Abbey complaint shows brands 'need to restrict access to customer data'

by Sarah Johnson, Marketing Direct 30-Oct-08, 15:00

LONDON - Telemarketing practitioners have warned that brands need to control call centre operator access to customer data, after an Abbey call centre agent was alleged to have sabotaged the bank details of a customer who complained about his call handling.

Stories in the media, including articles in the Daily Mail and The Times told of George Bates, 23, who is convinced a call centre operator changed his bank account details after he gave him low marks in a customer satisfaction survey.

Abbey, which has both in-house and outsourced call centres overseas, has apologised to Bates and repaid the £60 of penalties Bates incurred because six of his direct debits were left unpaid.

Bates also had his debit card swallowed by a cash machine, his overdraft facility withdrawn and his bank records changed to display him as a 33-year-old Ugandan divorcée.

Practitioners said such incidents were isolated ones as call centres tend to be quality-controlled environments. The Listening Company's director of communications, Philip Shuldham-Legh, said that companies needed to ensure that agents should only have access to records they are actively using.

"Generally speaking, call centres are well run operations, but you can never legislate for the heat of the moment,' he said. Companies needed to ensure that agents are supported because they can be "a high pressure and high stress environment. Brands need to invest in training and make sure agents only have access to records they are actively using. It's not about taking power away from the agent but minimising risk and access that is not relevant."

Bates gave the call centre worker a bad evaluation when his application for an extension of his overdraft was rejected. He told The Times he was not impressed with the service. "The phone operator has obviously seen that I've given him bad feedback and decided to change all my details in revenge. I rang up but I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. He was really unhelpful but he had the cheek to pester me to give him a good rating after the call," he said.

Abbey has offered Bates £200 compensation for his inconvenience but he has refused the compensation. "I am not happy with the fact that the call centre Abbey uses is in India. They offered me £200 compensation but that's not a good apology to me," he said.

"When I heard my details had been changed I was terrified that my account had been emptied and I'd never have my money back," Bates told The Times. "His spiteful actions have caused me a massive inconvenience and I've changed banks because I'm scared he could still access my account."