Virgin DSL (non-cable)

[liwolfbyte]

I've come along to post a series of emails that have passed through from myself to my ISP at the suggestion of a collegue on another site. I hope someone get's something from this and Virgin DSL get's the attention it deserves - all negative.

Wolfy.

[scores]

Test Scores (running with 2 IRC clients on two computers, Zyxel router, no downloading/file sharing) this is supposed to be an up to 8mb line, in reality, these are thr best scores I've had, though it could be down to speed tests used (I've been using speedtest.net)
:
:::.. testmy.net test results ..:::
Download Connection is:: 405 Kbps about 0.41 Mbps (tested with 386 kB)
Download Speed is:: 49 kB/s
Upload Connection is:: 203 Kbps about 0.2 Mbps (tested with 386 kB)
Upload Speed is:: 25 kB/s
Tested From:: https://testmy.net(Main)
Test Time:: 2008/03/01 - 8:30am
D-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-FUTI1PRX0
U-Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/stats/id-X6SJR8UT7
User Agent:: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; .NET CLR 3.0.04506; InfoPath.2) [!]


Emails follow in reverse order - so start at the bottom and work up:

You're not listening to me, at all.

I want a MAC code, I'm taking my business elsewhere. The service you're offering is, at best, poor. The fact that you're encouraging me to call a premium rate number is just REALLY bad business and it's not going to happen. Rest assured I'll be passing this on to other media companies for publication.

Legally, you're required to supply me a Mac code within a reasonable time. So I expect full compliance.



[email protected] wrote:

Dear Wolfy,

Thanks for your email.

Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience caused to you.

Please note that it is not possible to arrange a call back from the email support section.

Please note that we can provide limited support on connection/speed issues via an email.

There are number of tests to be done to diagnose the slow speed issue. Please note that as these process needs real time instructions we are unable to provide support for this via email.

I would request you to contact our �Technical support� on 0906 *** **** after performing the speed tests. They will be able to analyse the test results.

Please note that this matter can be escalated to BT by contacting our Technical Support team on 0906 *** **** and after all troubleshooting has been done by the Technical support team.

I'm afraid that due to security restrictions here at [My ISP] Media in line with the Data Protection act and our own company policy, we are unable to confirm any billing or refund details with you via email.

Please can you phone our customer support helpline where, after you have confirmed your security details, we will be happy to look into your account and confirm any billing or refund for you.

Please call our helpline on 0870 *** **** and choose the appropriate option.
If you need any further assistance please contact us again, or visit the following address:



Many Thanks

Ubaid

[My ISP] Media Customer Support

You may have noticed that we have changed our name to [My ISP] Media. So

What does this mean? Well the same great service and value, but now we

can bring you even more exciting new services. To find out more visit:



www.myisp.net/allyours/broadband/






--Original Message--
From: [email protected]
Date: 2/29/2008 6:36:05 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Line Retest [#521284]

And there we have proof that you're not even reading what I'm saying.

I'm through with you - elevate me to someone who wants to help me and lives somewhere in my locale (somewhere in England, where they can use the same service themselves), or arrange a full refund on every penny I've paid so far - either works. While we're on the subject, I don't recall granting permission to call me by my first name.

[email protected] wrote:

Dear Wolfy,


Thanks for your email.


I do apologise for the inconvenience caused to you.


As you are experiencing difficulty in conducting the Speedtest BT website, then you may also visit any of these websites for conducting the speed test:

www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html

www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp

It is strongly recommended to perform at least 6 speed tests over 48 hours at different intervals at various times of the day and/or in periods when service is perceived to be slow.

Also note that these software applications are not supported by [My ISP] Media and we will be unable to provide any technical assistance regarding the same.

Once you have completed the tests, please contact our �Technical Support� on 0906 *** **** (25 pence per minute) where our technicians will be more than willing to investigate the results of the Speedtest.

Also note we can only escalate the issue to BT only if the connection speed comes out to be less than the acceptable speed limits for ADSL Broadband.

The acceptable limits for ADSL Broadband through a BT telephone line are as follows:

100kps or more - acceptable on 512kbps products

200kbs or more - acceptable on 1Mb products

400kbs or more - acceptable on 2Mb, 4Mb & 8Mb products

If the site does not detect a problem with your line or service, then we cannot progress your fault further as your speed is within acceptable limits.

If you still face this issue please contact our technical support help line on 0906 *** ****.

