LCC Preferred Supplier - Again

[LansITGuy]

Hi All.

 

Not sure if you will have see a letter from LCC regarding preferred suppliers. Well it looks like this is now leading to sales calls. Had a call from a guy at "Lancashire County Council" to follow up on the letter asking me to send them previous quotes or any current projects to them so they can show how they provide best value. This was after questions seeing if we use OneConnect / Westfield / etc for hardware.

 

Now I don't really mind sales calls, but I really think that this wasn't quite who they stated they were which annoys me.

 

I could be wrong, but it might be something to keep an ear out for.

 

Cheers.

[LansITGuy]

I was right. it is CC Communications using Lancashire County Council's name to get past our switchboard staff. Just had a follow up email.

 

Just noted here in case anyone wants to avoid unwanted calls.

[dezt]

Just had the exact same message on my voicemail now, it appears my head teacher has told them to contact me about all our IT projects as they are the preferred supplier for LCC.

[dgsmith]

Having seen this thread and deciding to take the call none the less, then I have to say to be fair that their refurb stuff seems reasonably priced (cheaper than ebay with a 1 year warranty), though for new I would still stick by our long trusted usual suppliers, however as we typically buy a fair bit of refurb/used stuff too, it could be quite handy for us. Having been advised of a few refurb prices, then ICT-Direct may want to review their own

[Dos_Box]

Having seen this thread and deciding to take the call none the less, then I have to say to be fair that their refurb stuff seems reasonably priced (cheaper than ebay with a 1 year warranty), though for new I would still stick by our long trusted usual suppliers, however as we typically buy a fair bit of refurb/used stuff too, it could be quite handy for us. Having been advised of a few refurb prices, then ICT-Direct may want to review their own

 

So are they or are they not LCC's approved suppier? Sorry, just after an answer as their site does not have any information about it.

Also, could you give me an idea of their used IT equipement costs as their site does not carry pricing and I'm a bit curious.

[dgsmith]

Honestly? I have no idea, but frankly I could care even less. I took the call out of curiosity although found they could perhaps supply us on our level (refurb) but on a minimal basis.

 

Guy I spoke to (and if he somehow happens to come across this thread he'll know who I am), gave me prices for a number of things.. for instance an Epson X11 projector (few 100 hours bulb usage, 12 month warranty) for about the £100 mark, though I won't start advertising the prices or items discussed as that could really constitute promotion and there are decent suppliers who do actually support this forum who could do with a bit of that

 

I don't buy in to the new "preferred supplier" thing though.. just seems like 1 person in the local council has got involved with them in some capacity and is trying to champion them a bit.. but I may be wrong. If they can provide us with decent quality refurb stuff through our preferred method of purchase order/payment terms (not ebay) and at decent prices, then frankly that's all that matters if we're getting good value for money.. the rest is academic. There aren't many suppliers out there who sell decent refurb stuff, especially at very reasonable prices, and even less that are prepared to allow you to pay on 30 day terms, so from our point of view it's just another option.

Edited May 12, 2014 by dgsmith

[ticker]

@Dos_Box and @dgsmith below is the official response from LCC via the portal about CC communications claiming to be an preferred supplier with LCC.

 

 

'Lancashire County Council would like to clarify the situation regarding emails schools have recently received from an external ICT Provider called CC Communications.

 

A number of schools have contacted us to raise concerns that this company is emailing schools, falsely claiming to be the County Council's preferred supplier for ICT Services. Clearly it's an open market and schools can buy ICT equipment from anywhere, but it is important to point out that this company is not the Council's preferred ICT Supplier.

 

We also understand that this company are sourcing second hand ICT equipment and selling it on at a reduced price. It’s well-documented that using refurbished ICT equipment makes on-going support difficult and can hinder innovation in education, so we urge Schools to think carefully before purchasing any second hand ICT Equipment.'

[dgsmith]

As I say, I am still very suspicious about the claims being made however in an email they attached the letter at the end of this message so make of that as you will. Like I said in a previous post, it seems to be one person who wrote the aforementioned letter who is championing them rather than LCC as a whole.

 

LCC's comment about refurb equipment though I take with a pinch of salt.. how many of us here have bought from the likes of ICT_Direct etc (ourselves included) when budgets have been tight, or just in general? Our first concern should be getting best value for money for where we work and we'll all use common sense when doing that.

 

LCC LETTER.pdf

[FN-GM]

I used CC communications back in 2010, to be honest they where pretty good. They looked after our CCTV system in my old job. Replaced broken cams, extended warranty etc.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Having been advised of a few refurb prices, then ICT-Direct may want to review their own

 

Do you have any specs and model numbers? I'd be interested to run a comparison.

 

 

We also understand that this company are sourcing second hand ICT equipment and selling it on at a reduced price. It’s well-documented that using refurbished ICT equipment makes on-going support difficult and can hinder innovation in education, so we urge Schools to think carefully before purchasing any second hand ICT Equipment.'

 

Not happy about this! I'd like to think that suppliers such as ourselves will try and provide all the hardware support you could need! Not to mention that a lot of you are buying machines from the likes of us that match models you currently use already.

 

LCC's comment about refurb equipment though I take with a pinch of salt.. how many of us here have bought from the likes of ICT_Direct etc (ourselves included) when budgets have been tight, or just in general? Our first concern should be getting best value for money for where we work and we'll all use common sense when doing that.

 

 

That what we're here for!

[Dos_Box]

We also understand that this company are sourcing second hand ICT equipment and selling it on at a reduced price. It’s well-documented that using refurbished ICT equipment makes on-going support difficult and can hinder innovation in education, so we urge Schools to think carefully before purchasing any second hand ICT Equipment.'

 

Are LCC, or One Connect, still trying to sell computers to schools?

And how can it 'hinder' innovation? I also particularly like the non-referenced 'Well-documented' part.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Dos_Box