Capita takes Dixons' calls

Capita is to take over Dixons' main call centre in Sheffield in a £18m-a-year deal.

The 800-strong team will be transferred to Capita and continue operating where they are. Capita will be making some enhancements to the system and will be responsible for customer contact for Dixons, The Link and PC World.

The outsourcer will also take responsibility for insurance-related customer inquiries for Dixons' insurance operations and technical support for narrowband Freeserve customers.

A Dixons spokesman said: "This is about improving the service that we offer our customers. Capita will be improving parts of the system, for instance, including voice recognition software to cut down on the telephone button-pushing.

"There may be some minor savings but, overall, the change will be financially neutral for us."

He pointed out that Dixons itself is, in effect, an offshorer, as its Nottingham call centre handles internet technical support for the Nordic countries.

Late last month Dixons issued angry rebuttals to reports that it had the worst corporate website of the FTSE 100. It is currently revamping its customer website.