Power Report: how a home-dye left one user wanting to tear her hair out

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? I disagree. Hell hath no fury like a woman with bad hair.

Forgive the clichés, but a woman's hair is truly her crowning glory and explains the trust placed in stylists, colourists and favourite hair products.

Many women don't dare alter their style or hair routine, while for others, it's all about change and reinvention.

But when things go wrong, which they so often do, is the remedy from acclaimed hair professionals clear cut?

In reader Tiffany Techow's case, it's as clear as mud. On Christmas Eve, she used Revlon's do-it-yourself Colorsilk hair colour to lighten her already blonde hair. She'd successfully used the Colorsilk blonde range before to maintain her salon-dyed tresses. This time she opted for Ultra Light Ash Blonde.

However, after following the familiar steps at home, she discovered she was now a brunette.

Shocked, Techow - an account executive for Twitter - contacted Revlon SA on the social network. After being promised three times that someone from customer care would contact her, and then being ignored, she vented on Facebook. When that got her nowhere, she complained to me.

"I am at a loss as to what to do here," said the 35-year-old Fourways resident, who "paid a lot of money" in a salon some 18 months ago to go blonde, without damaging her hair. "Revlon SA has blatantly ignored my very obvious problem."

When initially approached for answers, Revlon communications executive Adele du Plessis said the company was "actively looking into this matter".

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In the interim, Techow received an apology and an offer of a Revlon hamper to the value of R1800, which she accepted.

While Techow waited for the hamper to arrive, I pushed Du Plessis for the results of the investigation. To my surprise, she replied to say Revlon had "amicably" resolved the matter with the consumer, and had no further comment.

So zero feedback on why Techow had been ignored, what the outcome of the internal investigation was, whether there'd been other consumer complaints and whether a recall (to protect other unsuspecting blondes) was pending.

I asked Du Plessis if she thought the brand's refusal to engage on the issue was in keeping with consumer expectations around transparency, integrity, and product safety. Du Plessis then asked for more time to investigate (which I happily gave), saying Revlon wasn't in a position to provide the information needed.

A week later, Revlon's long-awaited response arrived, again woefully inadequate. Du Plessis said Revlon had been unable to determine what had happened as it had had no access to the original packaging (Techow had discarded the box) "to determine its ingredients".

"Additionally, the process of hair colouring involves multiple variables, all of which we would need to study to determine what might have occurred in Tiffany's case." She apologised for the delay in responding to Techow's online complaint, saying it was during the busy holiday season while Revlon was also "transitioning our local consumer care team".

Bizarre. Revlon's response suggests it needed the original box to determine its standard ingredients. Were any batches or ingredients even tested, I asked. Had Revlon got any inkling of what went wrong here, even if speculative?

"We're sorry but we have nothing more to add on the matter," was Revlon's terse reply.

Techow, a loyal supporter of the brand, is understandably unimpressed. "Oh, my word! I am disgusted at their flippancy!" she said. "Revlon has actually treated this as if I was only out to get something for free and have totally ignored the fact that I actually experienced pain because of this 'mistake'. The pain of embarrassment, accepting that I could not afford to get it fixed. The pain of being blatantly ignored by the brand that caused this."

By rights, Techow could lodge a claim against Revlon with the Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman, using the Consumer Protection Act's provision on liability for damage caused by goods. Under this section, a consumer can claim for harm through product failure, defect or hazard, without having to prove negligence by the supplier. Harm includes death, injury, illness, physical damage or economic (financial) loss.

Mother-of-one Arthee Govender could also have fallen back on the act if her complaint against Carlton Hair in Sandton, Johannesburg, over a bad cut in December last year hadn't eventually been resolved. Fortunately, after much back and forth, Govender finally got her money back.

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She won't, unfortunately, get back her chopped-off locks any time soon.

Having grown her hair to reach the desired length for a short, layered bob, the 43-year-old manager had ditched her usual hairstylist in favour of the "reputable" high-end salon, one of 23 in the family-owned chain.

But instead of following the Katie Holmes picture she had shown the senior stylist, Govender claims, the stylist cut all her length off, leaving her with a style nothing like Holmes's.

It took "a deeply disappointed" Govender complaining on the company website, messaging the stylist, calling head office and returning to the salon for an "evaluation" before she secured a full R430 refund last month.

Carlton hair spokeswoman Kim Day said the company had taken responsibility for the lateness in its initial response to Govender's complaint, and the fact that she wasn't happy.

She said Carlton Hair had a seven- to 10-day re-do/refund policy, which required the client to return to the salon to have their hair assessed.

"Should the complaint be legitimate, we offer a free re-do service, often with extra services like treatments as a measure of goodwill, as well as/or a full refund," she said.

"In the service industry, there will always be dissatisfaction to some degree and an element of human error, which Carlton Hair understands, appreciates, and accepts and [which] we endeavour to make right."

Where suppliers don't, consumers can enforce their rights under the act to have services performed in a way they're generally entitled to expect. They can demand a discount or refund based on how badly the service fell short.

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E-mail: consumer@sundaytimes.co.za

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Tune in to PowerFM 98.7's 'Power Breakfast' (DStv audio channel 889) at 8.50am on Monday to hear more from Megan

Please note: Other than in exceptional circumstances, readers sending me complaints must be willing to be identified and photographed.