Are UTV planning to match BTIreland CAP?

flop71

Hi all, I was wondering if UTV are planning to increase their CAP inline with BTIreland's CAP?

Flop

PS I wonder how many people have left UTV this month?

daveharlowe

Hi,

I'm trying to leave them, but they are now telling me that because I upgraded to Clicksilver + last October that that extended my contract with them to 12 months from that date.

I was never told that at the time of the upgrade, I'm a dissappointed with them, so far, I've always found them to be a good company to deal with.

(I'm leaving because the SMART are cheaper and the CAP is getting used up quickly, I don't want to be suspended this month although it looks like I will be).

regards,
Dave

dub45

daveharlowe wrote:

Hi,

I'm trying to leave them, but they are now telling me that because I upgraded to Clicksilver + last October that that extended my contract with them to 12 months from that date.

I was never told that at the time of the upgrade, I'm a dissappointed with them, so far, I've always found them to be a good company to deal with.

(I'm leaving because the SMART are cheaper and the CAP is getting used up quickly, I don't want to be suspended this month although it looks like I will be).

regards,
Dave

The 12 month requirement (to change Clicksilver products) they claim is a term and condition which is not in the terms and conditions but will be 'soon'.

Under their own terms and conditions UTV are required to inform customers of any changes in the T&C's but they never do this so they are continually in breach of their own T&C's.

UTV never formally told customers of that 12 month requirement. It has been raised in the support group several times and there have been reports of customers not being told of the 12 month requirement when they changed between products over the phone. You should go back to them and ask them when and how they informed you of this requirement and point out to them that it is not mentioned in their terms and conditions or on the UTV site. Tell them you are prepared to raise the issue with Comreg.

julius

UTV appear to operate a very "nasty" business strategy!!!

Well no matter, if they dont do something about their CAPS and charges for exceeding them, they will loose an awfull lot of customers...both present and potential ones!!!

leeroybrown

Unfortunately, I made the decision to go with UTV (Clicksilver Plus) at the end of last year so I'm now stuck in a 12 month contract with them. Otherwise I'd be off to another ISP asap.

I'm still stick on 1Mbit despite being a Clicksilver Plus customer (hopefully this will be sorted out soon) and I find it irritating in the extreme that they don't seem to be increasing their cap as their competitors appear to be doing. Hopefully there will be a drop off in subscriptions forcing them to do this.

Nyum Nyum

I'm thinking of bailing out and joining BT. Anyone else clearing off from UTV?

RuggieBear

tbh i've literally just signed up for clicksilver with them on monday

dub45

leeroybrown wrote:

Unfortunately, I made the decision to go with UTV (Clicksilver Plus) at the end of last year so I'm now stuck in a 12 month contract with them. Otherwise I'd be off to another ISP asap.

I'm still stick on 1Mbit despite being a Clicksilver Plus customer (hopefully this will be sorted out soon) and I find it irritating in the extreme that they don't seem to be increasing their cap as their competitors appear to be doing. Hopefully there will be a drop off in subscriptions forcing them to do this.

Have you been onto them about this? I am amazed at how little interest overall they have shown in the upgrade. I had to get onto support a couple of times in the early stages when I was getting very slow speeds (it sorted itslef out since) and I was amazed at how little interest they were showing in it. You should emphasise to them that you will not pay the plus rate until they sort you out after all there is a 15 euro a month difference invovled.

tuxy

makes me happy they never managed to sort out gaming pings when i was interested in connecting with them
sounds like i realy doged the bullet by not signing with them

dub45

tuxy wrote:

makes me happy they never managed to sort out gaming pings when i was interested in connecting with them
sounds like i realy doged the bullet by not signing with them

In fairness to UTV they do seem to have got their pings sorted out - well at least up to the recent upgrade - there have been some complaints in the support group about pings but they are very recent ones.

tuxy

dub45 wrote:

In fairness to UTV they do seem to have got their pings sorted out - well at least up to the recent upgrade - there have been some complaints in the support group about pings but they are very recent ones.

it took them months to sort it
out of interest are they on par with eircoms? i get 30 ms to good uk servers and 20 ms to irish ones

dub45

tuxy wrote:

it took them months to sort it
out of interest are they on par with eircoms? i get 30 ms to good uk servers and 20 ms to irish ones

I honestly dont know as I am not a game player but there have been very very few complaints about pings in recent months but I agree it took a ridiculously long time for them to fix it and lost them a few customers too.

