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Home repairs group suspends sales operations for retraining after review reveals call centre does not meet required standards

Home repairs group HomeServe saw £450m wiped off its market value as investors deserted the firm amid fears its call centre staff have been mis-selling its products.

The West Midlands-based firm, which insures three million people in the UK against burst pipes, broken down boilers and electrical problems, took the highly unusual step of suspending its entire sales operation over the weekend following an internal review by accountants Deloitte.

The company said inbound sales and marketing calls will resume on Tuesday, but its sales staff will not be making business-generating outbound calls for a further “five to six weeks”.

HomeServe took the dramatic action after its review found cases where sales processes did not meet required standards. As a result HomeServe will now retrain nearly 500 call centre staff at its Walsall base.

While it gave no details on how many customers may have been affected by the problems, which are understood to relate to the scripts used by sales people to explain pricing and policy details, and whether they could have misled customers.

The FTSE 250-listed group, which has been one of the stars of the downturn-hit stock market, watched as shares fell 28% to value the group at £1.1bn. Part of the company’s success has been built on its ability to persuade its existing customers to take out add-on policies, aided by a slick sales operation. It has also pushed through big price increases to the extent some households now pay over £500 a year for its various policies.

Chief executive Richard Harpin said: “We are determined to ensure customers receive the highest standards of service and we have therefore taken swift action to address the issues identified by our review. We have commenced a programme to retrain staff. We will resume marketing once we are confident that our sales processes meet the standards that we and our customers expect.”

HomeServe’s travails will be a personal blow to the helicopter flying Harpin, who hit the headlines in 2010 when he put up £50,000 to launch a new entrepreneur badge with the Scout Association.

A year ago he pocketed £66m when he sold a third of his shares in HomeServe, the company he founded back in 1993.

The Financial Services Authority has been informed of the current problems and is expected to launch an investigation, which could mean a large fine for HomeServe if it is found to have breached rules for selling financial products. It could also be forced to pay compensation to customers if it is found they were mis-sold policies.

It is not the first time the company has found itself in hot water. The bad weather last winter took its toll on the operation a led to customers complaining of poor or non-existent service. Many were left without heating in sub-zero temperatures when their boilers broke down, and the company failed to send a plumber.

In July, the telecoms regulator Ofcom revealed it was investigating HomeServe for breaching its rules around silent and abandoned calls. The firm was told its actions could lead to a fine of up to £2m.

HomeServe said on Monday that it expects to meet its market expectations for the year to March, but analysts warned a lack of sales this winter will impact the results for the following year.

Henry Carver, at broker Peel Hunt, said the autumn/winter period to March is key for winning new customers and no sales growth in the UK during this period will hit profits in 2013. He added there could be some reputational knock-on effect.

Others questioned whether HomeServe was set to become the next CPP. The credit-card insurer remains more than 50% down on where it was before revealing in March that it was being investigated by the Financial Services Authority over suspected problems with its sales calls.

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Home repairs group suspends sales operations for retraining after review reveals call centre does not meet required standards

Home repairs group HomeServe saw £450m wiped off its market value as investors deserted the firm amid fears its call centre staff have been mis-selling its products.

The West Midlands-based firm, which insures three million people in the UK against burst pipes, broken down boilers and electrical problems, took the highly unusual step of suspending its entire sales operation over the weekend following an internal review by accountants Deloitte.

The company said inbound sales and marketing calls will resume on Tuesday, but its sales staff will not be making business-generating outbound calls for a further “five to six weeks”.

HomeServe took the dramatic action after its review found cases where sales processes did not meet required standards. As a result HomeServe will now retrain nearly 500 call centre staff at its Walsall base.

While it gave no details on how many customers may have been affected by the problems, which are understood to relate to the scripts used by sales people to explain pricing and policy details, and whether they could have misled customers.

The FTSE 250-listed group, which has been one of the stars of the downturn-hit stock market, watched as shares fell 28% to value the group at £1.1bn. Part of the company’s success has been built on its ability to persuade its existing customers to take out add-on policies, aided by a slick sales operation. It has also pushed through big price increases to the extent some households now pay over £500 a year for its various policies.

Chief executive Richard Harpin said: “We are determined to ensure customers receive the highest standards of service and we have therefore taken swift action to address the issues identified by our review. We have commenced a programme to retrain staff. We will resume marketing once we are confident that our sales processes meet the standards that we and our customers expect.”

HomeServe’s travails will be a personal blow to the helicopter flying Harpin, who hit the headlines in 2010 when he put up £50,000 to launch a new entrepreneur badge with the Scout Association.

A year ago he pocketed £66m when he sold a third of his shares in HomeServe, the company he founded back in 1993.

The Financial Services Authority has been informed of the current problems and is expected to launch an investigation, which could mean a large fine for HomeServe if it is found to have breached rules for selling financial products. It could also be forced to pay compensation to customers if it is found they were mis-sold policies.

It is not the first time the company has found itself in hot water. The bad weather last winter took its toll on the operation a led to customers complaining of poor or non-existent service. Many were left without heating in sub-zero temperatures when their boilers broke down, and the company failed to send a plumber.

In July, the telecoms regulator Ofcom revealed it was investigating HomeServe for breaching its rules around silent and abandoned calls. The firm was told its actions could lead to a fine of up to £2m.

HomeServe said on Monday that it expects to meet its market expectations for the year to March, but analysts warned a lack of sales this winter will impact the results for the following year.

Henry Carver, at broker Peel Hunt, said the autumn/winter period to March is key for winning new customers and no sales growth in the UK during this period will hit profits in 2013. He added there could be some reputational knock-on effect.

Others questioned whether HomeServe was set to become the next CPP. The credit-card insurer remains more than 50% down on where it was before revealing in March that it was being investigated by the Financial Services Authority over suspected problems with its sales calls.

