AIBU to think a national retailer is hiding behind GDPR?

[Flooring24]

AIBU to think a retailer is hiding behind GDPR?
I’ve been in dispute with a flooring company since March. The wooden floor was installed in January and started staining permanently within weeks from normal family use. An independent inspection took place and I’m now in a formal complaint process.
I’ve been emailing their customer service email and dealing with a named customer service advisor. The emails I have received so far have been from Penny (name changed), with her job title and phone number in her email signature.

Penny says my complaint is being reviewed by Senior Management and several departments.

I’ve asked for the name and position of who is actually responsible for reviewing my complaint.
Penny has now told me they cannot disclose this due to “data protection legislation”.

This seems odd to me given they’ve happily been corresponding with me through named employees throughout the process. Penny and two other named customer service advisors have been corresponding with me over the past few months.

The company is a national retailer with flooring stores across the country. 100’s of their employees are on LinkedIn with names and job titles etc.

AIBU to think GDPR doesn’t stop a company telling a customer which person, role or department is responsible for deciding their complaint?

how can I be sure that my complaint ia being dealt with. I’m being robbed off by the customer service team with delay after delay and no solution. It’s been going on for months and I’ve never got further than direct contact from the first line of customer services.

Agree. I’ve worked in customer service and typically any email like this is simply forwarded to the same team that was dealing with it anyway.

GDPR is the new health and safety

I think they’re using it as a coverall but honestly, can’t you see why they don’t want to give you identifying details of the person dealing with your claim? You don’t need it and i have had people message me on Facebook and other social media when a case I’ve been dealing with hasn’t gone their way. It’s great that they protect their staff this way. Just because you’re not a prick, doesn’t mean many of the people they deal with aren’t.

Find a directors name on companies house

GDPR of course does not prevent the company from telling you who is dealing with your complaint. But neither does the company have any duty to tell you.

A SAR won't tell you anything either - not sure why that was suggested.

Please read the updates from posters who have experience in this field. It won’t do anything, it will slow things down if anything.

It’s also not as impactful as people think it is. It doesn’t change the outcome of an investigation where consumer law is concerned. It’s either covered or not.

A SAR won’t get you those people’s names. All you’re entitled to under a SAR is your OWN data. It might be reasonable to disclose but you won’t reach the generally known threshold, and a third party in the circs you describe is entitled to confidentiality.

Thanks a serious specifc matter, thank goodness it didn't have a worse ending but this thread is about poor customer service not highlighting healthcare negligence so not really comparable

Clearly a breakdown in procedure and worthy of escalation but do you think hospital bosses aren't aware of the disastrous possible consequences of procedures not being followed?

"Penny" probably isn't her real name, nor any of the other customer service advisors.

Did you pay for any of it on a credit card? If so you can claim from credit card company in the same way as the store. That might make a difference as they will pursue the store to get their money back if they refund you.

Think is Section 12 or something. I used it during COVID for a holiday refund. Took about 21 days.

Put it on X, name the company, hashtag the hell out of it etc. Someone will contact you.

Let me guess this retailer name rhymes with crappi?

While I do agree with you, I would imagine that Penny has probably forwarded your complaint to management/complaints team - however she is unable to disclose a name or their details because they don’t have a customer facing role.

Did you pay on credit card? I just charged it back armed with the evidence provided to my card company and I got it all refunded

I recently supported a case where the credit card company had reached out to ask additional questions. Because I was able to prove accidental damage, the customer then owed the money to their CC company.

This.
GDPR is about how data protection. If someone at a company would reasonably expect their personal details ie name and contact not to be disclosed then that is proportionate for them not to disclose it. It may be being investigated by an unrelated manager who works in a different department.
A SAR will just provide you with ypur own details and all the details of this other person will be redacted.

If you need to complain to an actual person as PP suggested contact the CEO.

I can't really see how a wood floor staining is the fault of the shop tbh. Everyone knows real wood stains, that's why you lacquer it. If it was laminate you might have a claim, depending on the kind of stain.

We find dealing with our LA, the NHS and the ICB insufferable. We find they spend their time pushing us as carers to DD1 and DD2, from pillar to post, trying to put the cost on to ANY other hospital or public sector agency they can, while DD1 or 2 deteriorate and end up costing the state far more money in the long run! The LA goes to court repeatedly to try to save money on DD1, and loses every time. They have even been to court over the same issue twice and lost both times!

In our profession, half the staff would get the sack for being rude, indifferent and incompetent with clients. We don’t dish out appointments to clients, at 48 hours notice; rather we say - give us three dates you can make, and I’ll make one of them.