Infini

I might have signed up for them cos I would have had to change phone companies and I'm glad now that I didn't.

pablo321

To be fair to them: I have ad two installations (my Mams house and my new House), both have gone flawlessly.

At the start with my Mam's(spring 04) there was a few outages. But in the last few months there has been no problems and no issues. Except that I got the crappy Zylex USB modem that is hard to get working with linux..

I am a light to medium BB user and I would recommend them to people.

I wish that they would increase the CAP and upload speed (if possible). Allthough in another year I'll see what the state of play is.

Pablo

vox

I have been using UTV internet since it started. I find it to be a great service. I have never had to deal with customer support cos i can usually sort out any problems from my end alright. I very rarely have any speed issues or connection problems. The only problem which is a major one is that they have doubled their speed and the cap is laughable. For this reason i am considering a move to a new isp.

leeroybrown

I'll be ringing them again at the weekend if the problem hasn't been resolved to my satisfacfion. Like vox I've had no problems until the Eircom upgrades but this one is out of my hands.

The impression I get is that UTV have broken into the market, increased their share and are now willing to sit back with a status-quo package, inadequate support staffing and not even bother update their website if they can avoid it.

sixtysix

the impression i get is that their internet/telephony business is no longer part of their core business-witness their attempt to buy into the uk radio business this week with a reported 100m bid for the Talk Sport business-watch out for a trade sale-
having said that i have clicksilver for a year -no problems at all but i would switch to Smart to save money.

Kramer

I'll be changing providers next week.........leaving UTV.

Smart isn't available to me & won't be anytime soon so which, €ircon ot BT?

julius

BT if you want to download more and pay less.

Eircom if the idea of having Broadband still scares you and you wish to go with the "old reliable".

dahamsta

dub45 wrote:

The 12 month requirement (to change Clicksilver products) they claim is a term and condition which is not in the terms and conditions but will be 'soon'.

I tried that on Martin when he called me last month but he reckoned that it was in the Ts&Cs. However I didn't check - and I wish I had now - because he told me that I had been upgraded to Plus "incorrectly" on the phone, and because of that they weren't going to hold me to another 12 month contract.

He also told me that when I went ahead with the cancellation - I had to move - I should copy him on the cancellation so he could oversee the process. So I sent the email early last month, and copied it to him, and they contacted me a month later to confirm the cancellation. So much for overseeing the process.

That's one of several reasons I won't be going back to UTV in my new location. Here's a list, in no particular order:

• Their handling of Ts&Cs would appear to be dishonest. Maybe not legally dishonest - although dub45's comments seem to suggest otherwise - but it seems that ethical considerations are pretty low on their list.
• Their support staff numbers are woefully inadequate. This has been brought to their attention by many people over a period of more than a year, but it hasn't improved. The last time I talked to Martin he assured me new staff were in the pipeline. I don't believe that now.
• Because they've retained the low caps, I no longer find their products more attractive. When the caps are taken into consideration, I'd put them on a par with everyone else.
• There appears to be very little imagination and/or skill in the technical department. As I explained to Martin on the phone a couple months ago, it would take even an average programmer very little time to improve their ticketing process. Their traffic counter appears a weak hack.
• Their communications are hit and miss. They appear to operate only in put-out-the-fire or answer-the-easy-ones mode. I got that phone call from Martin only because I wrote to Scott Taunton about issues I was having with the service. How many people will do that?
• Their billing system appears to be pretty disorganised. It doesn't seem to be able to anything in any way out of the ordinary, and it errs on the side of UTV, rather than the side of caution. Try moving, for example, and for god's sake watch your download allowances like a hawk if you upgrade.

