Example One….
The other week, I took my car in for a service and MOT. To my horror I was quoted £990!!! After my ears had stopped bleeding and heart had jumped back in my mouth, I managed to ask a few questions as to why the price was so high. Pretending I knew what I was talking about I threw around terms like 'warranty' and 'brake fluid' and managed to scale down the 'bottom line' price to £852.
It is important at this point, to note the use of the words 'bottom line.'
Reluctantly I agreed to the work being done, because I needed my car doing quite desperately, unfortunately I was told they'd have to keep it overnight. The following day, I called the garage to make payment and check when my car would be delivered back to me. At this point I spoke to a man called 'Steve,' who told me that with MOT added on the price would be £1100!!!
To put it politely, I queried the price stating I was told the 'bottom line' price would be £852. 'Steve' informed me that he would double check the price and call me back.
Less than half an hour later, 'Nick' called and the following conversation ensued:
Nick: Hi Miss Trinder, your car is ready for drop off.
Me: Right, what about the price query?
Nick: What price query?
Me: The one I had with Steve in your office.
Nick: Miss Trinder there is no one called Steve in our office.
The result of this conversation, left me doubting myself…. had I imagined a robbing ba...stard called Steve????
After getting my car back, and somehow putting down my conversation with 'Steve' down to a bad bun at lunchtime, I thought no more about it. However, having had my car back not more than 10 minutes, a warning light came on so I decided to call back the garage…. I spoke to Steve.
Example 2….
Having recently moved into a new residence, I signed up for a certain energy supply company. After nearly a year of paying my direct debits, I was told I owed them £11,000. I could rant on about the whys and the wherefores of this situation, but the upshot of it was that my money had somehow been going towards paying the bills for another house further down the road. After many many many many many phone calls trying to rectify this error, I was told that I had called to say I had married my neighbour and had moved into his house which is why my payments had been transferred.
This left me wondering…. Did I????
Example 3….
