Episode 13 Rip Off Britain

We asked you to tell us who's left you feeling ripped off.

And you contacted us in your thousands

by post, email, even stopping us on the street.

And the message could not be clearer.

There's too much focus on profit and less on customer care.

It's so hard to complain. Companies make it so difficult to complain.

You told us with money tighter than ever,

you need to be sure that every pound spent is worth it.

All my money is very hard earned,

so when I go to spend it, I expect value for money.

So, whether it's a deliberate rip-off,

a simple mistake or a catch in the small print,

we'll find out why you're out of pocket

and what you can do about it.

Your stories, your money. This is Rip-Off Britain.

Hello, we're really glad you've been able to join us on Rip-Off Britain,

where today we're shining a light on the one thing that in the end

all the letters and emails you send us boil down to.

And that is customer service.

Whether you're dealing with a small company

or one of the biggest names on the high street,

you want them to treat you the best they can right from the beginning.

And if something does go wrong with whatever it is they're supposed to be supplying,

how you judge them is ultimately going to be measured

by the way they deal with your complaint.

When things go wrong, it somehow doesn't feel so bad

if at least you've been treated properly

and are able to get through to the people who can help.

But customer service is a surprisingly simple thing to get wrong.

And certainly the people at the heart of the stories we'll hear about today

would all say that they could have been treated better or faster.

So, as we hear what happened to them,

we'll also have plenty of pointers on the most effective way to get your complaints resolved.

Coming up on today's show:

how a botched delivery from one of the most trusted names on the high street

left this woman out of pocket and her neighbour being visited by the police.

At first, I was quite upset over the whole episode.

But now I'm actually getting quite angry.

And, months after it started the job,

why a company boasting 40 years of experience

still hasn't finished it.

They were saying, "Oh, don't worry", and fobbing me off

with what they obviously couldn't solve.

Now, last year, UK shoppers spent an estimated £62.4 billion online.

This year, that figure's set to go even higher

thanks to the ease of buying from the comfort of your own home

and the convenience of having your goods delivered right to your door.

Or at least that's how it's supposed to happen.

But for Jenny Sheldon,

a simple case of not being home

at the time of an attempted delivery

has led to a terrible situation

that's left her out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of pounds.

And it all began when she ordered something not from some "fly-by-night" outfit,

but in fact quite the opposite -

one of the most respected names in retail.

With a seemingly cast-iron reputation

for quality and customer satisfaction,

John Lewis is one of the most trusted names in shopping.

And business is booming for them online, too,

where another big name has responsibility for delivering many of the orders.

City Link, a long-established delivery company

that typically handles more than 350,000 parcels every day.

So, when two such major players come together,

it should be a marriage made in heaven.

But that's not how it turned out for Jenny Sheldon,

who, in March last year, was getting ready to make an expensive purchase.

I wanted an iPad because I was going abroad for the first time on my own.

And I wanted to stay in contact with friends and family at home,

access my emails by wi-fi,

watch movies on the plane, listen to music,

take photos on it.

Tablet computers such as Apple's iPad are big sellers

and Jenny had plenty of choice as to where to buy it.

I searched online for the best deals around.

I came across John Lewis and I thought they were quite a respected company.

They had a deal on with the printer as well,

so I thought, "Why not? Sounds like a good deal", so I went with that.

The total Jenny spent on her iPad, printer and case

came to £558.

And with a glossy website and the promise that they're "never knowingly undersold",

Jenny was confident that with John Lewis

she was putting her money into a safe and reliable pair of hands.

The website was clear and easy to follow.

I didn't have any problems placing my order.

So I didn't think there'd be any problems with the delivery.

I ordered the product on a Monday.

The website said it would be delivered within five working days

so I was expecting it any day that week.

And delivery was attempted that week.

But unfortunately, Jenny hadn't seen the email saying when it would happen

so she wasn't at home when City Link's delivery man came calling

and that's where her problems started.

They did have my telephone number and they didn't phone me.

I didn't even have a card put through the door.

The next day City Link tried to deliver the package again,

but with no card left to advise her either that they'd visited the first time

or would be having a second attempt,

once again Jenny was out when they called.

So the driver left it at the house next door with her neighbour, Denise.

I've lived here ten years. My neighbour Denise lived next door when we moved in.

