*** Original article written on 25th March 2008 ***
*** Updated 9th May 2008 (see below) ***
*** Updated 21st May 2008 (see below) ***
*** Updated 28th May 2008 (see below) ***
I used to have an account with Tiscali broadband.Actually, the full story is that I used to live in a house where (when I lived in that house) I had an account with Tiscali broadband.
But then I moved out and cancelled the account.
To cancel an account with Tiscali one can’t just ping them an email, one has to ring them (which means what one does is: spend half an hour on the phone listening to them telling one how much they value one’s call. Repeatedly.).
So what I did – in October last year – was just that; I rang them, I spent half an hour on the phone listening to them telling me how much they valued my call. Repeatedly. Then I spoke to someone and cancelled the account with immediate effect.
And the story ends there.
Not.
Because this morning I had a phone call from accounts to ask why the company was paying £15.99 a month to Tiscali broadband.
Why indeed!
So I rang Tiscali and spent half an hour listening to revolting revolving music which was periodically broken in to by a woman who told me that my call was valued.
Half an hour later I got connected to a person who, frankly (and only in terms of delivering customer service) sucked.
Making myself understood was a challenge which persistence, much repeating and ‘How now, brown cow?’ diction eventually overcame.
Then the person on the other end of the phone realised two things:
1. Precisely what I was trying to tell them, and
2. That what needed to be done fell outside their range of scripts.
So they put me on hold.
Ten minutes later they cut me off.
Arseholes.
So I rang the fuckers Tiscali again, spent another half an hour listening to revolting revolving music which was, again, periodically broken in to by a woman who told me that my call was valued until I got connected to another person.
I had the same language/cultural barrier but with a stiff dose of stoicism and a bucketful of persistence I stuck at it until the full meaning of the message I was trying to convey eventually penetrated.
They realised two things (again):
1. What I was trying to tell them, and
2. That what needed to be done fell outside their range of scripts.
So they put me on hold.
Again.
This time, but only after five minutes… they cut me off.
Again.
So I went to lunch and tried to calm myself down.
Back at my desk – armed with two rounds of sandwiches, a soup and a bowl of fruit – I tried again.
I called them up and – this time – listened to how valued my call was for a mere twenty minutes.
Things are looking up, I said to myself.
I spoke to a chap called Ian who was sitting several thousand miles closer to me than the last two people were.
Ian asked me the same range of authentication questions that the previous people had asked.
He listened to my issue and he immediately understood the problem and said he would be putting me on hold.
I gritted my teeth and told him about my previous ‘on hold’ experiences with Tiscali.
He said he didn’t know why that happened, and he’d only be a second.
Actually he lied, he was more like 45 seconds but I’ll forgive him.
He came back on the phone and double-checked when I’d called Tiscali with the cancellation.
I told him again.
He said that Tiscali had no record of me calling in to cancel the service and asked if I’d like to have it cancelled now.
Struggling to keep the Beast of Profanity from taking over, I said that would be nice.
While he was cancelling the agreement I asked how it was that Tiscali were still charging £15.99 a month when they must have known the service wasn’t being used?
I also asked why the money was being taken each month when we didn’t have a contract.
He didn’t answer the first question, but the second was dealt with simply: ‘After the first 12 months it’s a rolling contract, if you don’t cancel it, it just goes on each month.’
Staggering.
Then he asked how I had cancelled the contract – whether I’d called in or sent an email.
Surprised by this question I told Ian that one has to call Tiscali (and endure half an hour on hold listening to terrible music, feeling more and more suicidal as time passes) to cancel a contract because Tiscali (with all the sparkle of an 18th Century communications company) don’t accept contract cancellations by email.
‘Oh yeah’ was the response.
So there you are folks.
Tiscali.
Taking £15.99 a month for over a year for a service that wasn’t being delivered or needed.
And if that’s not bad enough, let’s just look at one small piece of extra information…
How much are Tiscali now charging for broadband?
£6.49 a month.
The words ‘money’ and ‘old rope’ are vying with ‘robbing’ and ‘bastards’.
Tiscali – don’t touch them with a bargepole.
They’re really, really shit.
B.
p.s. Chance of a refund? Two chances, slim and none (and slim’s just left town on the last stage)
*** Updated 9th May 2008 ***
OK, so I wrote that on 25th March 2008.
I thought that when I spoke to Tiscali, I was being pretty damn definite.
Unequivocal.
I mean, read the trails of people I went through.
Read the messages that passed between us.
Read the sheer frustration.
How prophetic was I on 25th March?
Totally.
Because guess what?
Tiscali took more money in April.
