Not just a whine on-line

Evening Standard - 1st May 2001

Stayed in a horror hotel or been sold
a dodgy mortgage? It can be worth
complaining via the internet.
Richard Longhurst reports

I want to complain...to the man behind the counter, or at the other end of a phone, or now, at the other end of my mouse. Defective products, sub-standard service and poor information cost British consumers around £8.3 billion per year, according to the Office of Fair Trading. Home maintenance, second-hands cars and electrical goods are top of the pits, with telecoms, financial services and utilities the major offenders. Which is why specialist websites are springing up to field our pain. But do sites like howtocomplain and Complain Domain offer anything more than a moan into the ether?

how to complain
(www.howtocomplain.com)
What is it? A database of detailed guides that explain how to complain to more than 2,500 companies. "We empower people", says founder Stuart McCandlish. Launched a month ago, the site is backed by John Bridgeman, former director-general of the Office of Fair Trading.

There, there: Half the companies can be contacted by filling in a form on the site, but the rest must be contacted by phone or letter.

Or your money back:
Shopping, transport and telecoms generate the most complaints from the site's 1,000 daily visitors. About 100 complaints a day are sent through, but resolution of each is kept private.

Whine worthiness: a fine source of contacts and details.

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