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Then Localtel was taken over by World Online. Suddenly they want to charge us a large subscription fee for internet access. I along with many others spent hours trying to get through to their "customer service" department. Our efforts were not totally in vain as they then introduced a ... Read review
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...Localtel was taken over by World Online. Suddenly they want to charge us a large subscription fee for internet access. I along with many others spent hours trying to get through to their "customer service" department. Our efforts were not totally in vain as they then introduced a second tier so that those of us at work during the day could pay a lower fee and get free access during the evenings and weekends.
After some trouble ... ...weeks for the first rebate, I phone to complain and they are looking into it!*! Three weeks on - nothing, except for the second rebate letter, declaring that World Online is a Tiscali company, which is due to be paid to me tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed for me! ... more
I am one of the many who bought a computer from Tempo and decided to move my phone line to Localtel in order to have totally free access to the internet - no subscription, no call charges. After some serious large hiccups in the early days when the system could be down for days, the system seemed to pick up and all was well...except for the billing - this would arrive in a seemingly ad hoc way. Apparently they were not getting the correct information from BT, so although we were supposed to be billed monthly, nothing might arrive for three or months. Phoning customer service illicited nothing useful.
Then Localtel was taken over by World Online. Suddenly they want to charge us a large subscription fee for internet access. I along with many others spent hours trying to get through to their "customer service" department. Our efforts were not totally in vain as they then introduced a second tier so that those of us at work during the day could pay a lower fee and get free access during the evenings and weekends.
After some trouble with hoax phonecalls, we discovered that the only way to contact them on a Saturday afternoon was to e-mail them or leave an answer phone message - both of which they promised to respond to within 72hrs! Tuesday afternoon they phoned back. The only reason they got hold of anybody was that I was ill in bed at the time.
Enough was enough. We decided to transfer our business elsewhere. I wrote to them to cancel the account, which they did. I have since received two bills, both of which are rebates. After waiting weeks for the first rebate, I phone to complain and they are looking into it!*! Three weeks on - nothing, except for the second rebate letter, declaring that World Online is a Tiscali company, which is due to be paid to me tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed for me!
Advantages: Free Internet (if you can connect to it) Disadvantages: I'll be here all night if I start
I used to have a BT telephone line, but when Tempo launched their screaming.net service in association with Localtel, I decided to change and use this service because it cam with free internet and supposedly cheaper call charges. After about 6 months, Localtel decided to change over to WorldOnline and double the line rental. I wrote, phoned, faxed them to tell them to terminate my contract but they couldn't be bothered to reply and when I did eventually ... ...operators, they were no help whatsoever and they did not do a single thing that I asked. Eventually, I resorted to telling my credit card company NOT to let them take any more money and then I got red notices from them. If they had taken notice of the letters (about 4 without reply in 3 months) that I had written, they wouldn't have had the cause to send me these notices.
On the subject of the free internet, it's all well and good being without ...
paz2000 09.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of World Online
Advantages: used to be a good company Disadvantages: As soon as they learn you are leaving, they loose interest in customer care
I have already written a review about Worldonline, but after my dealings with them this week i thought i had better write an other review.
I received a letter from Worldonline, telling me that they were no longer going to provide a telephone service to their customers. They are going to be only an ISP. They basically then gave me the option of changing to an other telephone company or going with the company of their choice which was a company called ... ...down by Worldonline. I decided to go back to BT. I contacted BT, gave them my reasons for wanting to come back and then was told that it would take 30 days to transfer back to BT. I said that this was fine as my service with Worldonline did not stop untill the 12 July(BT told me i would join them by the 7 July)
The man from Bt told me that they wold contact Worldonline and that i could sit back and relax while they took care of everything.
Imagine ...
burnie 17.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of World Online
Advantages: Free, no-nonsense dial-up with a fully capable, discounted (comapred to BT) Telecom. Disadvantages: Access is occasionally a battle ground. Online-notification of callers is chargeable.
...Now I am with World Online (ex-Localtel as others point out), I find few problems in gaining access first time. They are not perfect, but I utilise my dial-up connection more and more without worry about what time of day or how long I remain on. The only thing I have to remember is that there's only one telephone line to the house! World Online have a (payable) service to cope with this eventuality whereby you are notified while you are online that ... ...good this service is - I don't know... I never received that many calls in the first place. ;-)
Difficulties will be encountered during peak periods (especially Saturday mornings ~9:00), but if you're persistant, you'll be on within a few attempts (remember to switch your modem off & back on after each attempt to ensure it is properly reset - not all versions of Windows do that properly).
