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Factual: Consumer

You and Yours: Customer service abuse, Shut hotels, Renting on benefits

21/08/2020

Customer service abuse, Shut hotels, Renting on benefits

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Customer service abuse, Shut hotels, Renting on benefits

New research suggests more customer service workers are experience abuse from customers.

Research from the Institute of Customer Service suggests customer-facing staff have experienced increasing levels of hostility and abuse during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

New research by the Institute of Customer Service suggests more than half of customer-facing employees have experienced increased hostility and mistreatment from customers during the pandemic, with over a quarter being subject to physical abuse.
This comes after the Home Secretary unveiled plans to crack down on abuse and violence by customers against shop workers. However, there are calls on the government to create a new offence for people who abuse any customer service worker such as staff that work in banks or call centres.

In 2017, You & Yours heard from a single mum who was turned down by a letting agent because she was in receipt of benefits, and was forced to live in a house where her son became ill. She later won compensation and her case set the groundwork for more cases to come forward and test the law. Recently, a judge ruled that blanket bans on renting properties to people on receiving benefits is unlawful and discriminatory. But how likely is it that landlords will now freely accept tenants on benefits?

Dance studios are being allowed to open up again, depending upon local rules. However some are deciding to move their dance classes outside. But is this just a trend or something here to stay?

Some holiday makers, who booked with the travel firm Love Holidays, have had to make alternative plans after arriving at their destination only to find their hotel is shut. Some hotels have had to close unexpectedly because of coronavirus, but that information hasn't always been passed on to the people due to stay there.  

New research for this programme has found that, in the energy market, the gap between what new customers and loyal customers pay has increased. Research by the auto switching company Switchcraft, found that between 2017 and this year, the gap has widened by £80.
In other markets, despite all the effort by regulators, the number of people impacted by the loyalty penalty has only fallen by less than 5%.

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Customer service abuse, Shut hotels, Renting on benefits

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