The following letter was sent to Vodafone Malta Ltd and copied to me:

I have been trying to solve a problem regarding my faulty mobile phone set for the past two months.

On July 27, I took my Samsung E810 set (which was still under guarantee) to be repaired at your Valletta branch. I was later told that it could not be repaired and had to be replaced. However, given that your company did not have any more sets of the same model, I was offered a Sharp mobile set as a permanent replacement. This I declined, since it was not the model I was originally interested in.

Following numerous telephone calls to the Valletta branch as well as to your customer service department, finally on September 1 I was put through to someone called Joseph, apparently a manager with your company. He made various offers, and eventually we agreed that the value of the phone (Lm110) would be credited to my bank account. According to our agreement, this credit was to be effected immediately.

However, last Friday (September 23), I received a bill for this account, and the credit still was not included. Again, I phoned your customer services, and I was told that the credit was still due, but had not been included on the bill. As this went against the verbal agreement I had with your manager, I requested that the payment (and not the credit) be made immediately.

Following further phone calls, a member of your staff informed me today that it is not your company's policy that refunds are given in cash. I suppose that this is a one-way policy, since when I purchased the phone in the first place, I had to pay cash.

It is not my fault that the phone was defective, and it is neither my fault that your company could not supply me with a replacement phone - I would have been very happy with another Samsung E810. Therefore, I cannot understand why the company has a problem refunding me for the faulty phone. I am therefore requesting that you pay this refund with immediate effect. (Lucien Stafrace, September 27)

In line with my policy, on October 5, I asked Vodafone Malta Ltd for their side of the case. However, it transpired that Vodafone had already dealt with and positively concluded this case as can be seen in the following letter.

Reference is made to your letter dated September 27 and our telephone conversation of today.

After reviewing your case thoroughly, we would like you to accept our sincerest apologies. While striving at maintaining the highest levels of service, we regret that in your case we have failed to provide you with our immediate assistance.

Enclosed, please find BOV cheque number 16234 for the amount of Lm110, being the refund for your Samsung SGH-E81 as agreed with our retail executive, Joseph Cocchiara.

While assuring you of our continued support at all times, please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further assistance in the future." (Diane Massa, customer administration section).

Well, I must compliment and thank Ms Massa for her prompt response to Mr Stafrace's letter, which resolved this case.