I don't mind dealing with problems with a company if they're honest and forthcoming to me. I don't think UTV is any more. I've been lied to, misled and quite literally abused by them. So no more.

Only problem is, what's the alternative...? I don't want to give my money to Eircom, at least not explicitly. I know people in BT - technical people in BT - that would prefer not to use them for DSL.

adam

Kramer

dahamsta wrote:

Only problem is, what's the alternative...? I don't want to give my money to Eircom, at least not explicitly. I know people in BT - technical people in BT - that would prefer not to use them for DSL.

I agree Same situation for me. Looks like BT are the lesser of 2 evils

Calibos

I just hope the rumours about NTL upgrading Bray atm are true. Not had much trouble with UTV tbh and have never had to ring Support but by all accounts I'd be pulling my hair out in frustration if I did. Its mainly the whole 12 month contract thing and strict caps that have me considering leaving. I'd like to have 2mb but with UTV that would mean a new 12 month contract to upgrade to plus, whereas if NTL come to Bray I could probably get 2mb with a higher cap, with a higher upload.....cheaper!

I take it NTL aren't an option at all for you in Limerick Kramer? Ah sure don't worry, you'll have plenty of free time to consider your options and deal with the DSL provider transfer over the next few weeks, what with the broken ankle and all!!

Any further word on the 2405 btw?

mancman

dub45 wrote:

The 12 month requirement (to change Clicksilver products) they claim is a term and condition which is not in the terms and conditions but will be 'soon'.

Under their own terms and conditions UTV are required to inform customers of any changes in the T&C's but they never do this so they are continually in breach of their own T&C's.

UTV never formally told customers of that 12 month requirement. It has been raised in the support group several times and there have been reports of customers not being told of the 12 month requirement when they changed between products over the phone. You should go back to them and ask them when and how they informed you of this requirement and point out to them that it is not mentioned in their terms and conditions or on the UTV site. Tell them you are prepared to raise the issue with Comreg.

I think you should wipe the brown away from your mouth there dub.

When you migrate to any of the UTV products within your online account section you are told that it is a new 12 month contract and you are also sent a confirmation email when you complete the process.

You may have overlooked this factor when you did it so do try and highlight your mistakes to others.

Also when you phone them to do so your instructed to do so via the online account section or email the admin team stating that you have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of the product your upgrading to.

I highly doubt you sent an email in saying you'd like to see the new ts & C's and just went ahead with your application.

Who's fault is that?....think you'll find it is your own negligence lol

why do you always moan btw? are you still with utv? if so, with your constant moaning why have you not gone to an alternative provider yet?

Put your full facts up man before givin it anymore grief!

I've several m8s in ROI with utv and a few customers also, I also deal with them in the north and never had a problem at all.

In fact Id still rate them as the most professional and courteous ISP on these shores compared to the competition. At least they're honest when explaining to you....which I'm sure your feckin petty comreg complaints will prove.


Stick your feedback on them up btw.........along with your route to amarillo lol

dahamsta

mancman, I always had a problem with dub45's attitude, and I still believe he was too quick to criticise UTV earlier on, but for the record: I'll put more stock in his comments than yours, because at least he's courteous. If you don't want people to think you're an major arsehole, you might want to drop the attitude. You might want to look the word "paragraph" up in a dictionary too.

mancman wrote:

Also when you phone them to do so your instructed to do so via the online account section or email the admin team stating that you have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of the product your upgrading to.

UTV specifically didn't hold me to a further 12 month contract because they didn't do this. Martin told me himself over the phone. I only found this out because I complained directly to Scott Taunton when their support staff dismissed me, and on one occasion insulted me directly. Do you know how many people take complaints to that level?

adam

Irishstabber

mancman wrote:

In fact Id still rate them as the most professional and courteous ISP on these shores compared to the competition. At least they're honest when explaining to you....which I'm sure your feckin petty comreg complaints will prove.

HAHAHAHAHA are you seriosly talking out of your A*SE...UTV are the most incompetant bunch of wasters to ever hit the Irish BB market. I am a customer of UTV since October 2003 and since then it has been nothing but trouble.

