If you go to http://www.extasybooks.com/eb. php3?ebookid=18853 you can have a look at my latest wor...
If you go to http://www.extasybooks.com/eb. php3?ebookid=18853 you can have a look at my latest work.
Member since:21.05.2001
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I started using freeserve as soon as I went online. Here's a little saga that should help to enlighten you about this service provider.
You can join up with freeserve through their website, and it isn't too tricky. For little effort you can set up a freeserve email account - whateveryouwant to be called @wherever you want to be. freeserve.co.uk or.fsnet.co.uk or similar. You can get outlook express to default to using this, so all your mail come neatly to your computer. There's a choice of accounts. I started out with their no strings attached option - you just pay local rate phone bills for the amount of time you spend online. You don't pay freeserve directly, and if all you want to do is send and receive email, as was initially the case with me, this works very nicely.
The next level up alows you unlimited access evenings and weekends. I haven't tried it, and it costs, last time I checked, about 8 pounds a month. I gather from friends who have used it that it isn't quite so unlimited, it can be hard getting logged on and you do in fact have quotas regarding how much time you can 'freely' use. Not as good as it sounds this one.
I plumbed for 'anytime' - fourteen pounds a month for unlimited access. As I'm online a lot, this suits me well. I get me email, wander the internet and all is fine, ok so they cut me off every couple of hours just to keep me on my toes, but I can live with that. (my partner pays this on his credit card, they just take the money every month, although there have been some months when they've missed a payment and then taken double next month so worth keeping a close eye on.)
A few months ago I suffered a 'stuck' email - this is when someone sends you a message so huge you can't download it, and the rest of your mail backs up behind it, unreadable. I phoned customer services and was directed to just the right information on their website. Of course, if you can't get online, this can be a bit more tricky, and their technical helpline costs 50p a minute to phone.
The current madness - since Thursday of last week, I have been unable to download my email. I phoned the technical helpline and having said it wasn't a stuck mail, they said "Have you got Norton Antivirus?" Turns out they aren't currently compatable with one of the biggest antivirus software providers. The advice I was given was to turn off my virus protection! I think you'd have to be mad to even consider it. I gather from using telnet that there are now no fewer than 242 emails waiting for me (mostly spam I expect.) I can email out, and have been left with no choice but to email everyone I know and redirect them to my hotmail account.
Frankly, it isn't funny, and if they don't get it fixed soon, I'm going to have to start looking for someone else to sort out my connection for me, which will mean a change of email address and lots of attendant hassle.
I am not impressed.
Freeserve.com is their site online, which gives you access to information about joining up, and a place to go when things go wrong. The site is reasonable to get around, although not utterly brilliant - there's lots of information that isn't there. They are also trying to act as a portal - like AOL do. Not that impressed - its ok I guess, but I'd rather use a search engine like google to get around the net because they only have a small selection of sites listed.
Up until now, they have been fine (or good enough at any rate), but if you are thinking of joining up, I'd hold fire for the time being if I were you.
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Comments about this review »
Wolfie1974 16.10.2002 19:08
I had similar problems with cable internet before the days of blueyonder, however in my case I was told that there are imcompatabilities between Norton and Outlook Express rather than the e-mail itself .. Mark
MRS.CANADA 14.10.2002 16:51
I don't like AOL and I don't think Freeserve is available in Canada but if it was after reading your review I wouldn't
try it. Lyla
Honey_Bee 14.10.2002 14:46
When we had problems with BT Internet, we must have spent over £60 on phone calls to their helpline. It's terrible. Thanks for the op! :O) x
Oct 14th, 2002
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