Ongoing NTL problems with no end in sight

cordsie · 18-09-2006 02:34PM #1

Hello. I recently bought a unit at at new development in Shankill. Many people in my estate had NTL broadband installed several months ago, and have since had nothing but problems and regular, incessant outages. Just as a typical example of what I mean by 'outage', the entire estate has had no internet connection between the hours of 7pm and Midnight for at least the past five days.

I've called NTL customer service about this issue several dozen times, and each of the residents of the estate with NTL broadband 'connected' has had this called NTL customer service about this issue several dozen times. The total number of calls to NTL about this issue from residents of the estate over the months is in the hundreds. Each and every call, from NTL's perspective, never bears any relation to any other of the hundreds of calls from the exact same area about the exact same issue. After you've convinced them that 'walking you through a reboot' isn't going to help matters, they then insist it's a problem with your modem and helpfully schedule another technician to come and investigate the problem (on a Tuesday morning, hope you have loads of Holiday days this year.) I myself have had no less than 5 engineer visits, the last couple of which stayed for about 30 seconds while saying 'there's a problem in the area' and providing no further information.

Several of us have had contact with comreg over the issue, and the response was that they couldn't do anything because NTL broadband is unregulated.

So in short, depite the hundreds of calls over the same issue:

NTLs common response is "problem with your modem, we'll send a technician".

Telling them others are experiencing the same difficulties does not appear to have any effect on them.

Comreg say there is nothing they can do about NTLs poor service because at the moment, broadband is unregulated.

Where do you go from here? I have no idea.

Sponge Bob · 18-09-2006 02:44PM

how about telly , does that go too ???

and NTL is regulated but not on pricing (they used to have to get authorisation on pricing from Comreg) .

Ask Comreg what happens when a licenced carrier (NTL or whoever) , who is licenced by Comreg, breaches a contract to you the customer.

seamus · 18-09-2006 03:10PM

What happens when the technicians call out?

If you all had the broadband service installed in and around the same time, it's likely you all got the same older modems. NTL did some messing on their network at the end of July which caused massive headaches for anyone on an older (120) NTL modem. The solution for this is to swop it out for a newer (250) modem. NTL of course aren't advertising this, rather dealing with each call as it comes in.

That's a longshot though. Given that it falls over for everyone at exactly the same time (which also just happens to be peak time for home users) the first place I would personally look would be a bandwidth issue, or certain pieces of local hardware falling over with the stress.

cordsie · 18-09-2006 03:25PM

As far as I know, everyone has 250 modems.

The matter isn't so much what the technical issue is, (several of us are technical professionals and have our own theories,) but getting NTL to acknowledge the issue and do something about it. Like I say, the engineer visits have been going on for months, and nothing ever gets resolved. Please take my word for it when I say going through any of NTL's support channels hasn't and won't get us anywhere.

The crux of what I'm getting at is how do you escalate something like this? Comreg won't help, there are no other bodies to go to. Are we going to have to find a solicitor to take legal action? Is that even viable? That's really why I'm posting this message, because I honestly cannot think what to do next.

seamus · 18-09-2006 04:06PM

I think your next step is a letter from the management company (or whomever) demanding that all accounts' billing be frozen until the problem is sorted. Certainly if you provide them with a list of account numbers, they can look up the call history, and indeed see that none of you have had any service whatsoever.

You need someone to ring the accounts section, and demand immediately to talk to the team leader. From the team leader, you can get a name of a manager who you can write to. With enough digging, you can find the names of the people in charge, so ultimately a long, well-worded letter to the guy in charge will get you sorted.

Sponge Bob · 18-09-2006 04:08PM

Of course Comreg will help, did you email them at all about this ???? they would never refuse outright to act against a licencee of theirs ....in writing anyway.

Make sure all of you who are affected individually email Comreg consumerline@comreg.ie again and cc minister@dcmnr.ie too to speed things up.

also contact the consumers association with the same information and let them find out what Comreg is up to .

If Comreg are being useless the Consumers Association simply order a Comreg commissioner to attend down at CA headquarters and then they administer a good spankings to their lazy botties.

cordsie · 18-09-2006 04:35PM

This is my last email from Comreg, cut and paste (with contact details ommitted)

Hi Michael,

Please be advised that NTL was deregulated back in 2003, unfortunately
we have no remit over them now.

Regards

Jean Dwyer

Commission for Communications Regulation

Seamus, thanks for that, I will suggest that to the rest of my contacts and see what happens.

JohnC. · 18-09-2006 05:17PM

Slightly OT, but that is exactly the same treatment that we got from NTL with MMDS. Same situation with problems over an area. Same solution being rebooting the box. Same thing about sending out an engineer when that didn't work. Even the engineers were pissed off at being sent out on so many pointless calls when they knew where the problem was at NTLs end. Good luck getting satisfaction from them.

