As an ex Clara Net customer, I have to say I sometimes wish I were still using them, I changed ISP because I got fed up of waiting for a 24/7 service, which they have since introduced!
I have found the service from Clara Net to be reliable; I was almost always connected first time. Also ... Read review
Advantages: Reliability Disadvantages: No 24/7 but it is coming
As an ex Clara Net customer, I have to say I sometimes wish I were still using them, I changed ISP because I got fed up of waiting for a 24/7 service, which they have since introduced!
I have found the service from Clara Net to be reliable; I was almost always connected first time. Also if they anticipate a break in service, even for a few minutes, they would always send me an e-mail with the details well before the event. I really ... ...the small details which matter most to customers and Clara Net obviously feel the same way!
I have had cause to e-mail them on occasions, and normally got a reply the same day, or at the latest the next day. Recently I have had to ask lots of silly questions, well at least the staff at Clara Net probably thought so, I mean, what would you think of this “What is an FTP?” or sillier still “How do I use my web space?” ... more
As an ex Clara Net customer, I have to say I sometimes wish I were still using them, I changed ISP because I got fed up of waiting for a 24/7 service, which they have since introduced!
I have found the service from Clara Net to be reliable; I was almost always connected first time. Also if they anticipate a break in service, even for a few minutes, they would always send me an e-mail with the details well before the event. I really appreciated this sort of communication from them; it is always the small details which matter most to customers and Clara Net obviously feel the same way!
I have had cause to e-mail them on occasions, and normally got a reply the same day, or at the latest the next day. Recently I have had to ask lots of silly questions, well at least the staff at Clara Net probably thought so, I mean, what would you think of this “What is an FTP?” or sillier still “How do I use my web space?” Yes folks those were just two of my stupid questions in recent weeks, pride won’t allow me to show any more :-) - I always had a reply, and even I in the end managed to get my head round it all.
My only gripe here is that I was advised various FTP programs, I downloaded Cute FTP, to transfer and work on web pages, but after 30 days it would not let me have access to my web space unless I paid a registration fee. I surfed around and found LeechFTP for free, which is quite suitable for my needs at the moment, so I am happy I do not have to pay nearly £30 for FTP software.
Clara Net’s web site is not the buttons and bells type of site, with flashy graphics and a snazzy design. It is basic, simple to understand, with straightforward links to view various account options, terms and conditions, or even FTP information! There are one or two ads, but they do not distract from the content of the site.
I am an active internet surfer, always visiting web sites, reading and rating on Ciao and looking for family tree information on the web, I would think my internet usage in terms of hours on line is around 80 hours a month. Once or twice after a very long period online I have had my connection broken, when that has happened I have re-started again and things have been ok.
The account I chose to subscribe to is Freetime Unlimited at £9.99 per month, it is not unlimited in the literal sense, but within the off peak times specified, which are 6pm – 2am weekdays and 6pm Friday evening to 2am Monday morning.
They say the devil is in the detail so here is the detail as regards Freetime Unlimited, £9.99 per month paid by direct debit, if you go online using your Freetime connection during PEAK hours your bank account will be debited by £10. That £10 is kept by Clara Net either until you close your account, or as in my case to cover any other internet calls made in peak time hours, if the balance drops below £3, another £10 is debited from your bank. Chat lines such as AOL or ICQ are not supported with a Freetime account, but they are on some other types of account.
So you have to be disciplined, use ONLY within the hours specified. If you have to go online during the day, get another ISP account with good call charges and use that.
Technical support via the phone is charged at local call rates.
Clara Net have other account options too, they all seem offer good value for money.
Clara Net have now introduced the long awaited 24/7 package, at £14.99 per month, and have also set up other new customer packages too.
I think they offer a quality service, which is good value, the no frills web site suits me fine, and in fact it makes a refreshing change.
UPDATE: Well, after waiting many months for Clara to introduce it's 24/7 package, I decided to go on to BTInternet Anytime! I decided to take the plunge for two reasons, 1) BTInternet enable me to use chat lines if I wish and 2) The Anytime package is £14.99 per month, the same as Clara Net's 24/7 service, which frustratingly they have just introduced. But I am staying put, after changing my e-mail address to all of my cyber friends, I just couldn't face the hassle of doing it all over again. An op coming up on BT soon.
