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View Full Version : Fucking NTL (in a none-sexual way)


Zagio
11-01-2003, 02:28 AM
Ok folks, it's rant time.

As some of you know, I've been waiting for NTL to install my broadband and cable TV package at my student accommodation and so far I've been shafted repeatedly.

My landlord (who happens to be one of the tenants also) rings NTL on the 4th of October and sets up an installation date. Due to the volume of students wanting broadband Internet connections, NTL gave us a date of October 19th. We understood that it was a busy time for NTL and agreed to the date. Here is where the first part of the plan began to unravel.

a) NTL didnt ask if any cabling had been installed for previous owners.
b) NTL didnt check their records to see if any would be needed.
c) NTL are retards.

We wait two weeks and eventually NTL show up (on a Sunday morning of all days - another mistake as the NTL helpline isnt open on Sundays meaning if we'd had any technical difficulties we'd have been stuck till the next day). and announce that they are unsure as whether we even have NTL in our area - despite the fact that a house 3 houses down has an NTL box outside which should have been a sure sign... - and that they need to go and check.

The technicians disappear and return half an hour later and announce that we do indeed have NTL cabling in our area (Really?! No shit!) and ask us which room we would like it installed in.

We take them down into the basement lounge area (it's a lot nicer than it sounds, despite being a scummy cesspit of filth ;) ) which is located at the back of the house. The NTL technicians immediately tell us that with it being at the back of the house that they cannot install it there as they need to dig up the road at the back.

a) NTL didn't even consider this when we rang them.
b) NTL once again should have checked their records.
c) NTL are still retards.

The technicians leave and tell us (and I quote) "We...uh...we'll be back in 5 to 7 days...expect some form of correspondence from us, either written or via telephone". No choice about putting a wire through from the front of the house, no definite guarantee of an installation other than a technicians word.

"5-7" days pass, we reach the 26th of October, no response.
On the 29th of October, we finally receive a letter reading something along the lines of "As we have tried to contact you repeatedly and have been unsuccessful in our attempts, we request that you contact us on the following number and arrange another appointment for your installation."

The number that they gave us naturally didnt work but thankfully routed us to another number where we were put through (after being routed to the wrong call center by some ditsy retarded telephone operator (henceforth known as the Organ Grinder's Monkey)) to someone who could finally help us. Finally, we think we're getting somewhere and then we get told that the earliest we can have our connection installed is the 7th of November...

a) NTL claimed that they'd contacted us repeatedly, yet no letters, phonecalls or any other form of contact was registered by all 6 of us living in our house, and we always have at least 2 people in at any one time.
b) 6 students are now suffering with no Internet connection for WebCT (course tutoring over the net, etc.) because of a bunch of minor mistakes which snowballed into an avalanche of pointless fuckups.

Basically, the reason you havent all seen me ingame and had the opportunity to harrass me yet is because of NTL.

Fuck NTL, I say!

MarzMartini
11-01-2003, 02:51 AM
What in the fuck is NTL?

Soultics
11-01-2003, 04:08 AM
British Cable Company I believe, and yes NTL sucks from what I hear ;)

Slant Earthshaker
11-01-2003, 04:58 AM
OMG who cares!
Welcome to life.

Master Damoiel Mindbend
Retired Enchanter of the 60th Season

Tierfin
11-01-2003, 10:13 AM
isn't this a "REAL LIFE ISSUE"

Haloface
11-01-2003, 11:19 AM
The guy can rant if he fucking wants too.

And yes Zag, NTL are fuckups, big time. Spent an entire year with them when I was at Uni.
Not a good idea. At all.

zenrkscallytail
11-01-2003, 11:22 AM
i blame europe.




sad euros faces (((((( (http://www.sadeurofaces.com)

Zagio
11-01-2003, 12:46 PM
Sorry, I was also under the influence that NTL are an American based company also.

NTL (I actually am unsure of what it even stands for) are a Telephone/Cable Internet/Television company.

As for the location of this post, I couldnt give a shit whether this gets placed in Nuggets, as I very rarely browse the RL section and havent got a clue what goes on there as to avoid any of the repetitive Anti-War threads that I'm sure are still surfacing.

Oh and Damoiel, I care, I really do.

Zagio
11-01-2003, 12:49 PM
Oh, and since there's no edit here, I'll just add that since I was ranting about not getting my Cable TV and Internet sorted, it should have been a PRETTY FUCKING OBVIOUS SIGN what NTL do...

:P

Kanyli
11-01-2003, 07:48 PM
If NTL is anything like Cox Communications (Rot in hell, you stinking greedy lying coporate buttheads!) then I'd say he's got full right to rant.

