The ability to start lobbying a company to change, is inherent to the way we do things, and choosing to write good PR that captures the public mood is essential to the impact of a good agency.

We have recently started a campaign aimed at Barclaycard, and their practice in disciminating against senior citizens, particularly against customers over the age of seventyfive, and when we spoke to Craig Birkbeck of Barclycard his tone appeared not to understand that elderly people react in another way, but Ashish Johri a senior manager with Barclays Collections appeared more understanding.

Indeed Barclays need to demonstrate in a statement a more sensitive approach to dealing with the elderly, and not one of social exclusion. It was noticed that call centre staff at Barclaycard UK appeared not have been trained how to deal appropriately with senior citizens.

Whereas Barclays Horizons are supporting Age Concern we feel that Barclays needs to announce a policy change, and we believe in taking this issue higher in PR.

We are also involved in outsourcing, and are a British Company using staff in the Philippines, whereas Barclays chooses India.

We are running a stream of Press Releases

Barclays Pays The Cost Of Outsourcing To India

Poor customer service may well become the epitaph of the bank

Published on May 15, 2010

by Lawrence Perry

(NewsPR.us and OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND

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Sitting in the White Hart Pub Restaurant in Grafton Regis I overheard a conversation about Barclays receiving a pension payment for a customer, and paying it out one week later - the person complaining was suggesting that Barclays was creaming so much interest in a week to make a profit on something they never owned.

Eating with a retired friend who had just been in hospital, who had no problem treating his family and friends to lunch at the Navigation Inn, Stoke Bruerne and White Hart on his Barclaycard until now - he told me that he had received dozens of calls from an Indian Call Centre representing Barclaycard over one missed payment - he told me that he had banked with Barclays for 65 years, and would talk to the Barclays Bank manager in Stoney Stratford.

Barclays PR is being affected across Middle England, and this misunderstanding of culture, is ultimately going to cost Barclays it's position in England as a trustworthy bank.

Their policy to hit loyal customers in the Conservative heartland, is going to cost them dear - my friend has just closed his Barclaycard account.

Ian Taylor Ramsden, spokesman for the Financial Ombudsman, suggested that Barclaycard doesn't care and has a job to do collecting money.

This hard attitude by a bank who just made a profit of £11.6 billion, demonstrates a total lack of understanding, especially when it comes to dishing out it's top management team with £3 billion of bonuses.

Northamptonshire recently woke up to hearing that Barclaycard was closing it's fraud centre in Northampton, in favour of outsourcing 140 British Jobs to India, and this clearly shows that Barclays is moving all it's admin jobs to India, where deregulation is the name of the game.

John Varley, Barclay's chief appears to have decided to move the bank out of the UK, avoiding paying tax on bonuses, however the backlash is coming from furious customers.

Is India the right place, and is customer service recognised there? The fact remains that the Indian staff appear to have had no training on how to communicate with British customers.

It all goes down to investment doesn't it - you pay peanuts you get peanuts - Barclays need to get their act together.

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Barclaycard Opts Out Of The Uk As Banking Regulation Comes In, In Favour Of India ...

John Varley chief of Barclays follows up his threat, cuts the link with London, and moves jobs to India

Published on May 14, 2010

by Lawrence Perry

(NewsPR.us and OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND

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STAR LETTER from our correspondent

It isn't hard to understand what Barclaycard is banking on fat bonuses to those at the top and pennies to those at the bottom, as the Bank shifts it's operation outside the UK to India, and less regulations.

Head of fraud, Vikki Williams who currently lives in the Northampton area, "Clearly there are some cost savings involved but our main driving force is to create a global centre of excellence in India."

Obviously axing 140 UK staff in favour of India, will save 90% on salaries - but Barcalcard have not understood their arithmetic have they? The old age saying is clearly right 'if you pay peanuts - you get peanuts', but try telling that to Anthony Jenkins CEO who was made millions in compensation for a promotion which never came last year.

The fact that Barclays are moving Barclaycard outside the UK saying nothing of the huge profits made, or their quality of staff - outsourcing is likely to double profits, and the biggest reward is no regulation and no rules.

It is nothing short of corporate greed, but pride comes before a fall.

The uncertainty in India, Pakistan and Iran may spell poential danger for the giant, but the smell of money is driving the venture hard.

Amidst this storm customer relations are suffering as collections in Barclaycard have been grabbed by enthusiastic call centre agent paid less than £1 an hour, who are ringing all and sundry, in the UK demanding immediate payments for any late penalty charge.

This action has caused fury amongst it's customers and Mary, an office worker says she has had eighty calls in the last three weeks, with fifthteen of them in the last day. Hundreds of customers have complained, but have been totally ignored by Barclays.

A retired management consultant aged 88 was sentenced to a campaign of harrassment after returned home from hospital, already scammed in the past, he could not understand what Barclays was doing at all. He has been with the bank 65 years, but Barclays couldn't care a damn, and that is ultimately their failure.

Customer service is not a priority on the Banks list, and it is time that George Osbourne pulled his finger out, in his new office as Chancellor and saved the British jobs in Northampton from being outsourced to India, whilst stopping the fraud that is going on in Barclays pay deals.

Isn't it about time that we placed more regulation on banks choosing to opt out of the UK, whilst continuing to do business here?

Let's stop these idiots from behaving badly and place a levy on their business services here in the UK.

British jobs and customer service should be at the top of Barclays and Barclaycard's priority, but they aren't, much like the leak of oil on Transco's rig in America - the love of money is out to pollute our beaches, and our lives and John Varley, Barclay's chief appears to have decided to move the bank out of London to India. In his recent  interview John Varlry suggested that London would be damaged by imposing taxes on banks.

