Tiscali are useless

[andyrob]

I have a 512k ADSL connection with Tiscali UK and the product is advertised as UNLIMITED broadband. My connection is fine during the day but once peak times come e.g. 5pm, my connection slows to less than old dial up speeds, normal average is 30 kps! What a joke! After reading Tiscali’s terms and conditions I found this entry



8.4 Although we do not operate formal limits on the amount of data that you can send or receive using the broadband service, if we believe that your use of the broadband service is adversely affecting our network (or any part of it) or other customers, we may regulate your usage. For example, we may give priority to light users over heavy users during peak times. Tiscali reserves the right to terminate your broadband service by providing you with 30 days' notice in writing in the event that your use of the broadband service is adversely affecting our network (or any part of it) or our other customers and our regulation of your usage has been ineffective.



So in English, if I use the service to the extent I am paying for and Tiscali’s network cannot cope, they will cap my usage. Which I think they already have!
But they will not put anything in writing saying what they term excessive usage.

This is not unlimited as advertised. How can Tiscali get away with this?

This lot are a bunch of crooks.If u live in Europe and don't have DSL yet DO NOT CHOOSE TISCALI.

[SingaBoiy]

When you say 30kps... do you mean 30 Kb/s or 30 KB/s?

Your connection may be going slow just because of the peek usage and not them limiting your speed.

It is still considered unlimited because there is no set bandwith you have to stay under.

[Samurai]

You have several options andyrob...

1. Contact them and inform them you are extremely unhappy as you have been misled into believing that unlimited meant exactly that. You would not have signed up with them had you known. Say you are thinking about contacting OFCOM unless you are given a migration code (MAC Code). Also refuse to pay anything until this is sorted out.

2. Actually contact OFCOM (http://www.ofcom.org.uk/)

3. You may want to think about going to a small claims court if you're that upset.

Unlimited in the dictionary means:


Main Entry: un·lim·it·ed
Pronunciation: -'li-m&-t&d
Function: adjective
1 : lacking any controls : UNRESTRICTED
2 : BOUNDLESS, INFINITE
3 : not bounded by exceptions : UNDEFINED
- un·lim·it·ed·ly adverb

Courtesy of http://www.m-w.com/

You will have to pay a small fee to do this, but it is reletively small (around £40-50).


Hope this helps ;)

By the way, how much are you paying and what connection are you on?

[Voetsek]

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/

forums help and a speed test

[andyrob]

30 Kb/s Which should give me download speeds of about 3-4 KB/s !!!!

Some nights I cannot even surf webpages - Timeouts etc.

The T+C give - "Priority will be given to light users at peak times"
So if I use p2p etc. They throttle my bandwith. This stinks !

http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/f8.html?

There are thousands of dissatisfied customers of this ISP.

[Voetsek]

http://www.pipex.net/ no caps fast and fun

[Samurai]

For 512kB connection you should be receiving 64kB max (minus 10% overheads).

[Voetsek]

Rough Speed Guide
ADSL Speed
Typical Download
Typical Upload

512Kbps 460 Kbps 220-260 Kbps
1Mbps 920 Kbps 220-260 Kbps
2Mbps 1840 Kbps 220-260 Kbps

[Samurai]

http://www.pipex.net/ no caps fast and fun

Solo 2000 looks like the same package I'm on at the moment. I'm with Bulldog DSL (http://www.bulldogdsl.com/).

If I hadn't had chosen Bulldog, I would have gone with Plus.net.

Also UKOnline.net have recently launched their 8MB service @ £40 per month, so it's worth a look to see if you can get it.

[andyrob]

Thanks for the help and suggestions.Tiscali do not support migrations,do not give out MAC codes and can hold the line untill the end of contract. I'm paying £25/month for 512k and getting 30k most evenings!!! Ripped off big style !!! OFFcom gives ISPs 12 WEEKS to solve disputes. I have complained to ISPA, trading standards etc

[DarthInsinuate]

Tiscali are one of the most complained (http://www.ispreview.co.uk/new/complain/complain.shtml) about ISPs, they're also one of the most popular, bewildering to me :unsure:

[Samurai]

Thanks for the help and suggestions.Tiscali do not support migrations,do not give out MAC codes and can hold the line untill the end of contract. I'm paying £25/month for 512k and getting 30k most evenings!!! Ripped off big style !!! OFFcom gives ISPs 12 WEEKS to solve disputes. I have complained to ISPA, trading standards etc

It is illegal to not give out a MAC code. Take them to court. Trust me.

Let me search for the article on the law.

[andyrob]

Their the one of the most popular because of their pricing and advertising campaigns and duping mugs like me who don't know what their getting into.

[DarthInsinuate]

come to think of it, i almost convinced my parents to sign up for Tiscali at some point, luckily they're stingy wankers

[Samurai]

come to think of it, i almost convinced my parents to sign up for Tiscali at some point, luckily they're stingy wankers

lol :lol:

[andyrob]

Results from broadband speed test recorded on Tuesday, 18 January 2005, 18:33.

Your Connection
Direction
Actual Speed
True Speed (estimated)

Downstream 164 Kbps (20.5 KB/sec) 177 Kbps (inc. overheads)
Upstream 31 Kbps (3.9 KB/sec) 33 Kbps (inc. overheads)


'Actual Speed' is the amount of useful data that your connection can transmit/receive per second. The 'True Speed' figure includes an approximation of data overheads (non-useful data) and is estimated to be around 8%. 'True Speed' is for informational purposes only and is not used in any ISP rankings.

NOTE: Your downstream speed result is very low for the type of connection specified (ADSL/RADSL, 512Kbps). We strongly recommend that you check your Internet connection is not being used elsewhere during the test and/or contact your ISP to resolve speed issues you may be experiencing.

WOW I'm impressed! My connection is now up tp %30 of what I'm paying for!

"contact your ISP to resolve speed issues you may be experiencing." LOL!!!!!

[nanotek]

forget tiscalli , try to get out of the contract as they do cap speeds and also block ports , here in germany they do have a bad reputation for doing that :angry:

[Virtualbody1234]

How long is the contract?

I won't sign up to any service that I cannot cancel within 1 month.

[andyrob]

12 month contract. The connection was fine for 8 months but as Tiscali have added more and more users, their network cannot cope at peak times. To be fair, Tiscali have now contacted me and said they will sort the problem out. But I'm not holding my breath.

LOL !!!!

Tiscali engineer called, agreed my computer was fine and said the problem would be marked urgent and solved soon.
Recieved email today from Tiscali "according to our records,after our engineer's report, this problem is now solved"

&*%$ !!!

Tonights blistering connection speed - 116 kbps !!!!