NTL service - crap?

trotter_inc

Not sure if this should be in the TV section but here goes....

I rang ntl over a week and a half ago about getting ntl installed in my house - the earliest day they could fit me in was yesterday so I said I'd take it. The women on the phone said they would call between 1pm and 5pm - fine.

I got a call on Friday to confirm that I'd be there between 1pm and 5pm - I told them I would.

Yesterday morning at 9am I got a call from the engineer saying he was outside my house to do the installation - I told him I was told it was between 1 and 5 - he said ok and that he's call back at 1:30 - fine.

I took a half day off work to go out to meet him at 1:30... 5:00 came and still no sign of him so I rang ntl... I spent OVER 50 minutes on the phone to them trying to find out if he was going to call out or not.

Turns outs.....

1. The woman I spoke to when I booked the installation should have told me that it was an all day installation which means the engineer could call at anytime.

2. The guy who rang me on Friday to confirm the booking should have told me the same.

3. The engineer who told me he'd call out never did and he went and told ntl that I made it all up and that he never said that.

4. I spent nearly an hour on the phone trying to get them to tell me if he was going to call out to me or not - it took one woman literally 10 minutes to find my account number. I was on my mobile for all this time at PEAK time which means its going to cost me a fortune.

5. The nearest time they can get back out to me they said is next Monday which means over 2 and a half weeks after ringing them up I still wont have an installation.

I knew Chorus were bad but I didnt think ntl were worse!

Anyone else have any problems with ntl? Just feel so mad at how stupid and ridiculous their service is! :mad:

Big Nelly

I had the same problem.....moved into my new house and there was an old bill there for about 100 quid.....the people who owned the house before never cancelled so the whole time they where tryin to sell NTL was still going.....I rang NTL and started a new account and explained about old account......they said no problem.....and as NTL was already working didnt need an install

Next month I got 2 bills.....one for new account and one for over hundred on old account...paided the new account bill and rang about old account......a week later NTL stops...rang them and first girl says that I havent paided bill so they cut me off......40 mins on phone and get it sorted.....a week of trying to get the engineer(same prob as below...being told they wud call out between 1-5 and then getting home and having a card left saying I missed them)....anyway finally get a bloke out and he just messed wit a box outside so never needed me in the house....

Next month had the exact same prob...same s**t when I rang NTL...you never paided bill...this time I lost the rage and was promised the engineer wud call between 1-5....was in house at 12,30 and door bell rang....was upstairs and took about a minute to get down....by the time I got downstairs he was gone and card left!! mate was off da next day and the same thing...messed wit box outside!! filled a report and got 3 months free NTL....but disaster....had to take loads of tiem off work

They r a feckin disaster and the muppets in the call centre are useless!

seamus

My experience was with broadband install, so that's probably why my experience was so much better (different installers)

trotter_inc wrote:

I took a half day off work to go out to meet him at 1:30... 5:00 came and still no sign of him so I rang ntl... I spent OVER 50 minutes on the phone to them trying to find out if he was going to call out or not.
.....
5. The nearest time they can get back out to me they said is next Monday which means over 2 and a half weeks after ringing them up I still wont have an installation.

Don't take more time off work. This is their cock-up, they should come out and do the install after hours. Kick, scream, pout (politely) and tell them that there's no way in hell you're using up another half-day's holidays over their incompetence. They will cave. My broadband install was supposed to be between 9am and 2pm. Being a nerd and wanting some extra sleep, I took the whole day off for it. 11am comes...nothing. 12pm comes...nothing. After me wandering aimlessly around the house for 5 hours, watching crap TV, I rang them at 2 on the dot, politely enquired as to where he was, and that he would be coming out to do it tomorrow (Saturday) if he didn't come, because there was no way in hell I was taking another day off work.
15 minutes later he arrived on the doorstep (and slightly ill-prepared, meaning that he hadn't planned on doing my house yet....).

4. I spent nearly an hour on the phone trying to get them to tell me if he was going to call out to me or not - it took one woman literally 10 minutes to find my account number. I was on my mobile for all this time at PEAK time which means its going to cost me a fortune.

Is their number not 1800?

Actually, the only time we had to deal with a TV installer was when they cut us off after a billing cockup on their end, but the engineer didn't need to come into the house. He turned the line back on a dropped a free coax cable in the letterbox.

Blub2k4

I had a similiar installation and threatened to go to Sky and got the install for free.
My case was a little different in that someone in NTL logged in my case that they had called me on Friday to tell me someone would call over and that was a lie. I accused them of lying, said I would go to SKy and bingo installation charge was waived. You have to get hard necked with them but remain professional and you will get somewhere. Play the you can cancel the order I have ordered with SKy and you can stick it, that is what I did and like I said got it for free in the end, I had actually phoned them to cancel.

climaxer

Hi trotte_inc thats bloody disgraceful. I had a similar experience with NTL when I moved house around 3.5 years ago. They did that to me three times arranging to call to my house - I arranged for my Mam to be there first because like you I work during the day. They never called. So again I had to ring them - luckily I was on the free phone no. and my boss didn't mind me ringing here in work. Next time they were to call - the only person who was around was my 77yr old Grandad - the poor man sat in my house for nearly 3 hours before going home and still no sign of them. Third time I took a half day myself and they didn't call. I was fuming and eventually the fourth time they called during the timespan agreed. If that wasn't enough bullsh*t they then changed my address to my new address BUT kept my old address as the postal address so I wasn't getting any bills. I thought I was getting some free rental because of the complaints I had made to them!! Obviously I didn't enquire until I was cut off 9 months later - so when I rang I just said I presumed I had gotten some free rental for all the hassle. They reconnected me immediately because I threatened to go to SKY! I decided to write a letter to them and rang their main office and asked for the Managing Director's name. I wrote a very detailed letter of how terrible their service was and how they changed my address but kept the postal address as my old address which doesn't make any sense at all . Sorry for the big ramble but eventually they gave me 3 months free rental but tbh it wasn't worth it for all the hassle. I know quite a few people who have had hassle with them. I am gonna change to SKY soon.

Oh yes another thing - I have NTL digital and the remote broke so I rang to get a new one delivered - never came - the only way I got a new one was I spotted one of their men going into a neighbours house and demanded one off of him.

Blisterman

I takes about an hour to get through to them. Now I''m with Sky and I've never had any problems.

tipperaryboy

Chours are'nt BAD.Well,they are if you ring them up once but if you keep calling them up annoying them they will have to come!It worked for me with chours,If your having problems with NTL do the same do them!