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Smartinfo Systems News Round Up w/b 17 February 2014

ID-10092676And I’m back to bring you the latest news and happenings from the telecommunications world. Feel free to share!

“The remote entrepreneur: Running a successful business from the middle of nowhere”http://buff.ly/1eNrktt

Kiwis abandoning landlines http://buff.ly/1ggfk3g [more mobiles, more online comms]

“small businesses have been found to still be missing out on the many advantages that VoIP technology brings.” http://buff.ly/1g6tNiI

“one in 10 people now work from home, which is an increase of a third in the last decade”http://buff.ly/1dHtxlx [good tips]

“The UK is missing out on £30bn of growth thanks to a ‘connectivity deficit’ in public sector orgs and businesses” http://buff.ly/N5FZFN

And that’s it for this week! See you all again soon.

Photo by: supakitmod/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Smartinfo Systems News Round Up w/b 10 February 2014

ID-10067383Hello Everyone! Welcome to another round of interesting news, articles and opinions from the telecommunications world.  Enjoy!

The future of work… office not required http://buff.ly/1fjp4sY [not with our remote working solutions!]

44pc of employees work from home at least one day a month [we can help you do the same]http://buff.ly/1b8JCUo

” A streamlined phone system can cut your communications costs immensely.”http://buff.ly/1fjqCDj

“Tube Strikes, weather chaos, is it time for more businesses to embrace remote working? “http://buff.ly/1ggeC6h

9 Qualities a Good Call Center Should Have http://buff.ly/1ggeJ1s [interesting]

How remote work leads to more success, happiness http://buff.ly/1fjnFmv [we can help with your remote comms needs]

Sales Messages ‘On Hold’ Can Add Volume, And Stifle Competitors http://buff.ly/1fjo5cl [one more thing we can help you set up]

Photo by: David Castillo Dominici/FreeDigitalPhotos

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Smartinfo Systems News Round Up w/b 3 February 2014

ID-10074084Here is the latest update in the world of telecommunications. Read through the  latest  news items, articles and opinions and feel free to spread the word

“Moving from a regular phone service to a VoIP system not only reduces bills…” http://buff.ly/1jE5pWt

Is My Business Ready for Remote Work Options? http://buff.ly/1jE7v8K [How will you stay in touch? We have the solution]

““What exactly is SIP, how does it work, and what’s in it for me?” ” http://buff.ly/LYKOAX

Fathers ‘resentful over flexible working arrangements’ http://buff.ly/1b8H9cu [we can help make remote working an option]

Q&A round-up: how to improve efficiency in the new year http://buff.ly/1fjnqb1[interesting points]

BBC News – Tube strike: London Underground action disrupting millions http://buff.ly/1ex56LX [our voip clients are avoiding the chaos!]

That’s it for now! I’ll see you all again next week.

Photo by: Master isolated images/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

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Smartinfo Systems News Round Up w/b 27 January 2014

ID-100207610The world of telecommunications is ever changing. Here are some news items, articles and opinions which caught our eye over the last week.

You Need a New Phone System – What Now? http://buff.ly/1g40JLq [give us a call!]

Growing number of Irish employees now work from home http://buff.ly/1jE6CNl [our systems are great for supporting remote working]

Using VoIP and Other Communication Services to Expand Your Businesses http://buff.ly/1jE1YPt [our clients would agree]

Phone Etiquette: A Refresher Course in Courtesy http://buff.ly/1g452X6 [good tips!]

Common mistakes made by companies implementing flexible working http://buff.ly/1jE6Tju [make sure you have the right comms – we can help!]

Updating PC World’s “VoIP Buying Guide for Small Business” – Business 2 Community http://buff.ly/1jE5E3N [worth a look]

So, that’s our industry news round up for this week – see you next time!

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Ofcom – Price Rises in Fixed-Term Contracts

Ofcom has published a statement on how it will protect consumers from mid-contract price rises for fixed-term landline, broadband, and mobile services.

Following a consultation, Ofcom has decided that consumers and small businesses should be allowed to exit a fixed-term contract without penalty if their communications provider increases the cost of their monthly subscription price deal.

The statement contains new guidance for communications providers on one of the ‘general conditions’ with which they must comply – GC 9.6 – which tells them how to interpret and apply current telecoms sector rules in relation to price increases during fixed-term contracts.

This guidance sets out that:

Ofcom is likely to regard any increase to the recurring monthly subscription charge in a fixed-term contract as ‘materially detrimental’ to consumers. Providers should therefore:

1 – Give consumers at least 30 days’ notice of any such price rise and allow them to exit their contract without penalty.

2 – Any changes to contract terms, pricing or otherwise, must be communicated clearly and transparently to consumers.

The new guidance comes into effect three months from today (Oct. 25, 2013).

It will apply to any new landline, broadband, and mobile contracts (including in some cases bundled contracts) entered into after this date. We think this is generally good news for the consumer because it will protect them from ad hoc and sudden price increases which could affect their monthly outgoings.