And in May they took another payment.
For a service they’re not delivering to me.
So I’ve written a formal letter of complaint to them.
How seriously do you think they’re going to take it?
Yeah, me too. 🙁
*** Updated 21st May 2008 ***
You will have read that I sent Tiscali a written complaint on 9th May 2008.
I’ve just come back to register their action so far.
Nothing.
None whatsoever.
Not even an acknowledgement.
It’s good, isn’t it?
*** Updated 28th May 2008 ***
Well, it’s now been two weeks since I sent Tiscali the formal letter of complaint.
Have I heard a peep out of them?
Absolutely not; not even an acknowledgement.
And guess what?
They’re still taking the money.
And the piss, obviously.
Totally totally agree!
I had a Tiscali staff-member tell me if I paid my final bill in full then the account would be cancelled.
He lied.
I didn’t take his name and then had a massive tussle with them trying to stop the service whilst not paying more (as he’d promised me I’d not have to do)
Hassle. Dishonesty. Incompetence. Tiscali shite.
Sooz – I love you. No, I mean it. Really. If I were single I’d marry you. And Ginny. There. Said it. If I were single I’d marry you and Ginny.
Sigh.
Not single though.
Ridiculously happily married. Sorry ’bout that. 🙂
Sadly, that is fairly typical of the standards of customer service with most large companies.
They don’t actually give two fucks about retaining your business. And it comes across loud and clear.
I have a similar tale of woe with Tiscali. http://hoverfrog.wordpress.com/?s=tiscali
I strongly suggest that you cancel your direct debit immediately because they will take money again. This is because they are thieving bastards. I would also very strongly suggest that you never call them again but write to them and threaten them with Ofcom if they persist in being as helpful as a chocolate fireguard.
You won’t find there address anywhere but I have it at home if you want it. I found it on an on-line forum complaining about Tiscali.
Gumpher: I think anyone who uses offshore call centres gives a toss about the customers.
hoverFrog: I remember your letter (commented on it). I have written to Tiscali (registered post) and enclosed a copy of my formal complain to Ofcom (registered post). But I’m not holding my breath. Bastards.
We got tiscali. We contacted bt before, they told us we could get a maximum of 3meg. During the 10 day “dodgy” period (which, was extraordinarily dodgy) it went up to 2 meg. I thought that seemed about right. Since then it’s reached no higher than 0.9meg, and these days, it barely scrapes 0.1 meg!!
This afternoon, it was peaking at 0.001 meg!!
nuff said, nobody should ever even consider getting tiscali, they suck.
I had tiscali before but when i was moveing house i decided to cancel the service with them as i wasn’t very happy so i called them in november and gave them a notice to cancel my account and they said ok we have put the request for you it should be done shortly ok now i was thinking i no longer have their service but eventually i recieved a call from this agency asking me to pay the outstanding balance for tiscali which is £46.91 i was like what i cancelled the service like 4 months ago with them so i don’t know why i been asking to pay this amount. I was so angry i rang tiscali and they said i am sorry to say but your account wasn’t cancelled for SOME REASON but i have done that now then i told her what about the outstanding balance cause i am not going to make a that payment as i did put the request to cancel the service which you didn’t then she said someone will call you and discuss with you about this matter and after a week i had no call from them so i decided to ring tiscali myself as i got fed up with agency phone calls asking me to pay the outstanding balance or we will take further actions well i explain the situation to the agency aswell but they said sorry we can’t help you with this 🙁 today i rang tiscali many times but they were keep transfering me to difference departments and when i was talking to someone in billing department she said sorry our system gone down just now so can you call us back within 1 hour i said ok fair enough when i did ring again someone else said the same story sorry our system gone down. At the moment i am so frustrated cause it was ther fault and now they are not willing to help in this matter.
Can someone please tell me what i should do.
Regards
Sunny
Sunny…
Complain to OFTEL, the ombudsman who has the responsibility for telecommunications providers.
Good luck.
i work for tiscali i understand what your saying, they can be ‘hard work’. all broadband providers have their stories. ok your with tiscali, did u know though ALL broadband providers have to operate through bt as they are the people in charge of the lines, this is why things like this happen. also tiscali is up for sale for they probably wont be around much longer. however from what i know and heard dont ever go with talk talk they are far worse than tiscali. for example they have a 3mth waiting list for connection in some areas.
Thanks for stopping by ‘cant say unfortunity’.
I’d just point out that my beef isn’t connection, it’s trying to get Tiscali to recognise that I cancelled and haven’t used (because I don’t live at that place!) a service – for which they’re still taking the money – almost a year ago.
