The Australian Financial Review Part 8

This is Part 8.

Click here for previous parts:

7... 6... 5A... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

My copy of The Fin was delivered this morning.  I breathed a sigh of relief.

Should I retract my complaint to Consumer Affairs just yet?  Unsure.  Certainly, I think that I'd like to know how the last eight weeks are going to be compensated for.

The Australian Financial Review Part 7

This is Part 7.

Click here for previous parts:

6... 5A... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Previously, on Double The Fist...

OK. Not that exciting, but I'll keep you up to date anyway.

Sonny from The Age rang me yesterday to see where I was at with this one. After I informed him that I hadn't, in fact, received my copy of the Fin on Saturday, this is what he said:

"I think that it would be best if I filed an official complaint for you."

I nearly shat.

"Sonny," I pointed out, "I've already done that. Twice."

"OK. But if I do it, I'll be able to get the right people to speak to you."

I asked the question.

"Sonny, are you aware that I've already referred this to Consumer Affairs?"

A pause.

"No."

"You have received a forwarded copy of the email thread containing my initial complaints?"

"I might... um that is to say... there is..."

"Look. All I want is my Financial Review delivered on Saturday. Can you fix it?"

Sonny assured me that he would. Not before also assuring me that other people would be calling me. Yawn.

The time for talking is through. I want my newspaper.

The Australian Financial Review Part 6

This is Part 6.

Part 5 is here. (Part 5A is here.) Part 4 is here.
Part 3 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 1 is here.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!! You bastards!!!

Just stop for a moment and listen. Do you hear that? Yes, that's right. That's the sound of my Australian Financial Review weekend edition not being delivered, once more.

I can hardly wait until Consumer Affairs catch up with this lot. But just to underline the situation, I sent this off:

Dear sir/madam,

Even though I expect to hear from Sonny on Monday regarding this matter, I thought that I would let you know that this morning, just like for the preceding seven weeks, I did not get the Saturday edition of the Financial Review delivered to me.

I look forward to hearing from him on Monday.

Yours sincerely,

Dikkii.

I'm getting extremely sick of this. Just to ensure that I get a response, I also sent this to the Fin's help desk.

The Australian Financial Review Part 5A

This is Part 5A

Part 5 is here.
Part 4 is here.
Part 3 is here.
Part 2 is here.
Part 1 is here.

While I'm not yet in a position to post a Part 6 yet, it is interesting to note that Fairfax Media, publishers of the Australian Financial Review, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, has announced that it will cut 550 jobs.

First to get his marching orders was the editor of The Age, Andrew Jaspan.

Journalists have responded today by going on strike until Monday.

This blogger is, while disgusted, not going to let these issues at Fairfax sidetrack him from more important issues. Like the one about whether or not I actually get my copy of the Fin delivered on Saturday morning.

The Australian Financial Review Part 5

This is Part 5.

Part 4 is here.
Part 3 is here.
Part 2 is here.
Part 1 is here.

Goodness! I really don't know what it is that makes some companies move when you invoke the magic words that is the name of a complaints resolution scheme.

Banks move like greased lightning when you say "Banking Ombudsman".

Telcos will say "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir," when you say "Telecommunications Ombudsman".

And so too, in this instance, just by saying "Consumer Affairs", I've seen Fairfax go completely berzerk in responding to each and every single email I've sent since.

Take this: I only sent my last email off last night. This afternoon, I got this back:

Dear Dikkii,

Thank you for your e-mail.

I have just found your account, and we have been having trouble finding you because you have accidently [sic] been emailing the Sydney office.

Anyway - I have contacted your newsagent and spoken to them about the missing deliveries and hopefully this problem will be resolved.

I have also contacted the Melbourne office, and spoken to a fellow called Sonny. He will call you on Monday next week to ensure that you received your paper on Saturday.

The number for the Age is 03 9604 1468 should have any further queries.



Kind Regards,


Jenny Cuthbert
Customer Service Team,
subscribe@fairfax.com.au or contact us on 1800 252 525 or 13 66 66

Let's just put this in some perspective for a moment. Under "Contact Us" on the website for the Australian Financial Review, it clearly states the following:

Subscriptions

AFR newspaper subscriptions

Telephone: 1800 646 990
International: +61 2 9282 3800
Email: subscribe@fairfax.com.au
Web: http://www.afr.com/home/subscribe/

Which, if my eyesight is not failing me, is exactly where I sent my initial request.

Let's look at Jenny's response.

Fairfax owns three of Australia's biggest daily newspapers - the Fin, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). Whilst I'm aware that newspapers that are owned by the same owner like to remain independent from each other, it's clear from this email that the subscriber databases for the Fin, the Age and the SMH are separate operations.

This is a joke and I'm kinda glad that I'm not a shareholder. I may not be an efficiency expert, but even Blind Freddy will tell you that this is a costly exercise.

Secondly, if Fairfax haven't got the good grace to let their SMH staff know that they're also responding to queries about the Fin, then they have problems.

Lastly, as discussed ad nauseum, it's not my Age subscription that is the problem: It's my subscription to the Fin.

