Doo Not! (Freeserve)

Member Name: ickkate

Product:	Freeserve
Date:	21/09/04 (452 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There is a temporary improvement, ...erm..., ...erm...?

Disadvantages: They do not understand the concept of "Service", Bad connection, Bad customer services

Once upon a time there was a woman who had a good quality internet connection. She then moved and opted for Freeserve "Anytime" package. After a few months of difficulties and then an even shorter amount of time with a good quality service it all went downhill. Not even its new incarnation as Wanadoo could give this story a happy ending.

When Freeserve first came on the market they were an absolute godsend. As one of the first Internet Service Providers to charge its users at local rates they helped to bring down the cost of the internet for the average man on the street. As my parent's still use the internet relatively infrequently, they still find this the most cost effective way to access the internet. For them Freeserve has been a happy story. A few years ago they had a few months of difficulties dialing up, but other than that they have experienced exemplary service.

On this basis and on the recommendations of various friends I signed up to Freeserve's "Anytime" package. Which will offer: unlimited email addresses for the whole family accessible from any PC (although this was five when I signed up), 30MB for up to five personal websites, a fortnightly newsletter, access to a website skewed towards celebrity style news and an "online Help Channel providing free advice and support by email".

From the start I encountered difficulties, but was placated slightly by the low introductory offer of £9.99 per month for the first three months. Some of these problems could, in part, have been put down to the ancient PC I was using; but my instincts suggested that this was incorrect as NTL had provided me with good service using the same computer in my previous flat.

Getting a response from Freeserve was difficult to say the least - especially as the customer services email address seemed to be buried on their site. I then followed the instructions in various automated responses. For instance, it could be something to do with call waiting disrupting the signal on the line, or maybe it was that the gain (strength of signal through the phone line) needed to be turned up. Finally contact was made with a human. Apparently, the real live person informed me, it had to be something wrong with my computer as the correct number of people were using the numbers I had been allocated.

When a gleaming new computer replaced my antiquated PC things did improve. For a few months...

Things are now in an even worse situation than they were before. At times it has taken me up to seven attempts to connect to the internet. By this I don't mean that that the Freeserve Connection Kit - which enables your computer to dial a variety of numbers doesn't connect immediately - has dialled seven times. I mean that I have had to shut that down and start it up again seven times. (This has taken up to an hour at times). When I do actually manage to get online there is no guarantee that I will encounter the two hours of interrupted service before it automatically disconnects. Often I will attempt to load a page and find that I need to dial up in order to do so. Using MSN Messenger also becomes a problem - the connection is so weak that it cannot be used unless you attempt to reconnect again! (33.2 Kbps is about average at the moment, that is not much over 50% of the modem speed - 54Kbps - and it has dropped as low as 20Kbps before). This means that pages take an age to load; and there is no certainty that the connection will not suddenly drop. I'm no expert, but I don't think it's unacceptable to expect to be able to connect to Freeserve at, at least, 40Kbps. Tasks that should take one hour now take three - on a good day.

Instead of going through the automated email responses a letter was sent first class to Freeserve Customer Services. After nearly a month a reply arrived asking me to give details of my account and my mobile number in order that an engineer could contact me. Suitable times were given. Instead of receiving a phonecall promptly, another letter turned up.

... more than three weeks later... and this time the letter is an automated response...

...not only that, but it seems to ignore the information sent in my first letter which I sent two months ago...

Possibly ringing the Freeserve Customer Care premium rate line would have speeded things up, but stop me if I'm wrong, but why should I run up further costs to find out what is wrong with a service I am paying for them to provide. Although if you do try and cancel your subscription you'll find that another local rate number miraculously appears. Its rather pointless ringing it though, they'll just tell you it is your equipment that's at fault anyway.

At the moment I might as well be burning money as I waste hours attempting to get online, stay online and do the most basic tasks using a connection speed that is 75% slower than I should expect; leaving me wondering why I pay £14.99 a month to Wanadoo/Freeserve. Surely they should pay me to continue using their "Service", or should I be renaming them myself as an "Internet S*** Provider"? After all, service isn't even a word they seem to apply to their Customer Care Department either - not unless your idea of service is ignoring the customer and hoping they and their problem will go away. Cynically they may be seen to be trying to push Anytime users into using their Broadband service, but surely they must be able to see that receiving bad service from one part of the business is not going to inspire you to try another part - especially as it will cost you more. Nothing in the world could induce me to continue using them. Not even that irritating ad campaign.

You'll be needing this if you chose Wanadoo Anytime package:
Wanadoo Customer Care
PO Box 73
Leeds
LS10 1WZ

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I'll give them one extra star for the temporary improvement in the service that appears to have occured recently. Its not enough to make me stay though, or convince me that they do actually offer something that constitutes service.

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