Every company you decide to social engineer, complies with certain guidelines In the way they operate when handling goods In their warehouse, as well as the steps taken to evaluate and process claims, and the procedures their carrier partners utilize to service all delivers. For Instance, It's pretty much standard practice for the company to open an Investigation with the DNA method, and (at times) request a police report to be filed & returned, or perhaps ask the SE'er to put pen to paper on a statutory declaration.
Where available, they'll refer to CCTV camera footage when the missing Item, partial or wrong Item received method Is In motion - just to verify the product(s) was picked, packed and dispatched correctly. The need to contact the carrier and check the records on their end, Is also a commonality and depending on the method used, certain types of details will Inevitably be collected. Things like GPS/tracking confirmation, photographic evidence obtained after the carrier driver took photos of the delivery point, and making sure there's no discrepancy with the package weight at the carrier's depot, Is expected to take place a lot more often than not during the claim's assessment.
Now If you've just started your career In the art of "company manipulation and exploitation", I'd say It's very safe to assume you'd be at a loss as to what I'm talking about, so I strongly suggest reading my beginner SEing tutorials and when finished, continue where you left off here. On the other hand, as an Intermediate or advanced SE'er, you'd be well-Informed with the majority (If not all) of the above-mentioned events, hence I don't need to explain why they occur - they're simply part of both the company & carrier's protocol to perform, clarify and confirm the Information at their disposal, so there's no real cause for concern.
However, the same cannot be said for "representatives who evaluate claims at their discretion and neglect to follow proper procedure", thereby they basically do as they please - predominantly against the SE'ers questions, concerns and compliance - even when the rep has all documentation he asked for. For example, I was personally Involved In one particular Incident where my claim was under Investigation and In order to finalize It for a refund/replacement, I was told to get a PR (police report) from my local police station. Upon doing exactly that, a couple of days later, I received an email stating my claim was declined.
They did not give any reason for their decision to reject It. Moreover, what was the purpose of requesting the report (and wasting my time running around and explaining my myself to the police officer), when "there was no Intention to use It to approve my claim?". I'll answer my own question - the rep/agent was an arrogant Individual who wanted to make life difficult for me, and couldn't care less about doing his job accordingly. As an SE'er yourself, no doubt you've experienced something similar, or other problems with pig-headed reps who caused you stress and anxiety - probably to the point of prematurely ending the SE via your own volition.
If you had've known "what to expect when dealing with reps", It would've been a different story altogether! Rest assured, I've got you covered. What you will learn from this article, Is the most common events you're likely to encounter with opinionated reps/agents, and the best offensive & defensive strategies to fend off their domineering behaviour. As such, It will help to ensure your SE keeps flowing In the right direction to ultimately get what you're aiming to achieve - your account credited for the full cost of the purchased Item, or a replacement dispatched at the company's expense. Okay, so without further delay, let's rip Into It.
Reps Who Refuse To Budge:
When you've decided on the company you'll be SEing, and researched their terms and conditions to establish the grounds on which refunds and replacements are Issued, the next step Is to Implement "Item and method formulation", meaning choosing a method that's suited to the nature of the Item. An example Is opting for Apple AirPods with an Item weight of around 50 grams by using the missing Item method, and saying they were not In the box when you opened It. Due to the AirPods being extremely light, they did not register a weight on consignment, therefore the lack of evidence at the carrier's weighing facilities, resulted In the claim being approved.
After the company, Item and method have been taken care of, the attack vector Is ready to be executed. Up until this point, you have full control of the SE - you're In command of all happenings. However, the moment the attack Is launched and leaves your local environment, you've handed over your SE's ownership to the company's representative, and It's at this stage when complexities arise - namely with "reps/agents who refuse to budge" with every manipulative tactic you throw at them. Even If there's very few to no Inconsistencies to suggest suspicious behaviour, the rep's attitude remains unchanged.
