HomeServe suspends marketing calls amid mis-selling probe
HOMESERVE, the domestic repairs and maintenance provider, is to suspend all its marketing calls in order for staff to undergo fresh training.
The Walsall-based plc said today it had spent the past month undertaking a “comprehensive review” of its UK telephone sales operations and procedures, including commissioning an independent report from financial services firm Deloitte.
HomeServe said the review showed there were cases where its sales processes did not meet the company’s required standards, prompting it to suspend all telephone sales and marketing activity.
In addition to the retraining, the FTSE 250 company is developing new scripts following reports that certain staff had been mis-selling insurance products, particularly in relation to pricing and policy details.
From tomorrow, the company will be recommence taking ‘inbound’ calls from customers to buy its products but it will not start conducting outbound calls “until relevant staff have been through a comprehensive retraining programme”.
It said the plc had maintained regular dialogue with regulator, the Financial Services Authority, which had been fully informed of the implemented measures which it is though affect around 500 staff.
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 will resume marketing once we are confident that our sales processes meet the standards that we and our customers expect.”
Its six-monthly results will be announced on November 22 and service to customers making a claim or renewing their policy is unaffected by this programme.
For the latest AIM and FTSE news, plus the West Midlands risers and fallers, go to our Shares & Markets section. Click here
