N.T.L - Problmes I've had.... what about you???

Velvet Vocals

Hi,
I have been having an on going problem with N.T.L which I will explain in a moment. But since this started everyone I talk to seems to have had similar issues and so many people have tales of woe to tell about them, from simple "The girl on the phone was so rude" to "They drilled holes in my wall and are not fixing them"
I would like to tell you all my tale of woe and encourage you to post up your stories to. I'm currently taking my case a little further and I would like to be able to refer to this and say "Look, I'm not the only one" so help me out.......


OK, so my boyfriend and I moved into a new apartment in June. The cable was in someone else's name so I called N.T.L and told them that we had moved in and got the account set up in to my name. For this they charged me €40. (fine, they have the right to do that)
Then we decided that we wanted to go to Digital, so I phone up the sales line and they are oh so nice and sweet and hook me in and I'm sold. So I'm trying to get an appointment to get someone to install the digital and they only have a week day appointment.I'm told that to get a Saturday appointment I have to call early in the week, so I wait till the following Monday and call and I'm told if I'd phoned earlier they would have had an appointment but now they are all gone. Same thing happens the following week and at this stage I'm getting mad, I don't mind waiting I just want to actually have an appointment, but they keep saying that they can't take advance appointments. During this time I have phoned and spoken to several people, almost all of whom were rude and unhelpful. So I loose it and speak to a supervisor and he makes an advance appointment for a Saturday 3 weeks. Which I'm glad about but a little confused. How is it that he was able to do this and no one else could. But I think to my self, look they are coming out now - say nothing.

So the much awaited Saturday arrives and the two N.T.L engineers arrive and they trundle through the apartment block and drink plenty of tea and chat away and are very nice. I'm thinking this is great now, they'll be gone and we can watch some movies tonight etc. As they are leaving they show us the remote control and how to use it and the only channel that has come through is TV3, when questioned they say that this is normal and that all other channels will come through within an hour and off they go. An hour goes by..... two hours... nothing coming through. Some standard channels like BBC and UTV come through but they are jumpy and un-watchable. We check the connection settings using the remote and it says connection status - none. The only number that I had for N.T.L was they free phone number which of course you can't call from mobiles and not having a land line I had to wait till Monday to call about this. It was on Sunday that I noticed that the new wall socket connection which is supposed to be connected to the wall (funnily enough) had actually be "Drilled" into the floor behind the TV, they actually drilled holes in the floor boards!!! We decide to just use our analogue connection for the moment but it's so bad we can't watch anything on it either.

Steaming mad I call and again had to fight my way through the rude customer service agents and the nice but not so helpful team leader and eventually the say that someone will come out and fix it.( I was able to arrange to get someone to come out to me on a Saturday only by complaining like made and having the call escalated to a supervisor)

Continued below.......

Velvet Vocals

So another engineer comes out, he unscrews the wall socket from the floor and reveals two ugly great holes in the floor board and a very bad connection job. Apparently the cable running through our apartment building isn't compatible with Digital, it's too old. So the two engineers decided to join the correct cable on to this cable and hook me up that way - the reason that the box was on the floor was to hide what they had done. When I asked if this was dangerous he said "what do you think"
So he fixed up the cable and put the wall socket on the wall, but it's not the right wall socket it's too big and doesn't fit right (this was something I said on the phone and requested the right one) but he didn't have the right type with him.

So I phone N.T.L again and advise them of what has gone on and tell them that I need a new wall socket and I need the set top box taken away, at this stage I'm dealing with a person in the Escalations Department and he is very nice and very helpful (he has to be) but he isn't getting anything done. Several appointments are made but none are kept and I'm starting to loose my cool. Then I get a credit note for the installation fee and work out teams that amount to me getting 2 months free from the time that the issue is resolved. So thinking that it would be resolved fairly soon, I'm OK with this.

