"The best firm offering both line rental and calls was Utility Warehouse, ahead of One.Tel, Kingston and British Gas."The Daily Mail and daily Mail Online – Thursday, Sept 1st 2005A recent report based on 5,000 readers of Which? the consumer magazine, placed The
Utility Warehouse in the TOP 3 of companies with the highest number of customers who
were "very satisfied" with service from their supplier of "line and calls".
“Millions of BT customers are unhappy with theservice the company gives them,” the report has claimed.
Many are confused by their bills while others are angry at the way they are put through to machines when they want to report a fault on their line. The survey of 5,000 readers of the consumer magazine Which? found that only 29 per cent of BT's customers were 'very satisfied' with the service it provides.
That leaves 71 per cent who believe the company should be doing more. Only cable firm NTL fared worse in the satisfaction survey.
Which? says it is time for unhappy BT customers to break the stranglehold of the telecoms giant, which controls some 70 per cent of all household landlines. It claimed dissatisfied customers could save up to£150 a year by switching to rivals. However, the study was condemned by BT which insisted it was unscientific, unreliable and riddled with inaccuracies.
In the survey published today, one BT subscriber described the firm's bills as "incomprehensible". Others have been upset by "stealth" rises in charges on everything from line-rental to using the ring back service and dialling the speaking clock.
At the same time, the company's reputation has suffered in the debacle over the shake-up in the directory enquiry service, which was forced on it by industry regulators. While more than 100 services have replaced BT's old 192 system, average call costs have risen and standards have deteriorated.
Call centresBT moved its directory enquiry call centres to India tosave money, with the result that the accuracy of the service fell. At one stage one in five callers was given a wrong number. The consumer group surveyed 14 operators and all but one scored better than BT on customer service. Only NTL came out worse, with 21 per cent of its customers " very satisfied" with its services.
BT's rivals offer either cheap line rental and calls, or just cheap calls. The best firm offering both line rental and calls was Utility Warehouse, ahead of One.Tel, Kingston and British Gas.
The best operator offering cheap calls alone was the little-known Call 18866, ahead of Toucan.
Which? magazine editor Malcolm Coles, said: "There's never been a better time to switch home phone suppliers. There's no good reason to stick with BT orNTL if you're not happy - there are more choices thanever and prices are dropping all the time."
The watchdog said that customers can keep their existing telephone number, while the whole process should take a mere ten days.”
Fantastic news for our business and tremendous encouragement for new customers!
http://www.telecomplus.org.uk/278747
posted by Jeremy Tromans at 9/07/2005 11:26:00 AM
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