talktalk free internet... isnt

[rcL]

when they say theres no such thing as a free meal i guess theyre right, i have been plagued by problems from talktalk, instability, mind numbingly slow speeds and i decided enough is enough, only to find to cancel this "free broadband" would cost £70, far more than most paying tariffs demand.

to start with on gamers speed (fast path profile) i got drops lasting up to an hour, daily.

dns- ive been "advised" to use an open DNS as talktalk have not set theyre dns up properly

on the next speed down from the fast path i get drops lasting two muniuts about every 5 minuits somedays.

on the slower internet connection (allowing for a better snr db for a more stable connection) i get a 96kn upload rate which means i end up with a huge ping on game servers and whith the ammount of hops it takes to get there i get a decent amount of packet loss aswell

i asked technical support if because of all theese problems i could cancel my subsription for free as it is simply not the service i ordered. they said no, because its fine for loading webpages and 100 ping "isnt a big issue". i guess theese people dont actually appreciate what a difference ping can make.

so im left stranded, pay the £70 and be ripped off just to be able to change provider or stay with talktalk and get a well below average connectiong for the 7 or 8 months i have left on my contract.

any suggestions or advice would be greatfully recieved

talktalk dictionary - free = 15 pound a month with a 70 pound cancelation fee
up to 8mb = 500, 1 or if you live inside the exchange 2mb at best
dns servers = a piece of wood with a wire atatched

[gss03]

You get what you pay for it seems.

Personally wouldn't touch TalkTalk with a barge pole myself.

Have you :
1) Tested your ADSL with another ADSL modem/ router
2) Raised a fault with TalkTalk to get them to run a BT line test
3) checked you've got filters on all your extensions within the house?


To cause yourself the least grief paying the £80 and getting the hell outta dodge sounds best.
Zen and Be Internet (Sky) seem to be flavour of the month in terms of a good ADSL provider.


Actually. Thinking about this......if you are with talk talk you'll be on their LLU equipment and need your line ported back onto BT kit! So a simple change of providers might not be that quick......

[kmac]

Keep a track of all outages and issues for a certain period, say a couple of weeks.

Then go back to them with the logged evidence that the service is not of adequate quality

Look at the description of the service - I don't think boradband is only used "to load web pages" so you should push back heavily

On the other hand if all you can talk to is a monkey with a script then you have to find some way to escalate outside of that

[slypie]

You get what you pay for it seems.

Personally wouldn't touch TalkTalk with a barge pole myself.

Couldn't of put it better myself.

What I would do is to do a speed test every day for a couple of weeks and take screen shots of the results and then write a letter complaining about it and stating the figures and that you have screen shots to prove this. State that the service is not up to standard and that you wish to leave and be provided with a MAC code and waive the fee. I would state that you are willing to stay if they improve the broadband speeds (that way at least your giving them a chance to sort the problem out and you can at least say you tried to stay with them giving you a better argument to leaving them for free). I got out of paying the leaving fee but for a different reason as the service was a joke and the company is just plain disorganized and clueless.

I would also point out that if it doesn't improve then you will take the matter up with the comunications ombudsman.

[kmac]

Also maybe you can

1) Sign up for wireless broadband

2) Have a BT phone line fitted and get ADSL

3) Fake your death and advise CPW that your contract has to terminate

[gss03]

From memory the definition of broadband is "10 times the speed of Dialup"

[slypie]

From memory the definition of broadband is "10 times the speed of Dialup"

Doesn't really matter to them. When I was with Sky my connection went from 1.7Mbps to 0.1Mbps at peak times and they argued that they were providing a service and not a guaranteed speed on the broadband and I argued that if I wanted dial up I'd pay for dialup and they released my contract as well. I think the moral of the storey is cheap broadband is crap.

I'm with Tiscali now and whilst people have had problems with them I'm very happy with the service and best of all my connection is excellent.

[Blitzen]

Doesn't really matter to them. When I was with Sky my connection went from 1.7Mbps to 0.1Mbps at peak times and they argued that they were providing a service and not a guaranteed speed on the broadband and I argued that if I wanted dial up I'd pay for dialup and they released my contract as well. I think the moral of the storey is cheap broadband is crap.

I'm with Tiscali now and whilst people have had problems with them I'm very happy with the service and best of all my connection is excellent.

Cheap broadband isnt always crap.
I have SKY Max and a 24/7 14mb up/615kbs down

My mum has the SKY basic for free....... she is 24/7 1.9mb down / 575kbs up.

[slypie]

Cheap broadband isnt always crap.
I have SKY Max and a 24/7 14mb up/615kbs down

My mum has the SKY basic for free....... she is 24/7 1.9mb down / 575kbs up.

your one of the lucky ones

[geezerone]

Not forgetting that TalkTalk keep you in'phorm'ed too

If your fault isn't a TalkTalk network fault then you will get the same speeds with other providers so try and get as much done now so when you change (if that is) you don't bring the problem with you. When you speak to TalkTalk do you use the 'freephone' number btw?

I must admit though, that although some people don't have internet issues with the alleged 'free' ones (although Sky isn't really free as you have to subscribe - £16 min/month) they aren't going to be as professional and reliable as a dedicated ISP on a consistent basis.

Plusnet have upped their allowances recently and may be worth a try on a month to month contract as well. If you do decide to go for them please pm me.

[dfour]

I have Zen and if your looking for a superb no hassle connection 24/7 with expert support then they are hard to beat. You do have to pay for it but its worth every penny.

[ZeroTheHero]

i've got the opposite problem.

I'm with Pipex Homecall and their internet isn't free, but it is!

Every month, my bill comes with a 9.99 charge for broadband.
Every month, there is a 'broadband discount' of 9.99 applied
Total internet cost - nothing.

Have tried calling them - they insist that everything is in order and that 'it's free forever' although I can't find them advertising this, now or ever!

Seems fine to me - just hope they don't change their minds and start hassling me for back payments!

[peterb]

I don't see that as a problem (provided it works!)

[kidzer]

Seems fine to me - just hope they don't change their minds and start hassling me for back payments!

Might be worth getting what they've said to you in writing so you can show them it should they decide that they do actually want your money!

[CrazyMonkey]

Shout at them? =]

I had the exact same problems, i've gone cable and NEVER looked back. ADSL 100KB's to Virgin Media 20MB sometimes hitting 2.8 MBP's....

As for ZeroTheHero - Hehe sweeeet

[TheAnimus]

can't you claim its not fit for purpose?

you said at the time when you took it out you wanted a connection fit for gaming. Didn't get it?