NTL...Should have known better
 

Had cable tv and broadband installed on Sunday. The guy fired up the TV and said it was downloading updates...and left. The channels then came on ok. But the remote will not talk to the set-top box...(yes I tried the batteries etc). My wife noticed the guy was down the street at another house. So he gives me another remote control. That also doesnt work...(yes I tried the batteries etc). By which time the guy has now gone. So a call to helpline and another remote control arrives by post this morning. And......that doesnt work either......(yes I tried the batteries etc). So now I have to wait till I get home and "run through some diagnostics" whilst I sit on the phone to whoever. Hmmmm....quite how I can do this with no remote control I dont know, but the lady on the support line tells me that I have to do it before they will send an engineer out...!!!
So on to the broadband debacle...plugged in my laptop. Went through the install. Gets to where I have to enter my surname, pin and telephone number and it says unable to proceed...
Arrrrrrrrgh...
I am getting some right stick at work for defending NTL.
If they cant get it sorted by the weekend the contract I have ready to sign is going to be torn in half.
Anyone else had problems...?

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I have, but nobody from NTL is really interested. They supplied me with a new STB and Card which has never worked and they are unable to get it working. I cancelled my TV, so hopefully from the 17th of this month they should no longer bill me (but we will see). I have had Sky+ now for a week and it is great. I have also had problems with my broadband since December 2004 and they cannot resolve that either. But I can work around the problem, so I will keep that going as I think that the BB is pretty good value.

You may want to seriously consider your options before you get tied into a 12 month contract. At the moment they are unable to provide you a service and you are within your rights to cancel. But don't leave it to long.

Setch

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

That doesnt bode well for me...???
I have had an NTL phone for a number of years, and had TV and BB at my old house. When its working the service is excellent. But its getting there and staying there thats the problem. It took them 6 months to stop billing me for BB at the old house. Why oh why is a company offering an excellent value service like NTL blighted by such poor customer support ? Its such a shame that it has to be this way. It seems that there are some people at NTL who work very very hard at what they do and they are let down very badly by the company. Its just so frustrating. I wonder if the guy at the top really knows what is going on ? If he does, and doesnt care then shame on him. His company are losing money because a lot of people I have spoken to have gone to sky and BT purely because of NTL's distinct lack of customer support. Me...I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt but my patience is wearing thin...

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

:welcome:

Give them the benefit of the doubt now - Tell them what you think, ntl need to know they have done wrong so they can correct on their mistakes, send them your feedback directly, if you want a reply to your feedback or you want to ntl to investigate your problem, leave an e-mail address. To activate the ntl responsetek tool click on the below link:-

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=81

Alternatively if you want one of us to escalate this, Send a private message to Simon M with some details and he will forward them to our official ntl contact. Thanks. :)

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I sent an email to Simon Duffy explaining that I was dissapointed with the level of support that NTL provide. I also offer some constructive information.

He (or is assistant) never responded to or even acknowledged my email.

So I guess he is either a mushroom or does not care.

Setch

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Did you try the ResponseTek system (as I believe you were advised)? He apparently does listen to whats said on that.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Whilst he may listen to what's said on ResponseTek, he should at least have the courtesy to acknowledge an email from someone who's not happy. If he can't be bothered to deal with a complaint (or at least delegate it effectively) then it's not a very good example for the front line staff.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Simon Duffy is concerned with Customer problems, and these are put forward to the relevant dept. However, we have a dedicated resource that has the eyes of Simon and peter, and who is dealing with all the requests we put through.

At the same time, incidents like this should be reported through responsetek, and if you wish, through us. The customer experience is paramount now within ntl, so we have their ear so to speak.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I bet he does not actively go and read this stuff himself. He probably only gets to hear what his advisors want him to hear.

I work for huge multinational corporation, and I know that the top people respond to emails sent to them either personally or via one of their executive assistants. It is seen as part of the whole customer experience. Let your client base know that they are important and the key to the success of your company. You will find that they will stay with you and will probably buy future products from you.

From what you read on this forum, people are always looking to move their business to a competitor. That is what the CEO should taking note of.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

What have I always said about ntl (or indeed any company that offers pathetic service like the OP has received)?

The rot starts at the top......

