systems. HP just can't be bothered it seems. 2. http://www.salesbattery.co.uk. This is NOT a UK based company as the title suggests. They sent me an incorrect battery for my laptop and I was alarmed to see it came from China. When I told them of their error they insisted I had to send the battery back to this address at my cost: Room 802, Building 44, Minle Garden, Minzhi Street, Baoan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China. They promised to refund the costs but that has not happened. Beware of websites masquerading as being in the UK and if you do not know, check them out via the 'Who is' websites. 3. The Post Office (UK) broadband and phone. An absolutely diabolical service which I dumped within a couple of months, yet they still kept sending me bills that I did not owe. 4. Amazon.com. Work fine when ordering, but lousy when something goes wrong and you want a refund. 5. Argos. They are great with delivery, but when you have problems with a large bulky item they are a nightmare. The staff seem to assume everyone in the country has a car and can take an item back to the store. Very poor if you have an item of self assembly furniture such as a set of wardrobes, and something is wrong that might need a part replacing. In my case after a two day struggle assembling a set of wardrobes with my Son who came to help me, and having one fixing bracket tear the weak chipboard shelf holding it all together, they expected me to take the whole lot apart, and they would replace the whole lot. Yeah and after my Son leaves are they going to send me a helper to put it all together again? 6. The Red Cross (UK) marketing division. Keep sending begging letters to elderly people for up to 3 months after they have said they will stop. Probably need the cash to support a top heavy administration and overpaid directors, rather than worthy projects around the world. 7. Many UK charities are similar to the above. Many I have come across badger people into signing direct debits. Recently a St John's Ambulance collector visited my elderly mother. Fortunately I was there and listening in while he talked to her. This is an organisation my mother would happily have given a £10 note to, but no he could not accept that, his only course of action was to get her to sign a direct debit. She refused and so they got nothing. Many of these Charities are now using the services of commercial mailout businesses. These organisations are mailing out to anyone they can think of in order to make themselves more money. They ignore the mail preference opt out system and are a heck of a struggle to get names off their databases. Another charity scam: Plastic bags for old clothes etc. In my mothers area she gets one of these bags every few days from a variety of organisations. Some of them are highly suspect and it is very doubtful that more than a tiny percentage of the cash they raise is actually ending up at the destinations they claim. 8. Ebuyer: Recently I had 3 different brands of hard drive video recorders. Each recorder was returned as faulty and each one had the same software faults. All made in China probably in the same factory or using common parts. Worse, was ebuyer admitted that they did not check imported items to ensure they were compatible with UK broadcast systems, or if there were manufacturing faults. 9. Electricity suppliers: My elderly mother is constantly getting estimated readings which are always grossly exaggerated. This seems so common that I am convinced it is a tactic used by these companies to raise interest free loans. What is the energy regulator doing about it - nothing!! 10. The UK telecoms regulators: Oftel - Ofcom - Otelo, etc.: A bunch of overpaid useless bureaucrats. They are not interested in consumers problems with service providers. They do nothing to inhibit any criminal from setting up as an Internet service provider, thus gaining all their customers banking details. When they are warned about the dangers they do nothing. Let us hope their overpaid directors are on the chopping block of the cuts this new Government is assembling. I am all for having organisations to monitor and enforce standards on utilities, but when they do not work, get rid of them. 11. Related to the above is ICANN the Internet domain name regulators. A private (not for profit) company based in America and sanctioned by the US Congress. Who gave the American congress the authority to establish authority over every countries Internet names? To me that task should be part of the UN. When you get problems with a service provider operating under ICANN regulations they do not want to know. Seems to me they are only interested in making fees from licensing names. I notice their staff seem to organise a lot of International conferences at great cost to the organisations funds. Of course if you are set up as a not for profit company you have to spend your income somehow! 12. 13. Reserved. |