We've recently introduced a new telephone system designed to get customers to the right support more quickly.
Published: Friday, 13th November 2026
While things may feel a little different, we're still here to help. Using only a couple of words, customers can tell us what they are calling about and we will direct your call.
Some benefits of the speech recognition element over touch tone:
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Hands-Free Convenience: Callers—especially those using mobile devices do not need to pull the phone away from their ear to look at or press a keypad
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Faster Navigation: Instead of listening through multiple rigid hierarchical sub-menus ("Press 1, then press 4..."), callers can skip the tree by speaking a couple of words (e.g., "pay my council tax" or "Book a bulky waste")
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More Natural and Intuitive Experience: Speech feels closer to talking with a human agent rather than mechanically punching numbers into a machine
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Fewer Input Errors: Keypad typos happen easily on small smartphone touchscreens, often forcing callers to restart a lengthy menu recording; speech matching reduces accidental wrong-key selections
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Better Accessibility: Speech recognition enables people with physical or visual impairments to navigate automated phone systems independently without struggling with tiny or tactile keypad buttons