EXAMPLES of COMPLAINTS and CLAIMS – Why it is VITAL TO MAKE THEM.

The first thing is to know the difference between complaints and claims, being a complaint a way of expressing to an organization or company a dissatisfaction with their products or services and a claim is the same but it asks for some kind of compensation, either material or economic.

The complaint is the most important way to demand a solution to a situation. In general, it is claimed before any company or private administration since it allows you to recover your rights or in unfair circumstances that do not correspond to you.

Knowing this, we all know that we can put a claim or complaint form in all companies or public administrations, by law.

The problem is that almost nobody does it, almost all of us let it pass because of laziness, because we do not want trouble, because we are in a hurry, because we do not know and so a long list of excuses for not making a complaint or claim.

Why making complaints or claims can be so important?

I am very used to hearing or listening to many people, acquaintances, relatives, etc, say that the health system is going badly, we cannot afford these waiting lists, the civil servants are all lazy, they have not paid any attention to me, etc.

We all complain, but we want the problem to solve itself, let someone else come and do it, we do not want to waste time or we do not want problems.

Indeed, we leave everything to the good work of a politician, director or civil servant in charge of a service, department or public administration.

We also believe that it is going to be solved by itself and that there is not a «plugged little qualified» in front of the one who has to watch over the citizens.

Experience and facts reaffirm my conclusion that all these people who should watch over our rights, in the public sector, care little about us (the vast majority, there are always exceptions) and they are only interested in going unnoticed and continue in their positions no matter what.

In the private sector, even though they have to look after their clients, you always find situations in which you can complain or make a claim.

And why is it so important to make a claim or complaint in situations that you consider unfair or that «abuse their power» and especially in the public sector.

Simply because it is the only way to solve or «lower the mood» to certain people who are very used to nobody telling them anything for various reasons.

In this way, the person directly responsible is forced in most cases to do his job and really solve the problems that arise.

If, if all of us who leave a health center offended by the time we have waited to make an appointment and the little time we have been given, were to file a complaint or claim, instead of leaving offended and doing nothing, some problem would be solved.

Many believe that a civil servant, labor or statutory personnel, cannot be dismissed, and this is not the case.

They can be dismissed after a long procedure, step by step and with the necessary evidence.

To summarize a lot, after several minor offenses, it becomes a serious offense (if not directly sanctioned with a serious offense, it depends on the action), after several serious offenses it becomes a very serious offense, and after several of these, a consequence can be dismissal.

The problem here is that those who are paid for initiating or executing this procedure (those at the top, bosses, managers, delegates, etc.) do not do their job and look the other way to avoid problems.

And since nothing happens to them, they have no consequences for not doing their job, for which they are paid, which is to make those «officials that we all criticize» work, because that is what the cheeky ones take advantage of, which there are without a doubt.

If it is a criticism to those who are paid and are proud of their work as director of, advisor of, in charge of, etc., but when they see a bum who «does not work», who only puts obstacles, etc., they let them pass and even reward them by putting them aside so that they do not bother (which is what they really want).

When they «charge one», that is to say, they fire him (there is no doubt and with the necessary evidence), you will see how the following ones or those who are next to them will get their act together and do their job, nothing more, their job efficiently and with a little diligence.

And please do not come with excuses that they can not do anything to change an article of the Constitution (which seems almost impossible) in a weekend.

And if they don’t know how to do it, which is what they are paid to do by the way, they should step aside and let someone else do their job.

And this brings us to how important it is to make a suggestion, complaint or claim in the public or private sector.

When a manager who does his job, which there are also, receives more than one, even dozens of complaints, claims or suggestions, then he will have the strength to fire or at least to change the attitude of that worker who is comfortable, unmotivated or even rude, among other adjectives.

But if we all «burn», criticize, fix what is wrong (but in the bar), rant, and a long etc., but do nothing (such as making a complaint, claim or suggestion), everything will remain the same.