If the man/woman at the top can't respond to a customer (or even get his PA to), what hope is there? :td:

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Whe did you send the e-mail? Bearing in mind the time of year, isn't it entirely feasible that people are on holiday (or have just come back), so there may be a slight delay.

The fact that the teamn on here have set up a dedicated response line (having had discussions with Simon Duffy) would suggest that any enquiry / complaint generated throught his site would be investigated.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

A man like Simon Duffy should have an Executive Office team, they are tasked with sending these problems back down the chain, collating the response and responding. Thats certainly how it works at Orange, a company who have been through CS growing pains and come out the other side looking as good as they went in.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

2/3 weeks ago now. It has now got the stage where I neither expect or want a reply. I have a replacement system and am currently happy with it. I just hope that NTL don't try and continue to bill me for a service they have not provided for over a month now.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

It's feasible that SD was on holiday, but not that the OP never received a reply from his office, politely explaining that he was away,but that Mr X/Y/Z would be dealing with this matter straight away, & apologising for the fact that the OP had to contact him in the first place.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I am willing to give NTL the benefit of the doubt, and see what they can do. I find it hard to believe that they dont care about their customers...they would have gone under by now for sure.
I guess I was just looking for some reassurance that what I have found is the exception rather than the rule.
I also have an Orange mobile, and can honestly say that the service I have recieved from Orange has been excellent. A customer service model for NTL perhaps ????
I can recall a time when you had no choice but to bow to the mighty BT because there was no alternative. I remember them in 1982, when they wanted to charge my mum, a single parent struggling to bring up 4 children on what were then paltry benefits compared to what they get today, £170.00 to install a phone line. Add on inflation and thats the equivalent of about £500.00 today...!!!! Just imagine paying what would be about £40.00 a month line rental to BT, be it not for companies like NTL introducing much needed competion, and forcing prices down.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

as said earlier, if you give Simon M a PM with the details (he'll tell you what he needs), he can have a word with the right people about the problem.

Anyway, good luck! NTL is good when it works (and TBH, I've not had an awful lot of trouble when it doesn't).

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Thanks mate.
Have PM'd my details to Simon M a few hours ago.
Many thanks...

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

And remember that there are also a lot of happy customers out there :)

Welcome to the forum and I hope you get it sorted soon

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

ntl have already been through Chapter 11 in the USA (as they are listed as a US company) to protect them from bankruptcy.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I have read this thread, and you should follow simon's advice however if you think about it we shouldnt need to be relying on the contact to get issues resolved. Simon should have responded to that email if he has any respect for his customers but it seems he doesnt have that respect which doesnt look good for the company, I have never been a fan of the top brass at NTL and feel they should be changed they are too short term profit orientated and dont think about the long term and quality of the service.

I remember when I sent an email and phone message to the managing director of my region, on that occasion I did get a reply (of assistant) and it was satisfactory, she rang me up via phone and listened to my concerns and responded. Before she rang me I was furious at the time and after I felt appreciated for a while, it is things like this that make all the difference, its a shame Mr Duffy cannot grasp that.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Well i hope it all goes well on Friday, i find NTL v good when it's running as it should.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I am sure Simon getting involved has a lot to do with the "bend over backwards to help you" ;)

I hope it is all sorted for you on Friday :tu:

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

It will be a coincidence. The "Bodged installation" just means that the STB is not recieving a high enough quality signal to be stable, hence you get picture breakup/freezes etc. This has absolutely nothing to do with the RGB SCART (or even RF aerial) output of the box. It *is* possible for the STB to damage the TV, but only where the STB's power supply has failed (and you would know if it had as your STB would no longer work at all)

As someone who is into electronics, I have seen the insides of these cheapo TV's and it's amazing they even work, very cheap/poor quality parts run at too much stress. The "poof" you're describing probably means the primary side of the tube power supply has failed. You could probably get it repaired quite cheaply at any TV shop.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Thanks jaycee.
Went shopping for a new tv the other night.
Amazing how much cheaper "conventional" tv's now are because of the new flat ones.
Bought a Sony 28" Widescreen for £349 !!!
Will look into getting the old one repaired as a spare.
Hehe. A dedicated PS2 TV...hmmmm.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

I am amazed my cheap bush tv I got for £100 still works, 7 years old no signs of tube issues or anything perfect working order.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Bush/Alba/Goodmans stuff is actually made by another manufacturer, usually one of the big ones, and sold under this "budget" brand. Quite often the Bush/Alba TV's were made by Philips or Grundig. It's quite hit and miss what you get when you buy one of these budget brands.

