Frown.co.uk (smile.co.uk)

Member Name: llamalove

Product:	smile.co.uk
Date:	17/08/04 (470 review reads)
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People that have read a few of my last reviews may have noticed that I?ve been having a little problem with my car. Well it?s kind of turned into quite a big problem now that is going to cost about £800 to sort out. It?s a pain in the proverbial as I?m on the summer hols and I had lots planned. Unfortunately, I can now only do the bits that involve not driving for more than 15 minutes or my car will over-heat.

I noticed my little problem a day before the last day of term so didn?t have to struggle to work and back on public transport for 4 hours a day and thought I?d have plenty of time to get a loan, pay off the last of the finance on my present car and get me a shining new (well, almost new) Tigra.

Well, it?s now come to week 5 of the summer holidays and I still have a car that only goes for 15 minutes, no loan and no Tigra. And it?s all because of Smile.co.uk and their time wasting skills.

On the first day of the summer, I started searching around for good deals on loans. The best one at the time came up at 6% fixed with Smile. Great! I thought and filled in the online application. I expected to hear from them in a few days. A week later, they sent me an email telling me I had a secure message waiting. At this point you have to go the Smile homepage, click on ?application tracker? and key in your ?enrolment number?. You can then read any secure messages waiting for you.

So I did as I was told and found the message asking for me to send them 3 months bank statements, 3 months pay slips and 3 household bills as proof of address (all of which had to be originals by the way?but there was a freepost address). Hmmm?rather a lot of stuff I thought. So I sent them an email asking if I was tied in as it seemed like it was going to be rather a long process and I was thinking of going else
where. They replied, assuring me it would only a take a few days once they received these documents. So I sent them off.

Another week later and no reply? I gave them a call this time and they said they had only received half of what they asked for ? I told them, all documents were sent in the same envelope. Eventually, they managed to trace my bank statements (the ?missing? documents) to a different department and told me I would hear from them in a few days.

Another week later?still no decision. So yesterday (Monday) I called them again. The ?child? on the end of the phone did not appear to know anything and each time I asked a question he had to put me on hold and go ask his supervisor. Several questions and holds later, he told me they would make a decision by the end of the week. Well, that would only leave me 5 days to sell or trade my car in and find and buy my new one before I went back to work? and that?s if they gave me the money!

Not good enough. I really didn?t fancy leaving home at 6 am to get back at 8pm if I ran out of ?car-searching? time. So instead of going back to his supervisor again, the boy told me he would put an ?urgent? notice on my account and I would have a decision by the next day (today). And true to his word, I received an email at 10 am this morning letting me know there was a secure message waiting.

So after 4 and a half weeks, has it finally been sorted out? I don?t know yet (too scared to look) but either way, this whole process has been totally un-satisfactory to me and meanwhile, Northern Rock have bought out a loan with an even lower rate.

I?m certainly not smiling and won?t be referring them to any friends.



Lisa@llamalove.fingers_crossed

Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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