UKVI attitude towards enquiries

[Davec]

I never fail to be amazed at the dismissive attitute of UKVI to enquiries. If you spend a lot of time on their website, you find they have a "contact" area. For either a small sum or the cost of a premium rate phone number, they will "answer" general queries. They claim that this money also pays for any followup queries. They don't answer enquiries on specific applications. I sent them a message and paid. But they didn't answer the general query I had (i.e. not an individual apllication matter). They send me what looks like a general email advising me to see an immigration lawyer and back their own webpage (where the information isn't contained). And this "followup" system they claim isn't anything of the sort. It's just a short "survey" that they wanted me to fill out. Needless to say, I gave them 1 out of 10 in almost all categories. So I got nowhere. The whole system is not fit for purpose.

[secret.simon]

The contact centre service for the Home office & UKVI is contracted out to a third-party service provider, Sitel UK. So, to an extent, it is unsurprising.

From 1 June (2017), all customer enquiries will be handled by a new commercial partner Sitel UK.

Rather than just venting on a public forum, I urge you to write to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, who is conducting an inquiry into the Home Office approach to charging for services. You may wish to contrast the charges with the quality of service received even after payment for the service.

[ukjour]

Hi,
I'm a journalist investigating the charges for the Home Office visa helpline. If you've paid rip-off charges for a phone call/emails to this service, please can you email me at email address removed by moderator and tell me your story. It's really a scandal which hasn't been properly highlighted in the media.
Thanks for your help.
Simon

[Frontier Mole]

Hi,
I'm a journalist investigating the charges for the Home Office visa helpline. If you've paid rip-off charges for a phone call/emails to this service, please can you email me at email address removed by moderator and tell me your story. It's really a scandal which hasn't been properly highlighted in the media.
Thanks for your help.
Simon

Journalists on this forum don’t readily get anywhere as you have to post a given number of real posts to qualify for private communication rights.

Needless to say nonsense posts are deleted so unless you make an effort to engage effectively on the board you are in for a long wait. Maybe a Gumtree ad will get you what you want more readily.