The other brands that the likes of Aldi sell are all cheap Chinese/similar country stuff, that doesnt last 5 minutes.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

And back on topic please........

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

And back on topic indeed...

Oh dear oh dear. NTL are seriously beginning to try what little patience I have left.
As previously said the NTL engineer was booked for between 12 and 6 on Friday.
So I booked the day off work and stayed in all day. All day. Didnt leave the house once. Not once. Even had a catheter fitted to avoid having to visit the loo.
But seriously though nobody turned up...
Called NTL to confirm..."Yes he is definetley going to be with you today"...
Called again at ten to six and was told well he still "might" show up...!!!
Called again at 6:15 and was put on hold. And there I stayed until I had to put the phone down at 7:15 because we were booked to go away fro the weekend.
To say I was frustrated was a slight understatement...
So to recap...I am left with an NTL package that was installed 8 days ago. I have lots of TV channels, but I have to change channels with the buttons on the set top box because the three remote controls I have been supplied with so far have not worked. I have a completely useless cable modem and 1mb line, because apparently the NTL engineer "neglected" to do his job correctly and, to quote the broadband technician that I spoke to, completley "bodged" the whole installation. I have a phone line, but I had that anyway as this whole debacle was just a simple package upgrade.
And there upon the issue lies. Now as of yet I have not signed and returned my contract. And until I have a fully working package I am not going to be sending anything to NTL.
So do I call and tell them to just forget the whole thing and cancel all my NTL services, telephone included...?
A show of hands round the office says yes but what we find most interesting is the absolute incredulation of the whole situation.
Here we have a company who claim to be customer focussed, and for the most part they probably are. But they are being so woefully let down by certain staff who show complete indifference to the customer.
What is also interesting is that during the 1 hour I spent on hold on Friday waiting to speak to "somebody in insatallations" I called on my mobile and pressed the necessary keys to get me through to new business and package changes and my call was answered immedietley...!!!
A show of hands then guys...do I stay or do I go...?
PT.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Oh dear indeed - Very sorry to see this issue still unresolved. I have passed this on to our contact at ntl.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

An update...
Spoke to a very nice young lady this morning who I spoke to last week. She was very apologetic and did seem very suprised that I am still waiting...
Anyway she is going to call me back when she gets to the office. (She was in the car).
However, I have just had a call from the director of fault management at NTL apologising for the "atrocious" service I have recieved...!!!
He assures me that this issue is recieving attention and that his PA is on my case.
Will my faith be restored...?
Will I be able to remove my catheter...? Hehehe.
Will keep you all posted...

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Hehe.
Fully up, running and sorted.
As promised.
The chief installation guy was waiting outside for me to get home from work. Closely followed by another highly experienced technician. They sorted both the cable TV and the broadband.
Even had a follow up call from NTL's director of fault management to make sure I was happy with the service...!!!
And have just had a call from the chief installation guy mentioned above also checking I am happy.
Have to say NTL have pulled out all the stops and have really done me proud.
The service I have recieved was excellent. NTL certainly are trying to shake off the image that they have had, and I am more than happy.
Thanks very much to NTL, in particular David, Claire and Ken; and of course to you guys here on the forum for your support.
PT.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

This is good news - glad it all sorted for you takisawa. :)

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

Really pleased it is all sorted for you I hope you enjoy it :D

Re: NTL...Should have known better
 

Glad CF was able to help - and as an added bonus I've altered the name of this thread so it now makes sense ;) :D

Re: NTL...Should have known better
 

Either way, it sounds right Russ.... :confused:

Re: NTL...Should have known better
 

Temporarily dragging this way off-topic, I didn't say anything about how it sounds ;)

"...should of..." is incorrect and does not make sense:

"...should have.." is correct :)

</pedantic mode>

Re: NTL...Should have known better
 

takisawa.. Well done. Hope you are happy.

Re: NTL...Should of known better
 

If only they had taken half as much effort to sort out my problem, maybe I would still have NTL Digital.