Shumway
13-05-2005, 21:48
Anybody care to comment on this mess i've got with NTL right now? About a month ago i ordered an upgrade from Analogue to Digital - they said it'd take a month for them to come round and install (two boxes). I queried why so long and was told that all new installations in my area required a new Samsung box and they were in short supply so i'd have to wait. They said you're better off doing that anyway because the older boxes are rubbish and you don't want one of those. I said fine and duly waited. Actually inbetween that time i had a conversation with another NTL Salesman because some details on the hire contract were incorrect (some dozy customer service person had forgotten to change my phone tarrif prior which resulted in £100 of wrongly billed calls i have just been refunded) and when i mentioned why i had been told i had to wait so long he said he didn't know anything about the Samsungs but that new installations should in theory get new equipment and not to accept anything reconditioned but have a word with the engineer or just send them away.
Installation day came last week. The guy turned up, and looked relieved to see that the house was already cabled as he was busy and needed to get away. He connected the first digital box, which was a PACE DVT1000 or something. I mentioned that the salesmen had said something about needing a Samsung and he said it was the wrong area for them and they'll say anything anyway. The box looked in newish condition so i thought it was and that was cool as i knew you weren't really supposed to specify anything like a model. He left it downloading and waiting for channels as he went upstairs to install the second. This time though he unpacked the same make of box but the front looked scratched up and really old, and he couldn't get the card out of the box as it looked jammed inside with something sticky on it. I commented on that and asked if they were reconditioned, he said yes and i politely said i wouldn't accept that - and either he come up with something half decent or take away both boxes and i'd just cancel NTL. He got very irrated, even i'd say just downright rude and nasty. He said that all people in my area just get whatever reconditioned stuff they have and i had no choice but to accept it. I restated that even a salesperson had told me that i should get new stuff on a new install and to reject anything i wasn't happy with - he said he would have the salesperson sacked. He said that he wasn't prepared to take away the other set top box as he would not now get paid for the job and so i'd have to unconnect it myself and hand it back to him. I refused, saying that i wasn't paid or qualified to do that so no chance. He said fine, he'd just leave it sitting there and walk away. After a bit more of trying to persuade me and my family that I should continue with his installation he did leave - with all the other equipment (remotes etc), paperwork unsigned and sat outisde in his van for about 15 minutes. In that time the channels started to come through on the box so i guess he activated it there or something even though i'd told him i didn't want it.
I phoned customer services almost immediately who said that the installation of the first box wasn't even showing as attached to my account and might not for a while. They saw my point about accepting equipment in a less than decent state and I told them to either sort out what was originally offered or to come and collect the box and i'd go to SKY. They put me on hold while they spoke with the engineering dept and also their supervisor. They came back and said that they considered the installers actions completely unacceptable but did say that because new equipment was in short supply they were using reconditioned stuff in some new installations but you didn't have to accept it. They also said that as i was a longtime customer (7 years) they were prepared to install two of the new Samsung boxes but it'd be a one to two month wait and i could stick with analogue for now. Seeing as i had already been waiting a month supposedly for this reason i accepted this and was told i'd be called when they had them, or to call back in a month. I asked what to do with the Pace box and they made a call to the engineers to see if it could be collected that day, they came back saying the engineers suggested i keep the Pace connected 'as is' so i could be on digital and they'd swap the boxes as soon as they could. I agreed to this, although it is a bit awkward as i am now left with no 2nd STB at all upstairs which is the main one i wanted. They also sent a remote in the post as i had been left without one. Not even sure they have applied the digital service to my account as it's all working but i'm still showing up as still on analogue until they can sort things. I'm actually wondering which service i'm actually gonna end up being billed for - lol.
That's pretty much it - i know the Samsung boxes are better but it wasn't really the main issue for me and it was THEM who told me about all that. It was more how i was treated by the engineer and that on signing for a years contract on two boxes and paying NTL around £150 each month i'd get something at least fairly new from them. As it is, i've noticed the card cover falls off the pace as it is if you move it but its ok other than that. They certainly don't advertise that they give you reconditioned equipment that isn't in a decent state when you sign up and i'm considering giving them a month or so and if not just cancelling it and moving to SKY where i'm guaranteed a new STB that hasn't been hanging around someone elses house for a few years. Anyway i shall see what happens (will probably never hear anything else from them) but i've had nothing but problems with them this week what with the phone tarrif two so i'm going to write a complaint letter or something.
Installation day came last week. The guy turned up, and looked relieved to see that the house was already cabled as he was busy and needed to get away. He connected the first digital box, which was a PACE DVT1000 or something. I mentioned that the salesmen had said something about needing a Samsung and he said it was the wrong area for them and they'll say anything anyway. The box looked in newish condition so i thought it was and that was cool as i knew you weren't really supposed to specify anything like a model. He left it downloading and waiting for channels as he went upstairs to install the second. This time though he unpacked the same make of box but the front looked scratched up and really old, and he couldn't get the card out of the box as it looked jammed inside with something sticky on it. I commented on that and asked if they were reconditioned, he said yes and i politely said i wouldn't accept that - and either he come up with something half decent or take away both boxes and i'd just cancel NTL. He got very irrated, even i'd say just downright rude and nasty. He said that all people in my area just get whatever reconditioned stuff they have and i had no choice but to accept it. I restated that even a salesperson had told me that i should get new stuff on a new install and to reject anything i wasn't happy with - he said he would have the salesperson sacked. He said that he wasn't prepared to take away the other set top box as he would not now get paid for the job and so i'd have to unconnect it myself and hand it back to him. I refused, saying that i wasn't paid or qualified to do that so no chance. He said fine, he'd just leave it sitting there and walk away. After a bit more of trying to persuade me and my family that I should continue with his installation he did leave - with all the other equipment (remotes etc), paperwork unsigned and sat outisde in his van for about 15 minutes. In that time the channels started to come through on the box so i guess he activated it there or something even though i'd told him i didn't want it.
I phoned customer services almost immediately who said that the installation of the first box wasn't even showing as attached to my account and might not for a while. They saw my point about accepting equipment in a less than decent state and I told them to either sort out what was originally offered or to come and collect the box and i'd go to SKY. They put me on hold while they spoke with the engineering dept and also their supervisor. They came back and said that they considered the installers actions completely unacceptable but did say that because new equipment was in short supply they were using reconditioned stuff in some new installations but you didn't have to accept it. They also said that as i was a longtime customer (7 years) they were prepared to install two of the new Samsung boxes but it'd be a one to two month wait and i could stick with analogue for now. Seeing as i had already been waiting a month supposedly for this reason i accepted this and was told i'd be called when they had them, or to call back in a month. I asked what to do with the Pace box and they made a call to the engineers to see if it could be collected that day, they came back saying the engineers suggested i keep the Pace connected 'as is' so i could be on digital and they'd swap the boxes as soon as they could. I agreed to this, although it is a bit awkward as i am now left with no 2nd STB at all upstairs which is the main one i wanted. They also sent a remote in the post as i had been left without one. Not even sure they have applied the digital service to my account as it's all working but i'm still showing up as still on analogue until they can sort things. I'm actually wondering which service i'm actually gonna end up being billed for - lol.
That's pretty much it - i know the Samsung boxes are better but it wasn't really the main issue for me and it was THEM who told me about all that. It was more how i was treated by the engineer and that on signing for a years contract on two boxes and paying NTL around £150 each month i'd get something at least fairly new from them. As it is, i've noticed the card cover falls off the pace as it is if you move it but its ok other than that. They certainly don't advertise that they give you reconditioned equipment that isn't in a decent state when you sign up and i'm considering giving them a month or so and if not just cancelling it and moving to SKY where i'm guaranteed a new STB that hasn't been hanging around someone elses house for a few years. Anyway i shall see what happens (will probably never hear anything else from them) but i've had nothing but problems with them this week what with the phone tarrif two so i'm going to write a complaint letter or something.