Examples of complaints or claims and why it is vital to make them.

We are going to see different situations that have happened to me or have been told to me and are totally true, real and have ended up in a complaint form.

Complaint or Claim in a Bank.

Well, one day like any other I go to cancel an account at a bank physically, but at a branch that I did not open it, since they had closed it to gain a few more digits in their profits.

Well, I met an elderly person who seemed to be already very burned (surely rightly so), and after a while explaining why I wanted to cancel it, she told me that she could not do it, that the director had to do it.

The director was not there, so I had to wait or come back another day, according to the salesperson who was assisting me.

I told her to please do it herself, I didn’t want to waste any more time.

After her refusal, I asked for her name and position and she told me that she was not obliged to give it to me.

Well, nothing, please give me a claim form, for the record and she told me that they don’t have one. That they do not have one, I tell him, but that is illegal, I tell him.

After refusing to give me the complaint form, I was so upset, the arrogance and arrogance of that person that I called the local police to record the situation and report them.

The police arrived, made a record of what happened and I went home without the cancelled account and with an hour and a half of my time lost.

The next step I had to take was to go to the Municipal Police to ask for a copy of the report and take it to the consumer affairs department so that they could sanction the financial institution with a hefty fine.

But now they called me from the head office apologizing, asking for forgiveness, claiming that the employee had made a mistake and that they would cancel my account without any problem in another branch, that I only had to go to another branch.

In this case, I did not go ahead to fine the bank (which I am sure would have been a big one) because I did not want to put him in a possible delicate situation out of empathy with the worker.

Besides having to continue wasting time, which is what usually happens to most of us.

Complaints and suggestions in a physical store.

We are going to put that it is a store of sport material known by almost everybody. The case is that a friend of mine bought some running shoes, we are going to run of all the life of his own brand and there was a sign that said, «try them and if you do not like them you can return them», or something very similar.

So what did the person in question do, he bought them, tried them 3-4 times doing about 20 km with them and as they were not completely convinced, he went to return them.

He found a worker who after explaining the case told him that as they were used he could not return them, which would be very logical, if there was not the sign that we have said.

My friend was leaving, but turned around and asked for a complaint form as he did not think it was fair.

As he asked for it, the worker supposedly called the manager and after explaining the case, the manager supposedly told him that the customer was right and that he should return the money.

Moral of the story, if you shut up and leave without doing anything and even more with the legal reason (logic or moral, everyone can think what they want), you are left with a product that you do not like and worse, you are left with the feeling that you have been deceived by advertising.

Complaint and claim in an Online Commerce.

This case for my way of understanding life I see it apart from unfair, of little commercial vision, since you have deceived me once, but twice would already be my fault.

The case is that in a web of tools, in which they like to pass their name hand to hand, appears an offer of a chainsaw of 180 euros to 44 euros.

Wow what an offer, surely there will be no stock or the shipping costs will be bulky, or anything that will not let you buy it.

But surprise, there was stock, free shipping and all the correct purchase process, how nice, in a few days a chainsaw at home.

Maaaahhhuhuuuuuuuuuuu, 3-4 days later, I get a refund and confirmation that the product will not arrive.

No explanation, no explanation as to why, no option to buy a similar item, nothing like that, just a unilateral cancellation of the order on their part.

After contacting them, which was not easy by the way, they tell me that there is a breakage of stock, and that they give me a voucher and their apologies.

Let’s see, we all know that in any online store if there is no stock does not let you buy, it does not seem to me a convincing excuse, as it leaves the customer in total lack of protection.

Well the thing is that I contacted the OMIC of my city and online I put the claim on 1-9-2022, so I still do not know what will happen, but I will put it when it happens.

It is important to say, that what I want is that they supply me the item I buy, at the offer price, nothing more, I do not think that the company in question is ruined «for keeping their word».

Complaint or Claim in Health.

I see this one as a big one and we all, including myself first, are partly to blame for what happens. Many times we get what we deserve and for me this is a clear example.

