Installation nightmare - shambolic NTL

[madrob]

That's the only word I can describe for NTL I'm afraid - shambolic!.
Moved house at end of Nov. Signed up for NTL on net about a week before that (phone and free TV package)- got confirmation code etc - NTL will ring you within 48 hours. They didn't. So I rang them and they said the internet sign up had failed as the current owner of the house had NTL and their internet system couldn't cope with it. But they could sign me up now, however now it was a telephone order so I would not qualify for the free Virgin Motorola PAYG phone offered on the net deal. Wasn't happy about it so the guy said it was manchester who deal with it and he would get them to ring me. Installation date was set for 15 Dec between 1 and 6.
After we moved in I rang them again about the mobile and was again told someone from manchester would ring me. They didn't.
Then by chance picked up the phone week before last and there was a dial tone. Strange I thought, so I rang the old number from my mobile, sure enough the phone rang. (NTL said it would be a new number). Rang NTL to let them know it was still connected. 'Don't worry' they said, 'will all be ok on installation day'. Rang them later in the week regarding the installation time and again mentioned the phone line still connected as wasn't convinced by the first person's answer. The girl looked into the account and found that they hadn't cancelled the previous owners line but instead transferred my name onto his account. So, she sorted that out, but don't worry - wont affect installation.
Last friday comes (day of install) rang up in the morning to make sure it was all ok. While I was on, chased this free mobile phone. 'Ooh, not my department, I 'll have to pass you on to a colleague'. 'Hello, not my department, I don't deal with derby, I'll pass you on to my colleague'. 'Hello, you need to ring virgin on.....'. Rang virgin, they said nothing to do with them, and were fed up with NTL getting everyone to ring them. Rang NTL again, 'not virgin, ah, I'll put you through to another dept'.......on hold music....'welcome to Virgin Mobile' said the message then click...brrr - cut off. Rang NTL again, look stop putting me through to Virgin - they say it's nothing to do with them.....'ah well they have two different departments one for NTL offers, I'll put you through'. 'Hello Virgin Mobile, sorry that's an NTL offer, nothing to do with us.'. Rang NTL (Fifth time that day). Can you put me through to a supervisor please. Talked to him and he said he didn't know but would ring me back with an answer by tuesday (gave his name and ext number).
Meanwhile friday afternoon, engineer turned up to install ( I wasn't home). Installed TV but had no order for phone. Wife on hold to NTL for 1 hour. 'Ah yes well we have merged with Telewest you see and Telewest leave the line connected if the line is OK, whereas NTL disconnect and give new customer new number'. Well I want a new number - haven't waited for two weeks for nothing!. 'Well that will be 48 hours.' can you ring me please telling me the new number when it is sorted then please. 'OK then, tuesday at latest'. Haven't heard a thing.
Meanwhile TV is installed but installation says 'card not paired'. ~Installer reckoned it would be on within 4 hours. Left it all weekend occasionally powering off and on. Nothing.
Rang NTL today, can you put me through to XXXXX (the supervisor regarding the mobile), 'do you know what department he is in?' err well no, he's a supervisor his extension is XXX. 'I can't put you through to extensions'. Well why give it then?. 'Well it's a form of identifiaction, I can send him an email to get him to ring you though...'. Ok then, what about my telephone, have rung it earlier an is still connected to old number 'IT were passed it yesterday and have 48 hours'. OK then.
Get home, think I may as well ring the faults line about the TV. 'You may be waiting 10 minutes'.....25 minutes later 'Hi there...blah blah blah...ah yes well if you hold the down button while cycling the power it goes into a special menu' err no it doesnt....'hmm what does it do?' says LD14.'Ooh...can you hold for me' ok,'I'll send some test signals'. 'Anything happen?' No. 'Oh, I'll have to call you out an engineer, friday OK?' No - away for xmas 'well haven't started booking work for new year, you'll have to ring back'. <Resigned sigh>...ok then...bye. Then looked on this forum - press up and down and cycle power for engineer menu - ah!! works. Right then - smart card not paired. Hmm, back on to NTL 'may be waiting 20 minutes'.....35 minutes later 'Hi there...blah blah blah...' right then, can you read me the smart card number'..yeah it's XXXXXXX, 'ah that's not the number we have for you. Can you read the STB number'...yeah it's XXXXXX 'Hmm the two don't match, I'll have to pass it over to our somethingorother team, they'll get back to you within 48 hours..' bye. Right then, I'm going to find out how to make a formal complaint about this. Ring NTL, 'I'm sorry, we are very busy, please try again later' click Brr....cut off!!. Try again..
'I'm sorry, we are very busy, please try again later' click Brr.....
7:30 ring again 'I'm sorry, we are very busy, please try again later' click Brr.....
Wonder if they have been on a course to learn how to incense their 'customers' to murderous levels?.....if not, maybe they should run one. At least I am thinking that if they don't sort it by the end of the week, I'm just going to say 'sod it', cancel it all and they can come and pick their box up if they like (once they have been through my telephone system of course - 'I'll ring you back in 48 hours...oooh sorry that's not my department...etc.etc...etc).I pity you poor people who are tied into contracts this 'company'......
Anybody know how to get through to anyone in NTL who actually gives a toss?
Cheers,

Rob ( who has now spent since 4 pm today trying to sort this out - and that's just today!!!)

