Bank customers hung up about foreign call centres
OVERSEAS call centres and automated switchboards are big bugbears when we phone our banks.
Frustrated callers particularly hate being answered by a machine and then having to press different numbers, a new survey has shown.
Battling to communicate with staff from overseas call centres was the second biggest grievance, upsetting 53 per cent of consumers.
And 29 per cent of people are infuriated by staff trying to sell additional products during a call.
Around a quarter of Britons told the Mintel poll they were failed by their banks or treated unfairly in the last few years.
But most did not complain at all, while others got back at their banks by switching to a rival.
Only a quarter of those with a grievance wrote a letter of complaint, with under 20 per cent contacting the Financial Ombudsman.
The research showed callers were frustrated at being unable to speak directly to bank staff. Others were upset because they never got to speak to the same person twice.
“Financial institutions should not underestimate the effect of a human voice, which can go a long way to soothe customer relations,” said Toby Clark, head of finance at consumer analysts Mintel.
“Automated telephone systems are high on the list of frustrating experiences. Britons are also strongly opposed to overseas call centres.
“It’s not just language problems. Many believe that overseas workers don’t have a good enough grasp of the UK’s financial system and struggle with unconventional requests.”
However, more than half the 2,000 people surveyed trusted banks most among financial services firms. Building societies got the second highest vote of confidence with 33 per cent of the poll.