Its official today NTL and BT are named and shamed

Everyone should know by now that you cannot carry out a survey and then make a sweeping generalisation from the results of that and say it as though it is fact.

BT on the other hand - don't even get me started on them.

No one I think doubts that obviously some people do have problems, but one does get fed up with negative media attention with BT & NTL on a day when nearly one thousand died in Baghdad and the news that maybe thousands of lives may have been lost as a result of hurricane Katrina's visit to Louisiana.

[iadom]

Perhaps its about time that someone did a survey of the relevance or value of Which reports. As they have possibly less than half of 1% of the population as subscribers ( the people who fill out most of these surveys) they should be judged accordingly.

Many years ago I worked for a major domestic appliance company that was slated in Which reports. A national newspaper ( cannot remember which one now ) ran a story supported by the Which reports, actually named a local person in the Manchester area and described in detail their woes. When the local management investigated it was found to be completely fictitious. Further investigation found that the London edition of this newspaper carried the same story verbatim except for the customer who was now a local of Hackney. The paper did publish a miniscule apology but personally I have always regarded Which reports with a somewhat jaundiced eye. I have always felt that because of the tiny numbers involved in their surveys that an individual within the organisation with an axe to grind could have a field day.

My experience of Ntl CS, tech support and general service is very good.

[jtwn]

Which is just a bunch of moaners anyway, I looked at the Which? Magazine link....not one positive story. Wow, who wants to read all that.

[fudge]

cs its self i have never had any problems with , staff have allways been polite to me and have tried to sort any problem i have had out before sending out an engineer , the problems i have experienced though is the engineers not turning up at the time slot i was given. ( ie. am or pm ,)

[Halcyon]

Although NTL's customor support is far from excellent, I would say that in the last year they have been trying to improove their services to customors.
They are also now open on Sundays too.
The only thing they need to get rid of now is the Indian call centres.

[Hom3r]

I saw some of this report on tv and they only spoke to 850 customers which is very small, they could have pick and bad area?

[Roy MM]

Originally Posted by jtwn

Which is just a bunch of moaners anyway, I looked at the Which? Magazine link....not one positive story. Wow, who wants to read all that.

Which .net is not www.which.co.uk

[cos]

I am amazed at the good feedback NTL are receiving on this thread, am I the only negative.
London customers are suffering on going problems as with Portsmouth the survey its self questioned 50000 people overall of which 1 in ten was satified so the figures don't seem representitive of this site. Having said that though if you look at www.moneysavinexpert.com you will find a different picture, very strange I tell ya very strange in deed, how'ever , don't the Which report only cover the telephones CS ?

[themelon]

I have never had any major problems with ntl.

I have to say I have had some big style problems with BT, which were never resolved but it is possible they might have changed.

Its all very well Which telling us to move providers BUT 95% of other telco providers only provide calls/billing and not the actual lines. It is not exactly rocket science to produce a bill detailing telephone calls (which ntl and bt do very well), it is however much harder to provide and install a line and ensure that all the equipment at street level, exchange level etc etc is kept up to date and working.

Even one-tel, toucan with line rental are BT Wholesale products so BT still provide and fix the line, its an easy life for the likes of one-tel and talk talk who just handle the billing side of things, any faults are passed off to BT if its through a BT line or ntl through an ntl line.

Most people are misguided, probably the main reason they are happy is nothing to do with customer service. Its either their bills are cheaper, or the particular company in question is more leanient on them not paying in time.

How the hell can you be 50% happy with Blahtel, when all they do is provide a bill, without BT/ntl you wouldnt have the damn line in the first place!! Lets let these clowns provide a line and then see how they do in these ratings! It literally will be bean cans and string!!

I also find it highly amusing that One-Tel have any satisfied customers, after my brief but torrid encounter trying to use them on an ntl line (to save money) I recieved Debt collection notices for an ADSL Broadband product which I never requested in my life, I dont want ADSL, It doesnt work on my line, I dont need it but it didnt stop them trying to bill me for it! Only recently has this been resolved after contacting OFCOM

Originally Posted by cos

I am amazed at the good feedback NTL are receiving on this thread, am I the only negative.
London customers are suffering on going problems as with Portsmouth the survey its self questioned 50000 people overall of which 1 in ten was satified so the figures don't seem representitive of this site. Having said that though if you look at www.moneysavinexpert.com you will find a different picture, very strange I tell ya very strange in deed, how'ever , don't the Which report only cover the telephones CS ?

Do you have a link to the report that shows 50000

[garyparson]

Don't even get me started on CS.

India WTF?

All i can hear is but but but ding ding ding. Doesn't help does it.

[gohadz]

Definatly agree that BTs CS is terrible, because them, along with Sky, are just seemingly after the money. However, for me NTLs CS has actually been helpful, which is why we stuck with them and not BT/Sky.

[Horace]

The Which broadband report I have in front of me, from last month, gives the following figures for "very satisfied" customers; figures in brackets are the sample size :

NTL : 19% (1883)
BT : 34% (2839)
AOL : 35% (602)
Wannadoo 37% (1008)
Virgin.net : 44% (301)
Telewest : 53% (1016)
Plusnet : 71% (391)
Freedom 2 Surf : 80% (111)


I've only included a few to give you the general picture.
Most of the top ranked suppliers have tiny sample sizes e.g.. Metronet 91% (64).So far as meaningful samples are concerned Telewest and Plusnet seem to come out as having the most satisfied customers.

I would of thought the comparison between NTL and Telewest was a pretty good guide and NTL should at least be aiming for the customer satisfaction levels that Telewest have attained.

[Roy MM]

Raking over old ground on this topic.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ghlight=report