Liberty's not surfing (Libertysurf.co.uk)

Member Name: bluetack

Product:	Libertysurf.co.uk
Date:	02/08/00 (60 review reads)
Rating:

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How a few months can change someone’s opinion?

Before I edited this review of Libertysurf it was a glowing report of what seemed like the best ISP I have ever used but how many others and I have been treated over the last month has changed all that.

Around October the 10th our service over night suddenly became unusable many people including myself rang the help line to be told “everything is ok, we are having a problem with our servers, it will be sorted out shortly”. But the problem was never sorted out. A week or so passed when a Libertysurf user noticed an article in the Daily Mirror, basically it explained how Libertysurf customers using the unlimited 24/7 package had been blacklisted for heavy use.

On ringing the support line once more we were told that no information regarding our accounts could be divulged and a prepared statement was read out ending with an address for a legal department. Many users then e-mailed Libertysurf only to receive back the prepared statement that was read out on the support phone line.

On reading the e-mail it became apparent that the main reasons for the blacklisting of users was for being a heavy user or using the service for business proposes or using auto dialling software.

The next step was to write to the supplied legal address as I personally was assured that I would receive a letter back regarding my personal use of the service. When the letter came back it was obvious that it was just another prepared statement that did not answer a single question I had asked.

The Libertysurf software has not been on sale since June and the service has worked superb for months so why has it taken Libertysurf all these months to decide that 5% of its users are preventing 95% users from using the service? No one knows because they will not reply.

Why as an Off Peak user have I (and others) been blacklisted? No one knows because the will not reply.

I d
o not use the service as a business or for business proposes, so why have I been blacklisted? No one knows because they will not reply.

I do not use auto diallers, so why have I been blacklisted? No one knows because they will not reply.

I do use their software, so why have I been blacklisted? No one knows because they will not reply.

I am not a particularly heavy user but neither am I the lightest. If my usage was too high a simple letter to lower it would have sufficed not to just blacklist me without warning, reason or worst of all refusing to answer any questions after the event.

Libertysurf offered stunning value for money and was a very good service; no doubt for the users that are not blacklisted the service is still very good indeed. The thing that has annoyed me is the lack of communication between its users, if they have a problem with my usage of the service please tell me, don’t hide behind prepared documents or tell your staff not to answer questions.

Although the decision not to kick people off but to put them on a lower capacity server (5% of the people can use 5% off the network) must be applauded as a fresh approach to heavy users. Some form of customer correspondence would have been greatly appreciated.

Summary: