Sometimes that is exactly the right approach but in my experience suppliers (of any service) who start messing me around with pathetic excuses etc. to try and wriggle out of their responsibilities, tend to assume that "niceness"-weakness.

My own approach is to give the normal channels 2 attempts at resolution, before I file a money claim online, this seems to do the trick for 99% of all situations. Life is too short to play correspondance "tag" with organisations who are taking the p***. How much is your time worth to you? I have relatively little free personal time and thus I value it very highly indeed.

It is remarkable how quickly issues seem to be resolved after a summons is sent. IMHO if less customers were prepared to be tolerant and more started actively asserting their rights, then the often shoddy customer service that is so common in the UK, would not be financially viable for companies which wished to remain in business.