Avoid unless you're really desperate
Pros
Very difficult to think of any, apart from yes you do get paid.
Cons
Generally a terrible place to work. Don't be fooled by the continuous job adverts which promise a good, will paid job in a great company with many routes of progression. The reality is the complete opposite. You are expected to be in the cramped, overcrowded, stiflingly hot office, sat at a filthy desk on a broken chair logged onto the computer and wearing an unfit for purpose headset ready for when the dialer starts at 8am. From then on it's a relentless barrage of calls from mainly uncooperative "customers" who don't want to pay their debt and know how to play the system and what to say to get their account put on hold. The company wants you to leave detailed notes on all accounts but if the call ends before you're finished writing the notes it's your own fault and you're not allowed any time at the end of the call to finish these. The office is very hot with no air conditioning and naturally as you are talking all day you get thirsty. The are water coolers in the office but bare in mind during your whole shift you are only allowed five minutes for what they deem "Comfort break" this time is for getting water and going to the toilet. Yes five minutes in your 8 hour shift, if you go over this you are pulled up in front of your whole team and threatened with disciplinary. If a customer complains about you, unless it's something blatantly untrue the company sides with the customer, pays them between £50-£300 compensation and you get threatened with disciplinary. They do this to stop any FOS complaints. Pay is very slightly above minimum wage, it's well below what the sector average is for the job and far too low for the work expected of you, annual payrises only go to the top 5% of agents so this is about 6 people, there is also no opportunity to progress. If you log on 30 seconds late or are a bit late back from your break then they make you make the time up at the end of your shift and they threaten you with disciplinary. If however you get stuck on a call for 20 minutes after your shift has ended they neither give you that time back nor do they pay you for it. Staff morale is very low, the collections agents all feel very undervalued and unrespected. The collection agents are the ones on the phone, connecting the money and keeping the company in business but they are treated as the lowest of the low and almost like an inconvenience by management. They are also the lowest paid staff working at the company, the cleaner gets paid more. The building is old and in a poor state of repair, the lift breaks down on an almost weekly basis leaving you to walk up three flights of stairs. The toilets are filthy and there are rats in the car park (which you're not allowed to use). Attrition is very poor, there is a high staff turnover and people leave in droves, hence why they are continuously recruiting. If you are truly desperate for a job then go for it, they will literally hire anyone but continue to look for a better job with managers whom aren't completely clueless and get out of there as soon as you can.
