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Just glanced at this and have to agree with Kevin . No cash handout just advice .
Otherwise can I have 200.00 for each of the 3 claims I have on the go.
Leaking inlet hose after we have returned from a w/shop repair discovered 2 weeks later . nice swollen units !
Scratched MARBLE floor pulling an AEG range out !
And to top it off a personal injury claim for 2 broken wrists by a customer who slipped on the puddle in the kitchen , (we did write on the job sheet plumbing needed to be corrected and husband signed, we also left unplugged).
Get the point !Re: Pat-UK
Yeah I take the point Phil.
However UKW and the subs fund was to help the trade. I never stipulated that it was solely for members I don’t think. What I did say was that it was up to the subscribers to decide on how to spend that money, not UKW. I also feel that any decision should be ratified by the AC.
That way there’s a double check on what it’s used for.
What you’ve said here is pretty much the norm though and why I feel we need some sort of rotweiller to deal with claims that *ALL THE SUBS* can refer this sort of crap to. Whether that’s a claims handler or a solicitor I’m really not to sure, but rest assured I will be asking about to see if I can find out. the thing is that that will be a service and wil have to paid for, but as I’m sure you know only too well, even just the time it can save having to deal with crap like that is a boon never mind the fact that it’d be a professional deflecting the claims.
Just a thought.
K.
Re: Pat-UK
While the “service” of having a tame solicitor/ legal eagle to look at claims etc is a cracking one, you get it right in saying it has to be paid for.
So, in real life you would insure against such things, and perhaps this is the avenue you should look down. We could collectively pay the premium to have access to the help, that can be available to all of the site members. Once again it should not involve UKW subscriber funds, and if a member chooses not to join the scheme, so be it.
I can’t help but say that this is already in place and done very effectively by The Federation of Small Business.
KevinYep correct, the FSB do do that. So do RETRA and many others besides.
Whether there’s enough interest in it to make it fly or not is a different story, but it’s worthy of revisiting I think.
One of the biggest problems that we have is that any claims lodged against us are small to insignificant claims in the eyes of business in many ways. Also that many of the problems we face as contracters involves contract law using contracts that may as well have arrived on the back of a fag packet. 🙄
K.
Re: Pat-UK
You’ve put your finger on it again as usuall ken what we should all be doing is using invoices with our terms and conditions on the back.
we should ask some of our larger members if they would’nt mind us copying there’s and offer pre printed invoice books for sale on the site to cover stupid claims againt our members.We are going the same way as the yank’s with every bugger trying to sue some bugger else.
thoughts
Sean
Re: Pat-UK
Del wrote:We are going the same way as the yank’s with every bugger trying to sue some bugger else.
Exactly. In fact it’s worse here as, believe it or not, the levels of service are higher in teh UK than they are in many, many other parts of the world, the US included. Sure, they get better service in a diner, but only ’cause the waiter/tress knows that if they fuck it up they ain’t getting paid. Go outside that culture and there’s a whole other picture to be seen.
Small claims for damages and incurred losses are on the increase, no two ways about it and every bugger seems to be a barrack-room-lawyer these days, customers who “know” their rights and are informed. Why are they informed, simple they get loads from the media and, primarily research on the internet. We catch a few of them it seems, just read back a few months, that guy with the LG was a classic example of consumer expectation being WAY above the norm and what he’d paid for the product, the point I was making was that they (he) expected a higher level of service and a greater duty of care on a £4-500 washing machine than someone who’d bought a potentially life-threatening £15000 vehicle.
He’s shut up and never came back, but look at the effort that went into that one thread, do we all have the time to argue our case like that? I don’t think so, if it were one of ours mumping like that you’d probably have thought, “fuck it, give the guy his money back and tell him to fuck off to Currys”. Analyse what that costs you to do…
Original delivery and installation with a profit of a handsome and generous £35.
Now from that extract the phone calls, time, pick up, paperwork etc. then add the magic “hassle factor”. You don’t just lose the profit on one sale, you end up losing the profit probably of five just dealing with one arsehole like that.
Complaints about service are even worse as, usually, you’d have already made at least two visits and are, more than likely, already in a loss situation before you even start with legal crap or insurance claims.
So, the question you have to ask is, how many times do you just pay out to get rid of the problem before you stop and wonder what you’re going to do about the problem?
I’m perfectly capable of fighting my own corner, I can write a letter and I can reseearch to shoot them down virtually every single time and I’ve not had a successful claim against NW for 8 years now and only a handful have excalated beyond a call mumping about something or other. But that’s because I’m dealing with it and not a staff member, I know what to say and when, it takes a hell of a lot to train staff to deal with such situations in the same manner. Effective dealing with calls or call handling is anothe area of training I want to visit, it is vitally important, more so than many people realise.
However to stop meandering and get back to the point, it would be nice if we had a person or company that dealt with such things for us. Apart from anything else it’s a key piece in negotiation strategy allowing people to defer the decision to a higher authority or power. Defusing situations 101.
It is easy if you know what to do but you also have to have the facility to back that up. Maybe I should write a handbook on how to deal with complaints as it’s generally piss easy.
I could go on for hours on this stuff but you’d all be bored to tears.
K.
Re: Pat-UK
kheath wrote:So, in real life you would insure against such things
We’re straying a bit on the opening theme but as I mentioned before, had Pat-UK actually charged his customer there and then for his inspection visit (as I do – always) He then has license (in law) to remove (in this case the Module) and call back at a mutually convenient date to complete the repairs.
I trust your engineers raise an invoice on first visit?
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