Me too, so I decided to ask our sometime friend AI (Presumably Gemini, as it was via Google)
Capita has developed a reputation for poor service and operational failures, often nicknamed "Crapita" in the UK media and by the public, due to a consistent track record of failures in delivering major public sector contracts. Its reputation stems from a combination of high-profile data breaches, significant service delays, and mismanagement of public funds.
Here is a breakdown of why Capita is heavily criticized:
1. Significant Pension Disasters (2025–2026)
- Civil Service Pension Fiasco: After taking over the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) in December 2025, Capita struggled with a massive, inherited backlog of 86,000 cases, which grew after they took over.
- Missed Payments: Thousands of retired civil servants experienced severe delays in receiving their pensions, with some waiting months for payments, leading to financial hardship.
- Faulty Technology: The new online portal was criticized for being inoperable, inaccurate, and full of errors, forcing the company to rely on manual, slow processes.
- Extremely Long Wait Times: Members reported being number 82 in the queue for phone support or being cut off entirely, leading to immense frustration.
2. Major Data Security Breach (2023)
- £14m Fine: Following a 2023 cyberattack, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined Capita £14 million after it was found that the company failed to secure data properly.
- Wide Impact: The breach exposed personal data—including passport images and financial information—of over 6 million people, affecting around 90 organizations, including local councils and the NHS.
- Poor Response: Investigations showed Capita took 58 hours to respond to a high-priority alert regarding the breach.
3. History of Failed Government Contracts
- Army Recruitment Failures: Capita failed to meet Army recruitment targets every year, causing major service delivery issues.
- NHS Support Service Issues: A deal to manage NHS primary care support was described as "doomed to fail" due to massive errors.
- Other Failings: They have been criticized for issues with teacher pensions, court interpreter services, and tagging offender systems.
4. Poor Internal Operations and Culture
- Understaffing: Reports indicate that in the months leading up to the 2023 cyberattack, the Security Operations Centre was understaffed.
- Aggressive Cost-Cutting: Critics argue that Capita wins contracts with "stupidly low" bids and then cuts corners, resulting in a poor service quality-to-cost ratio.
- Poor Employee Treatment: An index in 2024 named Capita the "worst major UK employer" due to high gender pay gaps and a high number of employment tribunals.
5. Why They Keep Winning Contracts
Despite these issues, Capita continues to secure public sector work because of their ability to underbid competitors and a procurement system that, in the past, did not heavily weigh past failures against new bids. However, this has created a pattern where the government often has to step in to manage, or take back, the services Capita has failed to deliver, as was the case with the Ministry of Defence, which terminated a contract five years early.
