SOME of the country??s biggest companies are using postcodes to single out customers on the basis of their wealth when they contact call centres.

Sophisticated technology automatically ??recognises?? consumers when they call and diverts their inquiry to specially trained workers authorised to give better deals to wealthier clients. Poorer customers are made to wait in queues and may have their calls answered by automated computer systems.

A study has revealed that more than 500 call centres in Britain have installed the technology. Customers are oblivious to the new class divide being enforced by computer.

Robin Gold, an analyst at Datamonitor, a consultancy firm that carried out the research, said: ??The wealthiest people are bumped up the queue and speak to staff who are able to offer them better deals. This technology is being used by most of the big banks, mobile phone companies, top-flight retailers and travel companies.??

Companies classify their customers, and potential customers, in different ways. Banks assign a ??lifetime?? value to each which is based on their social class, education and income. The top customers have the potential to make profits of more than ??250,000 for the bank.

Other companies, including telecom firms, tour operators and utilities, employ marketing firms to place consumers in social groups. For example, Experian, the information company, has 52 social rankings from ??clever capitalists?? and ??rising materialists?? to ??smokestack shiftworkers?? and ??rootless renters??. Everyone in Britain is also assigned a category by their postcode.

When a consumer telephones a call centre, a computer either identifies where they are calling from, or the caller is asked to provide account details or a postcode. This is matched to the consumer??s ??social type?? or ??lifetime value?? and the relevant service is implemented.

The call-centre operative is given different ??scripts?? for different types of people and is often shown a picture of the type of home the person is likely to live in. According to marketing executives, those at the top end of the social ranking are engaged in more small talk to keep them on the phone for longer and build up a rapport. Those lower down the social scale are given less time.

Suzanne Soper, a former executive at Morgan Stanley credit cards who is now a marketing consultant, said: ??Call centres have to find a way of differentiating between customers. The people you want to protect are your best customers, making them feel special.

??The run-of-the-mill customers are put through to junior people. The wealthier, better customers talk to operatives who have more discretion over price and service.??

Operators dealing with the best customers often have freedom to set prices within wide bands. They initially offer higher prices but will quickly offer generous discounts.

Nick Randall, chief executive of AIT Group, which has installed the software for the Nationwide building society and Barclays, said: ??You want your best, most articulate staff dealing with the best customers. Hopefully, consumers don??t realise what is happening.??

Last week two callers from different areas of Newcastle upon Tyne ?? one poor and one wealthy ?? telephoned NatWest Bank with identical requests within an hour of each other on the same day.

The poorer caller was quickly directed to her local NatWest branch, which advised her to drop in. The wealthy caller was kept on the line for almost seven minutes by ??Anita??, who ran through the various options and wished the caller a pleasant weekend.

One holiday company insider said that different types of consumers were offered different prices particularly on luxury Caribbean cruises, fly-drive holidays in Florida and tours of the Far East.

Last week some companies admitted they also had the technology. Nationwide said: ??We treat everyone as individuals but nobody is prioritised or offered a better deal.??

A spokesman for the TUI group, which includes Lunn Poly and Thomson, said: ??Our call centre does have the intelligent call-routing function which directs customers to people with the appropriate skills.??

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