She's always been very helpful and kind, taking in parcels if needed.

The delivery driver knocked on the door,

and asked me if I'd take a package for next door.

I said, "Yes, no problem."

It's the sort of good deed that goes on up and down the country every day.

But Denise soon noticed there was a hole in the package.

When I looked, I could see the package was broken.

So I went back out, but the delivery driver had driven off.

Not knowing what was supposed to be inside the package,

Denise couldn't be sure if something was missing, but Jenny could.

When Denise brought the package over,

I could tell immediately that something was missing.

I opened the package and realised the printer was there

but the iPad box was missing.

Jenny immediately rang John Lewis,

certain that buying from a respected name

would mean she'd get some helpful support.

It was a Friday when I called John Lewis.

It was getting on to five o'clock

and they said someone would call me back the following Monday during office hours.

But instead, when she did speak to the store,

it was clear that resolving this wasn't going to be as straightforward as Jenny had hoped.

On the Monday, John Lewis informed me that the package weighed the correct amount

when it left their depot.

So it must have gone missing during the delivery.

They told me I had to report it to the police as a stolen item.

John Lewis also suggested that Jenny should contact the courier, City Link.

I tried to get in contact with them by telephone. I contacted them by email.

I wrote them a letter and I've had no response from them.

Jenny thought that once she'd reported the iPad as missing,

it would be replaced by either John Lewis or City Link.

She didn't really care which.

But a couple of days later, the plot thickened

when a police officer knocked on her door.

The police took away the packaging

and they asked for my fingerprints and my mum's fingerprints to eliminate us.

After fingerprinting Jenny and her mum,

the officer's next stop was Denise next door.

When the police came round,

they started to go through cupboards and drawers,

looking in to make sure what was in there and what wasn't.

You felt as though your home was being invaded, basically.

It wasn't nice, when you've taken a parcel in in good faith

and then it's as though you're not believed.

You know, they think you've stolen anything. I wouldn't do a thing like that.

Jenny didn't think for a moment Denise had any part in the mystery of the missing iPad.

But that hasn't stopped it creating a bit of awkwardness in their friendship.

We'd had quite a good neighbourly relationship for the last ten years

and I didn't want her to think that I was implying that she had stolen the iPad.

With the police investigations shedding no light on where the missing iPad was,

Jenny went back to the store, frustrated.

John Lewis had informed me that because it had been reported as a crime,

there was nothing further that they could do

and advised me to contact my bank to see if I could get a refund on the card that I'd made the purchase.

But the bank couldn't help either.

They said that I wouldn't get a refund because it was on a debit card and not a credit card.

So Jenny's now had a fruitless year-long fight to get her money back.

She's disappointed that John Lewis haven't resolved the situation

and that City Link haven't even responded to her attempts to contact them.

At first, I was quite upset over the whole episode.

But now I'm actually getting quite angry that no-one's trying to resolve the issues for me.

I've even had to go out and purchase another iPad, so I'm even more out of pocket.

And her neighbour Denise won't be rushing to do anyone this sort of favour again.

'I've said to my neighbours about the experience'

and I said, "I'm sorry, but I shan't be taking any more parcels in for you."

Because of what's happened.

So who should foot the bill if an online purchase doesn't reach its destination?

And where exactly does the responsibility of the retailer end?

When you buy any item by mail order or online,

the item remains at the risk of the seller

until it's delivered to you.

If it's delivered to a neighbour or left on a doorstep,

it still remains at the risk of the seller until you get it.

It's always difficult to prove whether you've received an item,

but that shouldn't stop you making your claim.

You need to go back to the seller and tell them immediately you haven't received the item.

It's no good if they try to say it's the responsibility of the courier.

The courier is their agent and it's their responsibility until you actually receive it.

But Jenny's angry it isn't the seller that's lost out, it's her.

I can't believe, just because I wasn't in at a particular time,

that I'm out of pocket so much money.

But after months of wrangling, when we got involved, Jenny's case had a happy ending.

John Lewis have refunded the full amount she paid for the iPad

plus £100

and as a further gesture of goodwill have arranged the delivery of flowers to Jenny and Denise.

They say there were some clear failings in the way the complaint was handled

for which they apologise sincerely.