I wrote this in response:

Hi Jenny,

Thank you for your email. I am glad to hear that this is being rectified.

I wish to correct you on two things, however: I have NOT been "accidently [sic]... emailing the Sydney office". The Fin's website clearly states that issues relating to subscriptions and subscriber queries should be emailed to " subscribe@fairfaxmedia.com.au ". If you want emails to go to the correct address, please amend your website.

Secondly, my subscription to The Age is perfectly alright. It is the Fin that I'm not getting.

I look forward to Sonny's call on Monday.

Yours sincerely,

Dikkii.

Unfortunately, I then realised, after I had already sent my email to them that I'd cut and pasted the wrong email address into my email, so I had to add this correction:

Hi Jenny,

I'd like to correct my previous email.

At the website - http://www.afr.com/home/contact.aspx , the email address given is subscribe@fairfax.com.au , not the one I put down in my previous email. You and Alison emailed me from subscribe@fairfaxmedia.com.au .

The email address that I quoted above ( subscribe@fairfax.com.au ) is the one that my initial and second complaints were sent to.

Please ensure that Sonny leaves a message if he is unable to contact me on Monday. I can be hard to reach on every second Monday.

Yours sincerely,

Dikkii.

Let's see if that's the end of this - I'm not rescinding my complaint to Consumer Affairs just yet.

The Australian Financial Review Part 4

This is Part 4.

Part 3 is here.
Part 2 is here.
Part 1 is here.

You'll recall that in our last exciting instalment, we made history. For the first time in the history of The Purple Headed Earls Complaints Blog, we escalated a complaint to Consumer Affairs.

Well, 24 hours is a long time, and I have now finally received a response to my complaint from Fairfax Media:

Dear Dikkii,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Unfortunately the account number that has been provided is for a Sydney Morning Herald account for another customer, not by the name of Dikkii.

I apologise for the nondelivery of the paper, If you could please provide your address details and any further information we will be able to access your account and look into and correct this problem, by crediting your account for missed deliveries and speaking with the newsagency in question. There appears to have been a lack of repsonse [sic] and communication which I again apologise for and hope that once the information is provided we will be better able to help in the matter.

Your subscription has been adjusted accordingly.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further information or assistance.

Kind Regards,
Alison
Customer Service Team,
subscribe@fairfax.com.au or contact us on 1800 252 525 or 13 66 66

Another customer??? You must be kidding.

Utilising a skill I learnt somewhere when I was younger: I am holding in my left hand, while I type with my right, a copy of a confirmation and tax invoice letter that says, quite clearly that the number that I have quoted is mine.

And what is this "Your subscription has been adjusted accordingly" bullshit? They can't locate my account so how could they possibly have adjusted it?

I responded thus:

Dear Alison,

Thank you for your email. I appreciate your response on a Sunday and all, and only wish that you could have communicated this information to me earlier. If you had, we might have been in a position to fix this up before I sent my complaint to Consumer Affairs.

I have attached a scanned copy of a Confirmation and Tax Invoice letter dated 08/07/2008 which confirms my name, subscriber number, address and services provided (i.e. one annual subscription to the Fin, not the SMH).

Could you please confirm if you would prefer a different format to the .jpg file that I have sent?

Yours sincerely,

Dikkii.

Not going to be rescinding my complaint to Consumer Affairs just yet. I simply don't know when I'm going to be getting a response to this email, if I ever do.

The Australian Financial Review Part 3

This is part 3.

Part 2 is here.

Part 1 is here.

I thought after a second complaint I'd get a response to this one. No such luck. Instead, when I went to get my newpapers again this morning, there was no @#$%ing Fin again.

So I fired this one off to them:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write with regards to the two complaints that I have lodged over the past two weeks. I wish to thank you for your scant disregard of them, and also for the cavalier non-concern you displayed in your responses which, when I last counted, added up to precisely zero.

I would like to advise that, in addition to not receiving a copy of the Australian Financial Review again this morning for the sixth week running, I will now be referring this matter to Consumer Affairs.

Thank you once again for your time. Which wasn't any at all.

Yours sincerely,

Dikkii.

It's now time to wheel in the big guns.

Step forward, Consumer Affairs, Victoria. Another wounded citizen needs you!

Consumer Affairs have a form-based emailer where you can type your complaints in. I went in there and typed the following under "Please explain your complaint":

I took out a full year subscription to the newspaper on 31/6/2008 and was charged for this 2/7/2008. I received one on 5/7/2008 but have not received one since (12/7/2008, 19/7/2008, 26/7/2008, 2/7/2008, 9/7/2008, 16/7/2008, 23/7/2008). I have complained each time to the newsagent who advised me the third time this happened to complain to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) directly if it happened again. Each of their previous responses amounted to, "We'll tell our driver." I complained to the AFR after it happened a fourth time. I have not received a response. I complained to the AFR after it happened a fifth time - still no response. This morning, it was, once again, not delivered, making a total of six Saturdays where it hasn't been delivered and one where it has.

Followed by this under "How do you want your problem to be solved?":

I would very much like my newspapers delivered. For the weeks where they haven't been delivered, I would like the equivalent amount credited back to me.

I can't wait to see what happens next.