[highroyds]

lucky you that its only been 4 hours, we've been trying to sort out our problems for the past 5 weeks lol

[lostandconfused]

with regards to transferring the telephone into your name im pretty sure that they cant do that under the DPA will check tommorow in work though.

with the mobile offer, that is dealt with by virgin mobile, to be honest you would be better off signing up online
http://www.whycable.co.uk/virginmobileoffer/
and follow it up a few days later with a call to virgin to make sure they have recieved the request

[madrob]

with the mobile offer, that is dealt with by virgin mobile, to be honest you would be better off signing up online
http://www.whycable.co.uk/virginmobileoffer/
and follow it up a few days later with a call to virgin to make sure they have recieved the request

Have just looked at that - it's not the same offer. The offer was for a free Pay as You Go Motorola SLVR. The offer finished on 23rd November I think - which was the day we signed up.

[madrob]

Aha - Well, at last (after being in contact with a manager several times) I seem to be getting somewhere. Umpteen more phone calls to NTL this week. the maanger I spoke to last week never rang back. So spoke to another manager, who said he would investigate it all.
When he got back to me yesterday he said the TV should now be on (it wasn't), the phone would take up to 10!!!! days, and he had yet to find out about the virgin thing but was insisting it was virgin I needed to speak to.
So that was the final straw. Got home, checked TV and phone still not working then rang NTL to cancel the whole thing.
Got through to cancellations and the guy did his best to keep me 'well we can give you a discount....it will take ages to get installed with someone else'. I insisted I wanted to leave so he asked if there was anything he could do to keep me....yes I said, get my phone and TV working before the end of today. 'Can't do that, he said (bearing in mind it was 5pm by this time). He then said me cancellation date was 21st Jan. I was not pleased - as I hadn't been officially installed and was certainly not going to pay for anything at all, told him all this. He said fair enough not to pay and was ok to cancel my direct debit. He said he couldn't override the automatic month as he couldn't see all of my account notes as someone else was accessing them but to him it just loooked like NTL had been installed for years (it had through the previous owner) and therefore he could only put the 1 month disconnnection on. He said that a manager was due to ring me within 48 hours though and they would be able to override the 1 month cancellation. If he didn't, then I could ring this guy in cancellations back and he would be able to sort it as he would be able to see all my notes.


Anyway, within 1/2 an hour a woman from NTL rang and asked if I had a problem paying for other people's phone calls?!. I explained all about the problems and she said 'how could she keep me?' being in a generous mood I said if she could get it all working before this manager was due to ring within 48 hours then I would stay. She said needed the smartcard and serial no off my STB .
She said she would ring back later. About 20 mins later she rang back to say that she had put the request in for my number to be changed and it would be changed 'by the same time tomorrow'. eh? I asked I was told it would take up to 10 days.....'ah, that's if you want a number transferring from BT. I still need to sort your TV out, I'll ring you back'. Then another girl rang me and asked for the STB numbers again. The original woman rang back to say it was all sorted,I should start to get channels later in the evening and that they had given me a free package upgrade for 2 months. Sure enough about 1/2 an hour later the box sprang into life.

So after all that, one (very helpful) woman managed to sort out in less than 1 1/2 hours what 2 managers, several customer service agents and I don't know how long on the phone to NTL over a week had failed to do. (Well we'll wait and see if the phone comes on but she is more credible than the others as the dig tv came on when she said it would....)......

[fireman328]

NTL definition of customer care :-
You're a customer, we don't care

[lima]

So after all that, one (very helpful) woman managed to sort out in less than 1 1/2 hours what 2 managers, several customer service agents and I don't know how long on the phone to NTL over a week had failed to do. (Well we'll wait and see if the phone comes on but she is more credible than the others as the dig tv came on when she said it would....)......

Ownership of problem resolution is NTLs biggest failing. They would keep far more customers happy if the person who answered the phone could actually DO something about a problem that didn't fall outside their preset scripts. All they seem to want to do is pass the buck.

Hope it works out else ditch them and get Sky & BT!

L

[banjo]

Originally Posted by lima

Ownership of problem resolution is NTLs biggest failing. They would keep far more customers happy if the person who answered the phone could actually DO something about a problem that didn't fall outside their preset scripts. All they seem to want to do is pass the buck.

Hope it works out else ditch them and get Sky & BT!

L

I have Sky and have been offered up to 16mb for £10.00 per month, this would mean going back to BT, what is your opinion of Sky broad band

[RS100]

Take my advise ntl is a very poor run company, Myself i will be jumping ship soon and joining up the sky and bt again,

Originally Posted by fireman328

NTL definition of customer care :-
You're a customer, we don't care

An even better one on waiting in their call queue, its all a case of mind over matter, they dont mind and you dont matter

[hairy_mick]

its the look of the draw you managed to get someone who knew what to do other's just type card and box numbers in and think that is it when its not.

[Noich]

I have now had two sets of installers and one service engineer trying to remedy my NTL installation. The first installer left nothing working, promising that a 'Service Tech' would return later that day to make everything work. They didn't (nor were they ever summoned). The second set of installers (after spending most of their visit slagging off the first installer) got a phone line working upstairs and scarpered after distracting me into phoning broadband support.

The Service Technician who called yesterday and fixed the phone service (but not the broadband) said that this was a common problem with installers, who leave installations non-functional on a regular basis. Not a great introduction to NTL for new customers.

People ask me why I don't have NTL's television service anymore (I changed to Sky after 10 years of similar treatment). I just don't know what to tell them!