Re: Lawyer magic word...
Automatic termination of contract because someone said lawyer? I don't think so. They probably hear it a thousand times a day and further termination of the service in that instance would just get them into MORE trouble if they're already failing to deliver on their contract.
It's a matter of using it carefully, not just empty-threatening.
As someone who took the offered £50 compensation from a car insurance firm, and used it to initiate the small-claims court action for much more than that that I'd been threatening them with, I can tell you that crying "Lawyer" doesn't get any more action than usual, in fact. What gets action is that little document with your name and a court letterhead dropping on their Head Office's doormat. Until then, it's just a customer and empty-posturing, unless you have an incredibly large account with them.
But if you truly want a response (not really something you can do in a massive hurry), just send a recorded delivery or couriered letter that they have to sign for. That kind of shit has implications of "Shit, this guy's serious and our response to this will be read out in a court". Not hugely useful in the cases like this, but the only alternative is to set the lawyers on them personally but even a lawyer will tell you - phoning up to threaten the company, even their legal department, won't do shit unless they are co-operative by default (in which case you won't get that far anyway), or the paperwork lands on their desk.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
