UK banks that use british-based call centres

Crabman

A&L are in britain but once were very abusive to me.

I therefore despise all banks that use british call centres on the basis that all british workers are abusive and rude. :rolleyes:

davey4444

Smile have always been great for me.

dougk_2

pin wrote:

This is the upteenth post about UK based called centres, etc.

Who really cares where the call centre is, as long as the service is good?

I care. Keep the money in the UK is say and keep UK citizens employed.

mancitychick

First Direct. As well as having UK call centre, your call is answered by a human, none of this press 1 2 3 4 arghhhhhh! Also call is answered pretty quickly compared with others. I have experience of Halifax, A&L & Nationwide and you have to go through several options and than wait for ages to have calls answered. A&L however give you an approximate waiting time. As long as First Direct don't start charging for an a/c they are with a doubt in my opinion the best bank around.

pin

dougk wrote:

I care. Keep the money in the UK is say and keep UK citizens employed.

The money is not going out of the UK, just the call centre jobs.

sarymclary

pin wrote:

Who really cares where the call centre is, as long as the service is good?

I care. I'm fed up ringing a call centre abroad, speaking to someone with a VERY heavy, and hard to decipher accent (not their fault at all, and high praise to them for speaking better English than I their native tongue), only to be asked to 'speak slower because I'm not understanding you'.

Employment apart, the title of Customer Service ends up sounding somewhat ironic. I chose to move my insurance and telephone providers to companies with UK based call centres. If I call them up I want it to be swift and easy, not something I put off because I can't communicate effectively with them.

A good friend of mine called me last week for help when his internet connection was playing up, and he didn't want to have to call NTL again because he'd had a nightmare conversation for half and hour with an overseas call centre. Unfortunately I couldn't sort out his issue and he had to call again - very reluctantly. Is it right that we should feel this way, even when we're on the receiving end of poor service?

Crabman

sarymclary wrote:

I care. I'm fed up ringing a call centre abroad, speaking to someone with a VERY heavy, and hard to decipher accent (not their fault at all, and high praise to them for speaking better English than I their native tongue), only to be asked to 'speak slower because I'm not understanding you'.

Employment apart, the title of Customer Service ends up sounding somewhat ironic. I chose to move my insurance and telephone providers to companies with UK based call centres. If I call them up I want it to be swift and easy, not something I put off because I can't communicate effectively with them.

A good friend of mine called me last week for help when his internet connection was playing up, and he didn't want to have to call NTL again because he'd had a nightmare conversation for half and hour with an overseas call centre. Unfortunately I couldn't sort out his issue and he had to call again - very reluctantly. Is it right that we should feel this way, even when we're on the receiving end of poor service?

I sympathise with you, but I've had excellent service from, for example, AOL's indian call centre. They understood exactly what I said, first time, and my query was sorted out quickly. My query was getting my monthly price down to £9.99 and including a free router so you see why I'm so happy but their standard of english was good and I understood them.

Sometimes, yes, the line connection is bad and that is frustrating, I know, but it isn't their fault. In that instance I'd complain to the company/ditch them. AOL's line to india was perfect.

I guess that for a company it's still cheaper to use an abroad call centre and maybe lose a few angry customers while paying the overseas workers a pittance. Like it or not, some of our economy is thriving thanks to those poor workers being paid a pittance and additionally, increasingly more of tem are being abused verbally by britons. Is that right?? :rolleyes:

bud-miser

Personally I've always found the Co-op bank to be pretty good with its telephone banking.

Some years ago they got their fingers dirty, like most of the other banks, with branch closures and decided to close the one nearest to me in favour of another which adds on an extra 25 mile round trip for me if I ever need to pay emergency cash in.

Nevertheless, their phone and internet service has made up for it, with one UK call centre somewhere in/near Manchester and, as far as I know, no plans to ship the jobs across to 'Dennis' (Dipak) or 'Kevin' (Kamal)...

On top of that, they have their 'ethical' policy of not lending to eg polluters, arms merchants etc.

Hang on, shouldn't they be paying me for this plug..?!

Addiscomber

I have banked with the Co-op for (gulp) 34 years and they have made just one mistake in all that time. I've made more than that trying to reconcile my cheque book with the statements I hardly ever have to ring the call centre as our affairs are pretty simple, but I believe it is in the UK, although as someone says above does it matter as long as it works? (Personally I believe UK banking jobs should be kept in the UK but that is a whole 'nother can of worms.)

Bud-miser
Isn't there a tie up with the Post Office for depositing money? Although it wouldn't reach your account instantly, and finding Post offices is getting pretty hard too. I wonder if one can still deposit through a Co-op retail outlet? Although again time reaching the account would have to be factored in.

James

Surprised nobody has mentioned that it's YOUR personal details that are shipped out.

I wonder if anyone can recall the hoo ha over electoral register details. I can vaguely recall someone in Wakefield trying to stop his council selling on is details to the Credit Refence Agencies. He lost.

I bet not many readers of this forum are aware that at least one of the CRA call centres is outside mainland GB.