I just had an idea and it seems to be working ....
If i go to
www.speedtest.net i seem to get a semi-reasonable speed, so i thought lets completely bypass ntl proxies...
opened my vpn connection to work and am using their proxies - woot i can browse without cringing on a cringe-per-click basis.
btw, i spoke to customer services and told them i wasnt happy to pay 34.99; half price for 3 months ''with the hope that it improves by then'' was their reply.