Dear Mr Khanna,

Firstly I would like to thank you for replying promptly to my email.

However, I am far from satisfied with your response.   Whilst I appreciate that you may have changing operational needs, I fail to see why it is your customers who should pay.   Why have you not opted for one of the new 03 numbers recommended by OFCOM which, in my understanding, allow such operational flexibility but will be included in inclusive call packages?   My understandingof the way ngns work is that your reason for choosing 0871 is to gain revenue share on incoming calls, meaning, of course, that your customers are paying you for a service and then paying above normal rates to call you when they have a problem with your service.

Regarding waiting times, I would say that I have NEVER only spent three minutes on a customer service call, particularly in view of the menu system in operation, I would say I have generally spent in excess of ten minutes on a call on each and every occasion, sometimes much longer when we had some problems with the switchover.   Of course, if you opted for an 09 number (as you had for broadband technical support last time I looked so I use my UWDC agent who is also my computer supplier), which I do not believe need be much more expensive, you would not be allowed to have call queuing and costs to customers might even be less!   Of course, that would mean you would lose customers who have call barring, as we do.

Finally, if you care about your customers, giving them good service and retaining them, as any good business should, why do you not either include your customer service number within inclusive packages or, if this is technically beyond you, operate a rebate system whereby any customer who had to contact customer services had the cost of those calls removed from their bills?

I await your reponse to the above points with interest.

Yours sincerely,

(Barbara)



From: "Ravi Khanna" <rkhanna@telecomplus.co.uk>
To: Subject: Response to your email
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 13:00:33 -0000

Dear (Barbara)

Thank you for your comments below regarding our move to an 0871 number.

I appreciate your dissatisfaction with this decision, and the fact that it will lead you to your incurring a small charge should you choose to call us from now on.

Unfortunately however, for operational reasons this is not a decision that we can reverse. As our business grows it will not be possible for us to contain all of our customer service team in one office. Whilst I can assure you that we will absolutely not be relocating this function overseas, it will be necessary to set up another office elsewhere in the UK. In order to seamlessly route customer calls to either of these offices, we have had to move away from a geographic number (prefixed 01/02) for our customers.

Typically calls to us last around 3 minutes, so I don't feel paying 30 pence is extortionate. However I do understand that it is 30p more than you would have had to pay in the past. I hope though, that you would accept any costs you may have to incur will be substantially outweighed by the savings you have and will continue to make by routing the rest of your telephone calls through our service.

Yours sincerely

Ravi Khanna
Customer Service Director

Email : rkhanna@telecomplus.co.uk

Phone : 020 8955 5995
Fax : 020 8955 5076

Web : www.telecomplus.co.uk

Telecom plus PLC
Dryden House
The Edge Business Centre
Humber Road
London
NW2 6EW

[quote Anyway back on topic. What a disgrace that UW Club thinks paying 10 pence a minute is not extortionate, plus the poor excuses for not using a geographical number. Very poor customer service, they don't deserve any customers.

Great emphasis was placed on them being Britains fastest growing company,the share options,  get your own company car ( Bright Yellow Mini,with large pink pig emblazoned on it). Cheapest Gas and Electric.

Note for customers who don't want to use 0871, apparently you can also report problems via your distributor and they all have 0800 nos & will also have geos.