So another engineer call's out a month ago, not to fix the floor and the wall and to collect the set top box like I thought but to "assess the damage" Which he does and he takes photos and tells me I have a case "which I know" he says that he will call me the following Tuesday and arrange for someone to call out and fix everything for me. Tuesday comes and goes, no phone call. So I phone the person I had been dealing with in the escalations department (the nice one - remember) only to find that he has gone on holidays. OK, he'll have told someone about my case, he'll have advised someone to call me....... you'd think so wouldn't you!!!
So I have to start all over again and the person that I get is rude, obnoxious, he doesn't give one dam about me! When I start to explain my problem to him he seems to take it personally and starts a fight with me. At this point I'm angry and I request my journal notes from him, advising him that I'm thinking of legal action. He refuses to send them out to me. I had to hang up and get on to the legal department and request them (they are on the way via swift post as of yesterday) He then calls me back and says that he has someone calling out to me on Tuesday at 6.30 and then gets annoyed with me when I say I'm not going to be available on Tuesday and could he make it for Saturday. So he has no made the appointment for this Saturday coming, an engineer is due to call out to me at 2pm. I thought to my self this morning, I'd better phone and make sure that this guy calling out known's what he has to do, so I phone "Mr. Helpful" as he is my only contact. I ask him who the person is and what time they'll be calling out and in fairness he knows, but when I ask him what he'll be doing when he calls out he says "fixing the floor board" so I say "and??" he says "what else do you want him to do" I say that there are two other requests in and that they should be in the journal notes, he asks me to just tell him what they are and I begin, first saying that I want the set top box collected, "Why" he says and when I start to explain that the digital didn't work, he actually starts to fight with me over it, I said the reception had been choppy and he said that was "Trained in digital TV" and the reception is either perfect or not there at all and he's pretty much accusing me of making it up. At this point all my frustrations just reached a peek, when I say that I was close to tears I'm not exaggerating I asked to speak to his supervisor, she's out sick, anyone else and he wouldn't put me through to anyone. I've never dealt with anyone as rude in my life!!

I did phone the legal department and got to speak to someone and told her the story and it's in hand at the moment..... but I have to say if you have any other option DON'T USE N.L.T!!!!!!!


Please post up your bad experiences about N.T.L if anything it'll make you feel better to vent your anger. I'm in the middle or writing a letter the Managing Director his name is Graham Sutherland and the address is P2 Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin 2. I urge you to do the same!

Thank you for you time!!

mike65

Hi Saint

Welcome to the hell that is NTL! Rather than re tread my steps
when getting the go digital package I'll just direct you
to this thread which shares some of the same attitudes and problems on the part of NTL staff and systems...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33277

Happy reading!

Mike.

Velvet Vocals

thanks for that Mike. So the saga continues.... they were due out to fix everything on Saturday at 2 pm. Someone showed up at 5.30 but the poor guy didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do and ended up doing nothing! I've pretty much reached the end of my rope now.... I don't know what I should do.......Apart from SCREAM..........AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

BrianD

Yep, I've had the same fustrating experience with NTL customer "care". I my case they disconnected me without reason - I pay by DD so it wasn't for falling behind with payments. It's possible they disconnected one of my neighbours that share the same 4 way junction box. It took two weeks of being hold to rectify the problem plus I had to wait in for half a day . Looking back on it, I should have simply disconnected one of my neighbours thereby passing the problem on (one of the 4 connections on the junction box had an NTL cap on it meaning only 3 of the connections could be used)

I did find out that mentioning the word COMREG will bring about a near instantaneous response. The technicians are not employed by NTL and are not available to be contacted by mobile phones. NTL have no idea where their field technicians are hence the 5 hour appointment "windows".

You have been appalingly treated by NTL and the damage to your floorboards could lead to the non-return of your deposit if your apt is rented. I would ask for full a full repair of the floor and the cable service that you ordered. If you feel like going legal why not pursue them in the small claims court.

BobHope

Below is a letter I wrote to NTL, ComReg and Director of Consumer Affairs

Dear Sir/Madame,

I contacted NTL at end of May to get my analogue system upgraded to the Digital service. An installation date of the 7th of June 2003 was arranged. The technician called and installed the unit successfully. That evening we left to visit friends and on return the digital box was not operational. I contacted NTL on the Sunday and was informed that they would have to call to service the unit. We arranged a call for the next available time, Thursday the 12th of June 2003.

On the Thursday, I took time off work in order to receive the NTL service call. By 5:30 PM there had been no visit or telephone call so I contacted NTL. I was informed that someone was indeed going to call. Come 8:00 PM I had yet to hear from the technician so I again contacted NTL. At this point I was told that I would have to re-arrange a visit. In the mean time during the week I contacted PACE, the makers of the unit, and described the problem to them. I was informed that the unit would need full replacement. So when re-arranging my next appointment I informed the NTL phone operator that the unit would need replacement. A priority service call was arranged for Monday the 16th of June 2003.

On Monday the 16th of June 2003, I again took time off work to receive my priority call. Again at 5:30 PM there was no sign of a service man so I rang NTL. I was told that although I was on the priority list nobody was assigned the job. Another priority call was arranged for the next day.

On Tuesday the 17th, after taking time off for the third day I waited for the service call. By 5:30 PM nobody had turned up. After ringing NTL I was assured on the phone that someone would call. At 8:00 PM on another call to NTL I was told that a call was now unlikely and I would have to re-arrange. As I could not take off anymore time from work so the next call was arranged for Saturday the 28th of June 2003.

On Saturday the 28th of June, a service man called. I had previously informed an operator that the unit would need replacement. The service man looked at the unit and decided the same. The problem was that he had not brought a replacement box. Another call was arranged for Monday the 30th of June 2003.

On Monday the 30th of June 2003, I took time off work and waited for the service man. He came with a new unit and installed it. Following the setup we had three Digital channels, RTE 1, TV3 and NASN. The service man informed me that the rest of the channels would appear in 5 min, at worst an hour and then he left. After about an hour and a half no more channels had appeared. I rang NTL and explained the situation. They informed me that the service man had installed the wrong box (The service man told me during the installation that he had to install a different box than originally intended but that it would work fine). The issue was that the box now installed was not registered correctly. After reciting the unit's serial numbers to the phone operator I was told that the unit could only be registered in the morning as the relevant department was closed. I was also offered free movies and sport for a month for my troubles, which I accepted with thanks although I do not feel it exonerated the service I had received up to this point and beyond.

On Tuesday the 1st of July 2003, I returned home from work expecting a fully functioning digital service. This was not the case as I still had only three channels. After waiting for what appears to be mandatory twenty-five minutes on hold I was initially told that I would need a service call. After explaining the situation to the operator I was then told that the unit registration would be done the next day and that I would receive a call from a supervisor explaining what had happened.

The same situation repeated itself on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of July. On each day I was assured that the service would be fixed the following day. I was also promised numerous phone-calls that would explain the situation, yet I received none. The new week was no different. Monday and Tuesday I still had no channels and each day was promised it would be fixed on the next.

I was not in the apartment from Wednesday the 9th to Sunday the 13th but sometime within this period the issue was resolved. At best it was fixed on the 9th of July, over a month after the system was originally installed and a month and a half since it was ordered and paid for.

Because of the service I received from NTL I had to
- Take time off work on four different occasions (Without receiving a service call on three occasions)
- Spend two Saturday afternoons waiting for service men
- Call NTL approximately 20 times which comes up to about 10 hours on the phone
And the monetary cost? This month of anguish cost me 65 Euro for the installation and another 18 Euro for the month's rental. I can assume that I will not have to pay for either. I really wanted to sign up for NTL's broadband offering but I fear that it would be a form of sadomasochism.

Below are some points that I think NTL should take
- Do not commit to making calls when they cannot be kept. At worst contact the subscriber at the earliest point to say that the call will not happen.
- The subscriber should not have to explain the case history to every operator he or she encounters. Reference numbers should be issued and case histories should be read and maintained by both service people and phone operators.
- Waiting on average twenty-five minutes to speak to an operator is not acceptable.
- If a subscriber is promised a phone call, it should happen.

I await an explanation on how I received such an appalling level of service and how you intend on preventing it happening again. I believe competition against Sky Television is good and necessary but I do not believe NTL are providing it.

Yours Sincerely....

spockety

I almost had to go and have therapy after my problems with NTL's cable modem, and their customer service. If I start to recount the sorry tale, I'll probably start crying, which isn't good cos I work in an open plan office.

Let's just say it took 6 months to sort out, and this is with me in personal contact with the head of their digital department in Ireland.

I feel tears welling up already, I have to stop..

BobHope

After my letter (above) ComReg contacted NTL and told them to deal with the issues I had. NTL then contacted me and offered their apologies and said they were putting things in place to improve their "customer support"....

They also said that they would return the installation fee and give me Movies and Sports for free for a month.

After about another month I got a bill for the Movies & Sports and the installation fee had not been removed. So back on the phone to NTL. I dealt with someone in the complaints dept. who I don't envy but they still could be a bit nicer. Again I had to explain the complete history after, which I was questioned on who had given me the free month. I was now a common thief....After a few days the person from the complaints must have found the letter they sent me and informed me that the money would be credited back. This took another month to filter through the system...

I don't know if NTL have a licence for a particular period of time but ComReg should really consider re-issuing it to this organisation in the future if this is the case.

Velvet Vocals

Hey Bob, thanks for that... it sounds terrible!!! I sent my letter today to the managing director of N.T.L. I sent copies to Comreg and various media groups too. So I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

BobHope

Fairly terrible alright....Post any replies you get...

Velvet Vocals

Ok so I get this back from Mr. Sutherland on 13/10/2003....


Valerie

Thanks for the mail and please accept my sincere apologies for the obvious
frustration that you have experienced. I will look into this matter
immediately and commit to giving you a formal update by close of play
tomorrow.

