[aggie]

My off-net account is being closed on Monday, as I've had wireless broadband installed - the only broadband option ever likely to be available in this rural area.

Over the last four years I have, on the whole, been very happy with the service. There have been problems from time to time but, I'm sure, no worse than most ISPs, and at £15 a month, with £15 worth of voice calls included, my internet connection has been effectively free.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I've seldom had occasion to call Customer Services, so can't comment on the quality of the service before the last month or so, since when I've called several times concerning cancelling my account and billing. Each time the call has been answered very quickly, and my questions have been dealt with in a very friendly, helpful and efficient manner. The only exceptions to this have been when I've got through to CS in India, when I've had great difficulty understanding the strong accents, and the information I've been given has been wrong. I began to hang up as soon as I heard an Indian accent and call again, choosing a different menu option. The transfer to India of the Freedom CS is the one thing that would have made me consider cancelling my account with NTL for another dial-up ISP.

I shan't be sorry to stop visiting this site. I joined here when dot com closed, thinking it might be useful, but I've found many of the moderators only interested in slamming NTL. Anyone with a good word for any aspect of the service gets flamed.

Anyway, I just wanted any CS staff who visit these forums to know that some customers are grateful for their help. Maybe you get what you give? Be polite and friendly to them and they'll be more inclined to reply in a similar fashion and make extra effort to sort out your problems. I'm sorry that your job security is in doubt, largely because of the out-sourcing of the services to India, a regrettable trend being adopted by so many UK companies. Thanks to you all for your help and patience, and goodbye.

Anita Gibbs
aka Aggie