All normal Internet services are provided, a complete domain ...
Barthax 16.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of World Online
Advantages: Cheep Internet access Disadvantages: very poor customer service and a real pain to get out of
...found & am still finding World on line a nightmare to get out of. I joined them a year ago last November and to start with everything was sweet everything was exactly as stated when I joined, Free internet access 24 hours if I changed my phone to them. This was ok for about 7-8 months then they moved the goal posts, then it was free internet access off peak only. Then a month or two later it was "we can not do free internet access any more you will ... ...free it still is to long to wait to be answered.
Another bad part of world on line is, there internet access is quite slow (when you get on & your line seems to disconect after a few hours so be careful if you are down loading any big files. ...
diver233 17.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of World Online
Advantages: If you use the phone to speak, effectively free Disadvantages: Probably not the cheapest option for heavy users
Note - since writing this Worldonline has announced it is taking no new cutomers for the telephone side of its business - it is concentrating on being an ISP. I originally joined Worldonline when it was Screaming Net in June 2000. Both companies have had their ups and downs but I have variously had free internet access, off peak, free internet access (24/7) and, now that there is a charge, am back on as a lite user (free offpeak - evenings and weekends ... ...of 50 hours per month).
Over time there has been wide variations in the speed and ease of connection. However, I have found the service has, for a number of months been almost problem free (the only problem being the newserver which has been up and down like the proverbial's drawers)and available at the first dial in. Speeds seem comparable with other free ISPs.
I have seen many complain about the cost of Worldonline. But if you can find an ISP ...
aardvark99 13.01.2001 (10.03.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of World Online
Line Quality
Customer service quality
Tariffs & Charges
Range of services (call...
Value for money
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Advantages: Excellent customer service. Never had to complain. Disadvantages: Can find cheaper
At one time BT used the slogan "It's good to talk" and I totally agree. However, it is only good if the telephone company providing the service was good too. Well in the case of BT, they certainly have provided a good service and their staff are excellent - I'm sure they must have gone through rigorous training on customer support.
I have been with BT since I moved out of my parents's home about 7 years ago and have always found them to be helpful and courteous. I must confess that their prices are not the cheapest and I'm sure you all know that. A couple of times I decided to leave BT to go with other telephone companies. The first was with Ionica and despite their cheap calls, they went bust soon after I joined up so I went back with BT who were happy to have me back. Recently I was offered a good deal by a company called WorldOnline ...
Manics 29.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT
Advantages: No more voice spam, works with WorldOnline Telecom Disadvantages: None
Turn the tables on cold-callers with the Telephone Preference Service free from British Telecom.
If you don't want unsolicited sales and telemarketing calls you can register free with the Telephone Preference Service. The register is available to telemarketing companies so that they can remove numbers from their lists.
I have even deserted BT and gone to WorldOnline Telecom but, as they still use the BT network, I can still get this service.
This service cannot guarantee that you will never receive such calls again, but they should become less frequent. If you are ex-directory and wish to take advantage of this service you will still need to register. (If you wish to register, forms are available from your BT shop, or by calling Freefone 0800 398 893.)
Once registered, you can frighten these callers by simply informing ...
bigdoug 27.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of BT
Advantages: Sometimes works, reasonable cheap Disadvantages: Technical support is just rubbish, slow, impossible to access, frequently disconnects, company mergers mess you about all the time, did I mention it was slow?
For those of you who want to get to the meat of the review, here's a quick summary.
Tiscali/WorldOnline/Screaming.net is THE most appalling ISP ever created, and I've used AOL, so that's something.
Let's have a look at why this is the case, by going through my experience with the Great Net 'n' Web Swindle.
September 1999. I see something in The Times about a new ISP called screaming.net. Apparently, this new ISP does not only offer free subscription, but also FREE CALLS OFF-PEAK!!! Wow!
One catch. You have to change your phone company to LocalTel, but they're basically a BT reseller, so it's not really any hassle, and the change-over takes a week.
3 months later, my line is transferred to Localtel.
I then connect to the wonderful, all-you-can-eat free buffet that is the Information Superhighway. Except it's not so much ...
DeusXM 07.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tiscali
