MJW
0
Hello.
I recently stumbled upon this forum via a google search for a 'fast4 forum' and I've read through a few other threads here regarding this ISP & I'd really appreciate some advice.
A bit of background first:
I've been with Fast4 since June 07 on their 8MB package & never had speeds above 1.1MB. I initially queried this via phone & was told it was the fault of my line (The local BT building is less than a minutes walk away from my house).
Poor speeds continued for months, but I'm a 'grin & bear it' type of person who rarely complains. This was until I was marked as a 'heavy user' & FUP'd - I was furious & complained that the main reason I'd joined was because of the advertised: 'We have no fair user policy'. And that anyway, it was impossible to be a 'heavy user' when I am only getting 1MB of the 8MB I am paying for.
Before complaining, I think I'd only visited the members area once before & this was when I joined. I had no idea that the contract & T&C had changed dramatically - why would I? I had never been informed via email of any changes. Was I expected to check the site daily just in case a new clause had been added?.
It seems that everything that Fast4 had originally claimed no longer applied. The package I was realised I was now tied to, was not even the one I signed up to. This was prior to to their 'Red, Amber, Green' 60GB ceiling.
When the 60GB limit came in, I was actually pleased to at last know where I stood regarding my Fast4 internet use. I knew that it would be impossible to reach that on my connection anyway.
When they changed backbone suppliers recently, there were a few initial hiccups, but I was happy to at last get decent download speeds. In fact, this is the only time I have ever been happy in my history of Fast4 - I thought that perhaps things had finally changed for the better. My speeds were averaging at about 4500kbps and it was good to know that I would continue getting these speeds as long as I didn't go over my limit.
Good things never last do they? After approximately a week of finally getting near sort of service I am paying for, I got this email:
"Please note that once on this new and improved service you will be
restricted to 15Gb of data transfer a month. Please do not worry about
this change as this will only affect 1% of our customer base.
15Gb is far more than most people use, however if you do wish to go over
that limit every so often then you can purchase additional data usage from
within your members area or upgrade to our Home Pro package.
Your change is scheduled to complete by the 5th March 2008; please spend
the time to check out the new terms and conditions of this service
available in your members area.
If you do not wish to be included in this change over then you can request
your MAC from within the members area at any stage by following the cancel
account link.
We believe that you will enjoy our new service far greater than ever
before and hope that you will understand why these changes have to exist."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday, things got very frustrating.
My connection has now crawled to literally nothing, to the point where I can't even simply browse the net. Attempting to get here to write this post was a task in itself (and I haven't even clicked 'submit' yet...) My Gmail account can only be viewed in basic HTML view, but yesterday I noticed this in my email:
Last week we contacted you to explain that we were making some important changes to your Broadband account.
Based on your past three months usage we have now identified that your
account may not fit in with one of the new packages as well as we would
hope. We have identified that you have consistently used over 25GB per
month. Rather than transfer you to one of our new packages where you might
incur exceptionally high charges for excess bandwidth usage we have
therefore not yet moved your account. Instead, your account has remained
on the old unlimited product (which is no longer available) and the speed
at which you can download has been restricted to reduce the amount of
bandwidth that you can use.
We therefore invite you to contact us over the next 7 days with your
instructions so that we can make the correct choices for you. The
following new package options are available to you.
1. Home Lite - 1GB inclusive allowance - £9.98 per month
2. Home Standard - 15GB inclusive allowance - £16.95 per month
3. Home Pro - 30GB inclusive allowance - £24.95 per month
All of the above packages include the option to purchase additional
bandwidth from as little as £1 per GB.
If you do not feel that any of the above packages are suitable for you
then you can request your MAC code from your members area or by contacting
our Customer Service team during normal working hours. This will allow you
to move your broadband service to another provider should you not wish to
be moved to one of the new packages on offer.
Please ensure that you inform us of your decision no later than Monday
17th March 2008 to prevent your account from being switched to a package
that may not be suitable for your needs.
Kind Regards,
Customer Services
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the connection changed yesterday, I checked my bandwidth usage in the members area. I was still marked as 'Amber', so it seems they didn't even wait till I had exceeded these new limits before shaping my connection.
Not sure where I stand now. I share this connection with another person & it is needed for work as well as play, so it can't continue like this. And I'm not prepared to sit & wait till my year is up.
As the connection stands now, I can't reach some pages so I don't know if it's even possible to move to another provider. I am paying for a service which is almost unusable & as I understand it I will have to pay £20 + £85 for this privilege? Ridiculous.
As I wrote this post, I received a new email:
"We hope that you are enjoying your account and finding our services of
exceptional value. This is just a brief note to let you know that we will
be collecting your next payment on 14 March 2008. Please ensure that your
payment details are valid and you have sufficient funds on or just after
14 March 2008 as failure to collect a payment will result in your account
being disabled"
My account IS practically disabled!
Thanks for reading. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.
I recently stumbled upon this forum via a google search for a 'fast4 forum' and I've read through a few other threads here regarding this ISP & I'd really appreciate some advice.
A bit of background first:
I've been with Fast4 since June 07 on their 8MB package & never had speeds above 1.1MB. I initially queried this via phone & was told it was the fault of my line (The local BT building is less than a minutes walk away from my house).
Poor speeds continued for months, but I'm a 'grin & bear it' type of person who rarely complains. This was until I was marked as a 'heavy user' & FUP'd - I was furious & complained that the main reason I'd joined was because of the advertised: 'We have no fair user policy'. And that anyway, it was impossible to be a 'heavy user' when I am only getting 1MB of the 8MB I am paying for.
Before complaining, I think I'd only visited the members area once before & this was when I joined. I had no idea that the contract & T&C had changed dramatically - why would I? I had never been informed via email of any changes. Was I expected to check the site daily just in case a new clause had been added?.
It seems that everything that Fast4 had originally claimed no longer applied. The package I was realised I was now tied to, was not even the one I signed up to. This was prior to to their 'Red, Amber, Green' 60GB ceiling.
When the 60GB limit came in, I was actually pleased to at last know where I stood regarding my Fast4 internet use. I knew that it would be impossible to reach that on my connection anyway.
When they changed backbone suppliers recently, there were a few initial hiccups, but I was happy to at last get decent download speeds. In fact, this is the only time I have ever been happy in my history of Fast4 - I thought that perhaps things had finally changed for the better. My speeds were averaging at about 4500kbps and it was good to know that I would continue getting these speeds as long as I didn't go over my limit.
Good things never last do they? After approximately a week of finally getting near sort of service I am paying for, I got this email:
"Please note that once on this new and improved service you will be
restricted to 15Gb of data transfer a month. Please do not worry about
this change as this will only affect 1% of our customer base.
15Gb is far more than most people use, however if you do wish to go over
that limit every so often then you can purchase additional data usage from
within your members area or upgrade to our Home Pro package.
Your change is scheduled to complete by the 5th March 2008; please spend
the time to check out the new terms and conditions of this service
available in your members area.
If you do not wish to be included in this change over then you can request
your MAC from within the members area at any stage by following the cancel
account link.
We believe that you will enjoy our new service far greater than ever
before and hope that you will understand why these changes have to exist."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday, things got very frustrating.
My connection has now crawled to literally nothing, to the point where I can't even simply browse the net. Attempting to get here to write this post was a task in itself (and I haven't even clicked 'submit' yet...) My Gmail account can only be viewed in basic HTML view, but yesterday I noticed this in my email:
Last week we contacted you to explain that we were making some important changes to your Broadband account.
Based on your past three months usage we have now identified that your
account may not fit in with one of the new packages as well as we would
hope. We have identified that you have consistently used over 25GB per
month. Rather than transfer you to one of our new packages where you might
incur exceptionally high charges for excess bandwidth usage we have
therefore not yet moved your account. Instead, your account has remained
on the old unlimited product (which is no longer available) and the speed
at which you can download has been restricted to reduce the amount of
bandwidth that you can use.
We therefore invite you to contact us over the next 7 days with your
instructions so that we can make the correct choices for you. The
following new package options are available to you.
1. Home Lite - 1GB inclusive allowance - £9.98 per month
2. Home Standard - 15GB inclusive allowance - £16.95 per month
3. Home Pro - 30GB inclusive allowance - £24.95 per month
All of the above packages include the option to purchase additional
bandwidth from as little as £1 per GB.
If you do not feel that any of the above packages are suitable for you
then you can request your MAC code from your members area or by contacting
our Customer Service team during normal working hours. This will allow you
to move your broadband service to another provider should you not wish to
be moved to one of the new packages on offer.
Please ensure that you inform us of your decision no later than Monday
17th March 2008 to prevent your account from being switched to a package
that may not be suitable for your needs.
Kind Regards,
Customer Services
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the connection changed yesterday, I checked my bandwidth usage in the members area. I was still marked as 'Amber', so it seems they didn't even wait till I had exceeded these new limits before shaping my connection.
Not sure where I stand now. I share this connection with another person & it is needed for work as well as play, so it can't continue like this. And I'm not prepared to sit & wait till my year is up.
As the connection stands now, I can't reach some pages so I don't know if it's even possible to move to another provider. I am paying for a service which is almost unusable & as I understand it I will have to pay £20 + £85 for this privilege? Ridiculous.
As I wrote this post, I received a new email:
"We hope that you are enjoying your account and finding our services of
exceptional value. This is just a brief note to let you know that we will
be collecting your next payment on 14 March 2008. Please ensure that your
payment details are valid and you have sufficient funds on or just after
14 March 2008 as failure to collect a payment will result in your account
being disabled"
My account IS practically disabled!
Thanks for reading. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.