My favorite part about Cox is that the city I live in has a contract with them. So it's Cox for cable service, or DSL (Quest, I think). Zagio's story sounds the same as mine, could call those idiots out to my place four times and get told I have four completely different problems and solutions. That is, if they ever show up when they say they will.

Freakin' internet providers!


-Kanyli

Linlaweniel
11-01-2003, 09:21 PM
NTL are actually an American company, but most of its operations are in the UK.

And yes, they are an absolute pile of shitt. Blame the Tories for deregulation and allowing foreign ownership of utilities =(

is zenrkscallytail that c*nt Bohbo? I remember the c0cksucke4 pointing me to that sadeuroface webpage in game, so any conexion?

Gandaar
11-03-2003, 06:21 PM
Awww, c'mon Kanyli... we all know and love Cox Communications *cough*.

Gotta love them though... called them last week when my Internet went down and talked to the newb on the help desk. He wanted me to reboot my computer so it would reset the IP address... so.. I rebooted the router.

Told him I it was done. He said, no it can't be that fast. <sigh> Then I had to explain to a_Cox_newb that my router reboots faster than the computers. Oh God, what a mistake. The rant he started in on about not supporting routers and such.

I finally asked if I could speak with a technician about the problem and he told me I had to deal with him. <sigh> Okay, fine. I told a_Cox_newb that the problem was on his end or was in the cable modem (which THEY own). I asked him to reset the cable modem from HIS end.

I head some furious key clicking and *voila!* my modem starts responding. I thanked him and was ready to get back to EQ but he asked how I knew what the problem was.

I politely told him it was no big deal, my router was working fine and communicating with the modem, so the problem had to be in the modem or the line. He asked again... so I told him.. I teach networking.. I do network consulting.. I eat, drink, breath, bleed and dream about TCP/IP, Cisco routing and a number of other things too complex to explain to a_Cox_newb.

To those having problems with *insert your ISP name here*, I feel your pain.

SHAtrius
11-03-2003, 07:00 PM
is zenrkscallytail that c*nt Bohbo? I remember the c0cksucke4 pointing me to that sadeuroface webpage in game, so any conexion?

I'm gonna guess he plays a character in game named Zenrk, since that is in his sig. You win at life for the most retarded spelling of connection and not having the balls to type "cunt" or "cocksucker".

Nydia Ywalmoriel
11-03-2003, 07:08 PM
Zenrk... is Zenrk (Iksar Shaman, of IvM last I recall, originally of our little guild, in game) :) . While his charms may leave something to be desired from time to time, he is definitely *not* Bohbo.

Regards,
Nydia Ywalmoriel
Autonomous Collective

JammanDarkdaddy
11-03-2003, 09:53 PM
When they told you they couldnt install it, they lied (I'm with NTL). They can run a cable to anywhere in a building so long as the owners don't mind it running through the building. They lied because they did not bring with them a long enough cable.

I had the same problem at my place. I needed the cable to run all the way downstairs up to the 2nd floor and across the landing, and the technician guy didn't have a long enough cable, so i told him to set it up as far as he could and then i'd buy an extra bit of cable to take it to my computer.
I have a 1meg connection and suffer very little if not no data fragmentation because of the length of the cable, so that's not an issue. Also, if they were being that dumbfounded about it, they don't have to have the cable drilled through walls etc, you could have told them just to have it across and floor and you could sort it out when need be.

Santerre
11-03-2003, 10:26 PM
For the record, Comcast Cable does a fucking awesome job hooking me up and keeping my service active, even though I live at the end of a dead end street in the woods. Service is as reliable as I've ever seen in broadband, 98+% uptime.

Now, don't get me started on DSL provider "XO Communications"...

Jessecaa
11-06-2003, 10:34 AM
NTL dialup is crap too. Guess what, its their 'policy' to disconnect me exactly every two hours. And they wont change it.

SHAtrius
11-06-2003, 02:56 PM
So get a new provider?

Hubbe
11-06-2003, 03:31 PM
i never thought id ever say this in my entire life..

but Telia ADSL is teh pwn.

Jessecaa
11-07-2003, 09:14 AM
So get a new provider

I wish it were that simple. Sadly comes down to cost and availability of other providers, of which I have no option. I'd have cable if I could. Although at least I dont have concrete walls to drill through :)

Silvermaine
11-07-2003, 02:26 PM
www.ev1.net, dial up is $10/month and they have a ton of locations. <a href="http://www.ev1.net/english/support/numbers.asp" target="_new">Ev1 numbers list</a>. The don't serve 6 states atm, MT, WY, ND, SD and MS.

So, can't hurt to switch, no contracts, I use them for my dialup while traveling, have DSL at the house and don't want to try Verizon's dial up service.