Tiscali or not Tiscali

[Royster1911]

Hi Guys, I need some advice here. I am thinking of switching from TalkTalk to tiscali for my phone and broadband service. Could anyone out there with experience of pros / cons with Tiscali enlighten me please?:confused

[angela5]

10 Months i've been with tiscali, the customer service is rubbish. Roll on August so that i can change service provider.

[bky]

I've been with Tiscali for about six months so far and have no problems with the service provided.

[ploo251]

I have been with Plus Net for just over a year and have had no problems at all. I cannot say what like their Customer Services are as fortunately I have not had to use them.

[highlander]

We have been with Tiscali for a few years, never had any problems with them at all, we switched to having our phone bills with them last year, much cheaper bills.

[beena]

We were with Tiscali for both our phone service and broadband and I would like to say what a load of rubbish they are, left them last year and at last we are with a great service provider.

[Metalattakk]

I personally wouldn't touch Tiscali with a barge-pole.

12 month contract? You're havin' a laugh. What's the Fair Use Policy like, and at what point do they start 'shaping' your connection? Monthly download allowance? Ping rates? Laughable.

I'd go for any of the Entanet resellers. In fact, I have done.

1 month contract, so I can get out of it quick and easy if I need to. 30GB peak-time download limit (with a further 300GB off-peak) and (up to) 8MB connection (usually 5.5MB for me but can be lower at weekends etc., but - and this is the important part - it never, ever drops below 2MB) and steady, low ping rates.

All for £19.99 a month. Free migration and no set-up fees.

Edit: Of course, this won't help you if you are insisting on a combined 'phone/broadband package...

[MadPict]

Tiscali seems to be getting worse.

For a true gauge on how Tiscali treats it's customers visit http://www.tiscali.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=1

I used to be with them and I wouldn't go back to Tiscali.

I am currently with Pipex and they provide my broadband and phone and so far I haven't had any problems.

[poppett]

Pipex have been first class so far for me too, and I like the idea of a month to month contract.

[Royster1911]

Many thanks fellow orgers. Your input has been noted. Pity I still cant make my mind up so it looks as if I will stay with talktalk until a better isp shows up.[disgust]

[horseman]

Much interested in this thead. We have the full monty package with ntl, an it's coming out at around 100 sovs a month.....I know there must be more attrictive set ups.I need all the usual +sports. Any advice much appreciated.:)

[BRIE]

ive been with tiscali for as long as i can remember! now have phone & broadband with them & ive never had a problem. customer service was great too when i did have a problem with the broadband. dont have a 12 month contract either:Razz

[Royster1911]

ive been with tiscali for as long as i can remember! now have phone & broadband with them & ive never had a problem. customer service was great too when i did have a problem with the broadband. dont have a 12 month contract either:Razz
Thanks for that BRIE. You may have made my mind up for me:Razz

[Royster1911]

Much interested in this thead. We have the full monty package with ntl, an it's coming out at around 100 sovs a month.....I know there must be more attrictive set ups.I need all the usual +sports. Any advice much appreciated.:)
For £100 pm I would expect NTL to supply me with a person to press the buttons on the remote for me[lol]. Try Sky. They dont send a person to press the remote for you but they dont charge £100 pm either.

[Metalattakk]

Thanks for that BRIE. You may have made my mind up for me:Razz

It seems your mind was made up already, to be honest.

Well, it's up to you, but don't come crying here when it all goes pear-shaped. Tiscali are a dreadful ISP, despite what some people say.

Please, do some research first - http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=tiscali

Edit: And here is a list of ISPs, rated by their own customers. Have a look for Tiscali...way down at the bottom end.... http://www.dslzoneuk.co.uk/isp_ratings.php

[Royster1911]

It seems your mind was made up already, to be honest.

Well, it's up to you, but don't come crying here when it all goes pear-shaped. Tiscali are a dreadful ISP, despite what some people say.

Please, do some research first - http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=tiscali

Edit: And here is a list of ISPs, rated by their own customers. Have a look for Tiscali...way down at the bottom end.... http://www.dslzoneuk.co.uk/isp_ratings.php
Had my mind been made up, I would not have asked good people like yourself for their opinion. There seems to be some pros and cons ( as with ALL other ISP`s) as to who is the best for a package. I was with lineone before it became tiscali many moons ago and found them not too bad but that was before broadband, hence the request for info. Once again, thanks to all for their input.
Brian

[MadPict]

I was with Lineone before they were taken over by Tiscali - the Lineone forums at the time were full of posts predicting that the service would go downhill then and they have been proved right.
I have spent hours on the phone to Tiscali to try and sort out various issues and their customer support is terrible.

Seriously, rethink your decision and steer well clear of Tiscali.
They have recently been responsible for 1000's of customers losing all their email - businesses have lost all their work related email and more. Yes I know they should have backed up/used some other email client but when you use a webmail service you expect it to be backed up anyway.
I experienced this twice - I lost all my address book contacts the second time around. They managed to recover my email folders but I don't trust them anymore.

[Royster1911]

I was with Lineone before they were taken over by Tiscali - the Lineone forums at the time were full of posts predicting that the service would go downhill then and they have been proved right.
I have spent hours on the phone to Tiscali to try and sort out various issues and their customer support is terrible.

