"Lets get some perspective here." Oh dear, you sound so reasonable Ken. Your analogy comparing the service we get from PubCos with that which we experience elsewhere isn't particularly helpful. In fact it's a little red herring. The point is that the PubCos know full well what's going on and this knowledge they use entoerlt to their advantage. With every new tenant it's their first time working in partnership with someone else. How can you expect them to know they've got into bed with the big bad wolf?

When you're a customer of say, Dixons or John Lewis and you need to complain, you're one of hundreds of thousands of customers who have only intermittent contact with the retailer and even less frequent need to make a complaint.

When you're a customer of a PubCo you have a 'dedicated' area manager who's supposedly responsible for how many customers - 30 to 70 tops? And call centres dedicated to the customer. And as a customer the PubCo is supposed to be working in partnership with you. This is what is so inexcusable about their behaviour. PubCos have applied their nothing in writing never return calls tactic since whenever because of fear of accusations of misrepresentation and they frequently say things but never put them in writing because they are not prepared to be responsible for their advice.

Within the law but immoral is what you said of their behaviour so stick to it and don't let them off the hook. Immoral is immoral whether within or without the law and the only reason they've got away with it for so long is because they have all the lobbying power, all the information, all access to all areas that could effect change in this industry through legislation. You have 30,000 lessees on one hand, overworked, divided, voiceless and patronised as being simple folk, and a handful of stick together all powerful companies with identical interests on the other. Don't excuse them their behaviour because there is no excuse.