Visiting the Responsible Office Can Clear Up Snafus

A steady stream of messages has come in recent months from people who have had trouble canceling various services--for cell phones, gymnasiums, credit cards, pagers, bottled water and so on.

Often they report receiving bills long after terminating the service. Many have contacted the company’s customer reps multiple times and been told their problems are being taken care of. But the problems go on and on, often ending in collection agencies and bad credit reports.

Vicki Schoenfeld, controller of a Torrance firm marketing stone products, wrote recently, “I have been fighting with Sparkletts, a.k.a. McKesson Water Products [of Pasadena], since first contracting for delivery service to my factory.

“Upon terminating our account and paying all money due, they continue to bill me, adding new late charges each month. Receiving the TRW collection notice prompted me to contact you.”

Schoenfeld added, “I fully believe that these companies count on consumers to give up and pay the false fees . . . just to keep their credit histories clean. Many people don’t have the time or resources to pursue big corporations. [They] do not assign a single individual to respond to consumers but pass you on to a new person with each contact, resulting in repetitive explanations, always starting from ground zero. It is maddening.”

Julie Thomas-Lowe, head of McKesson media relations, said a mistake simply had been made in Schoenfeld’s file.

“At first look, it appears that some incorrect data was entered in her account,” she said.

“We’ve adjusted it to a zero balance. We’ve contacted the collection agency to instruct them to let her know in writing that they will no longer pursue the claim. And a McKesson representative will try to phone Ms. Schoenfeld today.”

About the same time, I received an e-mail message from Lori Zaragoza, a San Fernando Valley teacher.

After years of using PageNet pagers, she said, the price increased, and she canceled the service.

“I mailed both of the rented pager units back together, and have the certified receipt to prove it,” she wrote. “Since I was prepaid, according to my calculations, I was owed a refund of somewhere between $30 and $60.

“I thought that was the end of my relationship with PageNet. Imagine opening a bill from them the following month and seeing a late charge. I called immediately.

“It has now been months. I am now in collections. I have talked to more than a dozen people. . . . The amount is up to approximately $80. Much of this is late charges.

“This is so, so frustrating! I’m sure this may sound minor, but it is really stressing me out.”

Like McKesson, PageNet acted with alacrity, once I contacted the company.

It canceled Zaragoza’s balance and sent her a check by FedEx for $51.02. And its corporate communications manager at its Texas headquarters, Joy Jennings, discussed with me in detail the problem the company has had with its customer service, and its plan to consolidate such operations at a national center in Salt Lake City.

Within minutes of my visit to PageNet’s West Los Angeles office, where Zaragoza had her dealings, a manager there, Martin T. Alexander, stated categorically that her problem with the company “will be cleared up today,” and he and operations director Stephen Feltner promptly acted.

I find, incidentally, that a personal visit to the responsible office often is more effective than a phone call in clearing these matters up.

As far back as 1972 I discovered this, after someone--fortunately the holder of a commercial insurance policy--rear-ended me while I was stopped at a corner in North Hollywood. I was uninjured, but my car was a total loss.

As delays mounted, I found out who at the other fellow’s insurance company was responsible for paying the claim and went to his office in a very large building.

I can’t remember his name, or even the name of his company, but I can distinctly remember the startled expression on his face when I introduced myself and explained my mission. He paid me for a brand-new automobile that very afternoon.

So frequently, in pursuing this column, I pay a visit to the companies named by readers who have complaints. It would be naive not to assume that my Times card gets quick attention, but my actual presence seems to help too.

At McKesson, I immediately saw a supervisor. At PageNet, it was not quite so simple. A woman at the desk said she was unable to contact any manager behind the imposing doors to the main office. She said all she could get was voice mail.

But once I flagged someone going in, Alexander appeared in a minute. And though he and Feltner cautioned that they could say nothing official without corporate relations in Texas authorizing it, the company’s top PR man, Scott Baradell, called me that afternoon.

“We will just assume that she [Zaragoza] is stating her case correctly and refund that balance, because it sounds like she’s had a difficult experience,” he said.

And, he acknowledged, “PageNet is transitioning our customer service operations. We’re restructuring. . . . It varies by locality, but in some areas it has impacted customer service.”

Jennings later explained, “At this point, all of our offices, 50 across the country, have customer service personnel. Soon, we will have the one office in Salt Lake. . . . That will give us a lot more control over the quality and training. . . . And we will have state-of-the-art equipment.

“When a call comes in, the account will pop up onto the screen automatically, and they will see the customer’s history. . . . Also, the call routing is so much more improved in this center. From the account number, we can see what expertise precisely is needed.”

I hope it works out. As for Zaragoza, she was pleased when she got her check and a personal call from Feltner inquiring if it had all been done properly.

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Ken Reich can be contacted with your accounts of true consumer adventure at (213) 237-7060, or by e-mail at ken.reich@latimes.com.