Guest Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I don't usually pay my phone bill until the red bill arrives. However, I just got a call from BT's Indian call centre reminding me that I hadn't paid. They said the phone call was 'instead' of the red bill. This is an interesting tactic, although it does rather border on harrassment. From now on I think I will be inclined to pay when the blue one arrives! grd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 That's exactly what they wanted - then they can earn more interest on your money as it gets to them sooner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 They have been doing this for a while. I had a phone call like this back around Easter time......it sure makes you pay up quicker next time! It always annoys me when you get these phone calls from BT.......you are somewhat at their mercy (as they HAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER!!!) & I hate it when I get the "would you like to upgrade your package" ones Makes you wonder how much it costs THEM to call up people like this, especially as the calls tend to take twice as long as you cannot understand the Indian staffs accents first time around & need to ask them to repeat everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I got a real strop on with an Indian call centre calling me non-stop at work - I had made an enquiry with a major computer manufacturer regarding prices of TFT screens. I said that i would get back to them when we had made a decision - NOT TO CALL ME! Anyway, I ended up repeating this to the same chap several times a day for the next 3 days - in the end I said that I would scream down the phone at him if he dared to call me again - he stopped calling . Needlesss to say, they didn't get our order! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I know why these huge companies use the Indian call centers..............they are cheaper. But WHY do they use them????? They annoy people, you cannot hear/understand/get through to the person what you need. Is there anyone out there who would not rather speak to someone closer to home ? Good on the Abbey, who have just listened to customer demand & shut theirs down in favour of one in the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Good for them. Nat West recently stopped using call centres in Glasgow and have gone back to using the branches. Recently, when I went into my branch, the person I spoke to handed me her card and told me to get in touch if there wa anything else she could do - FANTASTIC - old fashioned service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 The BT ones are some of the most persistent. Shortly after I got broadband, they phoned to ask me to take part in a survey. I said it wasn't convenient and put the phone down. I made a note of the number. Then, for the next 7 days, they phoned at approx 6:30 each evening. I didn't answer any of the calls. Eventually they gave up. But it's sooooo annoying!! About a week ago I had a problem with my iBook so phoned the Apple support number. Surprise - Indian call centre. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone to a guy that couldn't even understand *me* let alone me understand him! After he'd been through his script, I was then put through to someone in Ireland and it was dealt with within 2 minutes. Funnily enough the Irish guy asked me if I had been on the phone a long time!! grd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Oh, I'm all tensed up just reading this thread. I tell what gets my back up, is when you call these call centres for help, and you end up being on the phone for 20 minutes just spelling out your name and address phonetically as neither of us can grasp the other's accent. You end up becoming more frustrated than you were to begin with. I'm glad I pay by DD to BT. They're the last people I want calling me up. OOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 One of the problems with foreign call centres is that they don't have any idea of the geography of the UK, so if you are looking for something near Edinburgh, they suggest Croydon! Gets me going too Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 We have twice tried to get onto Broadband & have had the same problems with the BT call center staf each time. Broadband, it seems, will not work at my house (we are 2 metres too far from something or another), but because it says that it will work on their computer they refuse to believe me when I try to cancel the subscription! The last time it took me 3 weeks, numerous phone calls with a full explanation each time, & 3 call outs & then, after they FINALLY cancelled the Broadband, they also cancelled dial-up. THEN they continued to charge me for Broadband, THEN they sent me a bill for nearly £200 for cancelling the subscription early AND THIS WAS ALL BECAUSE THE INDIAN STAFF COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I WAS TELLING THEM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Gosh Sarah - I reckon that you should write to them and complain - you might get your money back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I did complain, but made the mistake of phoning (it would seem I am a sucker for punishment!) I got 3 months free dial-up, but they conveniently forgot this after 2 months & started charging me again BT - FIRST AGAINST THE WALL, COME THE REVOLUTION! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popcorn Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Oh Sarah. Give me a minute to finish off here and I'll be right over with my boxing gloves and body bag and you can give it good old bashing and pretend it's the MD of BT. what a nightmare!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Well, you can see why I get so stressed when they cold call me & offer me Broadband I think I must be the last dial-up in the UK You would certainly think so,the amount of cold calls I get! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I never used to pay BT until I'd had the Black Letter - after the Red Letter but then I married Carl who practically pays bills before they even arrive! I don't like them to have our money before it is due If they don't send red letters any more, I presume they don't send black ones either? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel (& Paul) Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Dont even get me started on call centres - dealing with Insurance companies day in day out you really get to know the good ones and the ones who use call centres. Mentioning no names (green logo, also trade as More Than........ ) I have to say that the brilliant companies are Sunday Times Wine Club - really know their stuff (probably know me by my first name by now ) Lakeland Sky (yes, really!) and, of course, Omlet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I phoned Direct Line the other day and the phone was answered"Hello, Direct Line, xxxx in the Birmingham Call Centre - how may I help" I was tempted to ask if he was in Birmingham, Alabama but thought I hadn't better push my luck! He was also very helpful - I needed quotes for three different models of the car I'm going to buy next March - except he would keep asking me if the car "has any modifications" - er... no...it hasn't even been built yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Dont even get me started on call centres - dealing with Insurance companies day in day out you really get to know the good ones and the ones who use call centres. Mentioning no names (green logo, also trade as More Than........ ) I have to say that the brilliant companies areSunday Times Wine Club - really know their stuff (probably know me by my first name by now ) Lakeland Sky (yes, really!) and, of course, Omlet SKY I phoned them a couple of weeks ago when we had SKY+ installed 7 it wouldn't work I had to phone up to activate my viewing card...a simple procedure...until you get the mechanised voice saying "your call should be answered in less than 57 minutes" I tried & tried until it was under 20 mins, then complained & did get a free months viewing Omlet are the very best. they helped mte through our chicken problems, & were courtesy itself when we decided to take the money back offer. they even refunded us the winter shade & book we had bought....oustanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Reading all the BT stories have alarmed a bit. We're with NTL for a broadband, TV and telephone package, and the systems great...... when it works. Problem is it seems to go down with alarming regularity, and trying to get hold of any staff on the phone line is murder, you can quite literally be on hold for an hour, and it's no joke. I think their call centre is in Cardiff, so the accent is a lot more comprehensible than the Indian alternative, but still it makes my blood boil. We have been thinking of swapping back to BT, we don't watch enough TV to make cable a necessity, I rarely even bother with the standard 4 channels, anything else is definitely surplus to requirements, but with a wood behind us we can get poor reception on standard terrestrial channels, hence the swap, years ago to cable. aybe, after all the BT stories I'll stick with NTL for a little while longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 The poor terrestrial reception was why we changed to Sky & I must say that all in all it has been fabulous.We are in a wooded area too, & found the TV reception to be a bit iffy at best & darn unwatchable at worst! No more problems now as the Sky picture is 100% clear & reliable We upgraded to Sky+ a month or so ago & apart from the glitch I posted about earlier, it has been briliiant. No more video recorder (one less remote to loose!),no rewinding or remembering to tape something...really,really good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Sky? Reliable? Ours is always 'receiving no signal' and that's only when there's a slight breeze I'm dreading the time when there is no more terrestrial to fall back on. We have Sky+ and when it works it is brilliant but I wouldn't call it reliable.When Sky change their software it invariably upsets the Sky Planner - three times now I've lost all my recorded programmes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Goodness! Well, ours has been fine to date, & we have had Sky for 18 months now I hope the Sky+ stays as fab as it has been - I don't like the idea of losing all my pre records Nightmare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel (& Paul) Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 We've had Sky+ for a while as normal tv reception is so pants (too many trees!) I have never had a problem with it - except in really really heavy rain it occasionally looses the signal. The weirdest thing it does is record programmes we havent asked it too. I know that it sometimes is meant to record stuff it thinks you like - so if you like a cookery programme it records other similar stuff - but so far it has recorded Postman Pat (how did it know Paul was a postman!!) when we have no children and dont watch Childrens TV. It has also recorded Corrination Street when we dont watch any soaps - more scarily it did it when MIL who is a soap addict was staying..... I am frightened that one day it will shout at me "stop eating all the chocolate you fat person!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Big Brother in its truest sense then Mel? Very scary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I don't have any of those, just a weeny 14" TV, which doesn't get watched that much at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
