D W

During a motor insurance quotation I was asked repeatedly to give a precise number of days I would take the car into the EU during the following 12 months. Stupid question - who knows how many days we might or might not take the car into Europe. As far as I am concerned Comprehensive insurance in the UK covers vehicles in the EU, with some restrictions - you do not have to declare 12 months in advance how many days you will use your vehicle overseas. AVOID HOWDENSINSURANCE - waste of time.

Standard Life has caused me serious stress and anxiety. It accept it has made mistakes and believes it can ignore responding professionally to a cformal complaint by just transferring £100 to my bank account.
No apology; no rectification - and "enjoys" ignoring formal complaints sticking up two fingers at the Financial Conduct Authority, Informatrion Commissioner and the Pensions Regulator.

Well Standard Life: keep ignoring complaints, keep brushing aside the industry watchdogs - but you can't escape FORMAL LEGAL ACTION.

Awful company.

Capita send out letters with NO DATE. Capita REFUSES to answer complaints - does not care about complaints to the Financial Conduct Authority which Capita says is "toothless".
Capita failed to inform its custlmers of the massive data breach.
Therefore if Capita ignores the FCA it will be formal legal action - with Capita having to pick up a huge legal bill if it loses: which it will.

My Arlo Pro 4 cameras keep having either yellow or pruple tint. I have had for more than a year to re-start the cameras every day. I have also done countless full re-boots of the cameras.
Trying to contact Arlo is IMPOSSIBLE: The company urged people to contact "Live Support" - but it is always shut or no-one ever comes on line. Phone and email is non-existent.

There are FAR BETTER, cheaper products with far better customer service than Arlo.

Time to forget Arlo as a market leader and move on with better brands/models/efficiencies.

Awful Arlo.

I have been a regular Costa customer for years. Not any more. I am sick and tired of under performing staff, inconsistency between stores with, for example, some allow dogs, some not / some fill cups others only half fill them, some refuse to use full milk for a Flat White - and so ther awful inconsistency story goes on.
At Stansted Airport I ordered a flat white: it was made (first time) with semi skimmed milk, was luke warm and the cup was only 3/4 filled. I asked for it to be re-made - came back luke warm, 3/4 filled. So - higher price than most other Costa stores because it is at Stansted Airport, less contents and appalling customer service. No wonder Costa is in financial trouble and being sold off. People are fed up with the rising prices, dwindling service levels and appalling performance management.

Goodbye Costa - let's explore the growing number of rivals.

Come on everyone - let's BOYCOTT Costa !

Disappointing. Called Destination2 - a little frustrated by it's pre-recorded messaging - and gave details for a long haul, multi centre, premium economy trip to Cambodia.
No call back despite several (7 in total) calls to Destination2 - " oh, she has just gone on a call", " oh she has finished for the day"(3.30pm), " she will call you back".
No call back - a hefty financial trip squandered by awful customer service.

Have now moved forward with better prices and better service with another company.

I have sent Standard Life the information it requested

STANDARD LIFE customer service is awful.

1. Take up to an hour to answer the phone. Then say (and this was recorded) "Nothing we can do about your wait". Wrong - get more staff!

2. Will NOT permit pensioners withdrawing their own money online - have to go through a ridiculous, long-winded telephone or paper process. This includes invasive questions such as "Why do you need the money" - WTF has that got to do with Standard Life ?

3. Customer service sends out messages via email using out-dated software that modern PCs, tablets and phones cannot read. Useless beyond !

4. Standard Life keeps deducting the wrong amount of tax which should be based on the tax code issued by HMRC - instead Standard Life just makes up a deduction, then says "go and get any refund through a P55". HMRC now formally investigating on my behalf the corporate behaviours of Standard Life.

5. Takes 20 days, sometimes more, to get money paid into a bank account. Rubbish.

Standard Life subject to many complaints to the Ombudsman - and rightly so. I am one of those complaining.

I am fed up going to different Costa stores and finding so many different prices for the same product.

"Oh we are a franchise and can charge what we like" - said the manager at the Wellingbrough drive through where a Flat White costs £4.15. That is dearer than any Costa in London. And 30p dearer than my local Costa in Sudbury town centre.

The fact Costa HQ has lost all control over its pricing structure shows why people are going to other coffee shops.

STAFF TRAINING: the quality of your staff now is appalling. Few can't make drinks properly; some are plainj rude and don't "give a shit" because they know they are there for just a few weeks filling in between other jobs.

No career structure at all.

Staff believe they have no real future with Coca Cola stating Costa is losing money, closing stores and about to sell the business - probably to ASDA.

Staff morale is very very low.

Constant price hikes: Against major High Street competitors and independents Costa has forced up prices unreasonably, another reason why customers are going elsewhere. I use coffee shops in various European countries regularly and (other than Switzerland) prices are MUCH lower for a similar product with the same volume of milk. In Italy I pay £1.20 for a latte. Yes £1.20.

The brand has lost authenticity - no longer does it stand for quality, difference, price efficient. Your senior staff should actually get off their bums and listen to what customers are sayhing about Costa - it is usually very negative.

Dogs or no dogs. No clear policy across the Costa estate.

I have been a daily Costa customer for years, as my loyalty card shows.

BUT NO MORE.

I am fed up with higher and higher prices, really poor quality staff and a very average offering compared to others who are more inventive.