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Complaints Handling Procedure

SMARTINFO LTD
Code of Practice on Complaint Handling and Dispute ResolutionSmartinfo complaints handling SMARTINFO LTD is an independent company that delivers communications services to domestic and business customers in the UK. While we may not provide all the component parts of our services ourselves, we do take responsibility for the services delivered to you. So we will liaise with our suppliers to ensure that any problems with their services are resolved promptly.
We make every effort to ensure that our customers are happy with the level of service, and the products and service they receive from us. However, despite our best efforts, things can go wrong. We take customer complaints very seriously and aim to resolve them quickly and
efficiently.
If you have a complaint about any part of our service, please contact our Customer Service Team (or other department or named individual) using one of the following
By phone: 02073779243
By email: [email protected]
By letter: Smartinfo Ltd, Customer Services, 49 Kingdon House, Galbraith Street, London E14 3LP
If you telephone, our advisors will ask you about your complaint and seek to resolve the problem while you are on the line. During any discussions we will protect the privacy of the information that we hold on you. To do this we may have to ask you questions to confirm that
we are speaking to the right person.
If you make your complaint by email or in writing, we will acknowledge receipt, advise how and when we will next respond and provide you with a contact point for checking progress on the resolution of your complaint.
We will try to resolve your complaint quickly and efficiently, and to keep you informed at all times. We normally aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days but, depending on the nature of the complaint, this is not always possible. However, If you are not happy with
progress in resolving your complaint you can ask the person to whom you are speaking to escalate the matter to their manager, and ultimately to the Managing Director. If we cannot resolve the problem, we will write to you to say so.

 

Communications Ombudsman Services:
By phone

The best way to contact us is by phoning us:

  • 0330 440 1614 (phone) Mon-Fri 8am to 8pm Sat 9am to 1pm

By post

Ombudsman Services: Communications
PO Box 730
Warrington
WA4 6WU

Email: [email protected]

By email

[email protected]

Alternatively, if at any time you are not satisfied with the progress of your complaint you can ask us to agree an early referral to ADR (i.e. that we issue a deadlock letter). However, we may decline to do so if we do believe we will shortly resolve your complaint and are taking active
steps to do so.
Ofcom – Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA.
Tel: 020 7981 3040 or 0300
123 3333 email: [email protected]
Website: www.ofcom.org.uk
PhonepayPlus (formerly Icstis)- Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London, SE1 2NQ.
Tel: 0800 500 212 or 020 7940 7474
Website: www.phonepayplus.org.uk
email: [email protected]
Telephone Preference Service – DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS
Tel: 0845 070 0707
Website: www.tpsonline.org.uk
Federation of Communication Services (FCS) – Burnhill Business Centre, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3 1AT.
Tel: 020 8249 6363
email: [email protected]
Website: www.fcs.org.uk
This code has been licensed by The Federation of Communication Services Limited 2012 Licence number C-002835

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Dispute Resolution

If you have a query or dispute you wish to raise – please put it in writing to Smartinfo for us to investigate.

Smartinfo are a member of the FCS (Federation of Communication Services) – if you wish to escalate your dispute, and have a 3rd party advise you.

The FCS is a trade body which can mediate dispute resolution. Please visit www.fcs.org.uk.

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London’s Tube to get free Wi-Fi in time for Olympics

[stars]

Free Wi-Fi will be made available to London’s commuters in time for the Olympics. That is, when the Tube drivers aren’t on strike leaving half the network crippled for days at a time.

Everyone loves a freebie, especially if it comes in invisible wireless waves of Wi-Fi enjoyment. Thankfully for the typical grumpy Londoner, users of the Underground subway system will receive free Wi-Fi during July and August.

The catch? There isn’t one as it happens, with anyone able to use the free Wi-Fi during the Olympics and beyond, thanks to Virgin Media. If there were one, however, it would be that once the slightly later Paralympic Games are over, non-Virgin customers will be shuttered out.

London’s Tube to get free Wi-Fi in time for Olympics

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business telephone selection – services and hardware – get your office the service back up it requires

Be sure to select a communications provider that can provide your business with what it needs – not what they want to supply you.

A supplier should have a number of vendor and supply options.

 

Often we have been in competitive situations against a ‘One-man-band’ or ‘man-and-a-van’ whilst a customer may save £50-£100 with such an out fit, there are many downsides, we recommend you look for all these in any new comms provider.

1) Support – a depth of back office support, in telephony, adsl, and mobile technologies

2) A selection of vendor equipment (for features, look and feel, integration to other systems in the business)

3) A selection of Tier 1 network providers, with proper wholesale relationship to provide a higher level of service than if you were direct

If you are a small business looking to save money it may be a false economy to buy cheap today, but have to reinvest a year down the line if the cheap option purchased can’t handle voip or voicemail etc..

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