Cardiff-based insurer told Welsh speaking customer conversation had to be in English
Admiral Insurance has apologised to a Welsh speaking customer after the company told him that every conversation had to be conducted in English to satisfy regulators, the BBC reports.
The customer, Gwion Schiavone, took his complaint against the insurer to the Welsh language commissioner and First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said he would look into the matter.
Admiral Insurance employs more than 5,000 people in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.
In a statement, the company said: “We’re sorry Mr Schiavone was told he could not conduct his business with Admiral in Welsh.
“It is not our policy that all calls must be conducted in English and Mr Schiavone should not have been told this was the case.”
First Minister Carwyn Jones said: “It doesn’t make business sense for a company to be seen as one which fails to provide services in Welsh, especially a big company.
“I would think that Admiral would want to ensure that services in Welsh are available.”
In a letter to Mr Schiavone, Admiral said it could not guarantee that a Welsh speaker would always be available in future to answer customer calls.
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