This surely should be a wake up call for David Cameron in his new post of prime minister, should he allow the banks to leave and trade here, or should Vince Cable smell a rat, as if there ever was one in Barclaycard?



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Barclaycard Hound Elderly Over Missed Payments

On discovering he was born in 1922 they rang repeatedly throughout the day requesting payment...... a cold calculating insensitive way for a bank to behave

Published on May 14, 2010

by Lawrence Perry

(NewsPR.us and OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND

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Big bonuses to Barcalycard board members, are a far cry from their practice in outsourcing their collections to a call centre in India, aren't they!

Indian call handlers earn less than a £1 a day, and receive no training in vulnerable adults, so are oblivious to any standard in chasing up late payers particularly those aged over 75 years old.

Of course Barclaycard know this, and that is why they chose to outsource to India, where there is very little regulation, and few human rights.

The result is a very poor service to their customers, and the Barclaycard brand is fast loosing it's grip on the market, as furious customers leave, after receiving a lack of service by the one time credit card giant.

How can Barclaycard give a better service to it's clients, when good PR is not happening in their customer service delivery?

Several complaints of financial abuse have been reported by the public attaining to sharp practices by Barclaycard in collecting late payments from clients.

Our reporter spoke to Craig Birkbeck at Barclaycard who implied that age did not matter when it came to their practice of calling from India several times a day.

Barclaycard chose India over Manchester in 2007 when it laid off 600 call centre jobs, and the result we are seeing now in poor customer relations, but has it deterred them no, they are still not listrning to their clients, as even now they have plans to close their Northampton call centre.

BarclayCard puts profit above customer relations, and the resulting poor service as customers abandon transactions or end relationships when companies do not meet their expectations.

Ashish Johri a senior manager in Barclaycard Collections unreservedly apologised for the organisation's failings, and promised to look into their systems failure.

The last word was left to Ian Taylor Ramsden at the office of the Financial Ombudsman, "Barclaycard doesn't care - they have a job to do"

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 Barclaycard Offers Poor Communication To Senior Citizens

"They don't care - they have a job to do"

Published on May 14, 2010

by Lawrence Perry

(NewsPR.us and OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND

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Barclaycard have no understanding how to deal with eldely people, especially loyal account holders, who have never been out of step with their accounts before - that is until they missed making a payment .......

Recently, indeed this week I took an elderly relative home from hospital, only to find four to six calls coming through a day over four days from an Indian Call Centre, who did not in the first place identify themself. I answered the phone on a few occasions to be asked what was my year of birth - would you just freely give your year of birth away on a phone call, Oh come on!

It would perhaps be different to have an English person ask, but an Indian from where?

The call centre kept on phoning, some calls I picked up the phone and no-one was there. Telephoning 1471 revealed that the number was 08453007027, which was identified as a number with twenty pages of complaints on - on of course Google, and it turned out to be a Barclaycard number.

Then there were more calls from call agents representing Barclaycard like a guy called  Jeano.... my relative answered and said that he had just come out of hospital, but he refused to give them more information, as is his right and his capacity. The calls kept on coming.

Yesterday I made the payment in disgust, it wasn't much to write home about. He had missed a payment and been charged £12 late payment fee and an interest of 3.43%.

The calls stopped.

I phoned Trading Standards and was directed to the Finacial Ombusman, Ian Taylor Ramsden, who said "they don't care - they Have a job to do".

Quite honestly they should care, especially about elderly vulnerable people, and when I pointed this out to a Barclaycard Call Agent in Northampton, I was told I was discriminating! He obviously wanted to throw everyone into the same category - the public have no rights at all, do they?

I spoke to Craig Birkbeck Team Manager of Barclaycard, who said that it was because they did not receive a payment since March - well they bill March in April and the due date for payment was April 12th. So on his April statement which would have come in around about April 24th, it would state missed last payment.

I suggested to Craig that Barclays should apply a more understanding policy to elderly people, but the phone went dead, when my battery cut on my phone.

I phoned back and spoke to Mr Ashish Johari of Barclaycard Collections, who apologised totally to me, he said that the calls that came in which when answered were dead, were automated calls, and on the first call it should have been noted by the call centre agent the illness of my relative and the account held.

I asked him for a best practice statement from Barclaycard on how they would deal with elderly people in future, and asked that this should be published in the press.

I feel that Barclaycard's present policy is discrpminatory, especially againt senior citizens, and indeed it is nothing short of elder abuse.

Senior Citizens are often vulnerable, and Safeguarding Adults should be taken on board by Barclaycard.

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Barclaycard Pay The Price Of Outsourcing To India With Poor Customer Relations

Furious customers are leaving Barclaycard after receiving calls from Zealous call centre agents

Published on May 13, 2010

by Lawrence Perry

(NewsPR.us and OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND


Customer relations are flying out the window, when it comes to Barclaycard, but does it matter to them?

I just bought my elderly father home from hospital, to look after him, and since the weekend have been blasted with phone calls from obscure names in India, where apparently Barclaycard have a call centre, stating that they want to talk to my father.

My father is extremely vulnerable, but try telling Barclaycard India - they insisted ringing four to six times a day - Barclaycard must be broke!

I finally snapped and I paid them the £282 total balance on his account, and hope the calls will finally stop.

Barclaycard are a credit card supposedly, but a missed payment for whatever reason is not understood in India is it? Indeed to those people £1 is big money, but here it's not even the cost of the Financial Times newspaper, but a person in India cannot understand that at all, can they?

Barclaycard will shortly be loosing my custom, and my father's.

I cannot conceivably understand why a corporate entity like Barclaycard can behave in this way, can you?

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