Archive for the ‘Miscellenous’ Category

College Students Rejoice for Callpod Power Products

April 1st, 2011 admin

From cell phones to portable gaming systems and everything in between, college students want to be connected to the world around them and on as many platforms as possible.

Callpod recognizes this and is happy to keep college campuses around the country fueled with its battery charging power line.

The Fueltank UNO and DUO are perfect for the on-the-run college student that can’t find their way to a power source. Plug in one (Fueltank UNO) or two (Fueltank DUO) power-thirsty devices and receive up to three full charges before recharging your Fueltank!

And for the ultimate in power charging capabilities, Our Chargepod 6-in-1device charger assists the most tech-savvy of college students. Halt the clutter and chaos of a messy dorm room with a central power station that is both lightweight and easy to use.

Designed for any student who uses portable devices, commutes, frequently travels, or simply loves gadgets, the Callpod power line helps them keep any device charged and ready to go! You can get more information by clicking the following image.

Half-off Keeper Subscriptions

Source: blog from the website posted by admin.

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Telecoms complaints fall – but challenges remain

December 8th, 2010 admin

The last five years have brought many benefits for the UK’s phone and broadband customers.

We now enjoy more choice than we once did, we pay less for our services and we’re making fewer complaints.

New research released today reveals that complaints to Ofcom about telecoms services have fallen by almost 20 per cent over the last four years.

But despite this fall challenges still remain and by the end of November we had already received 100,000 telecoms complaints this year.

Tackling consumer issues

Your complaints play a vital part in helping us ensure that all consumers get the very best from their phone and internet services.

They not only inform us of the problems you face but help shape our work to tackle those issues.

While we cannot investigate individual complaints, your experiences can and do lead to new enforcement or policy work which in turn can bring about changes which benefit millions of consumers.

For example, they’ve helped us to crack down on problems such as slamming, bogus cash-back deals and silent calls.

Your complaints have also informed our work to improve consumer switching and were behind our moves to bring about cheaper charges for consumers to leave their phone contracts early.

But challenges still remain and Ofcom’s latest annual Consumer Experience report looks at these problems and sets out what Ofcom is doing to tackle those issues.

Complaints handling

Ofcom continues to receive a high number of complaints about poor customer service.

These range from complaints being ignored, to staff refusing to escalate complaints to their managers and customers being given incorrect information.

From next year new Ofcom regulations will make it easier for consumers to get help resolving complaints about their phone and internet service.

All providers will have to comply with an Ofcom Code of Practice which includes having in place a dedicated complaints process which must be well-publicised.

All communications providers in the UK are required to belong to an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR) – CISAS or Otelo.

From next July providers will also have to inform consumers whose complaints have not been resolved within eight weeks of their right to take their complaint to ADR and include information about the availability of ADR on all paper bills.

We have also commissioned a market research survey on customer service, to inform consumers about the likely nature of day to day contact with a provider and we hope to publish this research alongside the publication of our complaints data.

How to complain

If you’ve got a communications problem, why not first look for help in our advice guides.

They include help and tips on a host of issues ranging from call costs to dealing with customer service problems and bill disputes

If you need to make a complaint about a telecoms service, we have a dedicated section where you can let us know about your problem.

We also have an advice video on how to complain if you have a problem with your telecoms provider.

Silent calls

Despite the overall decline in complaints to Ofcom, complaints about silent calls have increased (6,600 in 2009 compared to 8,600 in 2010 to date).

Ofcom recently confirmed that from 1 February 2011, companies will no longer be able to call consumers without the guaranteed presence of a live operator more than once a day, reducing the likelihood of receiving repeat silent calls.

The Government also recently increased the maximum penalty available to Ofcom for breaches of its persistent misuse (including silent calls) regulations from £50,000 to £2 million.

Ofcom will continue to monitor complaints about silent and abandoned calls and have previously fined nine companies over the problem, including fining Barclaycard the then maximum £50,000 in September 2008.

We will continue with our programme of enforcement and will take action against companies found to be in breach of the rules.