Alternatively you can log on to our online chat service where you will be able to speak to one of our technical support agents at the following address:

www.myisp.net/customers/contactus/

If you need any further assistance please contact us again, or visit the following address:

www.myisp.net/helpme/

Many Thanks

Saddam

[My ISP] Media Customer Support

You may have noticed that we have changed our name to [My ISP] Media. So What does this mean? Well the same great service and value, but now we can bring you even more exciting new services. To find out more visit:

www.myisp.net/allyours/broadband/



--Original Message--
From: [email protected]
Date: 2/28/2008 8:32:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Line Retest [#521284]

When I attempt to run the test, I get:

Test Error:

The login name entered on this tool doesnt match that discovered by querying the network for your domain name. Please check your telephone number (or user name) and try again. If problem persists please contact
your CP.

As for calling in, I think I already made my feelings well known on this - I will not line [My ISP]'s pockets with more money for a substandard service.

2.5mb you say? That's interesting as my router is reporting 3616 kbps / 448 kbps, which sounds a little higher than 2.5mb broadband, so I put it to you that as you're sitting in some comfortable office somewhere, you
have no idea what you're talking about. If the best you can come up with is a system pre-generated email, then I see my gut reaction was right.

I also find it interesting that you're telling me my line only supports 2.5mb according to BT, and yet you're supposed to have your own equipment at my exchange, so surely you shouldn't be referencing BTs
standards on your own equipment.

I think perhaps you need to elevate this to the next level, I think I'm done talking with anyone else of your rank. I'm getting nowhere fast. I'm paying for a service that I'm not getting most of the time and when I do finally get a decent speed, I end up on your top 5% list because I have to download the data I need to access at that time. 8kB/s down 45kB/s up is NOT 2.5mb broadband, it's barely better than dialup on the
downstream. I'm willing to bet you haven't even read the entire origional email. My only regret is that you personally have done nothing beyond what you've been told to do and you're getting the end of this
but unfortunately, as the representative of the company, I'm afraid it's inevitable.

So, what you gonna do now? Remotely accessing my computer is not an option. I don't let my partner on my computer, I don't let my kids on it, so you can bet I'm not letting a total stranger remotely access it.

Wolfy

[email protected] wrote:

Dear Wolfy,

Thanks for your email.

I would like to inform you that your phone line can not handle more than 2.5 mbps broadband speed. There are a number of factors that will decide what your highest line speed can be. For example, the quality
of your phone line and how far you live from your local exchange are both important. It is your phone line provider (BT) who decides your phone line capacity in order to handle broadband speed.

You can also check your phone line capacity by clicking the link below:

www.myisp.net/allyours/broadband/availability/

In order for us to arrange for a fault to be raised to rectify your situation, we require that you run some speed tests, under a BT test login and password and on the BT site. Please follow the below
instructions on how to do this.

You will need to login using the following username and password rather than your own details.

The username you will need is: - [username cut], try without a password but if you are using a router it may require a password, in which case please use: - [password cut]. If you are unable to
run the speed tests under these details, please use your own username and password.

The site you will need to go to in order to run these tests is:
speedtester.bt.com or you could also use either of the following IP addresses: - 217.32.105.42 or 217.35.209.142.

When you login in you will be asked to produce your Landline telephone number, once entered the site will perform the required test.

We require that you run 6 tests over a 48-hour period.

Once you have collected the relevant information, if you could then contact our technical support department on: - 0906 *** ****, where one of our agents will then be able to log into the BT network and
collect your test results.

If the data that is collected states speeds such as you have mentioned, our technical support department will be able to raise this issue as a fault to BT.

If you still unable to run speed tests, please contact our Free Online Chat Support, where our Technical Support agents will be able to help you. They will access your computer remotely and will do the need
full. Please click on the link below and enter your myisp.net email address and password to access our online chat agents.

myisp.net/customers/contactus

In the next window click on the button which says 'Online help' and a small window will pop up wherein you would be able to live chat with agents online. It might be possible that sometimes you will not see
the online chat button. It is because our all chat support agents are busy with other customers. I will suggest you to keep trying.

We are open from 8am � 22:30 pm Monday � Friday and 9am � 22:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

If you need any further assistance please contact us again, or visit the following address:
www.myisp.net/helpme/

Many Thanks

Saddam

[My ISP] Media Customer Support

You may have noticed that we have changed our name to [My ISP] Media. So What does this mean? Well the same great service and value, but now we can bring you even more exciting new services. To find out more visit:
http://www.myisp.net/allyours/broadband/

--Original Message--
From: [email protected]
Date: 2/28/2008 2:12:50 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Line Retest [#521284]

I've followed every single suggestion in this here email of yours, at expense to myself, might I add, and I'm still getting horrifically slow speeds (we're talking single digits both ways). I have obligations online and I can't be doing with an unreliable connection. Either you tech-heads need to get your stuff straight, or I'm walking to another company and I defy you to try and hit me with your so called 'cancellation fee' - because I'll fight it out in a court of law and I'll drag every single newspaper into it with me. I have brandnew BT approved filters, a brand new modem/router (2 months old), even my cabling is new - there's nothing more I can do my end short of turn up at the exchange and check YOUR LLU connections.

