Demon Internet

Thank god my contract is nearly over because I'm off and will never go back.
Do not kid yourself with this ISP because it really is a mess and if your reading this then do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. In ISP Review's list of ISP this is nearly bottom which it rightly deserves.

I will give Demon 20% out of 100%

Very poor value for money
Abysmal customer service & technical support (even by Indian call centre standards)
Draconian acceptable use policy
Download speeds are pathetic if you are still on BT Wholesale Connect (thankfully I'm not any more)

I would change ISP if I had any choice in the matter (bill payer doesn't want to lose his demon email address... sigh)

While i have seen a few negitive reviews with demon on here, my experience upto now has been excellent.

My connection is rock solid has dropped once in 4 months. I had one issue with them and that was i went over my allacated 50gb allowance now they then slowed my connection to 128kbps, i emailed them asking for my mac code and saying i wouldn't be blackmailed by their so called FUP (fair use policy). I received a reply the same day with my mac code, telephoned them to tell them i would only be paying for slower speed of 128kbps access the actual price that this converts from the normal price of £17.

They state that they will throttle your account for 30 days, if this happens, however withing 24 hours i received an email stating that my speed restrictions had been removed.

Now while this was a pain i admit i did go over due to d/l for mohwaw, battlefield oh and a few torrents lol.

This has been the only issue i have had, so yes they do adhere to their 50gb per month limit, however i have found the connection to be rock solid, so i am very pleased with the product.

I've had endless problems with Demon over the last few months, none of which Demon have made any attempt to solve:

(1) April - June 2009
Several months ago, my broadband internet connection ceased working properly, with me being cut off several times a day. On average, I was getting cut off roughly once an hour, but this was very variable. On each occasion, I had to restart my computer in order to restore the connection. Phone calls to Demon's customer services just resulted in endless queuing so I resorted to using their 'Text Chat'. On over 20 occasions I asked for assistance (the same message each time), and didn't receive a single response. I tried this at all times of the day and night, and sometimes waited several hours for a response, but none was forthcoming.

(2) May - June 2009
On six occasions, I left the same message on Demon's 'Feedback' form, requesting that they contact me to sort out my problems. On all six occasions, my request was ignored.

(3) 3rd July 2009
Having selected a new ISP, I tried to phone Demon to cancel my current service, but was again unable to get beyond their queuing system. I then waited until "after hours" and left a message on their answerphone requesting my MAC and giving 30 days notice of cancellation. I clearly and unambiguously stated my name, account number, email address, and phone number, but received no response within 5 working days. This is a clear violation of regulators rules (GC22) stating that "UK ISPs are required to supply customers with a MAC upon request and within five working days free of charge".

(4) 13th July 2009
I now wrote a letter to Demon's cancellations department, again requesting my MAC and giving 30 days notice of cancellation. This was also ignored - a second violation of regulators rules (GC22) stating that "UK ISPs are required to supply customers with a MAC upon request and within five working days free of charge".

(5) 23rd - 24th July
I now sent several emails to "enquiries@demon.net" and "customerservices@demon.net" requesting the immediate delivery of my MAC. This was still not forthcoming, but I did receive an email from Demon (their first response in several months) stating that I could get my MAC by phoning their Cancellations Department, which is exactly where I started on 3rd July! They also claimed to have "no record" of the original cancellation that I left on their answerphone, and that MACs are supplied "within 24 hours on request" - nothing could be further from the truth. I responded to this email by stating if they didn't send me my MAC within 24 hours or if there were any further delays or problems in closing my account, I would register a formal complaint with Ofcom. This again produced no response. I still haven't received my MAC almost a month after first requesting it.

I've been with them 8+ years, which should tell you something. On the whole there service is stable with reasonable speeds, but their customer service is just terrible. They took a happy enough customer calling with a minor query and through their lack of stubborn, evasive and just plain rude ways drove me to another supplier.

I could go into a long story, but to cut to the end, EVERY call (the online contact seems like a good idea, only seems to work on a blue moon) ends in you feeling more frustrated, more angry and with more hatrid of this company.

- Try to fix a problem? It's your routers problem, we'll send you one of ours if you sign up for 12 months

- Try to get a MAC? That departments not available today, call back. Or... That department doesn't talk to customers I'll put in the request, they'll get back to you within 48 hours (they didn't)

- Try to resolve a billing query? Ignored, then bluff then just repeat the same bluff.

Seriously if you like being lied to, led round in circles and given misinformation, this it the ISP for you.

I've given up trying to get my cash back, it's not worth the spike in blood pressure...