Professional and courteous you seriosly make me laugh. last time I called them to confirm where they also upgrading I was on the phone waiting for almost an hour. Then when they finally answered I got a "yea, utv support".

Everyday I get several "a network cable has been unplgged" errors. I used to have to take the phone off the hook to stop em, but now i have to keep it on the hook. I cant call/receive a call without getting this error.

You tell me that they are professional when I get a wonder "yea, utv support" when im waiting on the phone for an hour. They dont even have a bloody support forum. where can we disgruntled customers voice our problems or support? On the phone. Most people give up after 10 minutes of waiting(which costs money).

So go ahead, you go and tell everyone UTV are a good choice of ISP.

_Kaiser_

Irishstabber wrote:

You tell me that they are professional when I get a wonder "yea, utv support" when im waiting on the phone for an hour. They dont even have a bloody support forum. where can we disgruntled customers voice our problems or support? On the phone. Most people give up after 10 minutes of waiting(which costs money).

They do have a newsgroup, but there only seems to be one guy (Carl) who monitors it on a semi-regular basis, and I get the impression sometimes that he's as frustrated with UTV management and policies as we (as customers) are. Also seems to be somewhat selective in what queries they'll answer.

In fairness though, I've had no bother with the service itself for the most part, but BT's offer is looking very tempting (must check out NTL as well) cause I'd like 2MB but I'm not prepared to sign up for another 12 months when the others now offer the same thing, but with higher caps, shorter contracts and better customer service.

Seems to be the common feeling these days from what I've read. Would be interesting to see how many customers UTV have lost in the past month or two.

Irishstabber

They have just lost another one... at this moment im comparing the prices for the various isp's. Since IBB will take a while to get sorted and NTL arent in Finglas yet I think ima go to ESAT.

dahamsta

Kaiser2000 wrote:

In fairness though, I've had no bother with the service itself for the most part

For the record, ditto. I've used UTV for Clicksilver, UTVip and regular dialup for a long time before that, since at least early 2001. On the network side, I've found their service very good, and I've had very few problems. That's what makes the billing and support crap so frustrating.

adam

dub45

Kaiser2000 wrote:

They do have a newsgroup, ........................

In fairness though, I've had no bother with the service itself for the most part, but BT's offer is looking very tempting (must check out NTL as well) cause I'd like 2MB but I'm not prepared to sign up for another 12 months when the others now offer the same thing, but with higher caps, shorter contracts and better customer service.

Seems to be the common feeling these days from what I've read. Would be interesting to see how many customers UTV have lost in the past month or two.

The ironic thing about all the recent criticism of UTV is that the basic service speedwise has rarely been as stable as it is now - there have been very very few complaints about that apect of things in the support group over the past while.

However it is in areas such as customer support, product innovation, additional 12 month contracts and of course the charging for exceeding the cap even fractionally that they are falling foul of customers.

dub45

mancman wrote:

I think you should wipe the brown away from your mouth there dub.

When you migrate to any of the UTV products within your online account section you are told that it is a new 12 month contract and you are also sent a confirmation email when you complete the process.

You may have overlooked this factor when you did it so do try and highlight your mistakes to others.

Also when you phone them to do so your instructed to do so via the online account section or email the admin team stating that you have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of the product your upgrading to.

I highly doubt you sent an email in saying you'd like to see the new ts & C's and just went ahead with your application.

Who's fault is that?....think you'll find it is your own negligence lol

why do you always moan btw? are you still with utv? if so, with your constant moaning why have you not gone to an alternative provider yet?

Put your full facts up man before givin it anymore grief!

I've several m8s in ROI with utv and a few customers also, I also deal with them in the north and never had a problem at all.

In fact Id still rate them as the most professional and courteous ISP on these shores compared to the competition. At least they're honest when explaining to you....which I'm sure your feckin petty comreg complaints will prove.


