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SCMP Reporter

The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it ...

A Sai Kung reader writes that her efforts to return a television decoder to Now TV have met with stubborn resistance from PCCW.

'I am temporarily living in a house in Sai Kung with a friend of mine, but we will be leaving at the end of October as the owner is selling and the leaseholder is leaving Hong Kong,' she says.

'Another tenant who lived in the house prior to me has now left Hong Kong and we recently discovered that she left the Now TV decoder in the house. Unfortunately we have no contact details for her. I figured that PCCW would like to get its equipment back, so I called the customer-service hotline about five weeks ago.

'I figured wrong. I have now made three phone calls to their customer-service hotline. These usually last around 10 to 15 minutes.

'I'm invariably put on hold for most of that time and the conclusion is always the same: unless I can provide PCCW with the former subscriber's Hong Kong identity-card number, they are unable to come and remove what is rightfully theirs.

'All three customer-services reps promised me they would look into the matter and all three failed to get back to me. The last phone call I made to PCCW was about a fortnight ago.'

She said that unless the Now TV hardware is collected by October 21, it will be dumped in the rubbish.

'I would also like to make the suggestion that a vastly improved customer service department should be high on the company's agenda,' she said.

After an inquiry by Take Action, a PCCW spokesman said its staff would collect the equipment as soon as a convenient date can be set.

Reuben Tuck of Shek O bought two air conditioners from Fortress about a year ago and one  stopped  working in July  while still under warranty.  He claims Fortress' after-sales service is substandard and  that the air-conditioning unit is still not functioning properly.

'I wish to congratulate  Fortress  for their expensive 'extended warranty' contracts, which amount to precisely nothing,' he writes.

'In August 2004, I took delivery of two Fortress brand air conditioners. All was well until early July of this year, when the bedroom [window] unit quit cooling. After dozens of phone calls, each of which obliged me to go through the company's endlessly irritating 'interactive hotline', and after visits to my home by three separate technicians, I was informed that the air conditioner is working normally.'

A technician informed him that the unit met or nearly met their minimum standards for operation, but that the air-conditioning unit was 'too small'.

'This was despite the size being recommended by Fortress.  The technician declared also that it was badly installed. Fortress installed it,' Mr Tuck said.

'Fortress offered to remove my air conditioner, for an indeterminate period, to their factory to be 'cleaned' at my expense (cleaning is not covered by warranty).

'An independent contractor has informed me that the problem is not one of cleaning - I have cleaned it myself - but of pressure.

'It's most likely that the problem could be solved with a simple injection of gas, or a new compressor at most.'

After a Take Action inquiry, Fortress said it has now contacted Mr Tuck and promised to repair the air conditioner to his satisfaction.

'We are sorry to learn about the frustration of Mr Tuck and apologise for any inconvenience,' said a spokeswoman for the Fortress chain.

'Our customer service has contacted Mr Tuck immediately upon receipt of information [from Take Action]. To show our concern and as agreed by Mr Tuck, we will do some extra free service for him by  taking the air conditioner involved back to our workshop to have a thorough check, cleaning and service. It will take around two to three days to do such work. Mr Tuck is pleased with our arrangement.'

The spokeswoman added that neither the normal warranty nor extended warranty includes cleaning services.

A stall owner in Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok, says government inspectors are ignoring an illegal structure that is encroaching on his premises.

He  says the walled structure was erected more than a month ago and is about one storey high. He  says other stall owners have complained that it blocks the flow of air and obstructs pedestrians.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said it is following the case but has not concluded an investigation.

'However, we have stepped up checks in the area to prevent stall operators and licensed hawkers from causing obstruction and other illegal or unauthorised activities,' a department spokesman said.



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