Please tell me this is 2008????

[BritKyiv]

I cannot get my breath. Today I sent two emails to two Pension Funds back in the UK.
All I wanted was to tell them about my change of address and enquire about the curent state of the funds.
(I know I can do on on-line, but I like to do things the old fashioned way)

First company replied (Norwich Union Pensions):
"Sorry we cannot discuss any thing via email please call our "call centre".
I called the "call centre", and YES, you guessed it, it's in INDIA and WOW, did I have a time trying to explain where Ukraine is, plus SPELLING it for them.  But at least they did tell me the curent state of my fund (Maybe thats why I feel so pissed off)

Second company replied (Equitable Life) (AKA We specialise in really messing up your pension fund):
"We cannot deal with you via email or on the telephone, please SEND A FAX or write to our Head Office"

WHAT? Is this 2008?
At least the Indian guy took me through a series of security checks, which fortunately I could remember.

Nice to see the service economy still sucks 
It makes Ukraine look better everyday.

Oh...plus I had to go through that stupid ritual of "Please select one of the following options....press 6 if you are an old fart and just want to speak to a human being"

[P-N]

LMAO 

Look on the bright side.............soon it will be 2009. 

[matlockk]

I
Oh...plus I had to go through that stupid ritual of "Please select one of the following options....press 6 if you are an old fart and just want to speak to a human being"

PMSL!!! A popular option with several forum members here I'd guess!

[Carlushika]

Oh...plus I had to go through that stupid ritual of "Please select one of the following options....press 6 if you are an old fart and just want to speak to a human being"

Especially stupid too when you are hard of hearing like this old fart!
The voice goes "Press 1 if you want (*(*^%(()*)"
Old Fart (aka Me), "Pardon"
The voice goes "Press 2 if you need )(&)__&$&^&*"
Old Fart couldn't make it out
The Voice goes "Press 3 if .........."
At which point, The Old Fart, shouts expletives, mostly starting with F, C, and S and one an A.

Old Fart's wife smiles knowingly in the kitchen - her beloved is phoning his annuity provider!

Seriously, the only way forward was to write a letter, no emails, no faxes. About 10 days later, letter arrives requesting I telephoned to confirm I sent the letter.

All this - change of address!

[SteveH]

I Had to Deal with the Mobile Provider "Orange" in the UK,or so i thought,
The Indian Man passed me onto the Carribean Woman in a Diff Department and she passed me on to the Chinese Man in another Department.
Guess what,they still put me on the Wrong Tariff ,
I Despair!

[lakelander]

I cannot get my breath. Today I sent two emails to two Pension Funds back in the UK.
All I wanted was to tell them about my change of address and enquire about the curent state of the funds.
(I know I can do on on-line, but I like to do things the old fashioned way)

First company replied (Norwich Union Pensions):
"Sorry we cannot discuss any thing via email please call our "call centre".
I called the "call centre", and YES, you guessed it, it's in INDIA and WOW, did I have a time trying to explain where Ukraine is, plus SPELLING it for them.  But at least they did tell me the curent state of my fund (Maybe thats why I feel so pissed off)

Second company replied (Equitable Life) (AKA We specialise in really messing up your pension fund):
"We cannot deal with you via email or on the telephone, please SEND A FAX or write to our Head Office"

WHAT? Is this 2008?
At least the Indian guy took me through a series of security checks, which fortunately I could remember.

Nice to see the service economy still sucks 
It makes Ukraine look better everyday.

Oh...plus I had to go through that stupid ritual of "Please select one of the following options....press 6 if you are an old fart and just want to speak to a human being"

Working in the Financial Services business I can certainly sympathise with you and am familiar with the companies you mention.

Norwich Union being one of the better companies I expected better from. As for Equitable Life, well what can you say. Not only is there service terrible but they treated their policy holders in a despicable way and impose huge penalties to deter people from transferring their funds.

There are one or two companies who are quite good at responding to requests but the majority have a minimum 10 working days response time even for those in the business. With some of them it's even more than that.

[SteveH]

Record numbers of consumers turned off by bank phonelines

Record numbers of customers are turning their backs on telephone banking systems because they aren’t good enough. A survey by YouGov, which was commissioned by VoiceVault, found that a staggering 62 per cent of UK adults have given up calling their banks. One in ten also admitted to continuing to use a telephone banking service even though they felt the service wasn’t very good and 18 per cent of respondents said they would use them more if service improved.
 The report also discovered that 32 per cent of consumers have never used a telephone banking service, and one in five have stopped using their service after one or more tries. "This is a wake-up call to banks, and it’s not a case for them to quit whilst they are behind," said David Crisp, ceo of VoiceVault. "Customers are crying out for a better, more secure service and banks can and must provide them.
 We’re getting vocal about this issue as there is — now — a safe, secure and cost-effective way." However, the report was not all bad news for the banking industry, as nearly one in four admitted to using a telephone banking service that they felt was "very good".
Elsewhere in the survey of more than 2000 people, half of those who had used a telephone banking system said that the most annoying thing was waiting to talk to someone directly. A third of people also said that having to remember PIN numbers and passwords was the most annoying thing.

[SteveH]

Call-centre staff blow the whistle on bad practice

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/article5101348.ece

Last week one unfortunate Abbey customer had his current account sabotaged after giving a call-centre worker a bad rating.

Sadly, such stories are becoming increasingly common and frustration with call centres has become a fact of life. Times Money hears daily from angry readers who have been let down or badly treated by call centres. Life on the other side seems equally frustrating, according to the myriad online forums, blogs and YouTube videos, where some of the UK's one million call-centre workers vent their spleens.

There are 5,180 call centres in the UK, employing 3.5 per cent of the working population. These workers are the front and often only line of communication between a company and its customers. While inefficiency, mistakes, delays and rudeness are commonplace, our investigation into the industry also indicates that customers are falling prey to dirty tricks and even fraud.

Read more on the Link.

[Tags:]

Jump to: Please select a destination: ----------------------------- Community ----------------------------- => Introductions ----------------------------- Expatriate Life ----------------------------- => Q&A => Health and Medical => Events and Meetings => I recommend => Handy Things to Know => Languages ----------------------------- Business ----------------------------- => ESL Discussion Group => Incorporation => Banking and Finances => Opportunities => Private Entrepreneurship => Information exchange ----------------------------- Current Events ----------------------------- => Democracy and Beyond => Ukrainian News => International News ----------------------------- Meet compatriots ----------------------------- => Polish Forum ----------------------------- Going Out ----------------------------- => Shopping => Weekend Breaks => Theatre&Movie => Eating&Drinking => Sport ----------------------------- Expatriate Jobs ----------------------------- => Jobs Available => Jobs Wanted ----------------------------- Expatriate Cafe ----------------------------- => Hobbies => History Today => Book club => Fun, Games and Jokes => Relationships ----------------------------- Information ----------------------------- => Your Expat Ukraine => Help desk