Is There a list of UK companies using Overseas Call Centre

Martin85

With the current rate of unemployment in the UK is there nothing to restrict UK companies using Overseas Call Centres. I am with Virgin Media and any queries with the service, broadband, TV or phone are invariably diverted to variuos call centre in India, Virgin does have a small call centre in Swansea but you cannot chose where you call will be picked up. Is there a list of companies anywhere that use Overseas Call centres taking jobs from the UK market. If you deal with a company that almost toatally uses overseas Call centre staff, why not add them to this forum.

bod1467

Of the major companies, it's probably easier to list those that do NOT use overseas call centres.

That said, not all overseas call centres are bad ... BE use a centre in Sofia, Bulgaria and they are very good.

unholyangel

bod1467 wrote: »

Of the major companies, it's probably easier to list those that do NOT use overseas call centres.

That said, not all overseas call centres are bad ... BE use a centre in Sofia, Bulgaria and they are very good.

I may be wrong but it sounds like the OP objects to UK companies outsourcing work (outside the UK) rather than having to deal with foreigners.

In other words, taking money from the UK economy, sending it to a foreign economy with little/no chance of any of it re-entering the UK economy. Where if they were employing people in the UK, would be less people on benefits, more people paying tax in and also those working would then be able to spread their money around their local economy and/or the UK's national economy.

Personally, I'd rather pay a few quid more for services like virgin and ensure jobs here in the UK as it would be better in the bigger picture/long run for the country as a whole.

paddyrg

I'm all for encouraging onshoring of call centres and manufacturing. The more we vote with our pockets for onshore employment the faster we'll knock the economy into shape. But people are lured by cheap overseas stuff, we deserve the economy we made for ourselves.

JReacher1

Overseas call centres are cheaper to run which mean costs are kept down and uk consumers get cheaper prices.

Besides there are lots of UK call centre jobs available. They're hard to fill as people don't want those sort of jobs.

unholyangel

JReacher1 wrote: »

Overseas call centres are cheaper to run which mean costs are kept down and uk consumers get cheaper prices.

Besides there are lots of UK call centre jobs available. They're hard to fill as people don't want those sort of jobs.

There have been many companies who have actually laid off thousands of call centre employees in order to send those jobs overseas to cut costs, not because they couldn't fill them (obviously because they were already filled!).

Its always about the money.

Just a shame so many people don't think of the bigger picture and are easily swayed by a slightly lower price.

donnac2558

I am with Virgin and if you phone around 12.30 pm you get Scotland, well I always get a Scot.

HP UK(computer company), they all seem to be Scottish or Help English.

Santander Liverpool

JReacher1

unholyangel wrote: »

There have been many companies who have actually laid off thousands of call centre employees in order to send those jobs overseas to cut costs, not because they couldn't fill them (obviously because they were already filled!).

Its always about the money.

Just a shame so many people don't think of the bigger picture and are easily swayed by a slightly lower price.

This is a money saving site. Its a site that is dedicated to helping people save money. Therefore for many people on here it is all about the money!

Nilrem

JReacher1 wrote: »

This is a money saving site. Its a site that is dedicated to helping people save money. Therefore for many people on here it is all about the money!

The thing is, with almost anything in life you have to balance two or more things.

Saving money isn't the be all and end all of everything.
It's good to save money, but not if by saving a few pennies a day you're potentially losing out on other things.

For example is it worth saving a pound a month on your BB if it means that when there is a problem you're going to have to spend ages on the phone (especially to a non freephone/local rate number), and potentially miss several days off work to get it fixed?
Or finding out that you're limited to a very small bandwidth allowance with a hefty fee for going over it...

I've spent the past 13 or so years watching people chasing after the cheapest possible broadband deals, and it's a little sad to see how many are taken in by the headline price being slightly cheaper, then the complaints that things like:
I have to wait 30 minutes to get through to help.
Why is my speed so slow in the evening when my BB supplier is over congested (and going bust).
Why can't I have an English call center, when (insert name of ISP who charges a couple of pounds more) has?

It's the same with a lot of other things, some people will see a deal that is a few pennies/pounds cheaper than the competition, then be surprised that if there is a problem the cheap company might not be willing/able to help sort it as fast or as well as the slightly more expensive option.
You see it on a regular basis with people complaining about Yodel being used by companies for deliveries, yet not considering that if they'd paid a pound or two more they could have ordered it from a company that used something like DPD to deliver it (or that free delivery as an option is slower than paid for delivery).

As I say, it's a balancing act.
You have to weigh up what is important to you, saving every penny regardless of how it might affect the quality of the services (and costs down the line), or possibly spending a little extra to get a specific service or better quality.

Going for the cheapest of everything all the time is usually not a great idea, you need to think about it with every buy.

JReacher1

That's a very long post for my slightly flippant comment!

Nilrem

JReacher1 wrote: »

That's a very long post for my slightly flippant comment!

Sorry, I thought you were being a little more serious, and I've had this particular discussion a few times with people who really did think that the upfront/headline cost of something was the only thing to take into account (It got to be depressingly common on some BB forums, along with the inevitable threads a few months later about lack of CS/TS, or "my ISP is going bust...").