SpinVox saga takes a new turn

SpinVox is accused of relying heavily on human transcription

Embattled voicemail-to-text message service SpinVox has had further doubts cast on its practices.

The BBC stated in a new report that the service, which converts voice messages to text messages, relies primarily on outsourced call centres to transcribe calls, rather than an automated system as the company claims.

The report cited a number of patent applications regarding human involvement in the SpinVox service.

The BBC also quoted a SpinVox customer in the US who claims to have received a message from an employee at a call centre in Pakistan. The message said that SpinVox relies heavily on human transcription at the call centres, and that employees had not been paid in several weeks.

SpinVox struck back against the claims last week, issuing a blog posting denying the allegations, and claiming that employee interaction is mainly used for maintenance purposes. The company also still maintains that the majority of transcriptions are performed by an automated system.

SpinVox has now posted a FAQ written by its head of social media, James Whatley. The posting reaffirms the company's claim that human interaction in the service is minimal, and that users are at no risk of a privacy breach.

"SpinVox only employs agents to step in when messages need analysis, and the machine gets to decide," wrote Whatley. "However, the agents in question will only ever hear/see the specific parts of the messages that need work."