Who hasn’t gone to the doctor’s office to make an appointment and there was no appointment for two weeks or more (possibly either you gave it before or you got well).

Who hasn’t gone to a hospital or outpatient clinic and had to wait several hours before being seen.

You have to go to rehab and when they call you you have already had to go to a paid one or «died in terrible suffering».

You have to have an operation and they tell you that there is a waiting list of two years, so be patient.

You have gone to the emergency room and after 5 or more hours of suffering in a room they attend you for the first time and if they have to do any test you will have to wait a few more.

And so we could continue giving examples until we get bored and we all (including me) go out ranting, saying that this can not be, etc, but that we go out and go home without doing anything to try to solve the problem or at least to be a tiny grain of part of the solution.

Well, please, if you think it is unfair, that we pay taxes and that this should work better (there can always be failures, we are all human) that waiting lists cannot be the norm and, in short, public mismanagement of funds.

And we leave aside the issue of the money that is paid to private health care, and that if they would invest it in public health care (I am not paid to provide the solution) in an efficient and logical way, we would all win for sure.

Complaints and claims in the public administration

This example is peculiar, since you do not realize it until it happens to you or to a relative or acquaintance.

We go to a school in any city, in any community, in Spain that is. We are in front of a school with two floors, large and with many students.

It turns out that my 10 year old daughter sprained her ankle and elbow at the same time.

Well, apart from other personal inconveniences, there is no elevator in the school, which is about 40 years old, and my daughter had to go up to the second floor to take classes.

Explain to me how my daughter goes up alone, the teachers and other staff do not want to and are not obliged to do so.

I as a father could carry her weight but because of my work it was impossible for me to go and my wife could not do it either.

After exposing the case to the director they told me that they could not bring the class downstairs because of something, I don’t even remember. The solution in the end was that my brother-in-law could go to school and take her upstairs (thanks to him).

In 40 years they have not been able to put an elevator, if they give aid to put them in the old communities, why do not they give example and do the same. Is not the administration to help the citizen, is it crazy to ask for an elevator in a school?

Well, I put a complaint or claim in the Department of Education, I knew it was not going to help, but doing nothing is even worse in my opinion.

My surprise is that after 10 days or so the secretary of the Education Counselor of my city calls me to tell me what is wrong with this gentleman.

Okay pass it to me (thanks for your telephone service), and tries to convince me that they had not yet been able to put the elevator, that there were «many open fronts», a politician selling me the bike.

I just told him that if after 40 years of service they had not been able to put an elevator in a public school where there may be handicapped or temporarily disabled people like my daughter, something was wrong with this model.

The thing is that he told me that it was already planned for this summer to put the elevator and that they would put it (and indeed they have put it, but after a year it is still not in operation).

Well, nothing as I said, thank you for putting an elevator in a public center after 40 years of operation, effectiveness and efficiency demonstrated.

And everything put here can be easily demonstrated, nothing is a lie or invented.

How to file a complaint or claim?

Dealing with the bureaucracy of the state and its institutions has never been easy.

Finding the right channel to file a complaint or file an appeal can be confusing, the purpose of this paper is to provide information on the various types of complaints and appeals that can be filed against private entities, government agencies and public institutions.

Complaints and Grievances in Public Administration or in the Private Sector Sheet, to get you started in the processing of complaints. With this sheet, you will have to know where to file it and the bodies to which you have to address it according to each case.

In the administration of public or private services, it is essential to know who are the competent bodies for this task.

In the private sector, people must file complaints when they find something unfair, unjust or extremely bad.

A person working in a company, public institution, etc. can file a complaint if he/she wants to let his/her superior know that something is wrong.

Si una persona encuentra algo muy malo en el sector privado con no volver es suficiente, más pierde y si muchos hacen como tú al final lo notan si o si, pero en el público esto no nos debe consolar ya que es pagado por todos, poco más que decir.