NTL Customer Services: Your personal experience

Originally Posted by Wolf

My call had nothing to do with his call. He phoned and got through again but this time to a scottish lady who in under a minute upgraded his connection. I get some guy in india who hasn't a clue what the hell i'm on about nor does he know what to do. ALL ANGER DIRECTED TO NTL AT THIS MOMENT!

Did you ring CS or Tech support? This

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...&postcount=874

seems to be the correct number to get upgraded.

[duncan]

I think NTL CS has dramatically improved. A couple of years ago I used to have quite a lot of power related problems - waiting for the call to be answered used to be from 20 minutes to a hour or so - only to be cut off again! Now the phone is answered very quickly in comparison. But they've still a way to go yet.........

A few days ago I upgraded from 1.5Mb to 3Mb yet my download speeds only increased from 1.5 to about 1.8Mb. I called CS toll free, they answered within a few seconds and I spent over an hour on the phone with them. (very tedious as I had already checked everything they suggested, but I understand that many users may not know how to fault find) They originally insisted that the speeds were normal but after contacting the supervisor (and at my insistance) they agreed to send an engineer out with a replacement modem.

They engineer arrived within the expected time period and tested signal levels etc. He was initially saying that my downloads were as to be expected, saying that 1.8Mbit/sec (about 220Kbyte/sec) was normal for the 3Mb service, but after listening to my problem in detail he finally agreed to swop out my old modem for a new one.

Presto - problem solved - downloads now up to around 3Mb (about 350kbyte/sec) in all cases. So much for 1.8 being normal.

So although the phone was answered promptly and the engineer came on time (which is a great front line change) I had to push to get an engieer at all and also push the engineer to swop out the modem, which I had already determined by elimination was the cause of the problem.

I was fobbed off at all levels saying that my download speeds were normal. The only saving grace was that I had tried my next door's modem which worked faster even though it was config'd for 2Mb.

For info: my original modem was a SB3100 and it would for some reason would clip at around 1.8Mb. The new one, an NTL250, works a treat.

Duncan

[tootles 43]

Almost 10 days ago NTL disconnected our phone, I had to borrow a mobile to contact them and was told that although it was a mistake by NTL they could not re-connect us for 10 working days. My husband has a condition which means that he can pass out at any time, and its a 10 minute walk to the nearest phone box, to call for help, by which time he could be dead, did this make any difference NO!!! Last Tuesday I phoned again, and got a very nice Chap called Charles who spoke to his supervisor and told me the phone would be re-connected within 48 hours, in fact the engineer from NTL turmed up the next day connected the phone and went away. Chalres phoned me on Wednesday night and I confirmed the phone was ok. Thursday morning, it was dead. AGAIN a further phone call, Monday at the earliest.... by this time I was incandescent with rage. I pay my bill by direct debit and have done ever since we signed with NTL, I also have broadband through them, I do not owe them a penny and they treat me like dirt, they have sdmitted that it was their fault we were cut off, but cannot do anything to help us, we just have to sit and wait, At the earliest opportunity I will be switching to BT!!!! thats after I have wrung some form of compensation from them.

There has been a discussion om another board which recives approx 3 million hits a week, the response from them has been that NTL are a shower, even their own engineers have trouble getting through to them.......

I am powerless to do anything about this until NTL condecend to re-connect me, but I will be reporting the matter to oftel and if neecessary the ombudsman as well.

I have written to NTL Customer Services, but as expected have not recieved the courtesy of a reply, why did I think I would get one......they obviously do not care about their customers, just the cash they rake in from their services.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by tootles 43

<Snip>

Please don't cross post, you have already created a thread on this here: http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=27015

[Rik]

Ive called NTL CS twice, and on both occasions ive been dealt with quickly and professionally.

CS are very polite and helpful.

Am I in the minority, a satisified customer?

I think not.

Keep up good work folks!!

[paulyoung666]

i also have had very little to complain about and the speed of getting through to them lately has been very good

[freehair]

Hi just been back from the cold...... and usualy I am not a post freek but I must say in the last year I have had very bad experience with some individuals (call center operator type!!!) but in general the technical department is efficent.
And they should be with us: we pay for the full package -phone-broad band- 2 STB (one for the boss and the other for the animals)

So is this clear?

see ya
Oine

[tootles 43]

I am no longer with NTL, I have votred with my feet. Having been told someone would be with us Monday morning, when they did not turn up I phoned to be told that the call had been booked for Wednesday.