To give you a good understanding of what I'm referring to, I'll use the partial method as the example. We'll say you've bought "5 T-Shirts and 2 pairs of socks" from an online fashion store called Zalando, and the combined weight of the socks Is "35 grams" - which Is what you'll be social engineering. Upon contacting the rep/agent, you told him that only the T-Shirts were received when the carrier dropped off the package at your premises. As expected, an Investigation was opened with the carrier, whereby the rep cross-checked the package weight, to determine If the socks were enclosed while It was sitting at their depot.
Because of your sound knowledge of the partial method, you're well aware that "35 grams" will not be detected on the carrier's shipping scales, thus the findings of the Investigation will be Inconclusive, and a successful SE Is on Its way. A week or so later, much to your disappointment, an email was generated by the representative stating your claim has been declined, so you told him to provide proof of his decision to reject the claim.
However, he responded with the same email to the effect of: "The Investigation team has confirmed your Items were Included with the order we dispatched to our carrier partner and as such, a refund cannot be processed Into your account". You repeatedly asked the rep "to justify how he deemed the Items (your socks) were In the package", but your attempts were fruitless - the same message was sent over and over again - totally disregarding your requests for clarification. This Is a prime example of a stuck-up and condescending Individual who deserves no mercy! So where do you go from here? Let me say that a decision Is never final until all channels have been exhausted, so the next step Is to "demand your claim be escalated". which brings me to the next topic.
Dealing With Stubborn Reps When Escalating Claims:
Further to the discussion above, just because a careless and Idiotic representative has put an end to your claim, It doesn't mean that the correct decision was made, nor does It suggest that further action cannot be taken on your part. How so, you ask? Well, unbeknownst to many SE'ers, Inclusive of those who operate on an Intermediate and probably some on an advanced level, every company to the likes of Logitech, SteelSeries, Lenovo and Amazon have what's called a "complaints department", or something to that effect.
It's specifically setup to handle customers who're unhappy with the way they've been treated, and the lack of service they've been provided - In the case of the topic above, your claim being declined. Companies are obligated to sort out any Issues that come to their attention, and when you've been told your claim has been rejected, don't leave It at that. "Tell" (and not ask) the rep/agent that you're not happy with the way It was dealt with, and you want your "claim to be escalated". What this means, Is that you're essentially filing a complaint against the rep who terminated your claim, and It's then forwarded (escalated) to a senior level, where It will be managed and reviewed.
If you haven't worked It out already, "the objective of escalating a claim Is to have It approved", by overturning the original decision that was used to decline It, however It's not all sunshine and rainbows. It can be quite a long process from the time It's escalated by emailing, calling, or opening a ticket, to when a reply Is received. And to make matters worse, the rep whom you've asked for the escalation, will neglect to do It - telling you: "There's no use escalating It. The other agent will say the same thing I did". Even when you've asked over and over again, he still gave the same answer.
That Is yet another example of a rep with a snotty attitude, who Is not In a position to refuse a request that's "well within the rights of the company's policy". The Incident you've just read pertaining to denying the escalation, has happened to a lot of social engineers I'm In contact with, as well as myself, and If you haven't experienced It as yet, you will at some stage during your SEing activities. As a result, you must be prepared to tackle It head on and the way It's done, Is by asking to speak with another representative (preferably a supervisor and the like) and tell him to escalate It. If the new rep Is also pig-headed, keep repeating your actions and "don't stop" until your claim Is finally In the hands of the escalation team.
Reps Who Provide Irrelevant Information:
Apart from communicating with reps/agents who are stubborn and try to make things as difficult as possible for you, there are many who are just plain stupid and totally lack common sense when assessing your claim. And Irrespective of the amount of times you explain the events (of your SE) that took place, and why their response does not correspond with what you've said, It falls on deaf ears - their pea brain cannot absorb the Information given to them. From a social engineering standpoint, It can be rather frustrating having to deal with thickheaded reps, but the key to moving forward with your claim, Is to stay cool, calm and collected throughout the entire ordeal.
Allow me to elaborate on what I'm referring to with a scenario as follows. For the purpose of this demonstration, I'll (once again) use the missing Item method as the example. You've ordered a pair of Ray-Ban Justin Rectangular Sunglasses weighing around 31 grams. When the delivery arrived from the carrier driver, you contacted the company and Informed the rep that "the sunglasses were missing" after the package was opened. As anticipated, an Investigation was underway, and you were told to wait 3-5 business days for an update on the latest developments.
