Tiscali

grimelda

Hi everyone.

I have a bit of a problem. I am currently living in a house with a BT landline and have signed up for a 12 month contract with Tiscali for broadband. However, I am now in the position of having to move. The place I am moving to only has an NTL line, which apparently Tiscali can't use. I have only had Tiscali for 2 months so I still have 10 months of my contract remaining. Does anyone know of any way to get out of the contract? Alternatively, if I have to get BT to put a new phone line in, does anyone know if I have to sign up to a 12 month contract with THEM as well?

Any advice on this would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

grimelda

I just looked in the T & C's and it says this:

17. Ending the broadband service

...

17.2 You may end your contract with us:

17.2.1 by giving us at least 1 month's notice to us by telephone (please see "Contacting us"). You may not end this contract during the initial 12 months of your contract with us although you may provide us with notice by telephone of your intent to do so. You must pay all charges for the broadband service until the date on which your contract actually ends; or

17.2.2 at anytime if you move to a new address to which we cannot provide the broadband service. In such case you must contact us in advance by telephone (please see "Contacting us") and produce written proof of your new address;'

Would this include moving to a house that doesn't have a BT line? Anyone have any ideas?

roarrr

One of my colleague ended contract with tiscali when he moved to a new house because tiscali cannot provide service to his new address.

Good luck

wonderfullife_2

17.2.2 at anytime if you move to a new address to which we cannot provide the broadband service. In such case you must contact us in advance by telephone (please see "Contacting us") and produce written proof of your new address;'

Hi,
This certaintly covers you, if there is no bt line in the house, then they cannot provide you with their service, so yes you should be able to cancel with no problems.
Mind you saying that, it is Tiscali from Hell we're talking about. :rolleyes:

If you get BT to put a line in, (make sure its after you cancelled with Tiscali) then thats all they provide, just the line, you can sign with any isp that you want to.


Hope this helps

grimelda

Thanks. I thought maybe Tiscali had a different definition to 'unable to provide a broadband service' because I rang their sales line and the guy told me it was my responsibility to make sure I only move into places with BT lines.

steve_r123

If there was once a BT phone line at your new place (ie the actual line is there, it's just not wired in) then BT will re-connect it for free. To get a brand new line from the exchange put in, I think it's about £70ish

espresso

grimelda wrote:

Thanks. I thought maybe Tiscali had a different definition to 'unable to provide a broadband service' because I rang their sales line and the guy told me it was my responsibility to make sure I only move into places with BT lines.

That sounds like typical tiscali bo!!ocks. :mad:

Tell them that you wish to cancel because they cannot provide service at your new address. To say that you should only move to a residence with a BT line is absolute rubbish, but what you expect from a cowboy outfit!

:mad:

bbb_uk

grimelda wrote:

..if I have to get BT to put a new phone line in, does anyone know if I have to sign up to a 12 month contract with THEM as well?

Yes, you do for a brand new line with an installation cost of £75. If it has had BT before but not anymore as mentioned in a previous post then BT will install a line for free and this is only subject to a 3 month contract.

Remember not to ask about BT line at all until you cancel contract with Tiscali otherwise you would have to continue paying Tiscali at your new address.

See here for info on new lines and for those returning to BT.

grimelda

I just spoke with Tiscali formally to request a cancellation and the guy told me that I 'had a problem' which was that I was still within my contract period and they COULD supply a service if I had a BT line put in. Therefore I needed to have one put it. This means that they do not accept my request to cancel the service. I asked for an address to escalate the problem to and he gave me one but added that he has worked there for two years and has seen five of these requests a day, none of which had ever succeeded. He said they would just refer me back to the number I called and nothing would happen.

So, I guess the next step is to send them a formal letter, stating my request and telling them that if my account isn't cancelled I will be contacting ... who? Citizen's advice bureau? Where would be the next place to complain?

Once again, thanks in advance for your assistance, and to anyone reading this please avoid this company. I only joined up with them because Martin said they were pretty reasonably priced, but I guess you get what you pay for.

wonderfullife_2

Hi
They really are the pits, when I was having problems with them (and who hasn't) I sent an email to this address
complaints@uk.tiscali.com and in the subject line FAO General Manager
State precisely what has happened and when, what you expect him to do, and you have given him this opportunity to set things right. before you take it further.
It worked for me, and I got my money back that they had taken out of my bank account, even though I had cancelled my broadband account with them.

If this doesn't work You could also try your local trading standards officer, or make a complaint to Ofcom http://www.ofcom.org.uk/complain/

Hope this helps and you get it sorted out, they really are the worst company I've ever had to deal with.
Luck

grimelda

Thanks for the advice. I called BT and had them check out the address. They quoted £99 to put a new line in to my flat, even though there is a BT line to the building and an NTL line in the flat itself. I then called Ofcom and they confirmed my original interpretation of the T&Cs, which is that I can get out of the contract because there is no BT line available and I should not be expected to have one put in. So I have written to the complaints address you gave and also have forwarded a copy of my email with a photocopy of my lease agreement by recorded mail to their customer service department. I will update this page with the outcome for the sake of anyone else who has these problems in future.

I agree that they have absolutely appalling customer service. Fair enough, they will lose me as a customer but now they will also have me bagging them to everyone I know who might consider getting broadband. And I work in IT.