Shark shouldnt make assumptions before knowing all the facts. Anyone can have an opinion but sarcasm is not a good way to go about it. I live in a valley and broadband is not too good anyway but there are only 2 more providers now besides Orange and they are both just line renters. Options few around here. Thanks anyway.

i agree with wt shorty says. i have been with ntl/virgin media for sometime nw and haven't had probs so far. very rarely my internet connection goes a lil bit slow but that is normally sorted after a coupla hours or so (sometimes a good old reboot does the trick!). this is as i said very rare. i dont know about virgin media customer service cos i haven't had a reason to ring them! when it was ntl, i had a prob with them cos i got conflictin advice about movin my bb conxn to my new house, and also they kept sendin me a coupla bills when i had cancelled my bb at the time of movin house but that was all sorted after a few phone calls and as i say, it was customer service with ntl a few years back and i haven't had any probs with bb. i would recommend virgin media for bb. cheap and reliable and its cable so speeds are far more stable and accurate.

I use internet with virgin media (been with NTL from start) with no problems connection wise. Landshark is giving honest and to the point advise. Take it or leave it but no need to be namecalling (we are all adults here arent we?) If you have an issue with Landshark deal with it in email not in the forums please.

Hi Shark. Thanks for the rude email you ignorant !?!*! Wanadoo was the only provider available when i went to broadband in this area. Since Orange took over its crap. I dont run my business on the internet but i do my business stuff in the evenings. When my contract expires i will go to a mainline ISP. Nice to know people are out there who give a damn.

OK, let me get this right. You are running a business that obviously depends on the Internet and access being reliable. For this you chose a bucket shop, third rate 'also ran' bandwidth reseller who has no direct control over the infrastructure or the service levels possible between you and the exchange. Please tell me you are not surprised and that this was a posting to reinforce what we have been saying for months!

Yes, we know! Sorry you've had the problems but we know! That's why I've been trying to educate the masses here about the pitfalls of going to an ISP who does not OWN the cables that come into your home.

Let me guess, you are going to try someone like Pipex or Tiscali or AOL or Talk Talk next ... I can't wait for the next postings ...

Have fun

SHARK! 

 

Hi mate. Wanadoo was good but Orange is useless. Trying  to run a business and work online in evenings and cant get connected. Losing money because of this and they tell me its because the internet is busy and to keep trying. Crap service and unhelpful customer support. Never using Orange again for anything.

If you talk to orange and they say you will have to pay to get out of the contract, explain to them calmly that their part of the contract is to provide you with a service and they are failing to provide this service, they are therefore in breach of that contract. It is quite possible they will let you get out of the contract without a financial penalty. I say this as I know of 2 people this has worked for.

If explaining this to them in a reasonable manner does not work, threaten to go to Trading Standards, as with yourself and many others, it is obvious Orange cannot fulfill the contract they set out and are trying to impose financial penalties, on people who have a right as consumers, to cancel these contracts without penalty.

I have had the exact same problem... They do all these line tests and nothing happens. had no broadband for 5 weeks now and i;m currently waiting for my MAC code to get the hell away from Orange!

Steve.

I wanted to switch my provider but because im still in the contract I would have to pay £140.

 And just to round it off nicely my broadband doesnt even work properly... ORANGE are useless!

loveistanbul,

Once you have decide on a new provider, ring them and tell them your reasons for wanting to go with them and they will give you all the information you need to change over to them. They will put you on their system as a registered interest. You then telephone Orange to get your MAC, give it to the new provider and sit back and wait.

In most cases you should not have more than a couple of hours break in your service on the day of changeover, which you will be informed of by your new provider.

You must really have the courage of your convictions if you wish to move ISP, to get yourself a decent connection.

Regards Johnnie.

johnnie:

loveistanbul,

You get your MAC by telephoning orange.

Some providers only collect MAC's on certain days of the month, so check with the new provider before getting the MAC from orange.

You should not experience any down time at all when changing providers.

Regards johnnie.

Johnnie

Just looking at the rules and questions on the Orange help page and it states that when you change providers the MAC code will be given, but you have to check that your new provider has LLU Mac codes, how do I find out if they do.  By the way thanks for all the help here it is appreciated

Rich 

loveistanbul,

You get your MAC by telephoning orange.

Some providers only collect MAC's on certain days of the month, so check with the new provider before getting the MAC from orange.

You should not experience any down time at all when changing providers.

Regards johnnie.

Hi Johnnie

I decided this is what I am going to do is change providers, can I ask you when I change will I have a period without the internet while the change is taking place as I have a fiancee living in another country and the internet is vital to our communication.  How do I get the MAC code do I have to ring Orange for confirmation

Thanks for your help Rich  

loveinstanbul,

I also know of 2 others in my area who had the same problems with orange, 1 has changed to BT and the other to pipex,

both have had no problems since changing some months ago.

I would say this is a problem that orange are experiencing and not doing anything about it, or are not capable of correcting this problem. Their customer support just seem to go through the motions time after time, with no improvement in results.

As far as the MAC is concerned, I had no problem getting this, it was given to me over the phone and confirmed by e-mail.

My own experience and that of the 2 others I mentioned is change provider and instantly get the service you are paying for. Do not forget to tell orange you want to be compensated for all the time you have been experiencing problems and at least get your monthly payments refunded. They will send you a cheque for this.

Regards johnnie.

johnnie:

Hi loveistanbul,

As a former orange broadband customer who suffered everything you are I felt I had to reply to your post.

I was a happy wanadoo customer when they got taken over by orange and did not have any problems until I moved 1.5 kilometers further away from the exchange. This is when I immediately started to experience the problems you are experiencing.

The experience of calling customer services was always the same. Talk through the problem, try some diagnostic tests and then have a line check done, ring back in 24 hours to be told the problem is down to BT, ring back in 36 hours to be told the line test was inconclusive and another one would have to be done. (a total of 16 line tests supposedly carried out, all inconclusive)

This lasted for a total of 5 months when I finally decided to change ISP and changed to SKY where for the past 6 months I have had a totally problem free service.

Orange did refund all payments I had made from the day I first started having problems, after I asked for compensation. Although this was not compensation as such, I was happy to be refunded without any hassle.

The only advice I can give is for you to change provider as quickly as possible. 

regards johnnie.

 

Hi Johnnie,

I also had no problems Johnnie when Orange was Wanadoo and Freeserve but also I lived in a different area of my town and have really experienced these problems when moving.  I did have so many line tests like you also carried out and really I think this is a stalling tactic by Orange, what I could not understand and still cannot is why I am connected at all, if there was a problem with the line surely I could not connect at all and lose my connection altogether.

When you changed did you have a problem getting your MAC code off Orange? and do you think if I changed then I would have a better connection, it is still going to be the same line but different provider, I see one advantage to changing maybe some other provider will offer a better and cheaper customer service.  I hope to do something about this soon

Thanks Richard