Writing a formal complaint to O2 - re: access broadband

DialUp

As the title said, I am going to write a formal complaint to O2 as ringing/emailing them hasn't seemed to do anything!

I'm assuming that most people on here will know about the useless internet connection people on O2's Access package have been getting. To quote an O2 forum users signature "O2 access - Now Twice As Fast As Dial up". Today for example my speeds haven't gotten much higher than 0.5Mbps.

I have been collecting speed tests using MyConnection PC. I have results, every 10 minutes from around 12pm-2am, for Thursday and Friday, still collecting today's.
I also have results from SpeedTest.net from October last year and the beginning of this year.

What I'm wanting to know is some legal stuff I can add to it. There must be something from trading standards/watchdog/ofcom/etc.

Any help and advice would be great.
Thanks in advance - DialUp.

DatabaseError

you might have a point

Pssst

Whats the difference between the "access" package and normal ADSL speeds? Do they throttle it for some reason?

iwanttosave_2

For Pssst

From http://forum.o2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1501&sid=0a9005280efeb946f219f64b2ca8ef3c

"O2 access uses a different system to people on the LLU exchanges with o2.. (the cheap packages at 7.50 and upto 16/20 megs). It runs on the back of the BT WHolesale service and O2 is your Internet service provider...if you are already on a 8Meg package with another ISP the speed will be more or less the same...

for 17.50 you get unlimited use (see fair use on o2 website), a wireless box but be warned the wifi on it isnt that great from my experience depending on the size of your house or flat. You can use any other ADSL 2+ router such as netgear that you may have used before... but o2 will not help with any issues that you have with this router... "

Pssst

Oh,its just repackaged BT Wholesale? Thats ok,im on O2 LLU

Dustykitten

OH wants to ditch our NTL broadband and go for O2 - I'm not sure - what do you lot think?

DialUp

Dustykitten wrote: »

OH wants to ditch our NTL broadband and go for O2 - I'm not sure - what do you lot think?

Check your exchange at samknows.com. If O2 isn't LLU enabled then you'll end up with an access package like me, which frankly is utter useless. I've had about 0.5mb all day today so far.
If they are LLU enabled then you can give them a go. They fixed LLU side of things recently and a lot of people on the O2 forum are reporting good connections again.
They have a 30 day get out policy so if you order and your not happy within the first 30 days then get out! Don't hesitate otherwise you'll end up in the 12 month contract and then your stuck.

I would have left but the problems only started about 2 months after I signed up.

5limJim

Dustykitten wrote: »

OH wants to ditch our NTL broadband and go for O2 - I'm not sure - what do you lot think?

depends whether you can get O2 LLU Broadband, or O2 'Access' which is where people have been having major problems. you'd need your line changed over to a BT Line too (ie: a non-cable line)

espresso

DialUp wrote: »

Any help and advice would be great.
Thanks in advance - DialUp.

Is this your first broadband ISP?

Have you checked that everything is correct in your property?

Have you plugged the router into the master test socket?



What are your line stats. - available from your router?

What speed does this site here estimate that your speed should be?

You need to eliminate many things yourself before complaining to O2

DialUp

espresso wrote: »

Is this your first broadband ISP?
....
you need to eliminate many things yourself before complaining to O2

This is not my first ISP. Everything in my house is set up correctly, i'm an ex ICT degree student and know what i'm doing around computers etc.
My line can achieve 448 / 8,128 (Up/Down).

All the things you've just put in that post are things i've seen before time and time again and its just getting repetitive now (sorry if that sounds like i'm 'attacking' you, its just annoying, nothing personal, i know your trying to help)

This is an O2 problem that many O2 access customers are having. O2 have even admited the problem

We are aware that some customers who have the O2 Home Broadband Access package are not getting the broadband speeds you expected, particularly between 5-11pm.

As you probably know, we believe this is the result of network congestion in those O2 Home Broadband Access areas where we have a very high concentration of customers.

We have brought forward plans to improve our network capacity to make sure everyone with O2 Home Broadband Access can get the best experience we are able to provide. This work will be completed by mid-April 2009.

Whilst we are pleased to have gained so many customers so quickly, we are dismayed that it has resulted in unsatisfactory speeds for some people and we are sorry if you have been affected.

We would stress that this slower service is not typical of O2 Home Broadband. O2 Home Broadband was recently ranked first for customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Study, which measures customer satisfaction with all aspects of the service.


O2 Home Broadband Team.

That mid-april date gave us about 2 weeks of a normal connection then it went right back down to what we have now.

If it was a set-up problem then you'd expect to see bad performance all day long. The problem however is only at peak times 5pm - midnight. Where speeds drop of 7mb to less than 1mb and pings multiply from 40-50ms to 140-160ms

p.s. "This site here" is just the samknows availability checker, not a speed tester.

espresso

DialUp wrote: »

The problem however is only at peak times 5pm - midnight. Where speeds drop of 7mb to less than 1mb and pings multiply from 40-50ms to 140-160ms

Perhaps you should have explained more in your first post as your problem is well known on O2 access in certain areas, however I think that you will find that those speeds are within ADSL limits even if they are really crap!

DialUp wrote: »

p.s. "This site here" is just the samknows availability checker, not a speed tester.

I know what it is and it tells you what ADSL speed you can expect on your line.