Not always what they seem !

By administrator | 18 August 2010

We have been contacted by several new clients in the past few weeks who have recently found out that their IT provider was not what they seemed. The comment was made that how can anyone find out whether the IT Support Company that they have contacted (or that has contacted them!) is legitimate, trustworthy and most of all knowledgable. They had looked on the internet but how were they to know what is real as many companies have extremely impressive websites but often there is nothing behind it.

In response to this, we have created a checklist and a few warning signs that you should look out for.

In No Particular Order ...

1. Do not take anything for granted .. if it seems too good to be true then it probably is !

2. Make sure that the Company is legitimate, check their entry at the Companies House website, their company number should be on their website, invoices and other official paperwork and the basic check is free of charge.

3. Always ask to see their Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance Policy and call the Insurer to check that the policy is genuine, any Company without PI Insurance is a real liability to your business

4. Beware the 0845, 0870, and other "Local" numbers, these are often used to make a Company seem much larger than they are with offices in every town and large village, in fact they have no premises, just a local number that is redirected. This is a common ploy to make a Company seem to be "Local"

5. Always insist on visiting the Companies local offices, a simple visit can show what sort of Company you are dealing with, don't be fobbed off with the "we prefer to come to you so we can see your problems first hand" ploy, have your first introductory meeting at their premises - it can be quite an eye opener !

6. Ask for business references, these should all be contacted and ideally should be in a similar business to yours. Check that the reference site is a legitimate company and don't accept mobile numbers.

7. A copy of the companies annual report will cost a few pounds from the Companies House Website, and can show the size of the Company and how long it has been in business.

8. If they are partners with a Major manufacturer ( Microsoft, Cisco, Fujitsu, Oracle etc), ask for their partnership number and then call the Company concerned to check, ask for the name of their representative at the Manufacturer and then give them a call to check that they are actually partners.

9. If they have testimonials on their website, then call the Company that has given the reference and see if they are genuine

10. Check that their vehicles are insured to carry business equipment, often start ups can be using standard insurance for vehicles which does not cover your equipment is they take it away for repair.

Recent Example:

We had a new client contact us in October 2010 who had approached a "local" company to look after their IT. The Company concerned has a very impresive website showing local offices in their vicinity, had been in business for 8 years had 12 offices and local engineers in each. It seemed to be a perfect solution, but they said almost too good. The noticed that the local office number didn't  look quite right, they called and asked for the address of the local office, they were told that the Company preferred to visit clients at their premises. Our client then decided to dig a little deeper and did a search at Companies House. They found the company concerned had been in existance for just over two years, not 8, and in the previous twelve months had a turnover of only £50,000 , not really what would be expected of a Company of the size indicated by the website. It transpired that the Company had setup "local numbers" in all the major towns in the area and made out that they had offices, all this was a sham.

In the current climate, many people who have unfortunately lost their jobs have setup as "Computer Engineers" offering very low cost service to local people, often after helping friends and family, after all , at first glance it appears to be a simple task to fix computers. Although many are competant at a basic level, when they are dealing with complex systems that contain your information and data, proper training, insurance and professional backup are essential to the well being of your system.

We would not want to insinuate that everyone operates in this way, we are sure that many are more than capable of fixing basic problems but we have listed above some simple checks to keep you safe and secure in your computer requirements.