I think this is called theft?
Hey, does anyone know any tiscali email addresses that actually reply to you? I’m having similar problems with canceling their brodband, thanks 🙂
Do you also realise you are being charged 10p a minute when you phone them. When they say ‘We really value your custom’ they mean it – Being on hold for 30 minutes makes them £3 for doing nothing – Thats good value to them.
Cancel your direct debits with Tiscali and make them work for their money via post.
Write to Ofcom at every opportunitiy.
Tiscali really are scum. They treat their customers as idiots.
I am doing a page about them;
http://www.badcustomerservice.co.uk/tiscali-internet.php
Sorry to hear you lot have had problems, but glad you have the sense to write about them online.
I cancelled my Tiscali Telephony/Broadband service on 8th August 2008.
Pleased to say that I had the foresight to cancel my Direct Debit mandate at the same time.
The department that cancelled the Broadband told me that I would have to telephone another department to cancel the Telephone account, never mind that they called my account “Telephony/ Broadband Bundle”!
Neither of these departments thought to tell Accounts Dept. to stop charging me for the service now cancelled.
After probably 20 emails to Customer Care, I received a snail mail telling me that I had an outstanding balance and to phone the 0871 number to discuss it. I managed to find a London number 020 7087200 and insisted on speaking to “collections”.
I was transferred to somebody in an Indian call centre who has promised to “Write off” the amount that they have been trying to collect.
Do I believe her? You bet I don’t!!
just left this for tiscali customer services some of you may find it offensive so look away now
i am totally and utterly fucked off with tiscali not being able to do a simple job like changing a fucking account from a tv package to a broadband package
since day one tiscali have fucked me about no end, i am not a swearing man but you have drove me to it.
i have checked my bill and noticed that i am on a Tiscali Max Unlimited TV Bundle plus Anytime Talk II
when i should be on a 8mb broadband with free weekend calls as i cancelled my tv package about 2 months after they installed it they removed the tv box in febuary 08 as the tv package was shit and kept on freezing.
and yet even after removing this tv package you are still fucking charging me for it 21.79 when i should be only paying 13.99 you robbing bastards.
i dont expect anyone to contact me about this email because no one ever gets back in contact with me from tiscali because they are shit.
fuck you later assholes
HI,
They are shit. Hwever its not all bad! They havent taken my direct debit in over a year and I have broadband and phone. Their inability to bill properly is saving me a fortune.
Idiots!!!!!
I seem to be having similar problems to you lot, I was on the £24 odd evening weekend calls & line rental and broadband. I have been trying to move to the £14.99 bundle that they keep advertising on their web site but have been told umptee times that it was not available in my area, imgine my surprise when my neighbour said he was on this package. I reapplied and got all the usual mails saying it was now available and I would be moved across on the 28th July this year, all ok so far. Then the next bill I got was for £25.45, it had bloody well gone up, I have since rang about 10 times and spoke to some clown in god knows what country, telling me that I am on the £14.99 package but have to pay for my line rental. So now I have spat my dummy, cancelled my account(and I recieved a letter of acknowledgement), cancelled my direct debit and will have moved to BT in November, fuck them. They are telling me that I now have a 12 month contract that I must pay for, I have told them I will see them in court.
hi
just like to say that i fought Tiscali all the way to CISAS and fileda complaint; the damages i put down to be 100 pounds and Tiscali gave right up and is now paying. it seems their strategy is not to bother too much on details in services but to rely that the one or the other charge that comes up is much less than improving service.
I left tiscali as they could not provide a broadband service that worked. They wrote to confirm cancellation and said dont cancel direct debit until we take final payment. I took them at their word but they kept on charging and after 6 months still wont refund the money.
If you are not with tiscali, dont think about using them. If you are – cancel your direct debit when you want to cancel.
yeh had loads of connection problems with them too….constant drop outs…taken me 4 months to even get them to aknowledge their is a problem..one bt engineer later…about hundred phone calls….they have now come up with the conclusion that “i have faulty wiring in my home. not bt wiring thou” ???? and it will cost me 50 pounds for an engineer to “assess it ” ……….confused !! yes me too…..contract runs out in april 2009…after kicking off and threatening to cancel my contract and not pay them a thing for my connection……..they eventually managed to pass it through to “” THE 2ND TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT “” whatever they are…and they will look into the matter again for me..and if they decide that they cannot rectify my problems…does that include me fixing my ghost wiring that is apprently not bt wiring..even more confused now..come on guys im a woman,,lamens terms please…they will cancel my contract without charge ..oh well wish me luck peeps..keep you posted