We had our Broadband internet connection installed with Pipex around 2 years ago now and although the service wasn't great with Pipex it wasn't nothing compared to what we had to deal with when Talk Talk took over ownership of the company.

We received a letter by post explaining the migration service between the providers, and at this stage we was not required to do anything as all would be taken care of by Talk Talk.

All the problems began when suddenly without warning our Internet connection went down and didn't come back on, now as a regular user of computer system and networking I have quiet a good understanding on troubleshooting and installation of connections and networks and had checked all the obvious routes and knew that the problem lay with the new provider Talk Talk.

I began by phoning the company who in the initial stages told me there was no fault and that I was in the wrong! They continued to ignore what I was telling them and on several occassion's made abrupt and insulting comments about my knowledge of Internet hardware and software.

After trying to resolve the issue by phone for over 2 weeks I was then informed that they had no record of me as a customer despite the fact that 2 and a half weeks previous they had been providing my internet connection, strange!

At this point I was becoming more and more impatient so decided to write a formal complaint and sent it via post to there head office, it was then a further 5 weeks before I actually received a letter in response of my complaint which confirmed that had received my correspondence and would contact me shortly to resolve the issue.

I then heard nothing at all for another 3 weeks, at this stage I phoned up to cancel my contract and to request a MAC code so I could transfer my services to a new provider, they then refused to give me my MAC code unless I paid a cancellation fee of £149 despite this not been mentioned anywhere in my contact terms and conditions.

I cancelled my direct debit agreement with the company and wrote back to head office explaining that I was seeking legal advice with regards to the unfair practice of the company, they quickly responded and told me that I had been advised incorrectly and there would not be a cancellation fee after all.

Believe me as honest and valuable advice, do not ever consider using this company for your internet services unless you want to wait 30-60 minutes just to talk to someone (OUTSIDE THE UK), and are prepared to tolerate an inconsistent internet connection with varying uptime and slow speeds.

Stay away from Talk Talk :(