My obligation extends to the telephone box on the wall - yours goes from that point to the exchange. Mine's obviously faultless - so your stuff must be wrong.

In the meantime, given the length of time I've had sub-standard speed, it might be a nice gesture on [My ISP]'s part to credit me two months worth of charges, since in the last 3, I've had nothing but excuses and
bother, not to mention having to put up with advertising AND as premium rate phone number, which I refuse to call.

Wolfy

[email protected] wrote:

Dear Wolfy,

Thanks for your email.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the slow connection of your broadband service.

As slow speeds cannot easily be pin pointed to one particular issue or cause, we need to investigate all aspects of your [My ISP] Media broadband connection.

There are 4 main areas where speed problems can arise:

1. Your own PC/network.

If your internal wiring / filtering is incorrectly set up, the affect  on the line could be dropped connections or slow speed. Always check  the basics first.

* We would advise using good quality filters. Avoid filters that look like telephone doublers. The filters that look like small rectangular  boxes with a short cable to the telephone socket are generally better.
Check that none of your filters are faulty by swapping them out and  checking your line statistics.
* Minimise the amount of extension wiring in use. If it is possible to locate your modem / router at the BT master socket for your  premises then this may yield improved stability and performance.
* Ensure all your telephony equipment is properly filtered.

2. BT's network.

Virtual Path Congestion

ADSL is a contended product, using shared bandwidth within BT's Network. This means that your bandwidth is shared with other ADSL users at the same telephone exchange. BT state that, because of
congestion on these Virtual paths you are unlikely to achieve the full theoretical limit for your line at certain times of the day. At peak times of the day they state that it may well perform similarly to a
fixed 2 Meg line.

Up to 8 Meg profile issues

Problems with the ADSL Max profile might also cause speeds to drop. If your Line sync rate is higher than your profile speed, it is possible that you have experienced a low Line sync rate event, which has
resulted in a drop in speed.  Rebooting your modem / router once a day for 3 days should cause the Profile to increase back to its original value.

You can follow the steps below to maximise the speed of your broadband connection.

1. Restart your modem and computer 3 times a day at different intervals of time, at least for 2 days.

The system and modem restart (three times a day and at different time intervals) allows the modem/router to re-sync with the Telephone Exchange.

2. If you are using SpeedTouch 330 modem, please update the drivers according to the Operation System installed on your computer:
http://www.thomson-broadband.co.uk/codepages/content3.asp?c=7&ProductID=471

If you are using a router, I would suggest you to download the latest firmware for the router, so that it is compatible with the speed.

If you are using Netgear router, please download latest firmware by  visiting this link:
http://my.netgear-support.com/myNETGEAR/support.asp

I would also like to inform you that the speed of the broadband connection will eventually increase after restarting the router and updating the latest modem drivers.

When you connect to an exchange, a profile is generated which stores information about the stable connection speed your computer is  connected at. Sometimes issues like this do get resolved if a new
profile is created on the exchange.

You need to unplug all the wires from the modem and leave it disconnected overnight. By doing this the old profile at the exchange will be deleted.

3.  The remote network.

If the remote network you are connecting to is slow, then obviously your speed may also be slow.

A high ping rate to a game server is not just based on the speed of your connection, some of these servers will be on slower connections than others and therefore all connecting players will get higher ping rates.

The same is true of viewing websites and other online activities such as downloading or file sharing. If your connection is fast but the other party's is slow then the overall speed will be slow.

4. [My ISP] Media Network

We are currently experiencing an uneven spread of traffic across different parts of the network, causing some customers to experience degradation in their broadband performance. This problem was also  exacerbated by an unplanned outage, which has been resolved.

The traffic issue was identified and the fix will begin shortly. In conjunction with the broader improvements we are putting in place these should result in significantly improved service.

We'd like to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We are monitoring the situation closely on a daily basis and will post further updates at the end of the week if necessary. In  some individual cases, customers using routers or the [My ISP] Wireless Kit may also benefit immediately from forcing a new session by switching your router off & on again at the wall socket.

I would like to inform you that the cancellation fee of �50.00 is  charged only if customers cancel their broadband service within the first 12 months of activation.

I would also like to inform you that we provide a free modem and there is no activation fee. However after 12 months of activation, there is no cancellation fee.

