How to beat the call centres

By SEAN POULTER, CONSUMER AFFAIRS EDITOR
Updated:

 

WE all know the frustration, being kept on the phone while the computer voice at the other end assures us: 'Your call is important.'

Angry man on the phone

Relief could be at hand, however, as rebellion begins to stir. Consumers are starting to strike back at banks, local councils and even police stations which turn the simple task of making a phone call into an angst-ridden ordeal.

So-called 'cheat' kits - which find ways to get round automated answering systems and their high-cost calls - are being circulated by two websites on the Internet.

According to one, the best way to break out of the system and speak to a human being often simply involves punching the number '0' on your phone's keypad. The second site lists the 'home' - or geographic - numbers of major companies and institutions, so consumers can avoid using the 0870, 0871 or 0845 numbers.

Using geographic numbers usually cuts the cost of a call, while also speeding-up access to a real person. The rebellion against the machines is being led by, among others, Paul English, an American consumer activist. In only a few months in the U.S., he has found cheats for phone systems operated by 110 corporate giants - including Sony and Ikea.

He is exporting the idea to the UK, and is ready to put the first ten 'cheats' on his site this week. 'Humans want human contact,' said Mr English, from Boston.

'I just got increasingly frustrated about what companies are putting us through as consumers.' Automated systems also cost the caller more money - while offering huge savings to the organisations which run them as they cut staff.

A call dealt with only by a computer costs a company around 4.5p to 9p a minute, while a call handled by an employee based in the UK would cost 36p to 55p. Much of this is passed on to customers, with companies charging about 10p a minute for an 0871 call. Companies even profit from keeping callers on hold.

With many automated systems, the websites advise, it is possible to break out by pressing '0'. For others, it requires repeated pressing of the hash key.

Mr English is asking Britons to send their methods of beating the automated systems to his website,

www.paulenglish.com/ivr. As for geographic numbers, the website saynoto0870.com has compiled a library of companies and government departments.

The 0870 numbers used by many organisations are charged at just under 8p a minute, more than double the 3p a minute charged by BT and others for national calls.

• CAN YOU BEAT THE CALL CENTRE? Reveal your tips on the boards

The way to outwit some major firms

• DHL COURIERS: Don't press any buttons. The equipment will assume you don't have a touch-tone phone and put you through to the first available agent
• GOLDFISH CREDIT CARD: Press 0 three times at speed when asked to tap in your account number. This will transfer you to an operator
• MBNA CREDIT CARDS/LOANS: Press * about 10 times and pause, then press 0 to speak to an agent

Other common tricks

• Press 0, 0#, #0, 0* or *0 repeatedly
• If prompted, say you are an 'agent' or a 'representative'
• Connect to sales and get them to transfer you
• Call the chief executive's office or investor relations - the numbers should be on the corporate website
• When you do get someone, ask how you can connect directly next time

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