Stick your feedback on them up btw.........along with your route to amarillo lol

You presume to know too much. I have been on Clicksilver Plus since the product was introduced. At its introduction UTV clearly stated on the website that there would be no charge to upgrade to CS+ but there would be a charge to downgrade. There is a very full discussion on CS+ and the 12 month requirement in
this thread.. The discussion arises from someone not being informed of the 12 month requirement when they migrated.

Incidentally there is no migration facility within my account section as far as I can see.

In the event of new T&C's being introduced UTV under their own T&C's are required to bring them to customers notice. They dont do this.

OHP

dub45 wrote:

The ironic thing about all the recent criticism of UTV is that the basic service speedwise has rarely been as stable as it is now - there have been very very few complaints about that apect of things in the support group over the past while.

When I started using the Internet with a 56k Modem, I used to play a lot of gaming like TFC, CS etc. My ping to all the servers I played on was usually between 120 and 150 (not great but fairly playable) and people with ISDN lines used to have pings of around 70 to 100. I used to long to have an ISDN line and eventually got one and joined UTV since they started. Now my pings to the same servers are between 180 and 1000 and have been since I joined UTV. If I log out of UTV and into Oceanfree I get pings of 60 to 100. Needless to say I have given up playing almost all online games that involve low ping times. I have raised this issue many times and got nothing but fruitless answers and no changes to my status. I have given up complaining about it and just live with the fact that it is not going to change some day soon. So the only thing I find ironic is the fact that I am still with UTV for some strange reason that I cannot fathom. Perhaps it’s loyalty? Or is it that I still live in hope that they will fulfil all their promises? As for UTV support hmm. UTV actually have support. It’s in the form of a computer called Carl. Ok it might have selective answering switched on but it does answer some questions and without it there would be no support at all.

OHP

ai ing

Slighty more on topic but has there been any word on there being a cap increase from UTV?

It is the cap for me that is the major choice of staying with UTV or leaving. The pings are not awful, usually aroung 60-80 for me to irish servers and the support while it has gone downhill is also bearable. But why should i have to stay with a company that is just bearable?
I will forgive UTV a lot for introducing Flat rate dialup charges ahead of everybody else but this cap may be just the final straw that, unless something is done, will erode the last of my loyalty.

Stark

Slighty more on topic but has there been any word on there being a cap increase from UTV?

Nope. Bastards.

8GB is intolerable. I've already used 7.8GB this month and I've been very careful about my net usage.

I'm currently stuck in a 12 month contract which means I can't move to BT/Smart/IrishBroadband and I can't upgrade to the 16GB Clicksilver Plus because that'll also mean being trapped in a further 12 month contract.

bk

ai ing wrote:

The pings are not awful, usually aroung 60-80 for me to irish servers

Really, it is about 20ms on Netsource and I assume the same on Eircom. It is 40ms on NTL and that is because NTL don't pair in Ireland so it has to go to the UK first and then back to Ireland!!

julius

UTV's motto:

Ignorance is bliss!!!

tuxy

ai ing wrote:

The pings are not awful, usually aroung 60-80 for me to irish servers

i disagree also ,3 or 4 times slower pings then eircom provide on dsl is very poor and shows utv still have not managed to fix ping problems
if i am to believe them then ,they have been trying to fix the problem for over a year

sounds like incompetence to me

dub45

ai ing wrote:

Slighty more on topic but has there been any word on there being a cap increase from UTV?.............

.

Reading between the lines in the support group would suggest that their "product modellers" are completely out of touch with the rapidly evolving bb market and that it will take mass desertions to bring them back to reality.

The Muppet

I,ve had Clicksilver for the last year and a half, I am now out of contract with them and free to move. I have been happy enought with my service . However I will consider moving to smart when they become available in my area because of UTV's CAP policy..

dahamsta

dub45 wrote:

Reading between the lines in the support group would suggest that their "product modellers" are completely out of touch with the rapidly evolving bb market and that it will take mass desertions to bring them back to reality.

Which is odd, because they definitely hit a sweet spot when they launched.

