www.franglais-riders.com
Motorcycling around South America... and beyond!
HALL OF SHAME
Dedicated to all incompetent companies that made our trip a
nightmare!

TELEWEST
Thanks Telewest for your total incompetence and lack of customer service which
meant we were left on our last day in the UK with a digi-box and modem, no one to give
them to and nowhere to send them.  It took 2 months to sort it out with the help of a
friend in the UK and only because we copied everyone we could find remotely
connected with Telewest (now Virgin Media) in our emails, including
Richard Branson.



BARCLAYS BANK
Thanks Barclays Bank For taking over the Woolwich and making our lives a nightmare.
 They deleted our online banking service, cancelled our debit cards, lost 2 rent
cheques and ignored all our communication attempts.  The letter of apology isn't much
good when it is sent to an address in the UK (along with the new cards, PIN logon
details etc).  We'll be joining a bank without call centres (in India
or the UK) when we get back.


BMW and BMW RIDER EQUIPMENT
Thanks BMW for sending us to the middle of nowhere with the wrong spark plugs
(which are only available from BMW dealers!).
For the substandard quality of your rider equipment which left us with leaking Gore-Tex
boots and Santiago suits which are falling apart and have exploding / sticking zips.
Letting us leave the showroom in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with potentially dangerous bike
because they failed to spot the misaligned forks and bent handlebars which made the
throttle stick open, incompetent work back in London... etc etc etc...
I will never buy anything from BMW again ever!


AVIANCA
Thanks Avianca for selling us one-way tickets through your own brand website and
then turning us down at the boarding gate in Madrid because we did not have a return
ticket. For forcing us to buy two 250 Euro ''cancellable and  refundable'' plane tickets
from Bogota - Quito, to allow us on the plane, then refusing to refund the tickets in
Bogota. For general lack of customer service and ignoring emails.



THE COOPERATIVE BANK
Thanks Coop-Bank for your incompetence at dealing with the fraud attempts on my
credit card while still being in the UK, 3 months before leaving. For dragging out the
process so long that it was still not sorted when we left. For total lack of customer
service and ignoring emails. I will never bank with you again!