Learn more about how Ofcom is tackling silent calls

Landline mis-selling

Although landline mis-selling remains one of the issues we receive most complaints about, a significant number of these complaints have been driven by process related errors rather deliberate mis-selling.

For example, a consumer who is moving home asks their provider to transfer their existing service to the new address.

But deficiencies in the switching process mean that the wrong line is targeted and a neighbour’s line is transferred instead.

Ofcom has been working closely with the Office of the Telecoms Adjudicator, BT’s wholesale access division Openreach and the industry as a priority to design and implement a solution to these systems errors.

We’re also taking enforcement action against companies generating the most complaints, using new regulations introduced this year which prohibit mis-selling.

Action taken this year includes investigations into telecoms firms Continental Telecom, TalkTalk Group and KCT.

Older consumers driving broadband take-up

The report also outlines other challenges Ofcom needs to address in the communications market to ensure that consumers can get the most from choice and competition in the sector.

 

Take-up of broadband continues to grow, and this is being driven by take-up among older people.

Broadband take-up in the UK grew by 3 percentage points from 2009, but among 65-74s it grew by 9 percentage points and among over 75s by 8 percentage points.

The proportion of consumers stating they do not intend to get the internet in the next 12 months has fallen from 20 per cent in 2009 to 15 per cent in 2010.

Switching processes

The research shows that levels of switching have fallen over the past four years – in mobile, 8 per cent switched provider in 2010 compared to 13 per cent in 2006, owing in part to longer contract lengths.

The decline comes despite the majority of people finding it easier to switch providers. For example, 86 per cent of consumers found it easy to switch broadband providers in 2010 compared to 73 per cent in 2008.

Ofcom is currently reviewing switching processes across the communications sector to assess whether the current processes deliver good consumers and competition outcomes.

Our aim is to make switching easy and hassle free for consumers and to ensure that switching processes do not get in the way of providers competing vigorously with each other to deliver benefits to consumers in terms of lower prices, greater choice and innovation and value for money.

Broadband speeds

Ofcom’s consumer research shows that broadly, consumers remain satisfied with their communications services and providers (ranging from 80 per cent satisfaction with broadband providers to 92 per cent satisfaction with mobile providers).

However, there has been a increase in consumer dissatisfaction with broadband speeds (from 14 per cent 2009 in to 19 per cent in 2010).

Ofcom published the UK’s first comprehensive broadband speeds research in 2009 and published a follow up report in July 2010, which showed that the UK’s average actual fixed-line residential broadband speed has increased by over 25 per cent in the past year from 4.1Mbit/s to 5.2Mbit/s.

However, the move to faster headline speeds has led to a growing gap between the actual speeds delivered and the speeds that some ISPs use to advertise their services.

Get the most out of your broadband

Ofcom recently published a revised voluntary code of practice which aims to ensure that consumers are given an estimated speed range that they can achieve on their broadband line.

The new code also allows consumers to leave their contracts should they achieve speeds significantly below what they were advised at point of sale, if steps taken by providers to improve speeds are unsuccessful.

Ofcom has also provided examples to the advertising regulatory bodies of how broadband speeds might be advertised, to ensure that consumers have a much better expectation of the speed they are likely to achieve.

Source: http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2010/12/telecoms-complaints-fall-but-challenges-remain/

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Making a telephone complaint

December 3rd, 2010 admin

If it is not possible to take direct action and try to resolve a complaint in person then the next best option is to contact the company via telephone. Call Centres

Telephone complaints have acquired a bad reputation because most people who are forced to make them have at one time been on the wrong end of a call centre queue. Call centres are centralised offices comprised of telephone and computer operators that are used by big companies to administer large numbers of consumer queries.

 Although they can be very helpful in resolving queries they also attract a great deal of hostility from callers that find the route to resolution a long and fraught one. Common complaints draw attention to the non-expert operators, the impersonal script they follow, the lack of communication between staff and departments and, of course, the wearing queuing times.

