Suing Tiscali Broadband?

[shaff]

Hi All,

I am writing this as just gettin off the phone to Tiscali

My customer experince with them has been HELL!!!!
So much so, i'm actually thinkin of taking them to small claims court for misleading customers. I am on the 8meg Broadband package and have been since November recieving 0.3 of a meg.

Any ideas or advice would be welcomed??

[car2403]

Their website/advertising all states up to 8mb - what makes you think you will get 8mb download speeds?

[Conniff]

I don't think you can equate 300k as up to 8mb.

Have you done online checks to see how far you are from your exchange, that is the usual fault why slow speeds happen.

[robin9342]

I remember my first bb contract was with Tiscali and they were apalling then too. This was back when the norm was 512k downloads. Trouble was, I often got only 30k, less than dial up!

Turns out that Tiscali were/are well known for sharing bandwidth between far too many users (high contention ratio) causing really poor speeds. One way to find out is to log in to your router/modem and see what speed it says you are connected at versus what speed you actually get.

If you are connected at a reasonable speed, but your downloads are low, then its likely Tiscali's fault. If, however, you are connected at a low speed, it may be a line/exchange (and possibly distance) problem. Did you ever have a good speed from when you first got Tiscali?

[camdbug]

The "official" route would be to review their complaints procedure on their website (if you can find it ). Probably something along the lines of "in writing to xxx, expect reply/confirmation within 5-10 working days" etc.

Do that, including all info (even if it goes to many many pages) with as many examples of calls you've made and responses received (or not). Send registered. Wait the required time (this is the worst bit by far).

You'll probably have heard nothing back, but even if you have, if you are not happy with it, go to the ISPA ISPA - Home and register a complaint with them - again including details.

If no response from Tiscali within another 5 working days, you can make a second complaint via the ISPA. This escalates to an external adjudicator - i.e. makes it much more "serious". I'm going into this stage tonight with Pipex (now "aka Tiscali"!) as they don't even bother to respond at all.

After that I think you would have a pretty rock solid case for going to the courts, which is the card I'm keeping in my back pocket.

Problem is all the waiting that's necessary - means nothing to them, but it's serious hassle for us! Of course, they probably count on that to make us give up and go away... Shows how much they know about me

[chemicalbeavis]

Tiscali are the worst company i have ever dealt with, here is the first letter i sent them which explains the situation (This went on for months until i eventually obtained a MAC and migrated to another ISP and alas! no problems! simply Tiscali's inability to provide any kind of resonable service)

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing with regard to the broadband service i currently receive from you. Since i joined your 8mb service last year i have never experienced speeds exceeding 1100kbps, and as of this moment the speed is so slow that the internet is unusable, i have conducted a comprehensive speed test and my current bandwidth is 18kbps.
When i joined your service there was a delay as you told me you wanted to ensure that i will receive the best possible service of 8mb on my line despite the fact that BT had already told me my line would only be capable of 4.5mb at that time. I told you that i would be quite happy with 4.5mb but you insisted that you would enable an 8mb service for me.
I have been in contact with your technical support team several times in the past to try and resolve the issue and i have followed all the steps they have advised but the problem was never resolved. I recently learnt that a neighbour of mine who is a BT Broadband customer enjoys speeds of 7-8mb, this prompted me to contact you technical support team again as i am indeed paying for such a service. My technical support request has now become a farce, i will now explain the sequence of events so far:
5th Feb: Issued support request from your online support centre.
6th Feb: Received standard reply advising the steps to perform.
6th Feb: I advised that the problem remains.
8th Feb: Received reply telling me that they are unable to assist me at this helpdesk and i should telephone Technical Support on 0870 744 2922.
9th Feb: I telephoned technical support as advised and the operative was unable to solve the problem, he told me some tests would be carried out and he took note of my mobile phone number and said i would be updated with the progress of the tests.
9th Feb (10.07am): Received text message from you telling me that the problem was being investigated.
10th Feb (10.34am): Received text message from you telling me that BT were unable to detect a fault and i would be contacted shortly.
10th Feb (10.34am): Received text message from you telling me that you have been trying to contact me.
10th Feb: I telephoned you and was told that the problem was still being investigated.
11th Feb (9.38am): Received text message from you telling me that BT were unable to detect a fault and i would be contacted shortly.
12th Feb (9.27am): Received text message from you telling me that BT have detected a fault and i would be contacted shortly to arrange an engineer visit.
13th Feb (9.35am): Received text message from you telling me that BT have detected a fault and i would be contacted shortly to arrange an engineer visit.
14th Feb (8.08am): Received text message from you telling me that BT have detected a fault and i would be contacted shortly to arrange an engineer visit.
15th Feb (8.35am) Received text message from you telling me that BT have detected a fault and i would be contacted shortly to arrange an engineer visit.
15th Feb: I telephoned technical support to find out what was going on and to inform you that my connection was now unusable. The operative said he would arrange an engineer visit. I was told that the engineer would arrive between 10.30am and 1pm on 16th February 2007.
16th Feb (8.36am): Received text message from you telling me that the fault is still being investigated by BT and i will be updated within 24 hours.
16th Feb (10.15am): BT engineer arrives and conducts tests on my line. His tests confirm that by current bandwidth is as follows, downstream: 7kbps, upstream: 458kbps. He informs me that the line is free from faults and fully operational.
In the meantime i received an email from your online support informing me that as they have not heard from me concerning my request for support in the 72 hours since they sent me a response, and consequently, they have changed the status of my question to SOLVED. I replied informing them that the problem was not SOLVED and asked what would be done about it. I replied each day following this asking what would be done and i have been ignored on every occasion.
This morning i have attempted to telephone your technical department three times to find out what is going on and each time they claim they cannot hear me, same with your customer service line yet if i try any other number they hear me perfectly.
So, as the situation is as of now, i have an unusable internet connection despite having a fully capable telephone line. I cannot contact technical support or customer services as they claim they cannot hear me. I am still paying you for an 8mb internet connection that in reality is only a fraction of that speed and as of the last few days, is unusable.
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires a supplier of a service acting in the course of business in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to carry out that service with reasonable care and skill. I do not believe your supply of service is without breach of this legislation.
I telephoned you yesterday to complain about the situation and was told by your customer services operative that if i ring you on 22nd February i will be entitled to obtain a MAC without being liable for any fee with respect to incomplete contractual term which i find acceptable if not for the fact that the problem remains that i have no usable internet connection and i am now unable to contact you, and indeed that i have been paying for a service that it has become apparent, you simply cannot provide.
Please advise me how you intend to resolve this sorry situation,
Yours Faithfully,
Simon POwell