Sponge Bob · 18-09-2006 08:58PM

get the consumers association to clarify this guff from Comreg

1. NTL have a general licence from Comreg. They must therefore bill accurately meaning that you should not be charged for no service fir example

2. If Comreg claim (wrongly if there is a licence ) that they are not responsible for oversight then who is , is it the ODCA or who ??. Ask the consumers association.

3. The small claims court cost €8 a pop to bring a case simple breach of contract no service and no refund for loss of service .

lauralu · 18-09-2006 09:41PM

*Sigh* Demand that a customer service team lead/manager talk to you?

I have been down this avenue. The CSRs are at this stage trained to REFUSE all requests to speak to managers. They are trained to DENY all knowledge of service outages. The team leads/managers NEVER ring you back.

Their common response:
1) Reboot your modem
2) If it is still blinking, it is obviously a problem with your modem, we'll send out a technician

You then let them know, it's not the modem, unless five other modems have simultaneously self combusted. They tell you

3) Their have been no similar reports of outages from your area. To which you laugh and say "that is total crap. and how do faulty modems repair themselves, if it is indeed faulty? (because you know from experience that the signal will come back around midnight).

Then they tell you, "you're not technical, you have no idea what you are talking about". To which you reply, well, maybe I am, maybe I'm not. And you think to yourself, you are a trained monkey, you are definitely not technical, you wouldn't know how to trouble shoot if the manual bit you in the arse. It's like talking to Eliza. Reboot Modem. Technician Appointment will be set up. Can't speak to manager, no one available, NTL has NO managers. Ever.

That is all presuming you get through to technical support, three nights and counting that I have been trying unsuccessfully to get the phone to do anything besides ring out.

I have requested a copy of the broadband contract to see what get out clauses there are. Funnily enough, this has yet to arrive.

Short of physically calling into NTLs offices and refusing to leave until you get satisfaction, there is nothing to be done.

Comreg, god bless their naivety told me "if you tell them you have been advised by Comreg to lodge an official complaint they will act"

bk · 18-09-2006 09:58PM

lauralu wrote:

Short of physically calling into NTLs offices and refusing to leave until you get satisfaction, there is nothing to be done.

Good idea, why not get a petition and signatures of all your neighbours and then go into the NTL offices, they are in East Point Business Park, Dublin 3.

oscarBravo · 18-09-2006 10:14PM

lauralu wrote:

Short of physically calling into NTLs offices and refusing to leave until you get satisfaction, there is nothing to be done.

I had to do this to CMI once. I sat there for several hours until I got what I wanted.

Sponge Bob · 18-09-2006 11:16PM

lauralu wrote:

I have been down this avenue. The CSRs are at this stage trained to REFUSE all requests to speak to managers.

and they are all fird come March 07 when the Waterford office is shut. The real managers are in Chorus in Limerick. All the tech CSRs will be in Limerick or Tiperary or Bangalore ....very soon.

Short of physically calling into NTLs offices and refusing to leave until you get satisfaction, there is nothing to be done.

The office in Limerick , yes. Thats where all the decisions are made now.

Comreg, god bless their naivety told me "if you tell them you have been advised by Comreg to lodge an official complaint they will act"

Did they tell you how ?? . Whats the difference between a normal complaint and an official complaint ???

cordsie · 19-09-2006 09:30AM

We really need some consumer organisations with teeth in this country.

Sponge Bob · 19-09-2006 09:56AM

Comreg have a high powered and all powerful and all seeing Consumer Panel who set the most exacting standards for Comreg to follow.

http://www.fonevalue.com/ie/news/comreg-consumer-panel.php

from which I excerpt

The 2002 Communications Regulation Act provides that among ComReg’s objectives is the promotion of the interests of users in relation to the use of electronic communications networks and services.

and

• To make recommendations and suggestions to ComReg on current consumer concerns; • To advise ComReg on consumer interests in the markets regulated by ComReg.

The external members of the Group are:

Mr. Ciaran Close Intel Ireland Ltd;
Mr. Gerry Finn Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly; see
Mr. Dermott Jewell Consumers’ Association of Ireland;
Ms. Angela Kerins National Disability Authority;
Mr. Sean Murphy Chambers of Commerce of Ireland; (chambers.ie)
Ms. Ursula O’Sullivan Health Services Executive - Southern Area

HTH

cordsie · 19-09-2006 10:34AM

Comreg: Making the U.N. look like the Prussian Army

Ongoing NTL problems with no end in sight

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