 Logging a Complaint

Their wide publicity may lead one to believe that call centres are the modern way for consumers to communicate with a company, but on the contrary they are in the minority. Typically they are the preserve of large multi-national businesses, whereas most other companies operate their telephones on a more modest level. Most companies operate a system whereby a caller phones up with their problem and the person at the other end logs the complaint on a special complaints programme. If they are unable to resolve the problem immediately then they will deal with it in the company’s standard time frame. This could be anywhere from 24 hours to a couple of weeks.

 The system is an efficient one because when the employee logs the complaint they are then solely responsible for its resolution. If they ignore or are slow to act then it shows up as a black mark on their records.

 Keeping a Record of Events

When complaining by letter, it is easy to keep a record of everything that has happened, from the date a certain letter was sent to what the company said in response. A telephone complaint does not generate such concrete records and so the caller must create their own. They can do this by firstly always asking the name and contact number of anyone they deal with and then writing it down. They should also make a note of the time of the call and the date. These details can be used to follow up the complaint either with another telephone call or with a follow-up letter. Most companies will keep a record of all the calls made and this information is proof that a conversation occurred.

 The caller should also note down the important points of what was said during the conversation. The person on the phone may for instance promise to deal with the complaint within the next 48 hours and if they fail to do so then this record of the conversation could prove useful.

 What Has Been Agreed

When the caller ends their communication they should be completely clear about what has been agreed, what is going to happen and when it will happen by. This information should be duly logged and monitored. If nothing happens in the allotted time then the complaint should then be followed up immediately. The Follow-Up Letter

A follow-up letter summarising the complaint and utilising all the information accumulated during the telephone communication is the finishing touch to the most effective and professional method of resolving a complaint over the telephone. source: complaintexpert.co.uk

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Silent calls

December 3rd, 2010 admin

For many people, silent calls – when your phone rings but there’s only silence at the other end – can be unnerving or indeed frightening.

Almost always, there is actually nothing sinister going on. They’re usually caused by companies using ‘predictive diallers’ to make large volumes of calls. But even so, we know these calls are at the very least annoying and disruptive, and we have strict rules governing how these companies must behave.

Predictive diallers

Predictive diallers are used for: selling products; market research; debt collection; contacting existing customers (such as a bank or a utility); and many other services.

They work by automatically calling phone numbers and connecting the call to a call centre agent once the consumer answers the phone. Unfortunately, if all of the call centre agents are busy when the phone is answered, there will be no-one free to answer the call. As a result, you may simply hear silence – and can become concerned or frightened.

Predictive diallers are also designed to disconnect calls picked up by answering machines. However, sometimes they mistake you, a real live person, for a machine. So they cut off the call, again leaving you with silence.

Silent calls are not only unwanted – they can also be illegal. Ofcom has levied heavy fines on companies that make silent calls in large numbers and we will continue to take strong action where it’s needed. You can see details of recent investigations in our Competition Bulletin.

Ofcom Consultation: information about our rules (see 1.4).

Malicious silent calls

If you believe you are receiving silent calls as a result of someone purposely trying to cause you anxiety, you should report this to the police. Depending on the circumstances, this can be considered a criminal offence.

Preventing silent calls

If you don’t know the number of the person or company phoning you, try dialling 1471 after each call. This will either tell you the number, or let you know the number was withheld.

If you still cannot get the number, or want some help, you can call your phone company’s nuisance calls department. They may be able to trace the caller’s number or offer other services such as:

  • Anonymous Call Rejection. This simply blocks any callers who withhold their number. However, this can have the down side of blocking genuine calls from friends or companies who choose not to display their number.
  • Choose to Refuse. This gives you the ability to block specific phone numbers from calling you.

It is likely that your phone company will charge you for these services.

If you have got the phone number of the person or company, please tell us what happened. It is important you give us as much information as possible.

The information you provide will be used for monitoring purposes and we may use it to decide whether to investigate a particular company.

We will not respond to your individual complaint.

Silent calls monitoring form

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