They've also told us they're looking into how they can change their website

to allow customers to leave specific delivery instructions.

And City Link say they carried out an extensive internal investigation into this case

and found no evidence to warrant further investigation into the actions of their driver.

But, after looking into it further,

nor can they find evidence any card was left after the first delivery,

an oversight for which they apologise, saying since this incident

they have introduced new training to...

So though that finally brings the situation to an end,

Jenny still can't quite believe she had to spend so long fighting her corner

against two big names she thought would help.

I'd ordered something online and I thought it would be a simple process.

The package would be delivered. And then to have to report it to the police,

I was quite shocked that I had to do that.

Next, a very-well established company with over 40 years' experience in home improvements.

Now, their website promises an end result, and I'm quoting, that's

"nothing less than perfect".

But here's a family that simply wouldn't agree.

So take a look at how things ended up

and make up your own mind as to whether they had the customer service you would hope for

on a job like this.

By now, Roy Briffen and his son, John,

should be looking at a crucial extension to a much-loved family home.

It's been our home for 33 years, my wife and I,

and we've looked after it,

we've tended it, and the garden.

And it is our home.

We obviously looked forward to our retirement

and to living here for the rest of our days.

86-year-old Roy and his wife Elizabeth

have been married for 64 years

but sadly, Elizabeth has dementia

and as her symptoms got worse, Roy hoped that by extending the house downstairs

to create an accessible toilet downstairs,

that it would delay the moment she might have to leave home and go into care.

My father wanted this work done desperately

because of my mother's condition.

The company who arranged the work is one of the biggest names in the business,

Zenith, part of Zenith Staybrite Ltd.

But things didn't go to plan.

It's been their pride and joy

which basically has been almost destroyed.

The facilities Roy had hoped would make life easier for his wife

were never added and now are no longer needed.

Elizabeth has now had to move into a home.

After so long together, her absence is keenly felt.

Everywhere you look, there's a blank space

and that's she's no longer here.

And you...

She was so loving.

Roy had used Zenith before, in 2005,

to fit new windows, and in 2011 for a new front door.

So when they called him in 2012, asking if he needed any further work doing,

he was happy to tell them about his idea for the downstairs loo for Elizabeth.

The company sent someone round to see how it could be done.

Typical salesman.

He wanted the business.

And keen, you know, to get things done.

Which was all right, because it was what I wanted.

Once they'd been and got you to sign,

they were gone.

After they'd quoted me,

I had a look at the plans they'd shown

which seemed OK.

It was a bit more than just a toilet.

It was a sort of conservatory as well.

Even so, Roy agreed to the job

but when John next spoke to his father,

he was a little concerned that the plan for a downstairs toilet

had developed into something much more elaborate.

I thought it was a little peculiar, to say the least.

And when he expressed how much they were going to charge him for it,

I was again remarkably taken back.

The total cost would be £16,500

and Roy had paid a deposit of 3,320 up front.

I did think at the time it was an astronomical amount

for what ostensibly is only something that's just over two metres by two metres square.

But I understood that my father was becoming desperate

for a way of resolving this issue of having a downstairs toilet

which anybody who's got someone elderly in their home

or someone with dementia, would understand

how this affects your day-to-day living.

And this offer of the work being done quickly...

..the price was just something that fell by the wayside, really,

because of the desperation to actually get the work done.

Zenith's paperwork said that work on the project would start

within eight to ten weeks,

once any necessary third-party approvals had been obtained.

But John was surprised when work began sooner than he expected.

They suddenly turned up more or less out of the blue

to start work on it.

I expressed surprise and said have they not been through building control

or the planning department of the local authority?

To which they told him they'd got a licence not to do that.

I thought, "That's a bit strange."

The workmen from a separate building company subcontracted to do the job

cracked on with digging up the patio and starting to lay foundations.

But John remained concerned about the speed with which work had started

and was sceptical about what the workmen had told him that the necessary checks had been done.

I was extremely dubious of that, as I'd never heard of a special licence,

and insisted that he actually contact the local authority.

Upon phoning the local authority,

the building control department insisted that they stop work at that point.

Upon arriving on site and inspecting the work,

she said, yes, it did need to have building control permissions to do it

and therefore they'd have to submit a full set of plans.

So all work immediately had to stop.

And there was worse to come.

