UTV Talk CODE OF PRACTICE

Sales and Marketing Code Our Customer Care Code of Practice for Complaint Handling

Sales and Marketing Code of Practice for the sale of fixed-line telecommunications services

1. Background and Introduction

1.1 This Code of Practice is published by UTV Internet Limited. UTV Internet Limited is registered in Northern Ireland under registered number NI32652 and has its registered office at UTV Havelock House Ormeau Road Belfast BT7 1EB.

1.2 UTV Talk is the brand name under which UTV Internet Limited operates. Among other things UTV Talk offers fixed-line telecoms services in the Northern Ireland.

1.3 Specifically the nature of UTV Talk’s services are

(a) carrier pre-selection services – that is, the provision of call services (local, national, international) to customers with a BT line;

(a) Specifically the nature of UTV Talk’s services are

(b) wholesale Line rental – that is, the service provided by UTV Talk for the billing of line rental, call charges and other ancillary services;

(c) narrowband and broadband internet services.

1.4 This Code only deals with the selling of carrier pre-selection services, wholesale line rental and narrowband internet services and does not affect the marketing or sale of other services.

1.5 This Code does not constitute a contract between you and UTV Talk but sets out some of the general principles to which UTV Talk strives to adhere in the provision of the services outlined above and also provides further information in relation to specific services.

1.6 We reserve the right to change this Code of Practice at any time and for any reason. The latest version of the Code is available on our website at www.utvtalk.com . A free printed copy is also available from our Customer Service Centre – Customer Care Department, UTV Talk, Ormeau Road, Belfast BT7 1EB. A free copy in Braille is also available upon request from the address above.

1.7 UTV Talk’s Commercial and Financial Manager, Mr Paul Doherty, is the representative responsible for compliance with this code. He can be contacted by:

(a) phoning 0845 247 0001 or

(b) emailing [email protected]

(c) writing to: UTV Internet , Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 1EB

(d) Faxing 02890 201 203.

2. UTV Talk services – terms and conditions

2.1 UTV Talk services are provided to customers under the terms and conditions which are available from our website www.utvtalk.com or by calling our Customer Service Centre. This Code does not form part of that agreement and the material in this code is provided for information purposes only.

3. Sales, marketing advertising and promotion

3.1 In its sales and marketing activities UTV Talk uses its best efforts to act responsibly toward its customers and in compliance with all relevant laws or regulations.

3.2 A large proportion of UTV Talk’s sales and marketing activity is conducted by way of television and radio advertising campaigns, as well as online promotion via our website www.utvtalk.com. A smaller proportion of UTV Talk’s sales and marketing activity is conducted in shopping centre’s or in person. We will respect your rights where you may have registered with any relevant preference service such as the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), unless you have indicated otherwise to us.

3.3 UTV Talk also ensures that its advertising and promotional material comply with the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing. Furthermore UTV Talk strives to ensure that its promotional material is clear, unambiguous, accurate and fair, containing no false or misleading information about price, value or service. Whilst we often make price and service comparisons with the offerings of our competitors, we understand that we must not and we do not denigrate other companies.

3.4 We encourage members of the public who are concerned about the clarity or nature of our advertisements to call our customer service line and let us know.

4. Recruitment and sales training

4.1 It is in the interests of UTV Talk’s prospective customers, the industry and UTV Talk itself that its representatives, and other customer facing staff, are properly trained.

4.2 The conduct of the representatives who sell on UTV Talk’s behalf is governed by, among other things by this Code of Practice. UTV Talk understands its responsibilities in respect of the representatives who sell for it and it is diligent in fulfilling those responsibilities.

4.3 UTV Talk’s third party staff are recruited through a selection process which requires:

(a) an application form to be provided by the applicant;

(b) 2 references, preferably from previous employers;

(c) the provision of proof of a national insurance number; and

(d) proof of address.

4.4 UTV Talk has directed organisations who sell on our behalf to maintain recruitment processes which at least require the provision of the information set out in 4.3. We periodically check the records of those organizations to ensure that that material is being obtained and retained.

4.5 UTV Talk’s Business Development Manager is responsible for directing UTV Talk’s sales representatives on the nature and content of the training provided to individuals who sell the company’s services.

