I didn't even get to sign up... probably a good thing (btinternet.com)

Member Name: imagin8or

Product:	btinternet.com
Date:	08/07/01 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Umm....

Disadvantages: Everything else like: Slow, expensive tech help, didn't actually get anywhere...

The other day, we got a phone bill. A very big phone bill. In fact this was an epic. So I said 'why don't we get BTinternet Anytime, Dad, then it'd cost us £45 a quarter instead of £300'. Stupid, stupid stupid.

2 hours, 3 premium rate phone calls and a disturbingly large amount of relocated hair later, we gave up. First we put in the CD picked up *earlier that day*. First it forces me to install IE5.5. Again. I already have it, and hard disk space is prime real estate right now. then it run a strange sign up process that takes ages because it's just forced me to dial up BT do download the sogn up pages. Then it says 'Sorry, technical fault. Try again later'. So we thought, hmm, sod later. And we try again. This time, again having entered credit details, it says 'Oops, there's already a financial transfer taking place on this card'. So we, with trepidation, ring the technical helpline (freefone) which dutifully informs us in all its prerecorded glory 'There are no technical faults at this time'. Yeah, right. So we phone the freefone tech number and it tells us that 'there are no technical problems at this time'. So we think, forget it, we'll sign up online. And then we realise it's taken over IE and when you start IE it comes up with the register or cancel choice. Hmm. So we ring the premium rate number. And they take us through getting rid of the start screen, and tell us how to sign up online. We try it, and it looks annoyingly similar to the first attempt, only this time they've told us to use the BTinternet dialup, which is deadly slow.

Needless to say by the end of it all, we're thoroughly fed up and we still can't sign up. So out comes the AOL CD. Now we're AOLs people, and BT'll never get our internet traffic. Ever.

So I advise anyone who's thinking of trying BT: don't. Don't even go there. Just get the AOL CD out and use that. It's t
he same price, and AOL at least has the system architecture for vast numbers of users. I'm no net newbie, and I was quite horrified by the thought of going to AOL, home of the dreaded first time user. But hey, why should they have all the fun. My (even more experienced) net friend uses AOL for the same reasons. They have a good deal and it works. End of. Sometimes the AOL program falls over, but its so much better than the way BT had it, its untrue.

Well, there's my rant. It's a quite unashamedly knee jerk, but honestly, I couldn't believe that a company could legally lead you up the garden path at a cost of about £10 in wasted phone calls, just to get rid of the mess they put you in. BT is infected, so avoid it as such.

Beware. Just beware.

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