The water company were called in to look at a mains-adopted drain

that ran across the back of the house.

And the extension actually sat over the top of it.

Obviously, water companies do not like buildings over the top of their drains

or near their drains.

The water company eventually said the work could not proceed at all.

So from the moment work stopped in the summer of 2012,

Roy's been left with a garden looking like this

and no idea whether that indeed would be put right.

I'm extremely annoyed with the way that my company have left my father

with not only an extension which is not being built and can't be used,

on top of that they've left a pile of sand and cement out there

that is sitting there not going anywhere.

As the months went by, Roy became increasingly frustrated.

A whole year had gone by.

Every fortnight or so I was ringing

and they were saying, "Don't worry",

and fobbing me off with what they obviously couldn't solve.

But then in April of this year, 12 months after he signed the paperwork for the job,

an envelope containing a cheque and compliments slip

arrived at Roy's house.

No note, no nothing.

No communication as to why, just a cheque.

We could only assume

that this cheque, because it was equal to the amount that my father had paid as a deposit,

was the return of his deposit

and consequently, that was the end of the contract.

They're not interested any more and just walk away from the job.

When we contacted Zenith, they told us they were...

But Roy's particular case...

They say they've kept him informed and updated throughout and...

And they say they refunded Roy's deposit immediately that became clear.

But they recognise that he's very dissatisfied

so have confirmed that they will...

..and their cost and they...

But while it's good news that Roy's garden will now be put right,

John is angry about the effect all this has had on his dad.

The amount of stress that my father has gone through in this previous year,

in his own home,

has been totally horrible for him.

The sun's shining, the streets are busy

and so is the Rip-Off Britain pop-up shop!

This year, we came to Liverpool

with our free consumer advice clinic.

Outside was our Complaints Corner

where scores of you came to tell us about your grievances.

Makes me feel annoyed, and it's a complete waste of time.

Inside, our experts were all ready to hear about your problems.

-My gosh! You've stuck at it!

-Exactly!

I take my hat off to you! Three years of writing letters!

They must open their post and think, "Joyce has written again!"

And we were dishing out advice in the streets as well

with our consumer workshops around the corner attracting the crowds.

Dr Jessica Barker took to the stage

to warn Liverpool shoppers of the perils of revealing your personal information online.

Most criminals now are using social networking sites

to find out when houses in their local area are empty.

So they find someone who's posted something on a social networking site

saying, "I'm off on holiday",

and then they get the person's name and then find the person's address.

So they can use different parts of the internet to aggregate data

to find out where you live, when your house will be empty

and how they might break into your house.

Criminals can very quickly put two and two together to get valuable information

by surfing social networking sites.

And they can pick up useful details if you reveal too much about your family.

What is another piece of personal information that we're often asked for by banks

and financial services?

They'll often ask for our mother's maiden name.

It takes your average cyber criminal

about five minutes and they will very quickly know what your mother's maiden name is.

So my piece of advice is

don't use your actual mother's maiden name

but use a word that only you know and only you will think of.

Jessica has also put together a fact sheet full of all these tips and more.

You can find it along with advice from all the other workshops

we ran in Liverpool on our website.

Still to come on Rip-Off Britain.

An online store, a special occasion,

and a disastrous dress!

I really feel angry that they can send out these shoddy dresses

and take people's money

and leave them feeling so terrible.

You know, sometimes it isn't just how a company deals with those big complaints

that gives you an idea of the quality of their customer service.

More often than not, it's the small everyday things that absolutely drive you crazy!

And none more so, apparently,

than the time it can take some companies

to answer your telephone calls.

We know from your letters and emails

that you really do not like it

when even the simplest query to some of Britain's biggest names

can involve hanging on the phone for a lot longer than you would like.

So how long is too long when it comes to making the call?

And how quickly should you be able to speak to an actual human being?

To find out, we've been making a few calls of our own!

Well, the most annoying thing, I think, is being passed around

and asked to hold and all this irritating music being put on.

I've found myself shouting at the phone and putting it down and giving up.

Having to go through a number of options before you get to where you want to be.

And not speaking to a real person straight away.

Automated phone lines, voice-activated services

and seemingly endless menu options,

press one for this, two for that, nine for something else. You know the scene.