4.6 The training of individual sales representatives is conducted by their employing agencies and that training is based on the material (including a comprehensive presentation) produced by UTV Talk. Among other things, that material deals with the following subjects:

Who are UTV Talk and UTV Internet.

An explanation of Carrier Pre-selection and Wholesale Line Rental services and the ability of non-BT operators to carry the calls for customers who have and will retain a BT line and how these services allow for competition in the UK telecommunications market.

The different product options provided by UTV Talk and how these differ from other competitive products (which may or may not be offered by the company). The prices charged by UTV Talk and its other terms and conditions of service and, in particular, methods of payment, duration of contract and any termination fees.

Key benefits of UTV Talk products.

Billing and payments processes – including methods of payment.

An explanation of the prospective customer’s existing services which may be incompatible with the UTV Talk services, for example BT Together Options 2 or 3 or call barring.

The process for ordering the services.

The relevant principles of consumer protection law.

An explanation of this Sales and Marketing Code of Practice.

Words, phrases and expressions that cannot be used during the sales process because they may confuse prospective customers.

UTV Talk’s dial-up and broadband internet services – pricing and specifications. The process for cancelling the contract both during the cooling-off period and at any time following commencement of the service. Complaint handling procedures.

4.7 UTV Talk’s Commercial and Financial Manager is responsible for handling complaints relating to this code.

4.8 UTV Talk periodically seeks information from the organizations who sell on its behalf about the bases on which their staff are remunerated. The purpose of those inquiries is to ensure that remuneration methods do not encourage misleading or exploitative sales practices.

5. Customer contact

5.1 At UTV Talk we endeavor to minimize the inconvenience that might be caused when making contact with prospective customers. Our sales representatives should clearly identify themselves as representing UTV Talk. They should be courteous and should provide clear explanations.

5.1 At

5.2 We encourage the provision of feedback from anyone who feels that those goals or any other aspects of this code have not been met by our sales representatives.

5.3 UTV Talk’s representatives are instructed not to make visits to the homes of prospective customers:

(a) during the hours of darkness; or

(b) outside the hours of 0800 to 2000.

5.4 Telephone calls may only be made during the hours of 0900 to 2100 Monday to Friday, or 0930 to 1730 Saturday and Sunday, unless previously arranged with the prospective customer.

5.5 UTV Talk ensures that its door-to-door sales representatives are provided with:

(a) an identity badge which clearly displays

(i) the UTV Talk brand;

(ii) the representative’s name;

(iii) a photograph of the representative;

(iv) a unique identification number for that representative; and

(v) the expiry date for validity of the card;

(b) identity cards written in Braille available on request.

5.6 UTV Talk’s sales representatives are trained and when making a door-to-door sales visit or a sales call, they must immediately

(a) identify themselves;

(b) state that they represent UTV Talk;

(c) explain the purpose of the call;

(d) give the prospective customer an estimate of the duration of the call; and

(e) if making a door-to-door sales visit, draw the prospective customer’s attention to their identity card.

5.7 In their general conduct UTV Talk representatives are expected to:

(a) be courteous, use appropriate language and offer clear explanations;

(b) not misrepresent the services being offered or the services of other providers;

(c) check that customers entering into contracts understand the terms of the contract, and intend to enter into them; and

(d) cease contact with any person who indicates that the contact is inconvenient, unwelcome, inappropriate or too long.

5.8 UTV Talk acknowledges that there are members of the community to whom it is not appropriate to sell services over the telephone or at their doorstep. In general terms those are people who are elderly or whose first language is not English, or who have special needs.

5.9 If one of those members of the community approaches UTV Talk to obtain its services, UTV Talk will happily provide service to them as a customer. However, if it appears to the salesperson on a telesales call or a door to door sale that the prospective customer is elderly, or has special needs or an incomplete grasp of English, they have been instructed not to continue with sales process. We ask those people to contact our customer service centre directly if they are interested in taking a service.

5.10 Sales representatives establish at the beginning of a telesales call or a door-to-door contact that the person with whom they are speaking is at least 18 years of age.

5.11 Sales campaign records are maintained for at least 6 months. Both the date and approximate time of the customer contact must be recorded and retained.

6. Entering into a contract – information, order forms and contracts

6.1 At UTV Talk we aim to ensure that messages that we convey during the sales process are 100% accurate and that those messages are properly understood by prospective customers. Our terms and conditions contain significant amounts of information and it is the job of the sales representative to convey the key points about our services so that the customer can make a fully informed decision.

