12hours? Pffft
 

I've been waiting since Friday September 30th!
A 're-pull' crew "fixed" a problem with my cable and managed to screw my phone line.
First appointment for someone to come and fix it was this morning ("between 08:00 and 13:00, and we'll charge £20.00 if you're not there!"). He hasn't shown up and the next appointment won't be until NEXT Saturday.

I shouldn't be surprised; the cable problem has been ongoing since February (although ntl only admit to having it recorded since June) and during that time I've already taken 5 days off work to be here for ntl engineers who haven't shown up, or have come at the wrong time (even after a text confirmation of it).

The week previous to screwing my phone up, they screwed my cable up (which is why they were here in the first place when they screwed the phone up).

I called them Tuesday 26th Sept to complain about that and, after an hour holding on, one of their twits promised to call me back "to save you holding on any longer". He didn't. I called them back the next evening and held on for a total of TWO hours even though I was cut-off by another twit after the first hour. That week I spent a total of FIVE hours holding on for this useless company!

I asked for compensation, bearing in mind I haven't had the proper cable service I've been paying for since February, the five days I've had to take off to accomodate their repair people, and only the five hours I've wasted on the phone to them that I've already mentioned. They offered me GBP 19.50.

My advice to anyone looking for a cable company?
DO NOT GET NTL!!!!

When it all goes wrong it will cost you a small fortune!

I'm looking for someone else. Screw ntl!


[Edit: I've also sent e-mails complaining that I don't have a phone line.
They replied saying I should phone them about it.]

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Update.

A technician did call yesterday, an hour and a half late.

Apparently it was "£10.00" I was told I would have to pay if I was not present for his appointment between 08:00 and 13:00 hours and "No!" he will not be paying me a similar amount for not being present himself between these times.

He re-connected my phone but informed me that the RG11 cable (the installation of which, replacing my existing RG6 cable, had given rise to this latest issue in the first place) had not been. What three re-pull crews had actually done was to insert a second RG6 cable, alongside the existing one and that is apparently the reason that the original problem still persists.

I now have to report this via ntl's dreadful and frustrating "C-u-s-t-o-m-e-r S-e-r-v-i-c-e" telephone system to get the RG11 cable correctly installed as it should have been a month ago and thus, I find I'm back to where I started six months ago, square one.

At least they've made it a free-phone line now (possibly recognising the amount of money their customers are wasting while they try to achieve even the most basic level of "s-e-r-v-i-c-e", but that still doesn't compensate me for hours of the blasted taped messages I now have to endure all over again!

[edit: The technician was actually very jolly and helpful. Until recently so were the phone staff. Why doesn't the person who trains them also train the management, whom I blame for all the service problems through not providing ntl staff with adequate facilities and tools to do their jobs well?]

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

If you're paying for calling them send them a stern (but as polite as possible) letter with a copy of your phone bill, and all the charges regarding this matter highlighted.

I would also be pushing for mucho compensation regarding the "if you're not in" business - talk about a smack in the teeth.

I wouldn't bother phoning any more complaints - send it recorded delivery, put in a reasonable timescale for their reply and say that if you don't get it within that time you'll be escalating the complaint.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Thx for the advice but I don't believe the people that the problem would be escalated to give a rats... about it either.
I have my own ideas to get it sorted.
This may not get me my money, and wasted time, back but will at least provide me with a small amount of entertainment and cost ntl some of their money.
Eye for an eye.
These people will only sit up and do anything when something's irritating them.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

For the 3rd time since my last post I tuned in to Sky1 to see the legend, "You are not subscribed to this channel".
Same on most other channels including ITV1, Channel 4, and Channel 5.
After spending yet another hour tonight holding on for 'faults' to send a signal which would 'cure the problem in a couple of hour' (after faults have gone home), I gave up.
Disregarding the problems I have with the phone and broadband services, I decided not to argue with the message any longer and unsubscribed for real. At least in 30 days this message will be correct.

There's a technician due this week to "once and for all" sort out the broadband/cable issue. I have no faith left and, once he's announced that he needs to call someone else out, I shall cancel the broadband and phone part of the contract too.

If anyone's reading this thinking of going ntl, please factor into your calculations the endless hours of hanging on to their fault lines and waiting for technicians to visit that you will need to set aside once a fault develops nowadays.

I used to defend ntl to critics trying to warn me of what I'm telling you now.
No more.

Good luck!

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

hmm, an appalling history of problems. If you want us to escalate this issue into the higher echelons of ntl, we can do this for you.

Please PM me some details - account number, name and address, together with a daytime phone number. If you can also give some more specific information on dates that you have had contact with ntl, or expected someone to call, please do so. We'll forward all this, and see what our contact can do for you.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Let us know how you get on, I was considering switching, but I think stuff like that only happens to people like me (and you!) :confused:

Good luck and i think you've been very patient until now, I'd have stopped the direct debit - i bet that would get a reaction.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

At least you got £19.50 compensation....I only got a tenner when they left me without services for 2 weeks.

I told the helpdesk person what to do with it.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Rob_C - Many thx for your offer but my last vestige of patience has departed. I really feel as if someone at ntl has been having a laugh at my expense with the tribulations I've been through and the money / time they've cost me. Even if something's done about it now, I know that I'll still have to keep going through the same torrid waiting around to fix any other problems that may crop up because ntl management don't give a rats' about their clients (or something would have been done already - see rest of forum).
Unless we do something about it, nothing will change. I'm doing something about it.
I have a technician due Saturday (to "fix" the ongoing cable issue) and really I'm just going through the motions to see if I laugh when he says that he needs to call someone else out once he's here. After that I can put an end to it and cancel the phone and cable parts of the contract too.

superbiatch - I'd like to, but unfortunately that would put me in the wrong, and I would end up having to pay them compensation.

brettbuckley - I did not get £19.50 compensation. I refused it. Had I accepted it, I would not be able to make any further claim later. Frankly, I figure they owe me at least £1000.00 in time off work and time spent sitting around holding on the phone for them. That doesn't take into consideration the loss of services, which they are still happily billing me for. 2%? No.

I don't blame the help-desk people. I believe most do as well as they possibly can but ntl, as a company, needs to invest more in resources and sort their procedures out. They've cut the slices too thin. We customers can hear ntl staff morale and expectation is as low as our own when we ask for help. Even they know their customer service isn't up to scratch but there's nothing they can do about it.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Lo, and behold.
Despite my spending all this time hanging on the phone and explaining the problem to ntl again (that all they needed to do was to arrange a re-pull crew to install an RG11 cable instead of the two RG6 cables they've left me with), they sent a technician who (I already know) is nothing to do with it.

After explaining the situation and history to him, he sounded very confident it would be fixed so (for entertainment, if nothing else), I'll carry on a bit longer. I've not yet cancelled the cable/phone contract as the technician was another nice guy and promised they'd over-ride ntl's procedures and get a re-pull crew out next week and definitely sort it all out.

Apart from that, I'd like to see this through just to find out if that really was the problem. I'm keeping records of this to pass on to everyone who asks me to recommend an ISP in future (satisfyingly for me, that's a rather large number. LOL).

The word 'imbecile' is oft' heard these days but I feel ntl have made, and are making, a concerted effort to claim outright ownership.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

UPDATE

*Sigh* I'm almost speechless.

Recently (see my post on 25th October), I cancelled the t.v. part of my agreement with ntl because they were happily accepting payments from me for a t.v. package which, more often than not, they weren't actually providing me with.

They asked to collect the set-top box and wanted to arrange a time that a representative could call to complete the transaction. However, after I had explained how much time I had already donated to the ntl cause on the phone, or in days away from my office waiting on various ntl representatives, I was told that they would not need to collect the set top box after all.

Instead they would simply change the subscription requirement from their end, which effectively (apparently) turns the set-top box into a free-view box and it lives happily ever after.

Today I get home to find a note from a collection agency, on behalf of ntl. They've been trying to contact me to arrange to collect my set-top box.

Am I in a dreamworld, or an alternate universe?


I hope this thread is read by as many people (considering ntl) as possible, and that it has a heavy influence on their decision.

[edit: Turned the cable on earlier to see the same "You are not subscribed" legend again. Not that I care any more; It's just more entertaining than their t.v. is.]

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Guess what.
It didn't happen.
Wasted another day.

Anyone still wanna sign up with ntl?
LOL

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Called ntl faults to report the previous post.
Helpful as ever:-
Passed from pillar to post for 45 minutes, then told to ring another number.
Called that to find they'd gone home an hour earlier.
Tried to call faults back only to find they'd gone home in the interim.
Do they shut the monkeys in as early as ntl do at other zoos?

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Calling ntl empoyees monkeys on here isn't too likely to get you any additional help.

Re: 12hours? Pffft
 

Indeed