I'd be tempted to set up with them again if the caps were increased, but the support issues are a constant worry. I don't use support much but I need to know it's there if I need it. I don't think I could even take them at their word if they committed to fixing it now, because they've done that several times already.

adam

Gegerty

The Muppet wrote:

I,ve had Clicksilver for the last year and a half, I am now out of contract with them and free to move. I have been happy enought with my service . However I will consider moving to smart when they become available in my area because of UTV's CAP policy..

Ha anyone read the small print for Smart telecom and any other ISP that has "unlimited" download capacities? If you did then you'd see that they reserve the right to reduce your download speeds if you are deemed to overuse their service. What they define as overusage they are not willing to say but I'm guessing if you use more than 12 - 16 gigs you're most likely gonna get punished with ****ty download speeds.

Gegerty

Just to add to my point above, a mate of mine is with NTL and he asked the engineer who was installing it what exactly is considered over usage and he was told that generally they don't allow you to use more than 1gig a day. So complain all you like about UTV's cap limits but at least you know where you stand with them. I'm on the clicksilver+ package and 16gigs a month is just about right for me and i download like a looney! If i was on the lesser 8gig package I'd upgrade rather than switching to a new provider. At least you know you're getting 16gigs at full speed (well 1.7mb which is not bad on Irish phone lines!)

Dinner

Gegerty wrote:

If you did then you'd see that they reserve the right to reduce your download speeds if you are deemed to overuse their service. What they define as overusage they are not willing to say but I'm guessing if you use more than 12 - 16 gigs you're most likely gonna get punished with ****ty download speeds.

There was a guy from smart that comes here from time to time. I think I remember him saying that he though "excessive usage" was around 100 gigs. I'll have a look later for it.

bk

Gegerty wrote:

Just to add to my point above, a mate of mine is with NTL and he asked the engineer who was installing it what exactly is considered over usage and he was told that generally they don't allow you to use more than 1gig a day. So complain all you like about UTV's cap limits but at least you know where you stand with them. I'm on the clicksilver+ package and 16gigs a month is just about right for me and i download like a looney! If i was on the lesser 8gig package I'd upgrade rather than switching to a new provider. At least you know you're getting 16gigs at full speed (well 1.7mb which is not bad on Irish phone lines!)

I'm with NTL, the CAPs are as following:
1m\100k = 16GB Cap for €25
2m\200k = 30GB Cap for €35
3m\300k = 40GB cap for €45

However NTL don't enforce the cap, they have only once sent out letters to people who went over the cap, asking them to decrease their usage a little bit for the benefit of everyone using the service. They never specified what they would do if you go over the cap again.

They have never charged anyone a cent for going over a cap and can't anyway as it is not part of the contract.

BTW I know some people who have downloaded almost 100GB with NTL and never heard anything from them.

I'd rather be with NTL any day over UTV.

rymus

in the spirit of bitching about UTV... by CS contract is up and I'm looking to jump the sinking ship but alas I made the soul splitting mistake of signing up for utv talk last year. A pat on the back and a nice chilled pint for the man that gets me out of that contract so I can go wireless.

Gegerty

bk wrote:

I'm with NTL, the CAPs are as following:
1m\100k = 16GB Cap for €25
2m\200k = 30GB Cap for €35
3m\300k = 40GB cap for €45

However NTL don't enforce the cap, they have only once sent out letters to people who went over the cap, asking them to decrease their usage a little bit for the benefit of everyone using the service. They never specified what they would do if you go over the cap again.

They have never charged anyone a cent for going over a cap and can't anyway as it is not part of the contract.

BTW I know some people who have downloaded almost 100GB with NTL and never heard anything from them.

I'd rather be with NTL any day over UTV.

Don't get me wrong I'm having problems with UTV myself but only recently, they're having a rough time at the moment but they're usually very good. My point is people are just assuming the other phone line providers are better but I have serious doubts about that. I think UTV are the best of a bad lot.

Unfortunately I can't get NTL, our estate management company won't allow them believe it or not! NTL use fibre optics which is a far superior technology especially when it comes to gaming, it would definitely be my first choice if i could get it and your stats on thier capping policy makes me even more jealous!