HOUSTON – You pay for something. You get it. You move on. That's how business is supposed to work. When it doesn't go so smoothly, you may have to escalate the matter to customer service. When you do, there are certain things you should never do if you actually want things to go your way.
"If you don't refund my money, I will take you to court."
This language should never be in your first complaint. In fact, the words "court," "lawyer" and "legal action" are all triggers for a business to send your file straight to its "legal" department where it will sit for weeks, even months.
It may eventually get to the point where legal action is your only option, but Kiplinger Magazine says misguided threats are probably one of the biggest no-no's.
Don't go on and on and on. Be reasonable and brief in your written complaint. The more wordy and complicated, the less likely it is that someone will even read your complaint.
Avoid all caps, even if you're mad. All capital letters is the equivalent of yelling in person. It's rude. Your letter or message should include your name, contact information, summary of the problem, what the company can do to fix the problem and the reasonable deadline you're allowing for them to do it.
Another easy tactic is to "cc" the Texas Attorney General or me (KPRC consumer expert Amy Davis) at the bottom of your letter. That lets the business know you are trying to resolve the matter on your own, but alerting others in case the company doesn't make an honest effort to fix the problem.
