Zen Internet - all mouth and no trousers?

Sutherland456

Apologies for the typos in my 7.07pm post.  Hopefully the gist of the thing is OK.

br1anst0rm

I started this forum discussion a month ago, and it has been very interesting to read the various comments which have appeared in the forum thread since then.

Many have been thoughtful, sympathetic and helpful - and I'm grateful to all who offered such support.

One or two posts (I won't name names) have been dogmatic to the point of delusion:  ignoring the facts and the evidence and asserting that Zen is brilliant, beyond criticism, and doing a fine job.  Such comments are both pointless and unhelpful.

Interestingly, some posts have described similar disappointing experiences with Zen;  and indeed the same pattern emerges in the critical reviews which appear on sites like TrustPilot.

I do want to single out @iniltous for special mention - both for stamina in following the story as it unfolded, and for offering common-sense advice and observations along the way.

So for @iniltous and anyone else who has read this whole thread and followed the saga, I ought now to provide an update and - perhaps - the final closing chapter.

I can confirm that we now have functioning FTTC broadband, and a Digital Voice (VOIP) service still using our 'old' landline number.  Both provided by Zen.  Long may that continue (we signed up to an 18 month contract...).

As explained in the earlier posts in this thread, this was a simple and straightforward switch of provider, and should have been done seamlessly and promptly.  it took more than a month, sustained pressure (always patient and polite but necessarily firm), the raising of a formal complaint, and direct messages to Zen's CEO and senior management, to get the job done. 

That should not have been necessary.  The experience raised serious doubts about Zen's claims - and reputation - for reliable and quality service.  But after all the frustrations, Zen eventually mobilised effectively.  

Zen are still inclined to point the finger at others - Plusnet the previous provider, OpenReach the network operator, and BT who manage phone transfers.  But they did accept, in their formal response to my complaint and in personal replies from the CEO, that their own performance and management of the process fell a long way short.  They have paid the obligatory compensation for delay and added a goodwill payment (adding up to over £200) in recognition of the  trouble and inconvenience.

I put a quote into the original title of this thread.  So it is perhaps fair to conclude with another quote, this time from Shakespeare:  "All's well that ends well" .  Zen have redeemed themselves.  I just hope that lessons have been learned, and of course that the services I now have will prove reliable in the months and years to come.

M25

I'm glad it's all sorted that alone tells me Zen done their job.

OK, maybe not perfect but still with all the different people involved and the OP's unreasonable expectations I'd say there's nothing they did or didn't do that would put me off moving to them

onomatopoeia99

Thank you for the update and glad it is working now.  It's cases like these that show why good support is important.  Ultimately problems may lie with third parties but it's up to the contracted provider (Zen in this instance) to deal with them effectively and in a timely manner.

I had a problem some years ago where my connection would drop in adverse weather.  Only for long enough that the router had to try to re-establish it meaning it would be down for 20-60 seconds and my remote logins to servers would drop.  Over the course of a dozen OR visits it was tracked down to the dropwire from the pole in the street, and I ended up with the support dept manager at the ISP dealing with me directly as OR were ineffective at replacing it, BT Wholesale were trying to make the ISP pay for "special faults investigation" even though the fault was known and the whole thing was going round the houses. Ultimately the director of the ISP got their solicitor to send a letter before action to BT Wholesale threatening to sue for non-complaince due to not meeting their contractual obligations, which in turn kicked BTW and therefore OR into immediate action (and my line was the lead story on ISP Review for a day).  All of the problems they claimed they couldn't deal with suddenly disappeared and my dropwire was replaced, meaning the connection was stable thereafter, but it needed dogged persistence from the ISP on my behalf to get there.

That is one of the reasons why I don't go with whoever is cheapest or does a "deal".

flaneurs_lobster

onomatopoeia99 said:

 All of the problems they claimed they couldn't deal with suddenly disappeared and my dropwire was replaced, meaning the connection was stable thereafter, but it needed dogged persistence from the ISP on my behalf to get there.

That is one of the reasons why I don't go with whoever is cheapest or does a "deal".

Care to tell us who this ISP was?

onomatopoeia99

flaneurs_lobster said:

onomatopoeia99 said:

 All of the problems they claimed they couldn't deal with suddenly disappeared and my dropwire was replaced, meaning the connection was stable thereafter, but it needed dogged persistence from the ISP on my behalf to get there.

That is one of the reasons why I don't go with whoever is cheapest or does a "deal".

Care to tell us who this ISP was?

Andrews and Arnold.  Not popular here as the price you see on the website is the price you pay.  No deals, vouchers, retentions, bundles, haggling etc etc etc.

QrizB

onomatopoeia99 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

onomatopoeia99 said:

 All of the problems they claimed they couldn't deal with suddenly disappeared and my dropwire was replaced, meaning the connection was stable thereafter, but it needed dogged persistence from the ISP on my behalf to get there.

That is one of the reasons why I don't go with whoever is cheapest or does a "deal".

Care to tell us who this ISP was?

Andrews and Arnold.  Not popular here as the price you see on the website is the price you pay.  No deals, vouchers, retentions, bundles, haggling etc etc etc.

RevK seems a good guy, I follow him on social media and read his blog. If I'm ever feeling flush enough to pay for a boutique ISP, A&A are on my (very) shortlist!