Advantages: Reliability, excellent customer service Disadvantages: None apparent
...few that have been awful. ClaraNet has been nothing short of exemplary.
ONLINE
This must be the most important aspect - only once in 2½ years have I ever experienced downtime. I was fortunate to use another ISP to get connected, so that was no real problem. I can see it being a pain for someone wholly reliant on one provider, but this having affected me only once is not really a major issue. The dialup I was restricted to was Lo-call Rate, whereas ... ...a minimum 12 months. The ClaraNet team allowed me to retain my user account and enjoy free POP and web-based email until such time as I chose to renew my subscription. Recommend ClaraNET? Certainly! Why the founders chose a name that prompts me to think of a cartoon cow though is not necessarily their fault... ...
wreckferret 18.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of ClaraNET
Advantages: Reasonable deal and consistent access. Disadvantages: Has limitations which confuse we technophobes.
...But at that time, ClaraNet had only two reviews. Both pretty complimentary.
It has had many more since, of course.
And another (albeit typically waffly) one tonight.
On the strength of a couple of good reviews, I visited the site. Like a lamb to the slaughter. Not because there’s anything much wrong with ClaraNet – I’m still using it. But rather in the sense that I was there for the taking.
See, I used to think ISP was something ... ...His Ciao earnings pay his ClaraNet sub, so he has fun here for nothing.
But there is a downside.
And I don’t pretend to understand it, so please bear with me if the next bit is technological nonsense. I know my limitations. But this is a non-technical user’s interpretation.
As many of you know, I hover on the backbenches of the Ciao Grope from time to time. (That’s the Ciao.uk Group at Yahoo - groups.yahoo.com/group/Ciao_uk – ...
Aspen 03.06.2001 (31.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of ClaraNET
Advantages: Reliable, Hassle-free, Good Support Disadvantages: Just the slight email niggle
...my area. I then phoned claranet whom I was able to subscribe to instantly.
I have had to redial on about four occasions (I use the Internet every day) so I am pleased with the reliability. Clara always offer to email members to inform of any outages and I have never yet experienced any unwarned outages. I never experienced any technical problems I could'nt resolve although I did ring the support line once out of curiosity. The technician was helpful ... ...than I used to get with BT who charged me 50ppm to inform me that the server was down.
I haven't measured the speed of the connection but it seems to be about the same as it was with BT. Out of curiosity I left the connection on all night once and I was still connected in the morning, so in my experience you can leave it on for hours without a problem.
I did discover one quirk although I'm not sure if this is the fault of Clara or that of my or ...
d0053346 24.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of ClaraNET
Advantages: High quality, reliable service. Good support Disadvantages: errrr.....none really
...ago from BT Internet to ClaraNet after receiving extremely poor service from BT Internet for some time. Immediately I found out how much faster the Internet could be and found that their support staff actually answered the phone!!
I have changed my subscription plan many times now, but have settled with the FreeTime account. For £9.99 a month they give you unlimited internet access after 6pm and all weekend. They do restrict access to some chat ... ...In my time with ClaraNet I have found them to offer a very reliable service, with connection possible first time 99.9% of the time with disconnection occurring very rarely. The technical support is very good via local rate numbers (not premium rate like many others) and the calls are answered quickly. The only main drawback is the restriction of some gaming and chat sites on my particular plan (unlike BT Internet who offer the same package without ...
SimonJ 11.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of ClaraNET
Advantages: Reliable, Good Service Disadvantages: Restrictions on some accounts, no good for cable phone users
...on Internet calls. Claranet also provide good technical support (the phone always seems to answer within a few rings and is an 0800 number), I don’t think I’ve spoken to someone (or emailed them) without getting a quick answer to my questions. I always connect on dialup first time, and don’t get booted off. If I go over my allotted time, my credit card is debited £10, which then pays for my extra time – at 10% less than BT ... ...my Freetime balance anymore.
Claranet also make it easy to change from scheme to scheme – I’ve been on Freetime for two years, as I say, but I’ve been with Claranet for six years, moving from scheme to scheme as new ones have come up (they also do local rate and penny a minute schemes). You get 50MB of web space for your money as well.
The only drawbacks with Freetime 35 are that it only covers weekends and evenings – if ...
phlip 19.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of ClaraNET
