Contact Centre to open in Campbeltown...

[Bobbie En Tejas]

Jaysus, the article was published on December 14 confirming its future was secure... maybe two weeks is a future.

[daftdog]

Was the Campbeltown call centre ever mentioned on the Contact4 web site? If so, its been removed sharpish..

As for the grants from the HIE.. without it those workers wouldn't have had the opportunity to be employed for those few years and lets face it.. when a company can get a hefty grant to set up business in a rural area, they will take it and leave every time.. they will do it again soon.. i feel sorry for the poor workers who may be unemployed again though.. i hope something comes to town again soon even if it is another company setting up shop in the building with a grant, they will get the staff and everyone of them should look at it as a two year contract with any more than that a bonus..

Unless someone local can set up business and get some call centre contracts, it will be a vicious circle...

Long live the wee toon..

[Kevin Mc]

Was the Campbeltown call centre ever mentioned on the Contact4 web site? If so, its been removed sharpish..


Long live the wee toon..

Still showing on this page:

http://www.contact4.com/sitelocations.htm

I really hope another employer comes to the town, though the type of employer is always going to be limited due to the distances if any logistics are involved.

[Jock Strap]

Was the Campbeltown call centre ever mentioned on the Contact4 web site? If so, its been removed sharpish..


Long live the wee toon..

Still showing on this page:

http://www.contact4.com/sitelocations.htm

I really hope another employer comes to the town, though the type of employer is always going to be limited due to the distances if any logistics are involved.

Doesn't appear now.

[Kevin Mc]

Doesn't appear now.

You're not wrong - It's gone now. Maybe they're watching this forum!

[daftdog]

Was the Campbeltown call centre ever mentioned on the Contact4 web site? If so, its been removed sharpish..


Long live the wee toon..

Still showing on this page:

http://www.contact4.com/sitelocations.htm

I really hope another employer comes to the town, though the type of employer is always going to be limited due to the distances if any logistics are involved.

It was gone when i looked before i posted. (was curious to see how owned the company)

[spangles]

It was gone when i looked before i posted. (was curious to see how owned the company)

Here he is DD.

http://www.livingstonfc.co.uk/boarddet.php?board_id=1


At one point he was accused of cooking and eating someones hamster

http://www.livingston-mad.co.uk/news/lo ... &id=256205


S

[Beachcomber]

Was the Campbeltown call centre ever mentioned on the Contact4 web site? If so, its been removed sharpish..

Yes it did. It had its own page and its own 'logo'. Like you say, now removed.

[daftdog]

Cheers spangles.. got the info the other day when i first looked.. was looking to see if it was sir David that owned the company as i couldnt remember the name of his call centre company (Response)..

[Kintyre Forum News]

CALL CENTRE CLOSES AND PUTS 24 PEOPLE OUT OF WORK

08:50 - 08 January 2008

One of the most deprived towns in the west Highlands has been dealt a severe jobs blow with the closure of a call centre which once employed 100 staff - the latest victims of the downturn in the mortgage market.

Employees who arrived for work in the Campbeltown centre were sent home minutes later.

Contact4 is a financial broker which sold loans and mortgages from its base at Campbeltown's Snipefield Industrial Estate. The company has blamed the unstable sub-prime mortgage market for the closure.

So-called sub-prime loans, which are made to people with a poor credit history, have already caused havoc in financial markets in the US, and the downturn in mortgage applications is now being widely felt in the UK.

A spokeswoman said: "We are very disappointed we have had to make this very difficult decision, but the sub-prime market is changing daily and we had to react to protect our business."

The company has been laying off its Campbeltown workers over a period of months, and let the remaining 24 people go on Friday, after apparently reassuring them before Christmas that their jobs were safe.

Development company HIE Argyll and the Islands built the facility at a cost of £1million in 2001 to bring jobs to the town's fragile economy.

Contact4 began renting the facility in 2005.

Travis Johnson, 22, was among the workers sent home on Friday.

He said: "It has come as a shock at this time of year. If I had any warning I wouldn't have spent as much money at Christmas.

"There were rumours going about but we were always reassured that our jobs were safe.

"We did a normal day's work on Thursday. When we arrived on Friday removal vans were parked outside.

"We were told our jobs were going to Paisley, if we could move to Paisley by January 14 there would still be a job for us. That's definitely not an option, especially at such short notice."

He said that the consequences for Campbeltown were dire.

"They have been laying off folk for the past six months, so there are 50 people ahead of us already looking for jobs. There are never many jobs in Campbeltown. I have put in a couple of applications. I have also had to sign on, which is not a pleasant thing."

Tammy Robertson, 17, another former employee, said: "Everyone relied on that call centre. I don't know what will happen next."

In November 2007, 2.4% of the Campbeltown population eligible to work were unemployed, compared with an average of 1.8% in the Highlands and Islands and 2.1% in the whole of Scotland.

South Kintyre councillor Rory Colville said: "It is a big blow for Campbeltown to lose this centre. At one stage the call centre couldn't get enough people, and was turning work away. They employed about 100 people at that time.

"Call centres are in a very competitive market. Competition is literally worldwide. It is a very cut-throat business."

Argyll and Bute MP Alan Reid said: "This is not a good start to 2008 for Campbeltown. Prior to the announcement the town's unemployment level was already the third highest in the Highlands and islands. These job losses will mean that it now has the highest rate.

"Urgent action is necessary before people are forced to leave the area to find work."

HIE Argyll and the Islands area director Ken Abernethy said: "Staff at HIE will work with Careers Scotland, Argyll and Bute Council and Jobcentre Plus to offer those affected access to a range of practical help in find-ing new work, self-employment, or training oppor-tunities."