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-   -   [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=45342)

Derek 24-03-2006 08:10
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by acoolwelshbloke
So much for the three minute call back option then! :td:
I'm quite sure that'll be 'coming soon' :rolleyes:

I mean it's not as if Ntl would introduce changes without thinking them through and implementing all the parts of it at the right time. Oh...

Neil 24-03-2006 08:13
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dezzo
I'm quite sure that'll be 'coming soon' :rolleyes:

I mean it's not as if Ntl would introduce changes without thinking them through and implementing all the parts of it at the right time. Oh...
But this is the company that is apparently dropping their MPEG 4 HDTV Box in favour of MPEG 2.....:rolleyes:

What's next-more price rises in the next few months? :angel:

[Edit]-Just to clarify: Both of those point I have mentioned above are things that I have been informed will be happening.

They have not been confirmed by ntl yet, but they would appear to be as close to fact as you can get at the moment.

Also-if people want to discuss those two things, can you start a new thread as this one is about the 0845/0870 charges to call ntl? :)

MPEG 4 dropping & June price rises-you heard it here 1st.

Ignition 24-03-2006 09:31
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
Looks like the press have picked up on it now....

More
Nothing to you Neil purely that article. It's BS imo.

Quote:
the former state-owned communications giant.
Really? I never knew that.

I see the council and local MP have no trouble about the fact that most likely no-one is actually paying ntl for use of the MATV / communal aerial network ;)

The thing these people often forget is that the councils had dodgy rediffusion type systems which they forced ntl or the then builder to take over in return for building rights. I love the way they refer to them as 'taking over' the council's network. Makes it sound like the council built the network and ntl bought it... ya right ;)

In a lot of cases no-one has been paying the cableco for this nor were records kept of who was connected to what so a lot of people have been connected to the cable taking the basic 5 channels (and munting the network up for the paying subscribers) for quite some time.

The MP / council for Harlow can bite ntl in this case, as keeping the MATV going has cost ntl a lot of money and...

MATV / communal aerial is the source of nearly all the HFC / RF network issues in every area where ntl et al are forced to provide it.

If you question this.. Southampton, MATV, bad network. Bits of London, MATV, bad network. Harlow, MATV, an absolute nightmare and I remember it well from when I worked there. Those are just a few areas.

For those who are actually paying to take digital / broadband services the switching off of the MATV will be a great thing. Their services become more stable and reliable literally at the flick of a switch.

Is it worth mentioning that a lot of the work in London that's been done to bring broadband to the area is nothing more advanced that disconnecting non-paying subscribers who have been using the cable for MATV. Once they are gone and the mess that connecting them all to cabinets is tidied the networks instantly improved even with the dodgy Videotron build.

Chrysalis 24-03-2006 09:57
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
their is a MATV here as well, so this channel makes the ntl local network perform badly?

King Of Fools 24-03-2006 10:20
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
Also-if people want to discuss those two things, can you start a new thread as this one is about the 0845/0870 charges to call ntl? :)

MPEG 4 dropping & June price rises-you heard it here 1st.
Done:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=44961
;)

Ignition 24-03-2006 10:56
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysalis
their is a MATV here as well, so this channel makes the ntl local network perform badly?
You misunderstand, MATV isn't a 'channel' it's a distribution system. Basically it allows people to plug the coax straight into their TV without a set top and pick up c1-5.

I didn't say it made the networks perform badly by default I said it was the cause of a lot of problems.

If handled properly that doesn't have to be the case, however it can need a lot of work.

EDIT: It's also a non-trivial task to keep the networks clean once they are cleaned up too. You have to isolate the MATV subs completely from the CATV.

DaggaDagga 24-03-2006 17:35
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I find the idea of a company profiting from its faults calls pretty offensive.

Even more so when they also own a phone network, so most of the freephone calls cost them absolutely nothing.

This is after they've persuaded their customers to take a supposed "calls inclusive" package, but these calls are excluded from the inclusive calls. Appalling.

Sounds like the sort of thing that will get them on Watchdog.

Who's going to post the equivalent geographic code? If there isn't one then lots of direct extension numbers would be good, just to annoy them :mad: Just the bunch of desks that end up taking the calls.

Any chance a list of numbers could be published somewhere prominent on this site?

Neil 26-03-2006 10:18
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
What's even more laughable, is that ntl gave us their new & revised customer charter on the 16th of January 2006 (only 10 weeks ago)

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/...er-information

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/files/nt...merCharter.pdf

And clearly on page 16 it says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by ntl
Your contact number for Customer Services is 0800 052 2000
Yet on the 8th of March 2006 (Only 7 weeks after that charter was given to us), ntl did a huge great 'U' turn & decided to end the free calls from it's customers & make money from them by forcing them to use 0845 & 0870 numbers.

What a bunch of idiots-they can't even follow their own charter. :td:

It just confirms that you can never trust what ntl says or even puts in writing, as it could so easily change 6 weeks later. :nono:

Chrysalis 26-03-2006 21:18
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Neil you know whats changed in that 10 weeks right? merger completion?

Oh and yeah we all know ntl keep thinking of things on the whim, almost everything they do appears to be done without preperation and planning.

Neil 26-03-2006 21:41
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysalis
Neil you know whats changed in that 10 weeks right? merger completion?
And no one saw that coming? :Yikes:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysalis
Oh and yeah we all know ntl keep thinking of things on the whim, almost everything they do appears to be done without preperation and planning.
Totally. :tu:

But it proves my point that no matter what ntl say verbally or in writing, it means nothing & could change 6 weeks later. :td:

rogerdraig 26-03-2006 22:04
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
What's even more laughable, is that ntl gave us their new & revised customer charter on the 16th of January 2006 (only 10 weeks ago)

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/...er-information

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/files/nt...merCharter.pdf

And clearly on page 16 it says:



Yet on the 8th of March 2006 (Only 7 weeks after that charter was given to us), ntl did a huge great 'U' turn & decided to end the free calls from it's customers & make money from them by forcing them to use 0845 & 0870 numbers.

What a bunch of idiots-they can't even follow their own charter. :td:

It just confirms that you can never trust what ntl says or even puts in writing, as it could so easily change 6 weeks later. :nono:
i have to agree and yet another reason to leave if they charge me for any of this stuff mentioned

perfect-bliss 28-03-2006 12:09
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Im glad that the number is changing. The amount of stupid calls that u get coming through the call centres is unbelieveable

Russ 28-03-2006 12:19
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
Im glad that the number is changing. The amount of stupid calls that u get coming through the call centres is unbelieveable
What do you mean?

perfect-bliss 28-03-2006 12:32
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Well ive received calls where customers want to pay their vodafone bills, where they are asking silly questions which have obvious answers and also calls that have nothing to do with NTL. There are some weirdo's out there and i had a guy once telling me how much he loved me and was talkin about God. Ppl like that are holding customers in queues who have genuine problems, and ppl always moan about the call queue. Charging for the calls will mean less ppl call in therefore ppl who have a genuine query can get an answer quicker. Doin that will improve customer service

Russ 28-03-2006 12:33
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Well, I'm sure that being such the patient and understand person you are will help you deal with 'stupid' customers in the future.

Of course, why would charging for the call stop such 'stupid' calls? Surely if someone is 'stupid' then they're going to call anyway?

perfect-bliss 28-03-2006 12:48
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
HA! ur havin a winge about call charges, i dont think someone is gonna wanna call for somethin trivial and want to pay for it. Theyd just figure it out on their own. Like customers are advised of a time frame to expect a tech or install and they call to make sure theyre comin, and they could call like every hour. thatll stop now!

---------- Post added at 12:48 ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 ----------

I must say tho, if someone is calling to report a fault, then a customer shouldnt have to pay for that. its not their fault, so they shouldnt be penalised

Russ 28-03-2006 12:49
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
HA! ur havin a winge about call charges, i dont think someone is gonna wanna call for somethin trivial and want to pay for it. Theyd just figure it out on their own. Like customers are advised of a time frame to expect a tech or install and they call to make sure theyre comin, and they could call like every hour. thatll stop now!
I'm amazed at how people with attitudes like yours manage to stay in Tech Support. So customers call up with questions which have 'obvious' answers...well yes, obvious to you but have you ever stopped to think that not everyone has your level of knowledge?

And how dare people call back to ensure an install/tech visit is going ahead!

I mean, it's not like installs ever get missed only for the customer to call back to find out why and be told "sorry sir there's no mention of anyone been sent out to you" is it?

etccarmageddon 28-03-2006 13:15
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
perfect bliss - without customers you wouldnt get paid.

King Of Fools 28-03-2006 13:42
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
perfect-bliss, you are making some reasonable, argumentative points but try being a little less in-your-face and you may find that people might agree with you more!

It may be reasonable to have a small charge to discourage excessive use but it would help if there was some kind of bounty paid back if your call was to report a genuine fault, etc.

Shaun 28-03-2006 22:57
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
Im glad that the number is changing. The amount of stupid calls that u get coming through the call centres is unbelieveable
I think you're the one being stupid, after all those quick calls with the easy answers are the ones that help keep your average call times down. :rolleyes:

BarFly 29-03-2006 01:47
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun
I think you're the one being stupid, after all those quick calls with the easy answers are the ones that help keep your average call times down. :rolleyes:
lmao. Someone knows the job to well.....;)

Stuart 29-03-2006 11:21
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
HA! ur havin a winge about call charges, i dont think someone is gonna wanna call for somethin trivial and want to pay for it. Theyd just figure it out on their own. Like customers are advised of a time frame to expect a tech or install and they call to make sure theyre comin, and they could call like every hour. thatll stop now!
If they don't think the fault is trivial, then they'll call whether you consider it trivial or not..

---------- Post added at 12:21 ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by BarFly
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun
I think you're the one being stupid, after all those quick calls with the easy answers are the ones that help keep your average call times down. :rolleyes:
lmao. Someone knows the job to well.....;)
IIRC, the somebody used to work in a Call Centre..

perfect-bliss 29-03-2006 11:37
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I dont actually work in tech support mind. I just cant get over how strongly u guys feel bout having to pay for the calls.
My parents are NTL customers and we dont have any problems with the services. Therefore im guessin that most of the ppl on here have had really bad problems with NTL in the past?

Russ 29-03-2006 11:41
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
I dont actually work in tech support mind. I just cant get over how strongly u guys feel bout having to pay for the calls.
Have you actually read this thread all the way through?

Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
My parents are NTL customers and we dont have any problems with the services.
I'm alright jack?

Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
Therefore im guessin that most of the ppl on here have had really bad problems with NTL in the past?
No **** Sherlock :D

Shaun 29-03-2006 12:53
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart C
IIRC, the somebody used to work in a Call Centre..
Yep, Natwest (A great call centre at the time) and British Gas (Boiler breakdown - yuck - would never go back).

Used to love those 30 second calls at Natwest where people only wanted to know what time their branch closed or who their branch manager was. Some may think they were "stupid" questions but thy helped me keep my average call length under 2.45 min.

As for Ntl I've still not been convinced that it's anything more than a cynical money making ploy. :(

XFS03 30-03-2006 10:21
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
...Charging for the calls will mean less ppl call in therefore ppl who have a genuine query can get an answer quicker. Doin that will improve customer service
Hmm...if I was a cynic, I would say that when the number of calls start to drop, ntl will start making CS staff redundant, saving money & keeping the waiting times at their present level.

I would be a bit worried if I were you.

perfect-bliss 30-03-2006 10:48
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
lol i dont really mind if they were to lay me off. Ill be leaving in september anyway

grahamm 31-03-2006 22:45
[Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I have a suggestion regarding the broadband support line call charges. Currently NTL are looking for feedback on www.ntlworld.com. Go fill in the feedback form stating that you'll provide feedback for a fee.

Alternatively write to OFCOM and complain that it shouldn't cost a domestic subscriber money to report faults on a providers service such as NTL broadband. We are already paying through the nose for a working service, we shouldn't have to pay more to report faults on a broken service.

G.

Chris W 31-03-2006 22:51
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I very much doubt that OFCOM would be at all interested...

most broadband ISPs charge for calling their support lines....

Maggy 31-03-2006 23:53
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Ok today I was unable to connect from about 4pm until about 20 mins ago.AS I need the BB this weekend(son has research to do for an essay) I phoned up.Now according to the info I got in my bill TODAY I shouldn't be using the new phone numbers until 8/5/06 but guess what, I was redirected to use the NEW 0871 number.

I did this and got a full 5 minutes of gabble about this,that and the other before I was informed that there were 50 people in the queue ahead of me at which point I gave up.IF I'm going to be making phone calls to tech for sorting out problems then I do not want all the crap that I usually have to listen to until I'm allowed to even join the queue.I don't want to be wasting my money that way.

I just wish I could find a way of making money in a similar vein...

helterskelter 01-04-2006 04:25
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
If this has allready been said then...sorry, I jumped straight in from page 1.

Theres something bothering me about this charging to use a help line, If we are PAYING for a service then what are we doing PAYING to get it fixed???
Surely there is some clause or other in law that says a service that doesnt work is not a service,therefore how can payment be demanded for a service that doesnt exist??
If the service isnt working the way it should be then the service provider should be paying US for informing them of a problem with THEIR service??

What would happen if I contacted the accounts dept. and asked for the service to be terminated because it wasnt functioning correctly, what would be the outcome.......... would they just say 'fine' and pull the plug??

Eddie

Derek 01-04-2006 09:35
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by helterskelter
Theres something bothering me about this charging to use a help line, If we are PAYING for a service then what are we doing PAYING to get it fixed???
Probably if the fault was found to be with Ntl equipment etc. then you could get them to refund the cost of the call. TBH its probably a way of trying to force customers into other methods of troubleshooting and contact before calling tech support.

Chrysalis 01-04-2006 13:32
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
ofcom wont touch ntl, the only way a regulator might possibly do something is someone can prove ntl have excessive faults and ntl get ordered to reimburse for fault reports (not tech support) or to provide a freecall number for it.

Bob 01-04-2006 22:06
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Incognitas
I just wish I could find a way of making money in a similar vein...
Make a deliberate mistake in a piece of homework that makes it impossible. Set up an 0871 number for the kids to call you if they get stuck (which they will) and rake the money in lol :D Then technically they are paying for a fault you have made lol!

scrotnig 01-04-2006 22:51
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Or....

Get an 0906 number, then put it on the back of your car on a sticker that reads "How's my driving? Call 0906 XXXXXX".

Then drive round town like an idiot, and watch the cash roll in!

---------- Post added at 23:51 ---------- Previous post was at 23:48 ----------

Although I'm against these changes, I have to say I know the real reason companies do this. It isn't just about revenue. It's the fact that people use tech support like a free PC tuition service. They want to be shown how to use Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and goodness knows what else. Tech support isn't there for that.

Maggy 02-04-2006 00:03
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
The thing is it's all very well putting BB outages on the server status page provided one has an alternative method of connecting and viewing the status page.If you don't, how do you know if it is something that is being fixed or needs fixing.Some outages last days.

Here's a novel idea..why not have a voice announcement about the areas affected as soon as you get connected by phone.That way you don't need to waste anyone's time or your money to just be told that your area has a 'problem' and then the tech service can be utilised by those that have a problem that does need sorting.

King Of Fools 02-04-2006 15:36
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Incognitas
Here's a novel idea..why not have a voice announcement about the areas affected as soon as you get connected by phone.That way you don't need to waste anyone's time or your money to just be told that your area has a 'problem' and then the tech service can be utilised by those that have a problem that does need sorting.
They have set up a new freephone number for just that!

Maggy 02-04-2006 18:44
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by King Of Fools
Quote:
Originally Posted by Incognitas
Here's a novel idea..why not have a voice announcement about the areas affected as soon as you get connected by phone.That way you don't need to waste anyone's time or your money to just be told that your area has a 'problem' and then the tech service can be utilised by those that have a problem that does need sorting.
They have set up a new freephone number for just that!
Don't suppose you have the number? :)

Chrysalis 02-04-2006 19:45
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
yes but that number is for seeing current reported faults not for reporting faults.

Maggy 03-04-2006 08:48
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysalis
yes but that number is for seeing current reported faults not for reporting faults.
Errr I'm not actually that thick you know despite popular belief.I did understand the previous post.;)

King Of Fools 03-04-2006 09:56
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Incognitas
Don't suppose you have the number? :)
From:
http://www.ntlworld.com/helpsupport/...us/langley.php

Service Status Line
0800 052 4315
8am- midnight 7 days a week

Chrysalis 03-04-2006 13:41
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
That number isnt on my bill, so not much use if your internet is out and cant reach the webpage.

Also isnt an option on 150.

etccarmageddon 03-04-2006 13:46
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
it's in my phone now - very useful - thanks for it.

HD462 03-04-2006 17:26
Regarding ntl now charging for customer service and support calls
 
I read a few threads lately about ntl starting to charge for calls to customer services and technical support. I find this really annoying when the only time I phone them is either when they mess the bill up after changing something on my package, or when there's a problem with one of my services.

Either way I only phone when there's a problem of their creation, so why should I have to pay to tell them either, (a) about a billing error, or (b) about a fault on THEIR system?

Often tech support calls can be lengthy too. One of the advantages of switching to broadband from dialup was the free tech support if it was ever needed...should have known eventually they'd do a hatchet job on it. :)

I sent my feelings using the Responstek form on here a couple of days ago. Here's what I wrote, and their reply, to which I've just replied back. The thing is, they don't seem to see anything wrong, so long as other firms do it, they seem to think it justifies them doing it...heavens forbid they could actually aim to be better than the other firms.

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I must express my disgust, and amazement to find out ntl plan to charge for phone call to customer service and faults.

The only time I phone is to get an incorrent bill put right (took 4 months last time), or to report a fault on YOUR SYSTEM.

Why should I have to pay to tell you there is a problem with the service I PAY YOU for? You're basically making money off the back of providing a poor service, and the first time I run up a big bill having to contact you in this way I'll be looking to move all my services elsewhere.

Is this any way to treat a customer who's been with you for 10 years, and stuck with you even when there's been problems, even when promised improvements are late being released?

I think not.

Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark



Thank you for your comments. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this issue causes, we will always attempt to answer calls in a timely way but this is not always possible. If you are on hold for 3 minutes or more there will be a regular message to update you on the potential wait time. You may also have the option to request a call-back from one of our operators when our centre is less busy.



Below is some examples of numbers and charges other companies/providers have used while ntl continued to provide a freephone number:

Sky charges 8.10 pence per minute (ppm) for all general enquiry’s



Virgin net Customer Services 4.45ppm

Virgin Broadband Technical Support 25ppm



Tesco Broadband

Customer Services 4.45ppm

Broadband Technical Support 50ppm


As you can see ntl are still quite competitive with the pricing of call as we are with our services.

I hope this answers any further query’s you may have.

Thank you for contacting ntl,

Imran
Thank you for your reply, but I don't use any of those companies, and you're not comparing the same thing.

Fair enough if I'm phoning Customer Services by my own choice, ie to change my package. But I don't see why phoning to report a fault with your system should be paid for by the customer. I already spend around £800 a year with you, why should I pay to tell you there is a fault with YOUR system??

When I first got broadband support was free, that was one of the benefits of switching from dialup, and support calls can be lengthy, not that I phone very often, only when there's a fault with YOUR system.

I feel you are going to lose a lot of custom over this, which in turn will lead to more job cuts.

Neil 03-04-2006 17:33
Re: Regarding ntl now charging for customer service and support calls
 
Hi. :)

As we already have a thread running on ntl charging to call them: http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=45342 , we don't need another so I'll be merging the two together soon.

HD462 03-04-2006 17:44
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Thanks mods for moving that post in here. I couldn't find the thread about it again which was why I started a new one...thought you'd deleted it there at first. :)

Shaun 09-04-2006 02:18
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Still a **** excuse, other do it so we can, I'm off to murder my next door neighbour, afterall others do it!!! :erm:

King Of Fools 10-04-2006 09:48
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NTL
Below is some examples of numbers and charges other companies/providers have used while ntl continued to provide a freephone number:

Sky charges 8.10 pence per minute (ppm) for all general enquiry’s

Virgin net Customer Services 4.45ppm
Virgin Broadband Technical Support 25ppm

Tesco Broadband
Customer Services 4.45ppm
Broadband Technical Support 50ppm

As you can see ntl are still quite competitive with the pricing of call as we are with our services.
I like the way that (apart from Sky) they compare the cost with all the other ISPs run by NTL! ;)

fireman328 02-06-2006 12:45
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
What a con this is, when it is a slack day for faults what is to stop them degrading the service to generate calls to push up their income. Come to think of it why bother providing any service, they could just operate a call centre and watch the money roll in. I think I will contact a friend in the Fraud Squad who deals with dodgy traders to hear what he thinks about this three card trick. I for one will not be contacting them if I see a cabinet door open or the local yoblets trashing one !!
Oh dear thats what they want, someone to pay extra for a service which is already payed for in the existing contract. Is the CEO Arfur Daly ?

SMHarman 29-06-2006 18:08
Re: Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank
That's interesting, considering this is supposed to be about providing better service to customers rather than generating revenue from their problems.

Another interesting questions, add it to my list.
Having spent 4 hours on the 0845 number trying to sort out my disconnection.

"ooh, we can see you made the request on May 15, just we have not done anything with it..."

They did credit £5 to my parents NTL bill to cover the cost of this call when I asked, I got put through to CS and they did this, wait to see the bill though.

ofirgal 04-07-2006 04:24
Re: Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul M
So, in theory, no one should wait more than about 5 minutes. I wonder how long it takes to get called back though, given that many people have lives (!), and can't sit by their phone all day.

Ah - it's simple really. They never call back and then you have to call again and so it goes on and on until you run out of energy or money.

The whole NTL statement is a joke. Whoever wrote it is obviously a ruthless person, capable of lying, cheating and worse.

I can list many other ISP who don't charge for fault reports.

And they really need to decide bit as far as I know 0871 is 10p a minute

All the above is my own opinion of course.

---------- Post added at 04:03 ---------- Previous post was at 03:58 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by nemesis01
wonder if they will be any faster answering now they are charging......nah.:P ohwell, I never ring them anyway. :D
No. My last call took 1h:15m

---------- Post added at 04:17 ---------- Previous post was at 04:03 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezzo
Me for one. And when I worked there you would get plenty of calls from people who the last note on their account for any reason was 2-3 years ago.

Notes on my account have gone missing on a regular basis. You can't be serious. I don't know a single happy NTL customer. Everytime I speak to NTL I get the same old offensive attitude, hang ups, sending me around in circles, routing my calls to wrong depts.

I have never seen anything worse from any company in any field.

---------- Post added at 04:20 ---------- Previous post was at 04:17 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
Ah but we know that CSR's don't always update the notes on the account. :nono:

How many people post here saying they were promised x/y/z by Joe Bloggs in CS, but then when they phoned back got the old "I'm sorry Sir/Madam, but there's no note of that on your account" (Answer=lots)....

I had that happen at least 10 times. I think they cover up for each other. If you insist that you did call before, they insist that you didn't and eventually hang up unless you agree.

---------- Post added at 04:44 ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 ----------

You obviously never tried to call NTL cust service or tech support - yes - I do know the difference.

Many of my calls were NOT logged. I would say at least 30%.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkypants
It is compulsory for every agent on every call to log on a comment / Fault report on the account. Faults agents on average get Quality evaluated three times a month. If they do not leave log notes on the account and make the mistake 2 times within six months = informal warning, disciplinary etc. Agents who do not leave notes find they do not have a job pretty quickly.

In terms of recording of calls, calls are only recorded for Quality and training purposes only, as stated to you when you call NTL.



From the posts I've read in the DTV / Telco faults section here, most the queries should be solved first time within NTL, as long as the customer has clearly explained the problem and gone through to the correct Department (like some who report a fault to customer services and wonder why it's never resolved etc). Some faults do take a long time to fix and are more complicated than others, mistakes are made, sometimes those faults are not resolved first time round. I don't deny that happens. But you will find that in every company, not just NTL.

To get back on topic, I don't really have an opinion on whether the line should be chargable or not. Technical support has been chargable for a while now so it was inevitable that at some point Customer Services would be chargable too. However, NTL has invested a lot of money in the long term future of the company and its employees. It has taken more staff on, it provides better training and incentivex for its staff and there is a real drive to make quality improvements for the customer. To the cynic, you may argue NTL should be providing that already, maybe so but at least the company is doing everythng it can to improve the situation. You won't see the immediate effects of this, but in the long term it will mean shorter call queues and a better overall service.

Anyway thats just my opinion :)
---------- Post added at 05:15 ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
Im glad that the number is changing. The amount of stupid calls that u get coming through the call centres is unbelieveable
Not as stupid as some of the people who answer these calls.

---------- Post added at 05:18 ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by perfect-bliss
I must say tho, if someone is calling to report a fault, then a customer shouldnt have to pay for that. its not their fault, so they shouldnt be penalised
I never phone for any other reason. All the problems I ever had were NTL's fault. In one case they disconnected me by mistake instead of upgrading, it took 32 calls to convince them it was a mistake and 3 engineer visits.

---------- Post added at 05:24 ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezzo
Probably if the fault was found to be with Ntl equipment etc. then you could get them to refund the cost of the call. TBH its probably a way of trying to force customers into other methods of troubleshooting and contact before calling tech support.
I tried that and you just get the run around for ages with promises of call backs and then promises of refunds that never happen.

I think trying to pursue any refund from NTL is a waste of time. This week alone I spent £30 in phone calls without a result.

Bill C 04-07-2006 06:15
Re: Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
[
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
Ah but we know that CSR's don't always update the notes on the account. :nono:

How many people post here saying they were promised x/y/z by Joe Bloggs in CS, but then when they phoned back got the old "I'm sorry Sir/Madam, but there's no note of that on your account" (Answer=lots)....

At one point they where told not to. When they where having very long wait times on the phones they where told not to add notes to the customers account log, This way they could reduce the amount of time that each customers problem took. I was shocked to say the least when i was told. Problem was that it was not written down anywhere so there was no proof.

ofirgal 04-07-2006 06:22
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
At one point???? This has been and is happening all the time.

Derek 04-07-2006 19:00
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
I don't know a single happy NTL customer.
Well I know several, in fact I don't think I personally know any unhappy Ntl customers right now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
At one point???? This has been and is happening all the time.
Not all the time. When I worked there (for over 2 years) we were instructed to do this about 7 or 8 times during peak times such as when big football matches were on and the majority of CSR's (mostly the competent ones) ignored this as we actually did care about our jobs and the customers.

There were/are CSR's who don't care but there are still people there who do try 100% for customers, even the ones who, to be perfectly honest, don't deserve to even have someone listen to them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
Not as stupid as some of the people who answer these calls.
Great attitude there, I'm sure everyone will be bending over backwards to help you... :rolleyes:

Chrysalis 04-07-2006 19:31
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I do know people happy with ntl, one of them even tells me to stop moaning when I was with ntl. I also know a fair few unhappy peeps tho.

I can vouch for CS/TS reps not making notes tho, the amount of times I rang up about my broadband problems and no notes of previous calls, both the india and uk call centres seem as bad as each other on this.

rigby 05-07-2006 09:24
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
:mad: My bill has just dropped on the floor and i have been charged :Yikes: £1.60 for the privlidge of speaking to nthell, to make matters worse this is the 7th time i have rang since january of this year for them to sort out a billing problem that is there mistake, they (CS) have admitted it's there fault, i'm sorry but this now is beyond a joke £11 line rental then £1.75 caller display (which i asked for so knew the cost but still expensive)and wait for it £3.92 (i dont use the phone that much but need it because i'm disabled)for telephone calls of which £1.60 is for phoning nthell, i'm going to now write to the call centre manager and tell her how incompatent the staff she has employed are, about all the false promises i have been given (yes no problem now every thing is sorted out, get me off the phone quick attitude etc)to stuff there service (NOT) right where the sun dont shine, I'm only one person and nthell probably dont care but they have lost me as a customer for good.

ofirgal 05-07-2006 13:19
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
That's the NTL way - blame the victim. And yes, some of the CSRs are rude, abusive and arrogant. Check nthell.net for more info about my ongoing issues.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezzo


Great attitude there, I'm sure everyone will be bending over backwards to help you... :rolleyes:
---------- Post added at 14:19 ---------- Previous post was at 14:15 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezzo
Well I know several, in fact I don't think I personally know any unhappy Ntl customers right now.

Let me introduce you then to the people on this forum...

Rik 05-07-2006 14:42
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
Let me introduce you then to the people on this forum...
Let me introduce myself :)

Im very very happy with my NTL service :)
10Meg/Phone Line & Digital TV.

Brilliant service keep up the good work NTL! :p:

Derek 05-07-2006 14:50
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
Let me introduce you then to the people on this forum...
Oh thats right, I forgot that I know every single person on this forum personally, it a bit of a pain come Christmas time when there are a couple of thousand cards to write. :rolleyes:

Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
some of the CSRs are rude, abusive and arrogant.
Some, not all but some. Although I'll bet going onto the phone shouting and screaming is more likely to get you on the bad side of some of them. They are only human and if you give them a hard time on the phone are they more or less likely to help you out?

ofirgal 05-07-2006 15:01
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Enjoy it while it lasts. Wait till you have a problem though... Especially one they don't care to admit. Good luck then.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rik
Let me introduce myself :)

Im very very happy with my NTL service :)
10Meg/Phone Line & Digital TV.

Brilliant service keep up the good work NTL! :p:

rigby 05-07-2006 16:08
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Some, not all but some. Although I'll bet going onto the phone shouting and screaming is more likely to get you on the bad side of some of them. They are only human and if you give them a hard time on the phone are they more or less likely to help you out?


:td: I have to disagree on that point in my experience whether you are polite or not the job doesnt get done all you get are false promises(and hear in the background, are we out tonight, hurry up we are going, quick sign out its diiner time, they dont give a dam about the paying customer, but would'nt it be fun if they had to call a call centre and have to put up with a little of there own medicene:shocked: , nthell pay peanuts thats why we have to put up with the monkeys at the other end of the line.

ofirgal 05-07-2006 16:23
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Exactly. I tried shouting and screaming and that sometimes helps, but in most cases, it makes no diff how I present the case. The attitude is mostly poor and even when they want to help they can't.


Quote:
Originally Posted by rigby
:td: I have to disagree on that point in my experience whether you are polite or not the job doesnt get done all you get are false promises(and hear in the background, are we out tonight, hurry up we are going, quick sign out its diiner time, they dont give a dam about the paying customer, but would'nt it be fun if they had to call a call centre and have to put up with a little of there own medicene:shocked: , nthell pay peanuts thats why we have to put up with the monkeys at the other end of the line.

Russ 05-07-2006 16:39
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Screaming and shouting can be immensely satisfying however it usually gets you nowhere at all and if I was taking a call from someone doing that, I'd hang up pronto.

ofirgal 05-07-2006 17:11
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ D
Screaming and shouting can be immensely satisfying however it usually gets you nowhere at all and if I was taking a call from someone doing that, I'd hang up pronto.
Shouting and screaming was the only way to get Demon internet to refund money they took from my client's account by mistake.

Russ 05-07-2006 17:16
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
Shouting and screaming was the only way to get Demon internet to refund money they took from my client's account by mistake.
I'm sure it was - however if a caller was not able to speak to me like a grown-up then the phone would get slammed down, no problem there.

In fact during the 2 years I worked at ntl that's exactly what I did if a customer wasn't able to be civil.

ofirgal 05-07-2006 18:47
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I find that with NTL it doesn't matter if you are civil or not. You will most likely get bad support unless your problem is easy to fix.

---------- Post added at 19:47 ---------- Previous post was at 19:47 ----------

I suggest you check my site www.nthell.net

Neil 05-07-2006 22:32
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
I find that with NTL it doesn't matter if you are civil or not. You will most likely get bad support unless your problem is easy to fix.

---------- Post added at 19:47 ---------- Previous post was at 19:47 ----------

I suggest you check my site www.nthell.net
And I suggest you stop using this site to spam your own url unless you want a ban.

ofirgal 05-07-2006 23:32
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I didn't want to repeat my whole rant here so pointed anyone who might be interested in one to my site. I don't understand.

ZoMBiE 06-07-2006 00:27
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil
And I suggest you stop using this site to spam your own url unless you want a ban.
he still uses the url in his signature, surely thats spamming?

---------- Post added at 01:27 ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
I didn't want to repeat my whole rant here so pointed anyone who might be interested in one to my site.
I cannot say it is that interesting tbh. it is very one sided just like ALL your comments on this site.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
I don't understand.
Most forums dont like you advertising (or spamming) your own Website free of charge. dont know if this forum has a rules policy (its not sticking out in front of me) but i would guess you pushing the limits of the regulations here.


ZoMBiE

ofirgal 06-07-2006 02:41
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZoMBiE
he still uses the url in his signature, surely thats spamming?
I was asked by the moderator to put the link in my signature.

---------- Post added at 01:27 ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZoMBiE

I cannot say it is that interesting tbh. it is very one sided just like ALL your comments on this site.
That's why I didn't I didn't post the whole thing here. If you are not interested then don't click the link. That aside, I've been getting lots of positive feedback and interest from some surprising parties.

It is one sided indeed. It tells a short version of MY experiences with NTL. Feel free to start a site with your experience and let me know the address. I am happy to hear your POV.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZoMBiE
Most forums dont like you advertising (or spamming) your own Website free of charge. dont know if this forum has a rules policy (its not sticking out in front of me) but i would guess you pushing the limits of the regulations here.

ZoMBiE
And back on topic - Isn't it more important to try to influence NTL to stop charging their customers for fault reports and to stop denying these fault reports when they happen? I solved this problem for me personally, but what about the rest of you now?

After 5 weeks of telling me that there was no problem with the Bromley proxy, I had a call today from Broadband Support Specialist Steven R at NTL to tell me that there is a fault and that they are working to resolve it. He could not understand why the tech support guys did not report my complaint before instead of denying it.

ZoMBiE 06-07-2006 09:29
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I find tech support India just does not see the same issues as Swansea, I found dealing with Chetnet forum guys (Though most are ex employees now) sorted any of my problems much quicker than Indian techsupport could or would do.

ofirgal 06-07-2006 11:08
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
I found the chetnet team more worried about the rules of their site than anything else. In any case, they said that in the case of failing proxy system or similar network issues there's NOTHING they can do to help.

Chrysalis 06-07-2006 11:32
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Nildram uses 0870, which given my 40 min wait to them yesterday I was angry, but the call was handled well and they are supposedbly ringing me back today to finish of the resolution. Given that they are within the uk and if he rings back as promised I will be satisfied.

If 0870 leads me to a foreign call centre tho and I then had to play pass the parcel and keep ringing back I would be wondering why I am been charged national rate for a bottom line service.

ofirgal 06-07-2006 21:27
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Thanks to whichever team member passed my details to Richard B at NTL. He was very helpful.

Neil 07-07-2006 06:12
Re: [Merged] Tech Support to be charged at 0871 rate from 8 May
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofirgal
I was asked by the moderator to put the link in my signature.
Then stop spamming it in your posts too.

If I see it again blatantly put in a post when it's alread sitting in your sig, then you will receive a ban.

MovedGoalPosts 09-07-2006 13:25
Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
Having had the unpleasant task of calling ntl for faults support, and knowing that I was going to have to pay them for the priviledge image my surprise to hear:
"calls will cost you 5p a minute from a BT line, other phone lines may vary", or words to that effect.

As it was a broadband problem, I had to redial the more expensive 0871 number to get a similar message:
"calls will cost you 10p a minute from a BT line ..."

:wtf: I'm an ntl customer, calling from an ntl line. Surely ntl should tell me, what it's costing using your own services, not what it's going to cost from a competitor's line.

Druchii 09-07-2006 13:30
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob C
Having had the unpleasant task of calling ntl for faults support, and knowing that I was going to have to pay them for the priviledge image my surprise to hear:
"calls will cost you 5p a minute from a BT line, other phone lines may vary", or words to that effect.

As it was a broadband problem, I had to redial the more expensive 0871 number to get a similar message:
"calls will cost you 10p a minute from a BT line ..."

:wtf: I'm an ntl customer, calling from an ntl line. Surely ntl should tell me, what it's costing using your own services, not what it's going to cost from a competitor's line.
There's alrady a thread about this, although digging it up just wasn't possible (damn rubbish search skills for me...)

I think they have to do it by law.

MovedGoalPosts 09-07-2006 13:33
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
They may have to do an announcement by law, but if so why not add in a phrase to cover ntl's charges. Or does it in fact cost more to call from an ntl line, and they don't want us, the customer to know that.

greencreeper 09-07-2006 13:35
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
I had to phone them recently and wasn't impressed at the charge. No customer should ever have to pay to report a fault. A service is paid for and not delivered.

King Of Fools 09-07-2006 14:06
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob C
They may have to do an announcement by law, but if so why not add in a phrase to cover ntl's charges. Or does it in fact cost more to call from an ntl line, and they don't want us, the customer to know that.
Yes! :mad:

APS 09-07-2006 14:33
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
At least for now you can get to customer services for free by calling 0800 052 3663 and selecting option 2.

APS

sarahlouise45 09-07-2006 14:45
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by APS
At least for now you can get to customer services for free by calling 0800 052 3663 and selecting option 2.

APS
Is that for definate now??? :dozey::erm:

bonzoe 09-07-2006 15:44
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
0870 numbers Mon-Fri 0600-1800 8.10p...1800-0600 4.30p Sat-Sun...2.75p
in my area anyway, NTL want your postcode before giving tariff although it claims to be a National company

altis 09-07-2006 16:42
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
Summat to do with this thread I think:

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=46633

XFS03 11-07-2006 21:43
Re: Ntl Support Call Cost Message
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bonzoe
0870 numbers Mon-Fri 0600-1800 8.10p...1800-0600 4.30p Sat-Sun...2.75p
in my area anyway, NTL want your postcode before giving tariff although it claims to be a National company
ntl don't use the 0870 number for broadband technical support, they use an 0871 number, which is 10p/min at all times.

---------- Post added at 22:43 ---------- Previous post was at 22:02 ----------

Just had a look at the "contact us" page on ntl's website.
It looks like they have cocked up the pricing for the call charges.
They are saying it costs no more than 5p/min for the 0845 and the 0871 numbers.

They have also missed out the service status number on the Bromley page, which is probably why the formatting is out as well.
Doesn't anyone check the pages before they go live?

http://www.ntlworld.com/helpsupport/...us/bromley.php
http://www.ntlworld.com/helpsupport/...us/langley.php


.


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