BBC Forks Out £40.6 Million for ‘Audience Services’ and Complaints – Guido Fawkes

BBC Forks Out £40.6 Million for ‘Audience Services’ and Complaints

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The BBC has had its own fair share of bad press recently, hiking the licence fee to £174.50 a year and having to take “immediate action” after a review into the Huw Edwards scandal found “a small number of individuals are said to behave unacceptably, and their behaviour has not always been addressed.”  Naturally, the BBC’s first reaction was to beef up its HR team…

UK DOGE’s The Waste Files has now discovered the BBC has awarded a whopping £40.6 million five-year contract for “audience services”. The lucky supplier Serco has the responsibility of dealing with the following:

• Handling editorial and non-editorial complaints. Tough gig…
• Managing comments & ‘appreciations’
• Technical support for customers
• Reception Advice
• BBC Action Lines
• BBC Charitable Appeals & Donations collections
• Artist mail
• Ticketing for BBC shows

Worth remembering that the BBC already has a staggering 89 staff on a salary higher than Starmer, with £582,000 splashed on just three HR directors. For £40.6 million, you could:

• Hire 1,611 new Army soldiers.
• Hire 1,354 new nurses.
• Hire 1,268 new Border Force officers.

The licence fee payer may have a view on which should be prioritised. UK DOGE recommends costs are cut here…