Hi everyone,

It took me over two hours to get my internet connection to work this evening. Every time I clicked to open the Broadband dial-up box it came up with an error number - connection failed - redial etc etc. I know there is nothing wrong with my computer because when I log on in the mornings or early afternoons it is trouble free (usually). So I am assuming it's my service provider who is at fault - or is it a line fault over which they have no control? Can there be too many people on-line making it too crowded to let me on? I've printed out on-line help pages and it mentions 'outages' can be a problem - whatever that means.

This is potentially quite serious as I am starting a music technology course which requires me to spend a lot of time on-line - sending the tutor my TMAS etc.

I know I'm not allowed to say who my provider is, ( I might get sued for making a complaint in public), but wow - does it make me when I pay my sub every month and I'm not getting a complete 24 hour service. Trying to ring for help is so hopeless its enough to make 'Watchdog' turn away!!

Any advice anyone - is it a common problem or should I change my provider (without mentioning any names).

Thanks so much

When we were without internet for a few days I actually got them to take those days off the bill... but then I'm the queen of mean

There's sometimes a number you can phone to find out what's going on. I did that and then they gave me a rough time when it would all be fixed.

It's such a pain when this happens though

Hi BusyBee!

A couple of weeks after my broadband was installed, I lost it completely. I was without it for about 2 months, despite me complaining to the company on an almost daily basis. Incidentally, I demanded they gave me a freefone number so I wouldn't have to pay for chasing them up.

To cut a long story short, I eventually found their MD's email address on the web, and got in touch with him directly. The next day, I had an engineer visit to ensure there was no problem this end, and the day after that it was restored.

I also asked for compensation, and got it!

I suggest that you try the same sort of thing. Go to the man at the top, and give him hassle!

Good luck!

Glad I'm not the only one then - there's nothing like making a good scene to get results

Hi Holz Gedeckt - that was very clever to get the 0800 number! I hate 0845, 0870 and 0871s when I can ring using 01 and 02 numbers for virtually nothing. I tried once to get the landline number of a company I had to call often and they said no other number was in existence!! And compensation as well - very impressive. I don't think my situation is as bad as yours was though.

Thanks ad_libitum for your reply too - I phoned this evening and I couldn't get through - the automated reply service had nothing to report. I think I'll try a strongly worded email tomorrow. It seems from your replies so far that the intermittent connection failures are not something to accept as normal

I know emails are the norm, and much faster, and I may also be sounding old beyond my years, but in situations like this, where I use too many commas, I'm joking, I really think a strongly worded letter would give you more of a response.

I love communications companies and what-not.

My phone (landline) company said they weren't sure what letters had been sent out bill wise because they didn't have it on record. I told them they were a pretty useless communications company.

My internet sent 3 different people to ask me if I wished to cancel my contract, and then all said "oh yes I see you've already done that" afterwards.

My mobile phone contract said they were cancelling my contract and had to remove things from my contract to do so, including interntational calling rights, meaning despite the fact they knew I was calling off my phone from france (coz they asked me a million times, that was the reason for cancelling the contract), they cut me off mid conversation. And then said that they wouldn't talk to my dad when he rang from england because I wasn't calling off the original handset. Which they cut off.

Technology's great!

Yep I hate 0800, 0845 and 0870 numbers too, cos they're not included in the free minutes I get on my mobile contract.

Then I found out about www.saynoto0870.com

You can enter either a company name or a published number, and if their database contains a "geographical" number, eg starts with 01 or 02, it is displayed. I think if you know of another number to get a company on, you can also feed that back into the site, as they have an "unverified" number section too.

Worth a look, I'd say. Why should we make more money for companies just by phoning an 0870 number when we can get them for normal rate or free (depending on contract terms)! And have you noticed the rate of increase in companies (striking) which now seem to have an 0870 number prominently displayed on their stationery or website?

Fantastic! Thank you for that info. I can dig me heels in firmly now and not use 087* numbers any more. Presumably all companies have to be on there by law? BTW - 0800 is free so that one is okay.

I logged on this morning in the 'blink of an eye' - no problem. It's later in the day that is so annoying. Actually, I also found my step-son had left a CD in the drive before he went back to uni - perhaps the computer was confused? Will put it to the test again later today - and I will be looking up my provider on the 'say no' site

I wonder if your ISP is in the throes of a general upgrade - this sounds like a carbon copy of what happened to me last summer with my ISP (OK in the morning/early afternoon, hopeless later on...)

Thanks Barri-clari - that could be the problem. I didn't have time to ring or email today - but I have kept the internet connection on continously all day - since 8.00 this morning - and I'm still here!! May be the computer gets fed-up with me logging on and off, (trying to save on electric bills).

Thanks all for your help

We had problems with the Internet around Christmas time. We could get a connection ok and I could access the FOrum but couldn't check emails without going through another site. In the end husband confessed to having exceeded the allowable download time.

It's not happened since os I expect it was that in our case.

Are you unplugging and replugging in your box/router every time you stop using the internet or logging off? Coz every time you unplug the box/router, it needs to retrain itself every time you turn back on. If it's a box (for example we have an Orange Livebox) then they can go on the blink quite a lot for no reason. Ours overheats and then refuses to let us on it, so we unplug it then to let it cool down, reset it and then leave it on consistently. The more you unplug it though, the more termpermental it gets.

Thanks for your thoughts elmo. Sometimes during the day I might right click the icon in the right corner of my screen and disconnect from the internet if I'm not going to use it for a few hours. Occasionally I might go to start and shut down the computer when I'm teaching and definitely if I'm going out and no-one is going to be in the house. I never touch the little box with the two green lights - I think it's called the modem - as I know the computer would get in a right muddle if I did that.

We tried having a router once to connect our laptops to the internet on the same phone line but the wireless LAN connection wouldn't work for some reason - so it was sent back to the shop.

Logged on like a dream again this morning - will leave it on again and see what happens