6.2 Very soon after the initial contact is made, the UTV Talk door-to-door sales representative or tele-sales representative must establish that they are speaking to the account holder for the telephone line, or someone authorized to make decisions in relation to that line.

6.3 UTV Talk’s customer application form makes clear the contractual nature of the document.

6.4 When making door-to-door approaches, prospective customers must be provided with following material in writing:

(a) full contact details of UTV Talk, including its address, telephone, fax and email details;

(b) a description of the telephone service sufficient to enable the customer to understand what is being offered and how it works;

(c) information about the major elements of the service;

(d) the arrangements for establishing the service, including the order process and the likely date of provision. Where there is likely to be a delay in the likely date of provision, the customer must be informed.

(e) information about the right of cancellation and the process for exercising that right;

(f) if the sales representative is selling a special offer for a limited period – the details of the duration of the offer;

(g) the minimum period of contract and minimum contract charges, if any.

6.5 Customers must be made aware of the existence of this Code. A copy of the Code appears at www.utvtalk.com and is available by calling 0845 247 0001.

6.6 When a customer signs an order form following a doorstep sale or verbally enters a contract on the telephone, that customer will be sent a letter within 5 workings days which communicates:

(a) the date of notification;

(b) the telephone number(s) affected;

(c) a list of services, or method for accessing a list of services, which will or will not be affected by switching to the new provider;

(d) the date of switchover;

(e) the sender’s contact details for any queries;

(f) information about the availability of customer service;

(g) what the customer must do if he or she wishes to terminate the contract;

(h) that UTV Talk wants to ensure that the customer understands that they have entered an agreement, that the customer is happy to proceed with that agreement and that the customer should contact UTV Talk if there are any concerns about how the sales activity was conducted.

6.7 Distance selling regulations

6.8 UTV Talk understands and complies with the Distance Selling regulations. The key features of those regulations are:

(a) the consumer must be given clear information about the goods or services offered;

(b) after making a purchase the consumer must be sent confirmation;

(c) consumer has a cooling-off period of 5 working days;

7. Consumer protection and other legal requirements

7.1 UTV Talk has an ongoing compliance program which endeavors to ensure that its marketing material, its selling practices, the terms of the provisions of its services and the way in which it provides those services all comply with relevant regulation.

8. Audit

8.1 We periodically audit the procedures followed by our selling representatives to ensure that they are compliant with or will result in compliance with the requirements of this code of practice.

8.2 We constantly take steps to improve those procedures and to improve the quality of both marketing and individual sales.

Our Customer Care Code of Practice for Complaint Handling

UTV Internet is committed to providing high quality competitive services across all of Ireland. We are focussed on providing reliable and effective Internet and voice services to both residential and business customers. Our future success depends on the continuous improvement of all aspects of our customer service delivery.

If, however, you feel our service falls below the standards expected, we would like you to let us know. Our Code of Practice provides you with the necessary information to make a complaint and details on how you can expect a complaint to be dealt with.

• How to contact us with a complaint
• What happens once we receive your complaint?
• Resolution timeframes
• Escalation procedures
• Disconnection policy
• Our customer service guarantee
• Useful addresses and telephone numbers

How to contact us with a complaint

If you would like to register a complaint, you can contact us in one of the following ways:

On-line
You can send us your complaint by e-mail to [email protected]

By phone
You can contact our Customer Care team directly on:
0845 247 0000
9.00 am – 5.30 pm (Mon – Thurs)
9.00 am – 5.00 pm (Fri)

A Customer Care Representative will advise you of his / her name, issue you with a unique reference number and acknowledge your complaint on the phone. Our aim is to resolve the complaint to your complete satisfaction. The Customer Care Representative will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible, preferably during your phone call. If this is not possible we will inform you of the length of time we expect it to take to investigate and resolve the complaint.

By letter
If you prefer to put the complaint in writing, you can send it to the following address:

UTV Internet
Customer Care Department
Ormeau Road
Belfast BT7 1EB

By fax
If you wish to send your letter of complaint by fax, you may fax us on 02890201203 marked for the attention of the Complaints Department.

What happens once we receive your complaint?

