London, New York, Paris, Munich, everyone's talking about pop music. But not here. Are you supplied by Be? Virgin Media? Sky? TalkTalk? Tiscali? Orange? Plusnet? Here’s your chance to lift the lid on their techno-shenanigans; does your ISP deliver on their promises?
In my previously place I had be broadband and was very happy with the service, and their customer service was excellent (I only had to call them once tho) and I always got a fast and reliable speed.
The only issue I have with them is the modems are massive and very ugly, it was an eyesore in the corner of the room.
Be's customer service is crap, Indian call centres, and their email support is horrid, ask them a simple question and they reply back with a massive wall of text.
Virgin Media (formerley) NTL seemed to have given up on their customers. When the NTL 'family' owned the business it took 1 to 2 hours to get an answer on broadband support HOT? line. What utter rubbish. Yet we patiently listened to the ansaphone message... "You are twenty-xxxx in the queue. All our operators are busy. .please wait patiently ... unless you die whilst we are getting round to answering the call.... else dial emergency services instead ... "
Branson, who in most other Virgin projects was a breath of fresh air to the business, (Virgin Atlantic, Trains, Cola etc), has gone down the wrong path. Generally we get 0.23-0.24 of 4mb bandwidth,most of the time (checked with your speed checker). We do it all properly, no half baked tests and we get fed up checking it, as the results are almost always stupidley low. We ring, now Virgin Media support, get told as usual (nothing new here) to disconnect all the gear (1 router) and then something magical happens when we connect it all back again.
I won't bore others with the details, but we have proven time and time again that our router is not the fault, it's the damn cable modem or cable or basic NTL (Virgin Media) incompetance time and time again. I say incompetance because we never ever get a sensible answer to why the service sucks. Maybe there is some major fault with the modems they just won't admit to. Do they send an NTL cable modem reset code to the modem after we disconnect our kit to hoodwink us into thinking it's all our fault.
Since Virgin Media have been running the NTL business, the support staff answer the phones promptly (well at 25pence a minute why wouldn't they?!). We go through the same old rubbish script as usual (inherited from NTL) and then on top of everything else they're damn RUDE to us when we're not happy with the service. Almost borderline f**k off elsewhere attitudes.
We don't get the 4mb we pay for each month dutifully.. By the way now I think of it , we were sent a letter saying we would get 8mb F.O.C .. we don't even get the full 4mb service regularly.
So we'll go buy a new router, just in case we really don't understand computers (huh!) and when it goes wrong, we'll vote with our feet (well footprint) and connect somewhere else.
How many customers does Virgin want to lose before they 'Get Smart'. We have paid NTL/Virgin media about £4500 or thereabouts over the years. Can they afford to lose customers as quickly as the Water boards lose water !?!?
We don't think so. Also the Gadget Show are looking into this and Watchdog. Branson give it up and sell to someone who wants to keep their exisiting loyal customer base. You we're sold a duffer and there's no signs of improvements since you bought NTL. (warts and all ! )
Anyone tried PLUSNET? The Fawlty Towers school of customer serice! They have a ridiculous waiting time and then you are put through to someone who takes you through the same long winded rigmarole that the fella from the night before's carry-on did - and the night before that. they treated me like I was an imbecile until at around night seven of this repeated farce, I told them I was cancelling the whole thing. They then put me onto an American fella who actually knew what he was on about. Seems all that time, frustration and call cost was wasted because the router they sent wasn't working. I still of course paid full whack for all this time. I had to send back the router at my expense and then start again when the new one was received.
Oh and I forgot to mention their grrrreat monthly contract which they so avidly market. I chose them because they seemed to be the lowest cost provider of monthly based contracts rather than a year long contract commitment. What NONE of their advisors mention is that if you stop service BEFORE a year has passed, then you will incur a penalty fee of £69.99 on top of the monthly rental. The advisors who I spoke to at great length didn't seem to remember that little detail prior to my connection. Seemingly it is all there in the small print. If you look. CAREFULLY!
The Good, the Bad, and the Useless
Posted - 20/05/2008 : 16:42:22
