In message , Capitol writes
If Vodaphone demonstrate the level of competence and customer awareness they have when screwing up Demon Internet, it will give others the incentive to raise their prices.
I have never had a problem reporting faults to BT - perhaps it is your accent that their computers do not understand?
I wouldn't wish Talk-Talk on my worst enemy... (well maybe I would) ;-)
Are you really sure about that? BT took over Plusnet in about 2006 and was finalised in 2007 so they have been a part of BT for nearly a decade (admittedly with a somewhat better corporate culture).
Here is the criticism of their brokers actions during the takeover:
Regards, Martin Brown
Yes indee, but Demon was first cocked up by Scottish power as I remember all too well while I was getting sorry you have left us and thank you for paying us the fees, and we can confirm you now owe us nothing, and a couple of days later a demand for 50 quid for unpaid extras that I never had in the first place. Some years later after I'd finally convinced them I had no extras, a debt collection agency started to try to get 200 quid out of me. I faxed them my letters. Brian
In message , Bill writes
It's probably worth explaining that customers of what was Demon are all being handed the 'black spot' (a kiss-of-death email) telling us that
"Your free Demon email will stop working 30 calendar days from the date of this email. So if you've been using it, make sure you have a new email service set up and ready to go. Apart from this, your Demon broadband service will continue as normal".
The laughable bit is "as normal". Since I joined Demon in the late 90s, the following services have been - or are being - withdrawn: The demon.announce newsgroup (and the staff providing the announcements) The single-user licence to use Turnpike (Demon's mail/news client) Demon's news server Website hosting Your Demon email address The ability to (easily) use Turnpike and a few other things beside.
It appears that all of these were officially classified as being 'free'
- but it's very obvious that there is now not much left apart from the provision of an internet connection.
OK, certain workarounds have been offered. For example, at an extra cost of at least ?38, another company will provide alternative email facilities, and also allow you to retain your email address (if you transfer to Vodafone's broadband, you will lose it). As my annual Demon sub is ?201 (it was actually taken by direct debit only 3 days ago), it all seems very poor value compared with what we used to have, and what is offered by most competitors.
I had the bright idea of replacing the TalkTalk router with the Plusnet one and things started working again.
Sky enforce using their own router, which might make things rather awkward.
Owain
Probably more a reflection on Demons dire back office systems than whoever took them over.
Yes I know that. What I mean is that apart from when the BT Openreach girlie came round and rejigged some cabling when we went FTTC, I've not had to do with BT at all for any purpose since we joined JL Broadband (i.e. PlusNet, in effect), including not for the phone.
Someone upthread had appeared to imply that while PlusNet did broadband, phone might be a different story.
Indeed. I finally got out of Demon yesterday after 20 years. Just under two years ago, they dropped their newsgroup server. That was one month into a two-year broadband contract I entered into, having been assured over the phone that the new service would have access to it. I took that to the ombudsman but the server was never restored so I had to go, and pay extra, to news.individual.net. Of course, no compensation was offered for their breach of contract.
Then the final straw came late last month when they very kindly informed me that "As part of our ongoing upgrades (sic), we'll no longer be offering free email with our broadband products". That would take effect just four weeks later. As I have been using Demon email addresses for 20 years, it has been pretty disruptive to de-Demonise everything.
I wonder when Demon will have another 'upgrade' and drop broadband provision from their broadband service. It's about the only thing left of their eye-wateringly expensive offering that they can cut.
By the way, Vodafone is spelt with an 'f' (for 'f*ck').
Now you know why.
I left Demon last autumn when they sent a warning that the email address was on its way out. Such a shame. I was once giving my address to a lady who said "Demon?" and looked hard at me, to which I replied "there are some people with Virgin in their email address, and it doesn't mean anything either"
The point is that whoever you go with if it uses phone cables then BT via Openreach have their grubby paws on it and the service level.
Choice of ISP is now based on their ability to beat BT about the head with blunt instruments to get faults *fixed* on a reasonable timescale.
One other thing I have noticed is that in cities the bandwidth available to ordinary ASDL users (ie not FTTC) is deliberately throttled back to around the 6-7M mark despite sync rates ~18M. I base this on experiments and reports from friends in the Manchester area.
Seems to me like this is chosen to make streaming 2 HD channels or any QD channels impossible as a sales push for fibre offerings. It cannot be shortage of backhaul since fibre to the same exchange runs a lot faster.
My rural line syncs at 6M and delivers around 5M bandwidth in practice. This is unusually high for where I live with 2-3MB more typical. You pay a premium for living in the countryside for a much worse service.
It got so bad in my village at one time that they were breaking an existing circuit every time they did a new installation! Some folk were without working phones for weeks (including the farm shop in the run up to Xmas). They got a pittance in compensation for this chaos.
Regards, Martin Brown
However BT openreach and BR wholesale, are very different companies to BT retail
All the rot is in retail and most of the quality and the profit is in Openreach.
They are completely separate divisions and may yet become completely separate companies. Indeed the only commonality is that all the finances though accounted separately are grouped together in BTs final accounts as a plc.
Likewise Plusnet is still a seperate division.
It may be owned by BT, but overall its actually operates like any other ISP renting phone lines and copper from BT wholesale.
I'm in a town of 100K people and get 3.6M on a good day!
Yes, I do speak english, BT's computer doen't know how to listen!
If only that was true.
Blimey it is :-)
If their mobile tariffs are anything to go by, you'll have a very long wait
tim
Yes same here VERY rarely do you find one who can answer the question there was one at Neve many years ago and another at Allen and Heath but thats about it...
That was Joan Mackay now sadly long gone but your right she knew all that there was to know!.
Remember going there years ago in the Sixties.
Umm can I have a tap please?.
Yes!, Gas or screw cutting?.
Umm Screw.
Size?
err 4 BA
Taper plug or final?.
Err Umm taper.
With that she whizzes around pulled one of a shelf all in one very quick movement and.. that'll be one and thruppence!..
Great service:)
Umm .. Virgin Media?.. FTTC since they started. Co-ax to the home..
On VM 214 Meg down here and use as much as you want and like:)
Inn BBC EID our clerks (female) were usually capable of answering most queries, if they got stuck one of the engineers would take the call. However, there was a caller who insisted he "talk to an engineer"; he wouldn't tell the clerk anthing. So, he did talk to an engineer - our only female one! I don't think he appreciated it.
who have a monopoly in the areas they serve - not many people know that.
They are all fine until you have a problem. Its getting the problem sorted that makes the difference.
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