FAST 4 CONNECTION DIARY 2

thommo

Me and f4 are not going to happen next month,i need access in the evening and there is just no acceptable service during that time(i've been with them for 12 days!)

matrix999

Totally agree with you Thommo!!!

The service is getting worse!

System

Today was to have been the day I changed from wanadoo to fast4net.

I have read the posts from the weekend and subsequently email fast4net the following:-

"It had been my intention to transfer from wanadoo to fast4net today, however, on reading comments from fast4net users on the Martin Lewis Moneysavingexpert site today (10th), it seems there have been unacceptable delays in making a connection, one being over three hours.

I have now decided to delay my transfer."

It'll be interesting to see what transpires.

K13_2

After reading some old threads I took the plunged and joined fast4 yesterday….at the time my laptop was working fine.
Fast4 took my payment and sent me a email with 2 set up attachments, Hotmail reported unsafe attch’s then everything went haywire, Norton reported Bloodhound virus and I got a system message saying system would shut down… system process c;\win\sys31\isassexe 1073741819 etc
I telephoned fast4 this morning to cancel account and asked for a refund as I could no longer use my laptop; because I had used the service for 30 mins a refund was forbidden. I was also informed that I should have only received 1 attachment but another must have somehow tagged on with a virus!!!!! But the technical team would be advised!!!!
Can anyone PLEASE advise me
???
p.s. i am very new to this board so bare with me.

matrix999

Thought I would update you on my situation.

Fast 4 called me this morning to say that my 3 hours and 32mins delay in being connected was due to my payment being refused by my bank... I phoned the bank to which they said payment was succesfully taken and there were no problems.. It seems as though Fast 4 are not interested in Customer Service. I pointed out that its unacceptable for a customer to be waiting over 3 hours for connection they didn't even apologise!!!

Fast 4 is fine during the day but be very very very wary if using in the evenings, and make sure you bring a packed lunch in the evenings as you could be in for a long wait for connection!!!!

System

Oh !, I think I'd better stay on the side of caution and consider avoiding Fast4net as my ISP.

There are two issues here.

1), given that it is a cheap internet service provider, I suppose for £6.99, one must accept that from time to time hiccups will occur.

2), but, on the other hand, one is paying for a service and whatever the cost, one should be able to have a degree of faith in the product and the aftercare.

To experience exagerated log-on periods and then find a less than apologetic team is not something I welcome.

Yes, I realise there must be thousands of satisfied customers, but given that of those who are not, it is no comfort to hear of poor quality aftercare.

I will now look elsewhere, any suggestions for an ISP under a tenner ?. islandman

K13_2

AOL £9.99 per month to surf 22hrs a day, cannot go online 7.30-9.30pm suits me fine.I use AOL after 3 months of full surfing, i have never had a problem and landline calls to them are free.
Re; FAST4 customer service dont wanna know and refused any refund and couldnt care less i got a virus etc, they have however cancelled my sub's and i cannot even log in to complain....dont go there!

K13_2

sorry should have read....after 3 full months of FREE surfing.

matrix999

Just had a reply back from Fast 4 Technical Support regarding the length of time it takes to connect in the evening, it reads as folllows:-

Unfortuately ports to the Internet cost in excess of £100 per month, so it is not possible to give one port per customer. This is why we advertise the service as having a ratio of 15:1 - we actually run this currently at 9:1 (so you're sharing your access with 8 other people) in order to minimise these problems in the evenings.

When you connect to our service you log on through two servers, one house at your local BT exchange, and ours in Rochdale. If we are at capacity the BT server is told to reject your login, so your PC interprets this as a possible username/password problem.

The Fast4 package is very popular, and quickly reaches capacity during the evening, so it is likely you may have to redial in order to obtain a connection.

Fortyfoot

Hi there

Fast4net is not much good for people who want access from tea time onwards. I am retired and get my hours in during the day. I and my son are looking at Metronet for the future.

I have a friend on Metronet and he says it is good value for money.

Fortyfoot
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