how long does it take
 

for NTL to add channels to your STB.

We have had sky for years and due to their incompetence we decided to change over to NTL for our TV service. They came and installed yesterday and the guy rang up to activate the service but as yet all we have is 1, 2, 3, 4, bbc24 cbbc and itv2. We was told this would take a matter of an hour or so but 20hrs later were still waiting for the channels.
Is this normal for NTL to take so long in sending subscrition details into the system so the STB can be updated with the required channels.

TIA

alferret

Re: how long does it take
 

No give customer service a call and ask them to rehit the box.

Re: how long does it take
 

Just spoke to CS....

Apparently there is a computer problem with registration and they have had the problem for a week. It seems to be affecting only some people and there is no firm date as to when this problem will be fixed. They are not charging us so that is one small consolation I suppose.

Re: how long does it take
 

This is a worrying trend i work for ntl and this past week i have never been so abused by so many customers it is a computer problem but no fix as yet i no of some ppl who still have no pics after 14 days. Whats going on.

Re: how long does it take
 

Technology Tamed huh? Seems like one technology that has the upper hand over NTL tech's at the moment then.

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I'd love to know, we only signed up with them three weeks ago and we've not had any telly for two weeks. I cant believe that a company so large could allow them self to be in a position like this. :mad:

Re: how long does it take
 

I wish I knew how long it will take. Digital TV STB installed 3/9/04 - still no channels:mad:

Re: how long does it take
 

Spoke to CS again yesterday. Very polite human on the phone but still no time frame for the fix.

Im getting through all those DVD's I havnt got round to watching more than twice before.

I think I may as well cancel and get Freeview :Yikes:

Re: how long does it take
 

We were installed on 7/9/04, still only get channels 123 &4 an no phone yet!

Re: how long does it take
 

Had given up, when.............

All channels now available:)

Is everyone now connected?

Re: how long does it take
 

8.10pm Tuesday 21st Sept. Not in Loughborough mate. Still dead. Has been since installation on the 7th. Getting fed up. Might cancel the contract.

Re: how long does it take
 

Nope, just checked and all Im still getting is that my card isnt registered to my box and channels 1,2,3,4, itv2 and bbc news 24
Spoke to CS yesterday and told them that if service wasnt forthcoming (like friday) they can come round an pick the box up within 24hrs of that day.

:mad:

Re: how long does it take
 

Nice to see you got your service St John :tu:
just spent an hour on the phone (on hold) and 5 mins talking to a human who was as mystified as me as to how someones service has gone live where others have not.
As the problem seems to have arose from switching from one system for adding new subsciptions to, to a newer more streamelined system that is so full of fecking holes that everything is falling through it. It should be that all or none go live.

Getting really sick an tired of this now, the missus an the kids are ******ed at no TV and im ******ed at the ***** service (or lack of) NTL are giving us.

Re: how long does it take
 

If you're thinking of cancelling, speak to your local Customer Relations team on 0800 052 1474, they should be able to look into it and at least give you a definitive answer.

Open Mon-Fri 9-5.

Re: how long does it take
 

Thanks for the number mark, i'll give them a bell in the morning.

Re: how long does it take
 

I've fallen foul of the same problem too - I had my box replaced on the 23rd Sept and since then have had none of my extra channels. The Fault Dept told me the same thing, my box is shown as deleted on the system, apparently my details have been forwarded to a chap called Tom Mullins (sp?) (in Swansea centre IIRC) who is supposed to be in charge of sorting it, but again I was told they have no idea when it will be fixed. I've apparently stopped being charged for the missing channels, and glad to see it's not just me. Looking forward to any further news on the situation.

Re: how long does it take
 

We have just cancelled out CTV service (or lack there of) this morning and are going back to sky, its quite probrable as well that our phone and BB will go to BT and an ADSL Co.
Peeved with all the BS we have been given and no resolution forth coming from NTL.

A very disgruntled NTL subscriber.

Re: how long does it take
 

Still no TV or phone line for that matter in Nottingham. Surely a fix can't be that far away!! I mean, what could be so wrong that it takes weeks to fix!!

Re: how long does it take
 

As far as I am aware the problem has been ongoing for 4 weeks with still no fix-time. We have given up on NTL and their lacklustre efforts to resolve this issue.

Re: how long does it take
 

have had the exact same problem (only got ch1-4, itv2) since we signed up on thursday... spoke to someone in faults who basically confirmed there was a problem and said it would be fixed tonight.

no change as of yet though.

Re: how long does it take
 

Dont hold your breath mate.

Re: how long does it take
 

So 3 days after the "it will be fixed tonight" on thje 2nd october and still no channels.

Don't suppose there is any new information about anywhere? My flatmates and I are getting extremely disgruntled now. One week and still no proper tv....

