Three Ways To Get A Refund!

Here are three ways to get a refund when you've bought dodgy or damaged goods or services.

For those days when I'm feeling a bit low, I have on the wall of my office some amusing emails from a Fool fan who has, he readily admits, far too much time on his hands.

It appears he spends all his days writing to companies complaining about some little thing and doing a good job at getting compensation as a result! So, for my first of three tips to getting a refund for dodgy or damaged goods or services...

1. Crack those knuckles and find a keyboard!

I recently wrote to Boots and complained about a damaged £17 product. Within about a week I received a very nice apology letter and got a £20 gift card in return! In Five Ways To Get A Better Deal I wrote about three other complaints I've made. Including the Boots one, three out of the four were successfully resolved. Not bad. So get on the computer and start typing!

2. Know your rights

For those complaints that give you greater difficulty, there is Consumer Direct. It offers consumers advice on our rights, and helps us to obtain refunds, repairs and replacements. Consumer Direct says it also helps save people time and significantly reduces worry or stress.

So take a look at the Consumer Direct website or, for personal advice, give 'em a call. Their website lists their number as one of those expensive 0845 numbers: 08454 04 05 06. However, you can find a cheaper local alternative if you do a search for 'Consumer Direct' at saynoto0870.com.

3. Send in da boys!

Finally, a couple of ombudsmen can review your complaint and order a seller to give you financial redress. Firstly you should complain directly to the company. After giving them a fair chance to put right the complaint, if they still haven't done so, you should consider referring it to an ombudsman or watchdog.

Not all ombudsmen can help get you a refund. However, here is a list of some of those that carry some weight when it comes to getting compensation:

Ombudsman	What it does
Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)	Considers complaints about a wide range of financial matters - from insurance and mortgages to investments and bank accounts.
Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA)	Considers complaints against estate and letting agents. This is a voluntary body, so make sure the agent you use is signed up to the OEA.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman	Considers complaints against government departments, public bodies and the NHS. You usually go through your MP first. Although it has no formal power to force any recommendations of compensation that it receives, it says that its recommendations are 'almost always followed'.
Consumer Council for Water	Considers complaints against your water or sewerage company. Again, it has no formal power to force your supplier to compensate you, but it can recommend compensation, and it can help you get an automatic £20 payment if your supplier takes more than ten days to respond to your written complaint!

Sadly, the majority of ombudsmen, regulators and watchdogs cannot force companies to compensate you, and I think most of them are pretty lame. Energywatch (the gas and electricity watchdog) and PostWatch (the postal providers watchdog) can negotiate on your behalf and recommend that a company compensates you, but that's it.

Plus, people aren't always happy with what the ombudsman concludes; for example, you may consider the level of compensation to be insufficient. In these cases, or where large sums of compensation are (or should be) involved, you could always get a second (and third, and fourth...!) opinion from our discussion-board users. You should also think about getting legal advice and consider taking court action.

> Read about what Energywatch can do for you in Who Watches The Watchdogs?
> Read more: This Feels Better Than Complaining!