Given you're very familiar with how the missing Item method operates, and It was flawlessly formulated against the nature of the Item, a successful outcome Is expected on completion of the Investigation. However, Instead of receiving an email relevant to your claim, some other garbage was generated as per the message below.
"Hello
We have fully Investigated this matter, Including contacting the carrier who delivered the package. Based on the outcome of our Investigation, we believe the package was delivered to the correct address. In particular, we have taken In account the following Information which Indicates the Item was delivered:
The timed geocode stamp of the delivery location
Information collected at the point of delivery, and
The package weight and reported condition upon delivery
Based on all the above, we regret to Inform you that we won't be able to provide a replacement or refund for your order at this time".
On the grounds you're an Intermediate or advanced SE'er, you should well and truly know that the message above, has no relation to the "missing Item method" whatsoever, but rather directly associated to the DNA method. If you cannot Identify It, as you can see, I've highlighted the operative words (above) In green, with a breakdown of each one In point form as follows.
- Delivered to the correct address
- The timed geocode stamp of the delivery location
- Information collected at the point of delivery
- Reported condition upon delivery
Notice how the lines above contain the keywords "delivery" and "delivered?". That's because It's confirming the delivery to your address - which has nothing to do with claiming an Item Is missing In the package/box. It's pretty obvious and self-explanatory, yet countless brain-dead customer service reps fail to differentiate between the two events, and no matter how hard you try and explain It to them, they're too dumb to understand. As such, they'll keep sending the same message, and end up declining your claim, but as you're aware, you can still do something about It by requesting an "escalation".
If the escalation team also declines It, "re-escalate It". Yes, claims can be escalated for the second time to be assessed by another group of reps (In an Impartial and unbiased manner), who were not Involved with any previous discussions, but what happens when the second escalation fails? Well, you can hit a PayPal dispute/claim or a credit card chargeback - with the Intention to have the company's decision overturned, and the funds reimbursed Into your bank account. When opting for either of the two, "be sure to make It perfectly clear, that your claim was mismanaged and declined based on Irrelevant Information".
Reps Who Completely Ignore You:
This article has exceeded Its reading time by a lot more than what I anticipated, so to avoid congestion, I've kept everything to a minimum, yet still addressed every detail accordingly. Okay, as Implied by the topic's title and as you've most likely experienced on many occasions during the assessment of your claim, "representatives will completely Ignore all questions and concerns brought to their attention". It specifically happens when contacting them by phone, or shooting off an email message - especially when the claim Is In the middle of an Intense evaluation.
In terms of a phone call, they'll usually be somewhat polite and say that they'll get back to you with the progress of your claim, but It's just a load of BS - they don't bother returning the call. And when you ring back asking to speak with the very same rep (or any dumbass rep for that matter), you're told that he/she Is (apparently) busy, but will get In touch with you as soon as possible. Yeah right, It's an Indirect way of saying "I've got better things to do, than to waste my time dealing with someone I couldn't care less about".
Emailing them Is even worse, for the fact that It's not done In real time as It Is when talking over the phone, thus you'll be hitting the "Send button", waiting for a reply and keep repeating It to no avail. There are number of reasons for their lack of communication, with the most common being deliberately not responding to entice you to give up and forget about your claim altogether. Don't be fooled by their behaviour and "never quit under any circumstances" - do everything within your power to move forward with the claim - even If It means generating 50 calls/emails a day until someone attends to your needs!
In Conclusion:
Upon completing this entire article, you've learned that the moment your SE Is In the hands of the representatives and a claim number has been assigned to It, It doesn't always run smoothly with minimal disruptions. There Is always at least one b*tch of a rep In every company who will cause some degree of Inconvenience, therefore due to their stubbornness, stupidity, lack of consideration or otherwise, It's crucial to effectively tackle everything they throw at you. Each topic you've had the pleasure of reading, has given you the knowledge and skill set to do exactly that, hence you're now In a position to apply your expertise to every company you're planning to SE.