We will acknowledge all complaints received by letter, fax or e-mail within two working days of receiving the complaint. We will provide you with a unique reference number and inform you of the length of time we expect it to take to investigate and resolve the complaint.

Resolution timeframes

It is our aim to resolve all complaints received in a speedy, fair and efficient manner. Where possible we will resolve your complaint at the first point of contact.

When we receive your complaint we will categorise it into one of the following main categories:

Billing, Service Degradation or Miscellaneous.

We have set timeframes for resolution of complaints for each of these categories:

Billing – within 5 working days of receiving the complaint. If UTV Internet investigate and deem that any charges on a bill are incorrect we will credit the charge to the next months account. If a customer is no longer a subscriber to UTV Internet a payment will be arranged before the end of the next billing period.

Service Degradation – we will respond immediately outlining the investigation procedure and the resolution timeframes envisaged.

Miscellaneous – within 10 working days of receiving the complaint.

Depending on the individual complaint it may not be possible to resolve every complaint within these timeframes. If we are unable to resolve your complaint within the timeframes, we will keep you regularly informed throughout the process and inform you of the length of time we expect it to take to investigate and resolve.

We will notify you of the resolution of each complaint and retain records of your complaint for a period of not less than one year.

Escalation procedures

We have a team of trained Customer Care Representatives in place to investigate and resolve your complaints.

If you are not happy with the Customer Care Representative or the way in which they handle your complaint you can ask to have the matter escalated to a Supervisor or Manager in the appropriate area. The Supervisor or Manager will provide you with a revised resolution timeframe. They will review and discuss the issue with you and try to reach a satisfactory resolution. If, having contacted the Manager/Supervisor you feel that we have still not dealt with your complaint satisfactorily, you can ask for the matter to be reviewed by the Head of Customer Care.

If we have not resolved your complaint to your satisfaction after 12 weeks or if you have received a letter from us saying that your complaint has reached “deadlock”, you may make a complaint through CISAS, an independent alternative dispute resolution scheme.

We can provide with details of this service:

CISAS
c/o Dispute Resolution Services
The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

12 Bloomsbury Square
London
WC1A 2LP

Telephone 020 7421 7432

Email [email protected] or [email protected]

Website: http://www.arbitrators.org

Once you are happy with the resolution of your complaint, the complaint will be closed on the complaint handling system.

Disconnection policy

It is our policy here at UTV Internet that bills due must be paid on or before the date specified on the bill. This normally allows a period of 7 days after the bill date for payment if you pay by direct debit or credit/debit card.

If you do not pay your account by the due date we may restrict your ability to make calls or access the internet. Before doing this we will endeavour to contact you to remind you that your bill is overdue. Should your line be restricted in this manner you will still be able to contact the emergency services via 112 or 999.

If after we restrict your service in this way, your balance remains outstanding we will write to you informing you that your contract will be terminated (notification of termination). If the amount due remains unpaid after the time specified in the notification of termination your account will be terminated and your service removed. Any additional charges incurred up to the removal of service, any cancellation charges and any charges for the remainder of the contract term will be charged to your account. We will continue to follow up on outstanding balances after the final bill is issued.

Our customer service guarantee

We also operate a customer service guarantee. This service guarantee is operated in parallel with our code of practice for handling your complaints. It is provided for within the service guarantee that where we do not meet target dates for complaint resolution you may be entitled to a rebate.

If, due to a failure of the UTV Internet infrastructure, you are without service for longer than 8 consecutive hours in any 24 hour period we will credit a proportion of your monthly subscription charge equivalent to one full days charge.

Useful Contact Details for Independent Advice or Information

Office of Communications (Ofcom)
Riverside House

2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
Tel: 0845 456 3000 or Fax: 0845 456 3333
E-mail: [email protected]

Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA)
Fleetbank House,
2-6 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8JX
Tel: 08457 22 44
Email: [email protected]

Advertising Standards Authority
2 Torrington Place
London WC1E 7HW
Tel: 020 7580 5555 or Fax: 020 7631 3051
Email: [email protected]

ICSTIS
Clove Building
4 Maguire Street
London SE1 2NQ
Tel: 020 7940 7474 or Fax: 020 7940 7456
Website: www.icstis.org.uk

Small Claims Courts
Information is available from your local District Court Offices.

THIS CODE OF PRACTICE IN NO WAY INFRINGES ON YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS.

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