You've told us that customer service lines that keep you hanging on the phone drive you mad!

So one man has spent the last seven years

fighting to get companies to make things better.

Sick and tired of pushing buttons

until he got to speak to an actual human being,

Nigel Clark decided to take matters into his own hands.

One of my biggest points of frustration in the early days

was when I was ringing my insurance company one evening

and it took about three or four minutes to get through five or six levels of menus

and listen to all the options.

And I thought, "Great, I'm through",

and then I got a voice saying, "Sorry, our offices are closed."

How often does that happen? But Nigel has turned his frustrations into a personal campaign.

This is important to me and became a personal fight

because of the frustration I felt.

And in talking to one or two other people about it,

I would always get the same emotional reactions.

I'd say, "What do you think about call centres?" "I hate them. Can't stand this or that."

And the emotion of individuals,

as individuals, you can't necessarily do something about it.

With those voices ringing in his ears,

Nigel DID do something about it.

When I realised that if I knew what numbers to press,

I could the through the menus a lot quicker,

cos I didn't have to listen to each list of options at each menu level.

So I realised that on some companies and started making notes.

I put a few post-its round the PC and as it started to build up, I then created more and more.

Nigel's notes kept growing

and eventually he had his own little black book of shortcuts

for all the companies that he regularly phoned.

But he didn't want to keep such valuable information to himself.

I created a database, built it up, made thousands and thousands of phone calls,

and then published it online for everyone to share.

And the reaction I got was overwhelming. Absolutely amazing.

Everyone was feeling the same frustration as I was.

The result of all of Nigel's hard work

is a website that lists call centre menu shortcuts

for hundreds of UK companies.

It means you can quickly skip through the options

instead of having to listen to them.

The only downside is that in order to save the rest of us precious minutes,

Nigel reckons he must have spent over 300 hours on the phone

totting up all the information.

Even though it's been tremendously frustrating,

what I did like was the fact that I knew I was beating the system

and getting through and then I could help others to do the same thing.

It's amazing, that response.

In helping others in terms of using consumer power, if you like,

to get the companies to start to change their menus and think about their customers.

That's really rewarding.

But it's clear from everything that you tell us

that Nigel's bug-bear is shared by quite a few of you

and ironically, the businesses that some of you reckon are the worst to get in touch with

are the ones in the communications industry!

I would say the most annoying customer service centres I find

tend to be mobile providers.

Phone companies. If I try and phone my provider,

then I'm often left on hold for ages. They're probably the worst.

Bad companies to call up I find are mobile phone and broadband. I've had problems with them in the past.

So we decided to do a bit of research of our own

and called some of the biggest names in the business

to see just how long they would take to answer the phone.

We chose four household names

that many of us rely on for our landlines.

We wanted to test how quick and easy they make it for customers who ring up with a query about paying a bill.

So over two days, we called the main customer services number

for each of these companies a total of 50 times.

We called them at different times of day,

assuming that some would be quieter or busier periods.

And we timed how long it took from dialling the number

to actually getting through to a human being.

Though not a scientific test,

it was directly replicating the typical customer experience.

But get ready for a shock,

because the results were not what we expected!

Whether it was just because we called on a good day,

or that big companies are investing more in customer service,

the waiting times were not as long as we'd feared.

TalkTalk came out the fastest.

Over all those calls, the average time it took to get through to a human being

was just...

They also had the fastest single call

as on one occasion, we got through the menu and straight to a person

in only...

BT were next,

with an average waiting time of...

Then it was Virgin, who had an average wait of...

And finally Sky.

The average time they kept us on the phone before we got through was...

And they had the single longest wait, too,

with one call taking just over 10 minutes to be put through to an advisor.

'We now have five options for you.'

But overall, none of those companies performed badly.

So, was all this just a one-off?

To find out, we did a quick test on some of the mobile phone companies, too.

'For details of your bill

'including dates and to check payments, press two.'

This time, we made 20 calls to each company over one day.

The quickest overall to answer was T-Mobile

who picked up in an average of one minute and eight seconds.

Next fastest was 3,

with an average waiting time of one minute 42 seconds.

Then there was a slightly longer average wait for Vodafone,

who typically put us through to a person in three minutes 28 seconds.

And finally, Orange, who took an average of five minutes 39 seconds

for us to be put through.