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RMT general secretary Bob Crow warns that radical proposals, which include driverless trains, would meet fierce resistance

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson is braced for a standoff with Bob Crow’s RMT trade union after his Transport for London authority confirmed it is considering introducing driverless trains on the tube network.

The general secretary of the UK’s most powerful rail union said radical proposals submitted to the TfL board would meet “the fiercest union resistance”, nearly a year after calling strikes over ticket office job cuts.

In a document entitled London Underground’s operational vision, tube officials say the model for the future would be the driverless trains on the Docklands Light Railway, while Oyster cards will be superseded by a new generation of bank cards. “Given the technology available now, it is very unlikely that … LU will ever again buy a fleet of passenger trains with conventional drivers’ cabs,” the document says. TfL employs 3,400 drivers and runs nearly 530 trains during the morning rush hour.

The document adds: “The next generation of employees supporting the train service could be much more like the train captains on the Docklands Light Railway, rather than those seen traditionally on LU. There is no doubt the role will change considerably.”

But Crow pledged to fight the plans. “Driverless trains are a lethal and unworkable option for London Underground and any move in that direction will meet the fiercest union resistance,” he said.

Aslef, Britain’s biggest drivers’ union, has also warned that it will challenge any attempt to eliminate train drivers “vigorously”. The report indicates that driverless services are a decade away, saying that the changes could be made for the next generation of carriages on the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Central lines but those trains will not be introduced until the 2020s.

However, it makes a “commitment” to current drivers that they will drive trains “for the rest of their career”. The successors, though, will be expected to multitask. “It is certain that any staff supporting the train service of the future will be mobile, flexible and customer-focused.”

Further ticket office staff reductions seem likely after the document outlined a future where the Oyster card will be outdated. TfL is working on a new generation of ticketing technologies that will replace the Oyster card with a bank card that will be waved over a sensor, automatically debiting the passenger. “Wave and pay” technology that enables passengers to use a contactless card on the Tfl network and in shops such as Pret a Manger and Eat is being introduced on TfL buses next year.

“TfL is working on the next generation of ticketing technology,” states the document. “[It] will allow customers with a contactless bank card to pay for travel simply by waving their bank card over the gateline to get the correct fare. There will be no need to buy a card from TfL or to top it up, further reducing demand for ticket selling.”

The document states that it recognises the importance of a good relationship with trade unions but makes clear that it wants managers to get closer to staff. This is viewed by unions as a euphemism for limiting their influence. The plan talks of “building a direct relationship between local managers and their staff to increase trust while recognising the importance of consultation with our trade unions”.

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RMT general secretary Bob Crow warns that radical proposals, which include driverless trains, would meet fierce resistance

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson is braced for a standoff with Bob Crow’s RMT trade union after his Transport for London authority confirmed it is considering introducing driverless trains on the tube network.

The general secretary of the UK’s most powerful rail union said radical proposals submitted to the TfL board would meet “the fiercest union resistance”, nearly a year after calling strikes over ticket office job cuts.

In a document entitled London Underground’s operational vision, tube officials say the model for the future would be the driverless trains on the Docklands Light Railway, while Oyster cards will be superseded by a new generation of bank cards. “Given the technology available now, it is very unlikely that … LU will ever again buy a fleet of passenger trains with conventional drivers’ cabs,” the document says. TfL employs 3,400 drivers and runs nearly 530 trains during the morning rush hour.

The document adds: “The next generation of employees supporting the train service could be much more like the train captains on the Docklands Light Railway, rather than those seen traditionally on LU. There is no doubt the role will change considerably.”

But Crow pledged to fight the plans. “Driverless trains are a lethal and unworkable option for London Underground and any move in that direction will meet the fiercest union resistance,” he said.

Aslef, Britain’s biggest drivers’ union, has also warned that it will challenge any attempt to eliminate train drivers “vigorously”. The report indicates that driverless services are a decade away, saying that the changes could be made for the next generation of carriages on the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Central lines but those trains will not be introduced until the 2020s.

However, it makes a “commitment” to current drivers that they will drive trains “for the rest of their career”. The successors, though, will be expected to multitask. “It is certain that any staff supporting the train service of the future will be mobile, flexible and customer-focused.”

Further ticket office staff reductions seem likely after the document outlined a future where the Oyster card will be outdated. TfL is working on a new generation of ticketing technologies that will replace the Oyster card with a bank card that will be waved over a sensor, automatically debiting the passenger. “Wave and pay” technology that enables passengers to use a contactless card on the Tfl network and in shops such as Pret a Manger and Eat is being introduced on TfL buses next year.

“TfL is working on the next generation of ticketing technology,” states the document. “[It] will allow customers with a contactless bank card to pay for travel simply by waving their bank card over the gateline to get the correct fare. There will be no need to buy a card from TfL or to top it up, further reducing demand for ticket selling.”

The document states that it recognises the importance of a good relationship with trade unions but makes clear that it wants managers to get closer to staff. This is viewed by unions as a euphemism for limiting their influence. The plan talks of “building a direct relationship between local managers and their staff to increase trust while recognising the importance of consultation with our trade unions”.

Read the full story and more.

This was a posting of Venice Hotels - Compare and Book Venice Hotel Deals

Read the full story and more.

This was a posting of Venice Hotels - Compare and Book Venice Hotel Deals

Read the full story and more.

This was a posting of Venice Hotels - Compare and Book Venice Hotel Deals

Read the full story and more.

This was a posting of Venice Hotels - Compare and Book Venice Hotel Deals

Read the full story and more.

This was a posting of Venice Hotels - Compare and Book Venice Hotel Deals

Read the full story and more.

This was a posting of Venice Hotels - Compare and Book Venice Hotel Deals