I took out a 12 month subscription to Setanta in July 07 and then found that I did not use it much (Rangers were having a very poor season so not much reason to watch).
I called them in mid July to cancel but could never get through – the call centre system did not have a queue and just kept asking me to ‘call back later’.
So, I backed things up with two e-mails – neither of which were responded to. Bear in mind that they had already taken my August payment and no doubt will be trying to take my September payment.
I finally got through to them on the phone this morning, only to be told that I had to put my cancellation request in writing.
They have wasted a lot of my time, and stolen my money – not good!!!! Now i’ll need to spend more time fighting to get my money back.
Welcome to The Trust Index – a VRM (Vendor Relationship Management*) tool that aims to help individuals differentiate between organisations that they should trust with their personal information, and those who they might not be so comfortable with.
* VRM, or Vendor Relationship Management, is the reciprocal of CRM or Customer Relationship Management. It provides customers with tools for engaging with vendors in ways that work for both parties. CRM systems until now have borne the full burden of relating with customers. VRM will provide customers with the means to bear some of that weight, and to help make markets work for both vendors and customers — in ways that don’t require the former to “lock in” the latter.
The goal of VRM is to improve the relationship between Demand and Supply by providing new and better ways for the former to relate to the latter. In a larger sense, VRM immodestly intends to improve markets and their mechanisms by equipping customers to be independent leaders and not just captive followers in their relationships with vendors and other parties on the supply side of the marketplace.
The chart below shows a sample output from the Trust Index – showing an overall Trust score and then the breakdown by component parts.
Well here’s a surprise from the same marketing newsletter…when will they learn.
Mobile operators sending ‘irrelevant’ marketing messages
Consumers are fed up with the increasing number of marketing messages they are receiving from the UK’s mobile phone operators, according to a new survey.
The report, commissioned by Pontis, found that 70 per cent of mobile phone users consider the marketing offers they receive irrelevant to them, with 64 per cent admitting they find the messages irritating.
Only 11 per cent of the survey’s respondents have ever bought or signed up for something after being sent an online promotion or offer by their service provider.
However, 47 per cent would be willing to change operators to one that can provide them with marketing offers and services more tailored to their lifestyles.
Guy Talmi, senior marketing director at Pontis, says: “The findings represent both good and bad news for the service provider community. On the one hand it shows that their inability to tailor services and content to the individual user’s interests and situation is not only failing to attract new revenue streams but it’s alienating their customer base.
“On the other, it clearly points to a major opportunity for those operators who can harness vital information about a user’s interests and behaviour and offer them relevant services at the right time.”
Saw this today on one of the marketing newsletters – what a farce…..
Direct Line has come under fire for using misleading comparison figures on its website.
A table comparing competitors’ rates with those for Direct Line’s direct access savings account showed rates for Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide and Abbey that were a year out of date.
Direct Line was alerted to the error when it was contacted by a tabloid newspaper. The table has since been removed from the Direct Line savings website and the gaffe has been blamed on human error.
This embarrassing blunder comes at a time when Direct Line is running an advertising campaign claiming that price comparison websites are unreliable.
The Financial Services Authority states that all financial promotions must be “clear, fair and not misleading”.