GOODBYE COSTA

AVOID. I asked for a renewal quotation and was told this was not possible online. I could only get a renewal price if I went to an office in a town 1500 miles away!

APPALLING.

I asked Intasure for a quotation as my Italian building/contents insurance was up for renewal. Worse cover and three times as much from Intasure.

Not credible and not competitive.

Been with rackspace webmail for 20 years. The IT dept could not help migrate folders when my mailbox was full. Absolutely useless "Chat" service. So I have quit Rackspace. Awful customer service.

UPDATE: 19 OCTOBER, 2025.

LEBARA NOW BEING FORMALLY INVESTIGATED.


LEBARA still failing to answer complaint.

I wrote to Lebara customer care on 25 May, 2025 to complain about misleading/inaccurate sales information upon which I purchased a sim card. Lebara is guilty of mis-selling.

It took Lebara 114 days to respond, which itself is an unacceptable amount of time in which to answer a complaint about mis-selling.

My "Contract" with Lebara states clearly my sim package included use in Switzerland.

The sim card would not work in Switzerland. Lebara replied on 17 August 2025 to state the sim card "Contract" did not include Switzerland - when it is evidently clear the "Contract" stated the sim card could/should be able to used in Switzerland.

I bought the Lebara sim card in good faith on the basis it would work in Switzerland. It did not.

Lebara clearly advertisied that the bundle (the "Contract") included use in Switzerland - denied wrongly by Lebara customer services in its reply on 17 August 2025.

1. Lebara should have responded sooner than 114 days.

2. Lebara should accept that it got its response of 17 August 2025 wrong and apologise in writing.

3. Lebara should now compensate me for my losses for having to use other sim cards while in Switzerland for data and telephone calls which should have been available through the "Contract".

4. Lebara should immediately ensure the sim card works in Switzerland as it is clearly part of the "Contract".

I am formally asking Lebara to respond with a final deadlock letter. We will see how long it takes Lebara to respond this time !

As it can reasonably be assumed Lebara will take several months to respond, I am complaining to OFCOM, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Communications Ombudsman explaining that Lebara does not deal with complaints in a timely fashion and that this provides exceptional circumstances to commence a formal investigation by all three regulators into mis-selling by Lebara.

The CEO of AVIVA has lost control of the operational side of the business. AVIVA has attempted to make me pay the same excess TWICE - currently ignoring formal communications from my lawyer. Such unprofessional behaviours.

A damaged car was presented to me after repair (paid for and quality-controlled by AVIVA) in a dangerous and unroadworthy condition.

Insurer AVIVA approved the repairs as being OK !

Instead of getting further repairs undertaken quickly to resolve, the CEO's staff eventually decided upon a leisurely review, after more than 10 weeks "repairing the vehicle", to decide what to do.

A week after the dangerous car was identified in an independent inspection, AVIVA said it would take another 4-5 days to decide what to do. Aviva refused to supply a rental vehicle because of its own mistakes.

Leaving aside the potential criminality of Aviva trying to pass off a car as being fit for the road, it is a serious public issue for consumers (and AVIVA shareholders) that the CEO now allows such appalling standards.

Advice - avoid AVIVA.

Cuffe & Taylor has its financial fingers in the appalling rip off called The Traitors Experience.

Badly run, appalling communication management, terrible value for money

Cannot believe BBC is pleased to be associated with this debacle.

Deaf Nationwide.
When something goes wrong you expect a reputable organisation to help constructively and act professionally.

Nationwide is neither constructive nor professional

For the first time in many years I have questioned a £172.71 credit card transaction. Nationwide asked for information - that was sent by email and registered post.

But Nationwide keeps sending me the same boiler plate email asking for the very information already sent. Appalling customer service.

So obviously I will complain to the Ombudsman (who I fear is increasingly on the side of their corporate lunch providers) but also through the Small Claims Court citing fiscal negligence against Nationwide's money grabbing CEO.

LET THE WAR BEGIN.

Europcar failed to collect the rental vehicle as contractually agreed. In fact they suddenly many hours late turned up out of the blue, with the woman driving away the vehicle clutching an opened can of Fosters beer. This was acptured on our CCTV system.
No apology, no adequate documentation to conclude the rental.
Appalling customer service.

Gruppo Battistolli is arrogant and dismisses genuine complaints about its security services.

Non Italians - BEWARE.

Do NOT use its Rangers security service.

Gruppo Battistolli takes your money but does NOT properly protect your property.

Very disappointing company. Its corporate attitude is dismal and unprofessional

AVOID

Avis Italy has fraudulently charged my credit card and ignored email requests to engage in a constructive dialogue.

I will not tolerate such appalling customer service - so I have started an investigation through my credit card issuer and commenced LITIGATION against Avis for FRAUD to recover my losses.

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID

Old cars with faults, appalling customer service.

We were given a massively dented, ancient Chinese-built car which would not lock and the headlights would not switch off, so quickly draining the battery. When we engaged the forecourt Ecovia representative he was rude, dismissive and told us to accept the car or "f*** off". Somewhat unprofessional !
Complained to counter staff, who did change the car, but shrugged shoulders regarding the behaviour of his forecourt colleague. We cancelled other upcoming bookings and re-booked with another rental company.

Avoid Ecovia and its sister company Autovia.

Brindisi airport. Targetrent is hidden in a shed away from the airport. Poor customer counter service in the shed - with threats to charge against credit card if car is not brought back "clean". Define clean !!!