I contacted BT and my phone was connected as they said at 7am yesterday morning. I have purchased a mobile phone ' just in case'.

I am appalled that NTL can leave someone without a phone for 3 weeks, apart from one person the call centre operators have been singularly unhlepful and downright rude.

[Womble]

Thought this joke might lighten the mood.........

A LESSON FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WHO WORK WITH RUDE CUSTOMERS!!!


Indeed, an award should go to the Virgin Airlines gate attendant in Sydney some months ago for being customer focused, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo.





A crowded Virgin flight was cancelled after Virgin's 767s had been withdrawn from service. A single attendant was re-booking a Long line of inconvenienced travellers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, I HAVE to be on this flight and it HAS to be NOW". The attendant replied, "I'm sorry sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these people first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?" Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone:


May I have your attention please, may I have your attention please," she began - her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. We have a passenger here at Gate14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Gate 14."

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the Virgin attendant, gritted his teeth and said, "F... You!"
Without flinching, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to get in line for that too."

[dilli-theclaw]

Once again I had a brilliant experience with ntl customer services, although they were unable to answer one of my questions.

Every time I call I am answered by a polite - friendly person who trys to help.

[NitroNutter]

Im not going to vote on this because Im no longer a customer and I dont think the poll is very just as theres several dept's of customer services, but heres the basis of my story with cable.

I started with switching from BT to my local cable provider Comtel. The install went very well and during the time Comtel was in control before NTL took over I never had to call CS any dept.
My first stint with NTL CS was concerning the free dial up when it was introduced, I had to speak to a supervisor but I got what was requested and that was untill my ntlworld dial up cd dropped through my door I would recieve complete rebate of isp calling. Result of course satisfactory.

My next Stint was with the new cable modem service which I recieved a faulty Surfboard modem that took over 6 weeks to replace. While my calls to CS were in themselves satisfactory it took this long to get a remedey because the left didnt know the right and no one knew the correct procedure to get a replacement modem.

Another stint of a major CM outage took about 4 weeks to repair and it ended up being a bad component somewhere in the green street box.

Having suffered many other minor outages NTL CM tech support were general very responsive helpful and polite despite some long wait times to get through.

Billing support is where they really fall down, the staff in that dept, are downright rude and offensive, well they were the times I had to call them. However this doesnt surprise me as NTL took so long to update accounts at that time that the staff must have been very infuriated. There were 2 main occasions I had reason to call this dept. Once for a disconection with no grounds and it took a good hour of battling with the operator for him to admit that actually my account was completely up to date and the disconnection was wrong.
Then in the last 8-9 months NTL changed their billing procedure even further imo very much for the worse. As I allready had the forsight that NTL would soon be enforcing a ridiculous cap on the CM service this billing incident and the way they treated me in regards to it was the straw that broke the camels back.

Since then for the last 8-9 months iv been on BT phone with telefonica dsl and I have yet had the need to give any CS a call, which is back to how things were before I moved to Comtel and also during my time with Comtel.
This is how it should be, the need to call a companies CS should be absolutely minimul. In fact NTL is pretty much the only CS iv ever really had to ring with such regularity.

[MDK]

On the occasions that ive had a problem with my service it has genuinely been resolved within 2/3 days ( if thats an acceptable amount of time ).

I think the most frustrating thing is the differing answers you get from the various CS people and the cut offs/redirections you get when you are trying to get something resolved.

My last fault was that i had no dial tone on my phone, the CS fault line said that there was work being done in my area, fine i thought ill leave it a day or so. 2 days later still no phone so phoned CS who then proceeded to tell me there was no problem in my area.....IT MUST BE MY PHONE. They said they would send an engineer round that day. Engineer never even came into my house, just knocked on the door and told me phone should be working now, which it was.

Good product just indifferent CS operatives.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by MDK

Good product just indifferent CS operatives.

That would seem to sum up ntl IMHO.

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Neil

That would seem to sum up ntl IMHO.

No, that's not fair. It's not the CS operatives that are the problem, it's the ill considered targets/process and procedures/lack of authority and training/support they receive from higher management that is the problem.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by orangebird

No, that's not fair.

It's my opinion, & I say it's fair-

Originally Posted by orangebird

It's not the CS operatives that are the problem

Not all of the time anyway.

Originally Posted by orangebird

it's the ill considered targets/process and procedures/lack of authority and training/support they receive from higher management that is the problem.

Agreed.