Current vzbv evaluation shows critical deficiencies in accessibility, service quality and usability. Poor communication can have a negative impact, particularly when there are problems with contractual services or open billing issues.
Many providers offer consumers online contact options for their customer service. A current study by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) shows that problems arise again and again. The consequence: those affected resort to analogue communication channels. Others cannot assert their concerns. This means that digital customer communication fails again and again in these cases.
“Digital customer communication offers many opportunities, such as the opportunity to raise a concern regardless of time and place or to receive immediate help for standard problems. In practice, however, there are always hurdles.”
Frank-Christian Pauli, speaker in the vzbv financial market observation team
In the consumer complaints evaluated, it is repeatedly noticeable that the digital communication channels do not work for the respective concern or that consumers are left in the dark as to whether a reaction and remedial action will be taken. These problems prevent those affected from asserting their rights or countering unlawful demands.
Problems with accessibility and service quality
Reasons for complaints about customer communication are often poor accessibility, inadequate quality of customer service and a lack of documentation of concerns.
“Far too often, consumers say that they fail when contacting providers. But being approachable is not a nice-to-have. It is an obligation arising from the contractual relationship that no provider may evade in breach of trust. Contact options must be customer-oriented and reliably available. The study shows specific adjustment screws that providers need to tighten. For example: Always provide feedback on submissions and ensure commitments to remedial action are binding.”
Frank-Christian Pauli, speaker in the vzbv financial market observation team
Defects in customer service have a detrimental effect on consumers
This and the previous studies “Customer communication with hurdles” and “Consumer problems in customer communication: A representative survey by vzbv” show: “Affected people feel helpless and without rights if their attempt to request a revocation from the provider fails or a to clear up outstanding invoices while at the same time having a debt collection agency breathing down their necks,” says Pauli. Consumers report that they subsequently forego legal claims or do not defend themselves out of fear of credit rating entries, hassle and wasted time, even though they consider the providers' claims to be unfounded.
All in all, it is about more than just technical problems, misunderstandings or individual obstacles in digital communication in individual cases. The digital channels are also not equally available to everyone. “Consumer rights must be implementable. “This shouldn’t fail because of the contact option designed by the provider,” says Pauli.
Background
The vzbv continually collects experiences from consumers as part of its market observation. What happens in individual cases takes on its own meaning against the background of the experiences of many. Complaints, for example via https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/beschwerde , can help protect others from similar experiences and counteract undesirable developments in the market.
Method
For the evaluation, experiences with specific reference to online contact were collected. 147 relevant complaints from various markets (energy, digital, finance) that were reported between January 18, 2022 and October 28, 2022 as part of an online call asking “Are you having problems with a company's online customer service?” analyzed, categorized and included in the report.
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