They had the longest individual call of all the companies in our test, as well,

with one call in the morning lasting ten minutes 41 seconds.

When we contacted the companies that we'd called,

they told us that they work hard to get customers the best service,

with some pointing out that they have advice online,

so that a call may not even be necessary.

Sky told us that on average last year,

they answered five million billing-related calls

in less than 50 seconds.

But when there are particularly high call volumes, they...

And Orange, now part of EE,

said they always strive to help customers...

But Nigel's not resting on his laurels yet.

His battle isn't just about the wait.

I'm campaigning to improve the standards of phone menu design.

Ideally to get rid of them completely, but that's not practical.

Also, the other potential area is to have more free-phone numbers as well.

Because so often, they charge very high rates for calls,

landlines or mobile numbers,

and then take ages to get through the menus.

That's ripping people off.

So if you're having problems getting through on a customer service line,

just remember there are ways that you might sometimes be able to speed things up.

And do make sure you complain to the company that you're trying to call if they're a bit slow.

Because your feedback really could improve their service.

Most companies you tell us about haven't set out to rip you off.

So when you feel that's what's happened,

it may be that their terms and conditions just weren't clear enough,

or there's been a genuine mistake

where they've been slow to put it right.

Whatever the explanation, when things go wrong

you need to know what to do and where to turn.

So we've put together a guide of tips and advice.

You can find a link to this free guide on our website.

Or for a hard copy, send a self-addressed stamped A5 envelope

to the address we'll give you at the end of the programme.

The internet has revolutionised the way we do our shopping.

We can buy anything from anywhere.

More people than ever before are using the web

to buy a mind-boggling variety of goods

from holidays to cars, toys to houses.

In 2012, around 38 million of us used the internet to buy goods

and we spent a staggering £62.4 billion doing so.

There are many advantages to shopping online,

but there can also be severe disadvantages,

as we find out in our next story.

Georgia Radcliffe and her mother Gemma

wanted an extra-special dress for Georgia's school prom.

But when they couldn't find what they wanted in the shops,

they switched their search to the internet.

All my friends have been bragging about these websites

and you just Google a website and you can basically trust anything.

They'd all got these pretty dresses, had no problems.

So I said to Mum, "This is the way to do it."

I thought to myself, "I'll know it when I see it."

And she was right. Georgia eventually found her dream dress

on a website called persun.co.uk

which promises its dresses are "Sure to make an impression

"and turn heads at your prom."

I saw it, I was like, "Oh, my God, it's perfect."

It was the right colour, the right length, it had my size in stock. Everything was perfect.

From the pictures on the site, the dress was everything Georgia wanted

and although she couldn't try it on,

she and her mother were reassured by the fact that the website said they could return it if it didn't fit.

There was a seven-day returns policy on it.

They had a sale on, it was in the budget we were looking at.

It seemed perfect. She was so excited by it.

Although the site offered a bespoke dressmaking service,

Georgia didn't need this as her measurements were the same as the standard size 8 on the website.

So she chose one of their off the shelf dresses.

We checked through the sizing and made sure we gave ample space if we needed to take it in,

so I felt it was a legitimate site and we were getting a good quality dress.

With many of the dresses Gemma and Georgia had looked at in the shops

costing two or three times the price of this one,

it seemed they couldn't go wrong.

And if there did turn out to be a problem with the dress,

well, there was always that seven-day return policy.

We bought the dress at £79 with a shipping cost of £15,

which did say was estimated.

So I assumed at that point the dress was coming in from abroad

but a company was based in the UK.

In fact, just because a web address looks as if it's in the UK,

it doesn't mean that's where the company behind it

is actually based.

You can get a web address ending .co.uk wherever you are.

Persun's company offices are in Hong Kong

and close inspection of their website makes that clear.

I showed my friends, and they all said it was really pretty.

I was really excited and counting down the days for it to come.

Finally, after much anticipation, the dress arrived.

We opened it up and I was like, "I'm not going to like this."

Then I tried it on and my heart sank.

I looked at myself in the mirror and felt like crying.

I felt awful. I looked at my mum and she was like, I could just see it in her face.

I looked horrible!

The material was tacky, it gaped everywhere,

it didn't do up properly at the back.

It had a stain on it, the hem's not even.