Re: how long does it take
 

ditto :erm:

Re: how long does it take
 

We actually had a call from NTL today asking about why we cancelled. Explained again and was asked would we keep NTL TV if it could be sorted, had a call from tech support an hour later with a promise that it would be working within 2 days max. so they have till Thursday pm.

So its just wait and see.

Re: how long does it take
 

Been waiting for telly since installation on 22nd Sept (booked in early August), latest from Customer Services was that they needed the number on the SMART card as the system wasn't recognising it. But.....they have a backlog of hundreds so don't hold your breath. One member of staff also said that NTL were having problems with their bank ..fills me full of confidence! Wouldn't it be wiser to stop the advertising and catch up with the back log rather than irritating even more people?? It also isn't a good idea to advertise it on the phone line when customers are already wound up and waiting on hold for hours to complain!!!!

Re: how long does it take
 

The two day deadline sounds promising, but as most people, I wouldnt hold my breath. I also agree with Ruthieg, why dont they fix the problem rather than taking on more and more subscribers. When I spoke to CS on Saturday morning, she said there were 24,000 people waiting to be activated - don't know how accurate that is, but surely its in NTL's best interest to get it sorted before people start cancelling!

It must be one serious problem to not have it fixed after all of this time.

Re: how long does it take
 

Soo glad to here I'm not the only one in this boat. Had cable put in on 18/09/04 after they said it would go in on the 9th and I'm still stuck with a couple of channels... not that I want to, but I can't even get channel 5. Spoken to the call center and the poor girl there had been told "tomorrow" for the last couple of weeks. Spent two hours on hold to find that out... Has anyone noticed how the NTL hold music is worse than Japanese Water Torture... they could use it for interrogating people. On the plus note though they have promised me the family pack for the price of the basic pack for the first year.

Re: how long does it take
 

alferret has the issue been resolved?

Incog. :)

Re: how long does it take
 

hmm, maybe I should complain again (seeing as still borked), might get summat out of it

Re: how long does it take
 

As a former cabletel/ntl customer we had enough of the constant problems with the tv side of ntl's customer service, and decided that sky's package would be worth a try! And boy did we make the right move! no more pull the plug and wait 30 seconds, for nothing! It works first time, the sound is far better too. As instead of having to have it as high as 13 we now have it on 8! And we can record from the box whilst watching other things! loads more channels and my family are happy bunnies. The engineer that installed it said he was putting two of ntl customers on per day! How true I don't know but at that rate they won't be in the tv business for much longer unless they buck their ideas up.

Re: how long does it take
 

Yeah, I can see many people cancelling their NTL TV service if it isn't sorted soon. Were still without our requested channels 8 days after install. Its quite pathetic.

So nobody has heard of a new fix date then?

Re: how long does it take
 

Not yet mate, fired off another email to midlands area MD, the first of which got the phonecalls from NTL. 4 weeks today.


Just reset the box to check before I go to work and still no bloody good.

Re: how long does it take
 

Just spoken to NTL CS again...our box has now been made active and we're due our subscription channels within the next 2 hours....

What are chances then? Hmmm..... 10%?!

Re: how long does it take
 

We're On!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: how long does it take
 

Pleased for ya mate :tu:

Just wish some ingrate from CS would pull their finger out and sort mine. 28 days is totally unacceptable in any way shape or form. I think Im going for the record here.
It seems like getting through to the right person is the right thing to do, but getting the right one is like picking this weeks lotto numbers. 14mil to 1.

All I seems to get regardless of how polite I am on the phone is the standard NTL corperate BS.
IMHO NTL staff dont give a stuff for punters like myself, they sit back sup their cuppa, take the odd call, talk the same old BS as the person sitting next to them, end call and on to the next.

Ho Hum............ :mad: :mad: :mad:

Re: how long does it take
 

i do kinda feel sorry for the ppl in CS, the ones i've spoken to have been helpful and it seems its nothing to do with them, all they can do is pass details on to whoever is supposed to sort it.

unfortunately, this means i can do........absolutely nothing. :shrug:

Re: how long does it take
 

The CS Rep I spoke to earlier said that all CS Reps could now send a signal to sort your tv out as the activation problem had been fixed. The chap sent 2 "hits" to our box to ensure it worked....and it did. Maybe worth givin them a call?

Re: how long does it take
 

aha, i'll give it a try. the tv remote has broken now so even if cable is working i wont know :(

cheers for the help tho

Re: how long does it take
 

My TV was put in on 7/10/2004 - phone worked fine within a day but my TV hasn't been activated yet. After reading the most recent posts I'll certainly be on the phone to Customer Services in the morning. Meanwhile, here's my story which I fear is near normal for the average NTL customer...

I've had nothing but trouble with NTL when I first signed up on 16/8/2004 - I signed up for a two month free trial of Broadband in a shopping centre after asking about their offers because I was moving into a new house. I and was given my first install date by the salesman of 31/8/2004. I called the salesman to cancel this one because I wasn't going to be there
(I hadn't moved in yet) but still someone turned up - at the same time I said I wanted a TV and phone package and was promised a call back I never got. The new Broadband install date I was given was 7/9/2004 but no-one turned up. After several calls I gave up on the salesman and my calls to Customer Service put me in a maze of menus and half-an-hour of hold music, so I called NTL's head office. They gave me an 'earliest possible' install date of 25/9/2004 which I refused because it was too far ahead, and was in an afternoon when I specifically requested a morning installation. I decided I wasn't going to persue a TV and phone package until I had got my Broadband problem solved. My broadband eventually got put in on 17/9/2004 after they found an earlier date. On that date I signed up for a TV and phone package on the NTL website with an install date of 28/9/2004, and an email confirming my order. Meanwhile on 25/9/2004 I got a bill from NTL for a month of Broadband service which was supposed to be free. A call to their head office again on 29/9/2004 and I was referred the Sales team (amazing how quickly they answered my call!). I was then told that there was no record of my TV/phone package order on NTL's computer system, and that the best way to order packages is over the phone, not over the internet - if ordering over the internet doesn't work, why do NTL offer it?! Anyway I got myself a package ordered and a new install date of 7/10/2004. The engineer turned up at 8:45am, put everything in and said it would take a couple of hours for the phone to be activated and all of the channels of my package to come through. I couldn't check the phone until I bought a handset the next day, and it was working, but the TV would still only let me watch BBC1,2,3,4, News 24, CBBC, CBeebies, ITV1,2 and Channel 4. I called Customer Services the same day and after 45 minutes of hold music, an advisor told me there was a problem with the software that activated the settop boxes, which had been tested "the other night" - he took the number from my box's smart card and put it in a database, and said it could be a few days, maybe a week before anything happens. I was told I won't be charged for my TV service until it's activated - we'll see when the bill comes. Since then, I've periodically reset the box at the mains which supposedly sends the smart card's data up the system to see what I should be receiving. It's 11/10/2004 today and I've had no joy yet...

Oh, and all of this time, I've never been asked for my bank account details for direct debit, despite being told at least four times that I'd need to give them at some stage.

Re: how long does it take
 

huzzah, all sorted!

many thanks to graham, i think it was, for getting it working quickly and telling me what was really going on.

Re: how long does it take
 

:) :) :) :)
All working at last - no notification but it's all there now! That's 3 weeks exactly from installation....

Re: how long does it take
 

I've just come off the phone to Customer Services (35 minutes waiting after being told it was a 15 minute expected wait) who said they're working their way through the backlog of new installations that need to be activated, but still couldn't put a timeframe on when mine would be done :(

Re: how long does it take
 

Still waiting :(

Re: how long does it take
 

I called again on Wednesday evening, to be given no help whatsover by a CSR who didn't have much to say and didn't seem able to offer any advice. After I said I was unhappy that I'd been without a proper TV service for now two weeks since installation and annoyed that i couldn't be offered a solution he said I wouldn't be billed for it until it works and that "it's your decision whether you want to wait longer or not" - what's the alternative? disconnection, he said. if i didn't want the service i wouldn't have signed up for it in the first place i said. so i still wait...

it obviously shows how much faith ntl employees have in their own product - i work in a call centre for a different company and while i agree the service provided by the people i work for has its fair share of problems and customers are welcome to use competition, i would never suggest to a customer not to use our services and would probably get fired for doing so.

Re: how long does it take
 

I called CS on Friday evening and they took my details and told me that a fault had been logged for it and it would be back on by Monday eve... yeah right I thought... imagine my surprise when it was back up on Monday. So it looks like everythings definately back on track and they're catching up with the activations.

dvboy, only advice I can give you is to make sure the CS person you're talking to knows what needs to be done - basically as far as I understand it it was the system that links the serial numbers of your box & smart card to your account that was down and that's why we had no channels - it couldn't identify what channels it was supposed to give you. Also tell them that you know it's definately back up now. They should be able to log a fault in the system to reassign the serials to your account, obviously this means that they should be taking those numbers from you, so if they don't this would ring alarm bells for me. And then of course, once you think it might have been done, do the obligatory reboot of the box.

Hope this helps and maybe gives you some hope.

N.

ps. Make sure you keep an eye on your bill too, I was told I wouldn't be paying for the tv while it was like this, but surprise surprise no refund on my latest bill... I also phoned em up about this (seperately) and they gave me a months refund no problems.

Re: how long does it take
 

Well I called up tonight and finally got it working, so I'd like to thank Dominique in the Stockton on Tees call centre for getting it activated (and entertaining me on the phone while she waited).

Thank you!!!!

Re: how long does it take
 

glad you got it sorted - thanks for letting us know :tu:

Re: how long does it take
 

Glad you're sorted and didn't need my bumbling help :D :D :D

Re: how long does it take
 

Thanks for the offer though, Debsy :)