Please follow the link below to know about the Terms and Condition.

www.myisp.net/terms/broadband_tc.html

If you would like to discuss this further please contact our technical  support help line on 0906 *** ****.

Alternatively you can log on to our online chat service where you will  be able to speak to one of our technical support agents at the  following address:

www.myisp.net/customers/contactus/

If you need any further assistance please contact us again, or visit  the following address:
www.myisp.net/helpme/

Many Thanks

Saddam

[My ISP] Media Customer Support

You may have noticed that we have changed our name to [My ISP] Media. So What does this mean? Well the same great service and value, but now we can bring you even more exciting new services. To find out more visit:

www.myisp.net/allyours/broadband/

--Original Message--
From: [email protected]
Date: 2/6/2008 9:33:44 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Line Retest [#521284]

[email protected]
[address removed]

[email protected] wrote:

Dear Wolfy,



Thanks for your email.

Please be assured that your recent email has received my full attention, unfortunately I do not have enough information to answer your enquiry fully, to assist me further please can you respond to this email confirming your [My ISP] Media email address, post code and the BT Telephone number so that I may check with your account.

Please use your [My ISP] Media Primary email address in order to get account related information.

If you need any further assistance please contact us again, or visit the following address:

www.myisp.net/helpme/

Many Thanks

Saddam

[My ISP] Media Customer Support

You may have noticed that we have changed our name to [My ISP] Media. So What does this mean? Well the same great service and value, but now we can bring you even more exciting new services. To find out more visit:

www.myisp.net/allyours/broadband/



-Original Message--
From: [email protected]
Date: 2/5/2008 4:16:04 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Line Retest

Over the course of the last few weeks, I've noticed my speed dropping from what was almost 4mb to not even 256k. This is not what I am paying for especially not as I know my line supports 3-4mb and I'm not even
getting close to that. Time and time again, [My ISP] disappoints me and, quite honestly, I don't hold out much hope that this will be resolved to my satisfaction.

How am I supposed to run my website/webservices with a service that's even less reliable than my local train service? This is disgusting and I can tell you that I am not going to put up with this much longer. Either
this speed thing needs to be sorted out, or [My ISP] and myself are going to have a problem that's going to spill out into the media. This is not what I expect from a company started by a man with knew his customer's
were his source of income and while I do realise that one customer's opinion and needs mean nothing (let's not beat around the bush here - you care about me less than I do about you), I'm sure alot of negative
media attention will get attention.

Do what you get paid to do - do what *I* pay you to do and provide me the service I'm not contracted through a contract to recieve (can't have a penalty without a contract, and since there's a 50 quid penalty,
it's an implied contract). Hold your end up, as I have mine.

And just in case you wondered, no I will not direct my enquiry to your phone staff - not at a premium rate, so let's not even go there.

Wolfy

[dlewis23]

The acceptable limits for ADSL Broadband through a BT telephone line are as follows:

100kps or more - acceptable on 512kbps products

200kbs or more - acceptable on 1Mb products

400kbs or more - acceptable on 2Mb, 4Mb & 8Mb products

Who thought that up? 

only 400kbps is acceptable on a 8mbps line. If i'm paying for 8mbps I better be getting atleast 7500kbps 

[Roco]

Who thought that up? 

only 400kbps is acceptable on a 8mbps line. If i'm paying for 8mbps I better be getting atleast 7500kbps

BT the UK nation phoney company, it has been their standard rule for some years , they only provide voice line ,, any  broadband is sold with the UP to  8MB , and no action if you get over 400Kbps ,

I now get 4 on my Tiscali 8Mb plan , the main problem is the last mile phone line, even on a llu exchange ,a while back b4 being on Tiscali LLU , I was getting 1.8 Mbps , the UK average for 8Mb ADSL is still only 3.5Mbps , 

UK ADSL probs.=line length , quality , SRN X Attenuation , contension ratio ( normal 50-1) and BT

[FiberOptic]

Oh, The days of MaxDSL ("upto 8Mb").

See my SIG now 

Roco, I think the UK broadband infrastructure is totally screwed. I mean the only hope with getting things sorted was Ofcom (Regulator). However when a regulator sets:

"100kps or more - acceptable on 512Kbps products

200kbs or more - acceptable on 1Mb products

400kbs or more - acceptable on 2Mb, 4Mb & 8Mb products"

^^there really isn't any hope anymore.

Also, What I totally find bizzare is, When an ISP buys up another ISP to create a bigger better service - and does so (taking customers from other ISPs - who are absolutely dreadful) they scream murder and the government gets involved for "unfair competition".