It's just really bad quality.

It's not what we thought at all.

The dream dress that Georgia had set her heart on

was a huge disappointment.

When you put the dress on, automatically you were like, "It doesn't fit."

-You were gutted.

-I thought it was my fault

because we'd ordered this dress online and we'd said to each other, "You'd better like this dress!"

in a jokey way.

You could just tell from the quality how poor it was.

It wasn't going to fit properly anywhere.

-It really wasn't...

-And just to see her so upset about it.

We thought it was going to be bigger than her size.

So it was a real shock to realise that it wasn't going to fit her at all.

There was nothing we could do with it in order to make it fit.

But reassured that they had seven days to return the dress,

Gemma got straight in touch with the website.

I sent them a polite email. "This dress doesn't fit and we would like to return it

"in line with your seven-day return policy."

Gemma was pleased when Persun promptly replied to her email

but not so pleased when she saw what they had to say.

The claimed that the dress was made to order, so they could hardly accept the return.

Instead, they offered to make a new dress at a reduced price,

all of which was nonsense to Gemma.

She knew she'd ordered an off-the-shelf standard size 8 dress,

not one tailor-made to fit.

We didn't specifically send Georgia's measurements for them to make the dress.

We ticked the box to say size 8 and Georgia was well within their guidelines for that measurement.

We assumed that we would be taking it in when it arrived

because we'd allowed extra space within the dress.

So I was very angry about that.

When Gemma had a closer look at the terms and conditions,

she was even more convinced she was entitled to a refund.

Their website clearly stated that the company don't generally accept

any returns or exchanges

except if there's a problem with quality, size or colour.

When Gemma measured the dress herself,

she found it was half an inch smaller than Persun had said it would be on their website.

As Gemma was convinced the size was clearly wrong,

she believed she should be able to get her money back.

Their response to that was that they had checked with the factory directly

and the dress that they had sent was definitely within the measurements

that would fit Georgia,

when clearly that wasn't the case.

Gemma had hit a brick wall with the company.

The only options Persun were offering

were a partial refund of £15

or to make Georgia a new dress

for which they'd have to fork out more.

Neither of which was good enough as far as Gemma and Georgia were concerned.

This whole incident's left me feeling really guilty

because my mum's paid all this money to get this dress that I really wanted.

Now I feel really disappointed that I've let her down

and that we have to buy another dress.

The financial impact is really big

and I feel bad for Georgia cos I know Georgia feels guilty

and £100 is a lot of money that I had to find in the first place

and now have to find again in order to get a dress.

I really feel angry that they feel they can send out these shoddy dresses

and take people's money

and leave them feeling so terrible

on such a lovely, exciting occasion.

When we contacted Persun, they told us that they...

..and that their quality control team...

They also point out that they have received...

And after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing,

Persun has now offered Gemma a full refund for the dress.

But as she'd still have to pay to return it to them,

she still feels she's out of pocket.

So instead, she's hoping that as she paid for the dress by debit card,

she'll be able to get a refund through her bank

via the charge-back system.

In hindsight, I should have researched the company much better.

I should have done an engine search on them to find out proper reviews.

Had I have done that, we would not have used the company

because there were very poor reviews of them when we searched.

Georgia did find her perfect dress eventually and had a wonderful prom.

But she's not sure she'll be shopping online for such an important purchase again.

I think we're going to stick to shop buying now, aren't we?

We're not going to buy an internet dress again.

Here at Rip-Off Britain,

we're always ready to investigate more of your stories.

You can write to us at:

Or send an email.

The Rip-Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

You send us so many horror stories about poor customer service

that it really was refreshing to find that, at least on the day that we called,

the response was actually quite good.

So if you are ringing a company with a complaint,

you just may find that you can get through to a real person

a lot sooner than you might have expected.

Hopefully that means that the big names are putting their money where their mouth is

and investing properly in customer service.

Because treating people well is, after all,

the best way and maybe the only way to make sure they keep coming back for more

rather than being tempted to take their business elsewhere.

Very true. But keep telling us your examples when businesses don't get it right

and we'll see if we can give them a nudge in the right direction!

That's all we've got time for today.

We'll be back investigating more of your stories very soon.

-Until then, from all of us, goodbye.

-Bye-bye.

-Goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd