Tiscali / Talk Talk

[Cockney Guy]

I have been using Tiscali broadband since December 2008 and have had no problems connecting wirelessly just about every day, then on Sunday last I connected in the morning, went out and came back about 6:30pm. However much I tried after that, I could not connect and that was almost a week ago. I telephoned Tiscali (premium rate numbers, of course) several times a day and mostly got no response or the phone would be disconnected. I did however get two engineers who tried to talk me through trying to get the connection back but without sucess. Then, the next engineers I spoke to said it must be my computer but we have three computers in the house and none of them will now connect. Finally, they agreed to send an engineer out next week. Does anyone have any suggestions why it should stop working so abrupty after working well for such a long time? Insidentally, I'm using a dongle at the moment.
Cheers for any advice

[AlBags]

Have you tried, or are using ....
1. An ADSL Master faceplate at the original point the telephone line enters the house? (This has a built-in filter with an adsl socket in addition to a tel socket) You see these recommended to improve speed and quality on the line.
2. Tried a direct connection to a socket at/close to main incoming line?

Behind the faceplate of a standard master socket is another socket. You should connect into that with a filter and try the router there. You say you use a dongle .. is this on the main PC?

[Redrum]

Tiscali is now TalkTalk. However, I had this problem, and TT blamed my computer and that my modem was not compatible with Vista, which was stupid as it had been working fine with Tiscali but not since TT took over...they were useless. Hence my switching over to BT now..i lost connection abruptly also and it 20 days later was still without any connection despite endless calls to their expensive technical support...they kept promising an engineer would call at a specific time but they never did...rubbish rubbish rubbish.,dont touch TT with a bargepole. save your sanity.

[ItchyMoti]

I used to be on Tiscali they were crap

[AlBags]

But this is a technicl issue .. not a person issue. I agree, a lot of these ISP employees are chumps.

[Cockney Guy]

Thank you all. Redrum's comments ring so true. Talking of sanity, I was nearly losing mine, I think I must have made about 30/40 phone calls. They told me that an engineer would call on Tuesday between 3:00pm and 6:00pm and if I wasnt there, I would be charged for his time. If he doesn't call, I think I will charge them for my wasted time. I now have the address of their complaints department and intend to send a recorded delivery letter with a copy to oftel and otelo.
Thanks all for your advice and comments

[alavahalf]

Having been with Tiscali from day one, I must say I was never without a connection to the internet...the only problem I had was when I had to phone their customer services...I hated it..! They really were the bottom of the pile.
If you joined 2008... surely you should now be out of contract. Not unless you have signed up to TalkTalk for a new contract.
But they would'nt want you as a broadband customer, unless you took their phone package on a new contract. because they are a phone provider.So they will charge you a premium (£5 per month) unless you take their package.
If you have'nt signed up... get out now while you still can.
I did it in the last month, and signed up with BE...I now have a 400-500% increase in speed and pay 50% less, per month...I did have to set up other web based e-mail accounts.....But with the help I received from other A/Bankers...it was'nt difficult.
The BE box (router) was just plugged in and instantly I was connected.
Wish I'd done it long ago..!

[buildersmate]

Have to echo Al experience - never had a problem technically but if one did need to contact them, they were slow to respond, expensive to contact and just generally useless at sorting simple issues out.
Following the takeover by TT, I have moved ISP and now have a hell of a fight on my hands to get back the over-invoicing sums removed unlawfully from my bank account. The notes to the letter helpfully say 'if your account is now in credit please call us on our extortionately priced 0871 number to arrange a refund'. They have to be joking. A pathetic company indeed.

[Cockney Guy]

Thanks for all additional replies. The reference I made to a dongle was refering to the temporary use until the TT connection is fixed, if ever!
As far as the package is concerned. Yes I have the telephone included and as I joined Tiscali in December 2008, I'm now out of contract. However, I just wanted the problem repaired and working. However, I cant seem to get much sense out of anyone I've spoken to. If the problem is not resolved very soon, I will finish the agreement and move to another supplier.
Thanks again Guys

[Cockney Guy]

In addition. TT have agreed to credit my account with £5:00 (Big deal!) after all the lost time and expense of calling them so many times. They really dont seem to care about losing customers. buildersmate; If they have taken money from your account that you didn't authorise, could it be that they have set up a "Continuous Payment Authority" instead of direct debit? a practice that I personally think should be made illegal