Kind regards - Graham



Close of play..... who says that!
Anyway, his idea of close of play must be different to mine because I didn't get a responce until this morning, which he might call "Start of play" he said.....

Valerie

I have received an initial report on this issue and will have a senior
member of our Field services team call to resolve this matter to your
satisfaction. Apologies, once again, for the frustration and inconvenience
caused.

Kind regards - Graham



So apart from using buzz words/phrases I can't really fault him.... he's trying:rolleyes:

Mr. Fancypants

Nasty.

Im betting that they they put a splitter on your cable connection somewhere along the line and thats why you cant get Digital. Same thing happened to me and i went down to the Apartment Car Park with the technician and pointed out the splitter and told him to take it off and i have had perfect signal ever since.

gerryo

Re: Saint Something's report on problems with NTL.

Is there really such a division of NTL as the "Escalations Department"?

If so,I really need to speak to someone there as I am fed up getting nowhere with the usual drones who can't seen to resolve anything.,

Gerryo

gerryo

Re: Saint Something's report on problems with NTL.

Is there really such a division of NTL as the "Escalations Department"?

If so,I really need to speak to someone there as I am fed up getting nowhere with the usual drones who can't seen to resolve anything.,

Gerryo

spongebob

If you have a name in there such as John Smithxy they always have an email address like john.smithxy@ntl.com, they normally do not accpt email picture attachments at their mail gateway.

Upload a jpg picture from a digital camera to your webspace somewhere and link the picture such as

http://homepages.eircom.net/~username/ntlballsupmyfloor.jpg into every email you send.

Then they can see the problem and ensure they send the correct kit out.

It is also proof you clearly told them what to do and when, handy in the small claims court or if you want to mail Comreg ( info@comreg.ie ) at the same time.

If the mail bounces then the person gave you a false name, it has been known to happen, if so escalate straight away, the ones who are competent will give ther right names.

M

Johnny_Fontane

This is what I sent to comreg today-

I am having unsolveable problems with NTL. My Sky sports (premium service) was cut off on October 9 after three months of trying to sort out why I was overcharged in my July Bill. Three months later, on Friday 10th October, I was finally told that I was being charged for my internet usage at weekends (Free for me up to July 2003 with ntl’s telephone/internet/cable deal) If they had told me in July/August/September that I was being charged for this, I would not have continued to use the service as much at the weekends. I tried so hard to find out what the problem with the July bill was. I was told approx three months afterwards after much persistance. NTL are telling me now that I signed a contract for indirect telephony service in august 2002 (when I moved house) but not for the internet deal. They recently sent me the contract by fax but it is totally unreadable. Although I apparently didn’t sign up for the deal, I was still getting free internet at weekends from August 2002 until July 2003. The main reason I went with NTL was for this deal.

The internet usage amounts to nearly €200. NTL refuse to entertain my query. The Billing manager told me not to speak to his staff again. The Credit Management team tell me to talk to the billing team to solve the problem. I feel there is nowhere else to go with this. I have tried for three months to solve a problem NTL created. When I finally get an answer, I’ve already been cut off. I will also have to pay a €25 reconnection fee for sky sports. My cable will be disconnected on 28th October.

mrblack

Hmmm, I have been a customer of theirs since Jan 2000. I have had analogue TV, then digital TV, then their indirect internet service and now I have their cable modem service. Apart from a problem with their recent bill where they overcharged me by E25 I have not really had any significant problems. On each occassion the subcontractor/technician called approximately on time and done the work well. I think I have been lucky with the quality of the technicians that I had as bad subcontractors seem to cause a lot of NTL's problems. I do not often have to call NTL's customer service but when I did last week I was on hold for only 3-5 minutes. So to balance up the argument a bit I would have to state that I am pretty happy with the service from NTL so far.
This may make you all feel worse though- sorry!

BrianD

BTW, has anybody ever got through to NTL using their Customer Service e-mail address?? I was getting "message delayed" notifications for days after I sent a mail. Not sure if it ever got through as I never got a response or acknowledgement.

mike65

I never get through using the stated e-mail addy - I always got it back with "could'nt deliver" mesage form server....

Mike.

Johnny_Fontane

I managed to sort out my problem through my solicitor.

I spoke to the lady who sorted out my billing problem and she said that the best way to sort out a problem is to write a letter.

Anyways I'm happy.

Velvet Vocals

So it's all over now.... I ended up getting 6 months free analogue from them.....(they can't fix the digital connection) They haven't fixed the floor boards but that's up to my landlord to sort out now.
It's just sad that we have to go to these lengths to get any kind of customer service from an established company like NTL.

Gerryro - they do have an escalations department - its in their head office in Eastpoint and the number is 01 2458000

Good Luck!:D