Tiscali

...advised me to take the Tiscali route as, after several exploratory excursions, he had concluded that it offered the best and most economical option. Therefore on 22nd October I set off, with some trepidation, in search of the notorious Broadband and Talk Option 2 Beast.

This turned out to be quite an alluring creature tempting me with offers of free line rental, free anytime local and national calls, free calls some international ...
...The delightful lady at the Tiscali Sales Outpost, who introduced me to its unquestionable attractions offered to procure it for a £30 one off fee and to keep it groomed and fed for just £14.99 a month. Not only this but she would also make all the arrangements for the removal of my present two "pets", BT(broadband) and Pipex(phone), whose voracious appetites are presently depleting my finances at an alarming rate. Admittedly the fees would ... more

For months now I have pondered on the perils of searching out a new broadband deal and shied away from embarking on such a hazardous adventure even though BT have been fleecing me for years. But, when my elderly PC started having more and more frequent gremlin attacks, I decided it was time to invest in some more up to date technology and I commissioned my local IT engineer, Steve, to find me a new PC and laptop and to take care of all the set up and transfer palaver. Having procured the services of such a trustworthy guide, I felt it was now time to face the perils and pitfalls of the notorious ISP jungle! This is the story of my journey so far.

Steve advised me to take the Tiscali route as, after several exploratory excursions, he had concluded that it offered the best and most economical option. Therefore on 22nd October I set off, with some trepidation, in search of the notorious Broadband and Talk Option 2 Beast.

This turned out to be quite an alluring creature tempting me with offers of free line rental, free anytime local and national calls, free calls some international destinations (including Australia, America, Canada and New Zealand), up to 8Mb unlimited broadband and a free router. The delightful lady at the Tiscali Sales Outpost, who introduced me to its unquestionable attractions offered to procure it for a £30 one off fee and to keep it groomed and fed for just £14.99 a month. Not only this but she would also make all the arrangements for the removal of my present two "pets", BT(broadband) and Pipex(phone), whose voracious appetites are presently depleting my finances at an alarming rate. Admittedly the fees would increase to £19.99 after the first three months but this is still less than half the running cost of my present beasts! How could I resist? In under 15 minutes I succumbed to temptation and all was arranged. My new friend at Tiscali Sales assured me that the router and modem package should be delivered by the following week. This was perfect because it coincided with Steve's scheduled delivery of the new computers. I was elated. It was all so easy that it lulled me into a false sense of security.

Over the next week, two emails confirmed my agreement and promised a further email to inform me when my package was despatched. Several letters brought various acknowledgments and words of welcome from Tiscali alongside the Pipex and BT wailings and regrets. The transfer to Tiscali would take place on 7th November and BT confirmed this date for the cessation of my broadband account. I was content but, as time went on, and no package arrived, uneasy storm clouds were gathering on the periphery of my mind.

On Steve's advice I rang the Tiscali Sales Outpost once more on Tuesday 4th. This experience was very different. A seemingly disinterested youth couldn't seem to understand the problem. I explained all the facts and my fears that in thee days time I would lose my internet access as I had not received the new router. Missing the point entirely he kept repeating that my telephone service would only be interrupted for 20 minutes or so whilst the changeover was made. A little impatiently he tried to dismiss me but I persevered and eventually, presumably in an effort to get rid of me, he decided that the package would be with me the following day. When I expressed doubt as I had not received the promised email confirmation of despatch, he expressed the opinion that it must have been thrown out as spam! I later found out this young man had not even bothered to log details of this call on my account record.

I waited until the post brought no joy again on the 6th before phoning again. In the meantime I tried to follow the instructions in one of their letters which invited me to track my order online. The link didn't work and apparently they are having problems with this system so it's no presently available!

I ventured into the Customer Services Outpost on my next sortie. A gent with a little more interest and with a quicker grasp of the situation informed me that the broadband enabling package would not be sent out until my account went live on 8th! He could do nothing about it as this was, and always had been, company policy! I was aghast and I could feel my blood pressure rising! My voice raise in indignation, I asked how the sales team could be oblivious to this policy and explained that, as I did quite a lot of work at home, I could ill afford to be internet-less for such an indefinite time. I persevered with this line for a time until he came up with the gem that all would be well as all I needed to do was to keep my present router and modem plugged in and they would function until the promised package was available! Now I am no IT expert but I had to express my disbelief. Why would they bother to send an installation packet at all if this was the case? Steve confirmed that this was inaccurate. The router would have to be reset by an engineer! I think Tiscali employees must be schooled in the art of fobbing customers off with any old bunkum if the occasion demands! They certainly have all received a common training programme because each call ended with the enquiring catch phrase, "Is there anything else I can do for you today?" Oh how hard it was to resist a less than pc response!

Just as I watched my alluring little pet turning into an untrustworthy viper in my bosom, Steve came up with the telephone number of Tiscali Headquarters in London. I armed myself with a machete to cut through the undergrowth of inaccurate and misleading information, dialled and asked for the Complaints Outpost. I was speedily connected to a pleasant lady and am ashamed to say I delighted in giving her a very hard time --- in a pleasant way. I won't give a verbatim account but thrust my message home, expressing disappointment and lamenting the fact I had been so misled. She tried to speak over me to explain that she couldn't do anything… company policy etc and so forth, she really only dealt with technical enquiries. But I was on a roll, lamenting that their customer service department and sales department were obviously not 'singing form the same song sheet! Eventually she offered a good will gesture if a £10 refund which was later upped to £20. I have to say she did deal with me very patiently and politely but, faced with my story I think she felt my sheer frustration and had some sympathy for me.

So now I am left wondering if I will be disconnected from the internet before I can post this review and, if so, how long it will be before I get that 'blessed' broadband installation kit and modem. Steve has had a lot of dealings with them and has never known them to delay the despatch of the installation package in this way. I certainly feel I have been fed a few "track covering tales" and my initial experiences don't bode well for the future of our relationship. If the Sales Team had explained this problem to me from the outset I doubt I would have opted for Tiscali.

And the ultimate irony? A couple of days ago, BT sent me a personalised card offering me a much cheaper package. It is the first communication I have received from them in four years. They don't even send me invoices just take my money each month. Had this offer reached me four weeks ago I might have been tempted to stay. After all, it's a jungle out there!

And if you need the number of Tiscali HQ to register a complaint, it's 0207 087 2000. Wait until a real person speaks and ask for the Complaints Dept.

to be continued……. 

...less