Seriously, rethink your decision and steer well clear of Tiscali.
They have recently been responsible for 1000's of customers losing all their email - businesses have lost all their work related email and more. Yes I know they should have backed up/used some other email client but when you use a webmail service you expect it to be backed up anyway.
I experienced this twice - I lost all my address book contacts the second time around. They managed to recover my email folders but I don't trust them anymore.
Point taken MadPict, now rethinking. It will be a couple of weeks before I make my desicion so plenty time for orgers to let me know who they think are good or bad ISP`s. Many thanks

Brian

[spurtle]

[QUOTE=Royster1911;235255]Point taken MadPict, now rethinking. It will be a couple of weeks before I make my desicion so plenty time for orgers to let me know who they think are good or bad ISP`s. Many thanks

Am using a friend's machine as my internet connection fell over as soon as I switched to Tiscali all-in package - they say my computer ids at fault, which is boloney - think I am stuck with them for a year.

Don't touch them

[Royster1911]

Doh![evil]

[Royster1911]

OK Guys, Now that I know who NOT to go for (majority desicion) Who SHOULD I go for? Your opinions really do matter! Phone package and line rental included.

[Bobinovich]

I was with Lineone before they were taken over by Tiscali - the Lineone forums at the time were full of posts predicting that the service would go downhill then and they have been proved right.
I have spent hours on the phone to Tiscali to try and sort out various issues and their customer support is terrible.

Seriously, rethink your decision and steer well clear of Tiscali.
They have recently been responsible for 1000's of customers losing all their email - businesses have lost all their work related email and more. Yes I know they should have backed up/used some other email client but when you use a webmail service you expect it to be backed up anyway.
I experienced this twice - I lost all my address book contacts the second time around. They managed to recover my email folders but I don't trust them anymore.

I can confirm this - Tiscali customers outgoing mail appeared to be sending OK but it was never received at the other end, with no error message ever being received back by the sender. Their own forums were full of complaints and comments but Tiscali didn't even have the decency to reply or put up something on their home page [disgust]. Incoming mail appears to have been fine but this episode has really dropped them in my estimation.

[MadPict]

royster,
I would say have a look at Pipex packages - ignore them using Hasselhoff as a mascot - I am on the phone line rental, free local calls and 8MB unlimited broadband package and it works out about £40 a month all in. They have changed the package titles recently so can't point to the one I am on.

http://www.pipex.co.uk/

As I said earlier - so far I have not had any issues and they have a UK based call centre which was very helpful when I was deciding on which package I wanted and after when I decided to take them up on the whole shebang!

[the nomad]

Hi Guys, I need some advice here. I am thinking of switching from TalkTalk to tiscali for my phone and broadband service. Could anyone out there with experience of pros / cons with Tiscali enlighten me please?:confused
They are ok until something goes wrong, you'll end up talking to a no english speaking parrot in a foreign call centre, nightmare. My advise is NO!!

[Ash]

im with plusnet, hadnt had any real problems but when trying to call them about a query i was on hold for AGES! which was very annoying:roll:

[poppett]

Have had to contact Pipex twice by telephone.....to check date of free calls being added to package and to change the date of the standing order. Both calls were answered speedily by a brit and confirmation emails arrived for both queries the same day......Excellent service.

[Penelope Pitstop]

My home broadband and telephone calls are with Tiscali. I pay around £22 a month (I think, must check!!). For that I get my Broadband - no limit on downloads and all free UK calls - anytime. I had a bit of trouble at the start with connection, but it's been OK since. What did/does annoy me is that if you need to phone them it is at a premium rate?? (So you could say that the more problems you have, the more money they make:confused....not sure what the situation is with other providers??)

Forgot to say, when you do call them you get though to someone who doesn't speak very good English.

[Metalattakk]

My home broadband and telephone calls are with Tiscali. I pay around £22 a month (I think, must check!!). For that I get my Broadband - no limit on downloads and all free UK calls - .....

See, this is what most people like to think.

It says on their website "Unlimited Monthly Downloads", and people believe it. However, they operate a 'Fair Usage Policy' (FUP) whereby they 'shape' your connection speed if you come anywhere near being a 'heavy user'. If you P2P file-share for example, they'll smack your connection speeds down to dial-up rates with no warning.

Any of you who have signed up to Joost or the BBC's Multi-Cast experiment are jiggered here too. You'll have very little chance with Tiscali. If you're a YouTube fan, watch out, too.

Online gaming? PS2/X-Box online user? Oh-oh, careful now. Those ping-rates will be dropping quick-smart, making the whole process a pointless exercise.

However, if all you do is send a few emails and surf the web, then I suppose you'd be fine, and you'll be blissfully happy at having "Unlimited Downloads", while never, ever coming close to testing their claims. In fact, you'd be just as well off with a dial-up connection.

[horseman]

The only sense I have had out of this so far is not to go with tiscali.doh.:(

[Royster1911]

The only sense I have had out of this so far is not to go with tiscali.doh.:(
Looks like it wont be tiscali then. I will check out the other isp`s which are recomended by members. Many thanks to you all for your input.:confused

[MadPict]

Have had to contact Pipex twice by telephone.....to check date of free calls being added to package and to change the date of the standing order. Both calls were answered speedily by a brit and confirmation emails arrived for both queries the same day......Excellent service.

When I was initially looking into Pipex for my broadband I was speaking to a very helpful Asian lass and while there was no issue of being able to understand each other, I had a slight concern that I would be dealing with an offshore call centre if I went with Pipex (this was part of the problem with Tiscali customer support).

During the course of our conversation we had to wait for her computer to catch up and we started discussing the upcoming weekend and in a roundabout way I got out of her where she lived - the answer "Manchester" was reassuring but I asked a couple of more questions which could only have been answered by someone living in the area. So I knew for the meanwhile any queries would be dealt with by a call centre in the UK.

[rfr10]

We used to be with Tiscali for Internet and phone. Now we've changed to BT for the internet but stuck with Tiscali for the phone as the bills are usually a couple of pounds.