ADSL24 - sold to Coms plc

My ADSL24 connection went down yet again this evening, so while searching Twitter on my phone for any other victims, I happened upon this story:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130502-701503....

Coms plc. (AIM: COMS), The company is pleased to announce it has acquired the broadband customers and certain other assets of So Purple Tech Limited trading as "ADSL24". This includes almost 4,000 broadband customers as well as cloud based mail and hosting for a total consideration of GBP800,000, of which GBP50,000 is in cash and GBP750,000 in Coms ordinary shares of 0.1p each at an agreed price of 1.8p per share. At 30 June 2012 So Purple Tech Limited had gross assets of circa GBP40,000 and the ADSL24 network presently generates a monthly gross margin of approximately GBP20,000 on revenues of circa GBP75,000.

They have been fairly rubbish over the past few months (not relevant to this thread, so I won't go into an in-depth discussion of my connection, but I've seen 40-100% packet loss between 8-10pm most nights) and I'd already made the decision to migrate (to Eclipse, which goes through next week) before I saw this news. They have obviously been struggling somewhat.

Any thoughts?

Edited by deleted (Thu 02-May-13 22:55:39)

Well as far as I understand it, ADSL24 resell Enta, C&W, TT and so on so they haven't actually got a network to struggle.

Any struggle and poor performance thus will be down to someone else ultimately, and I can't think there is much of a way ADSL24 could somehow arrange to reduce the service they buy to save money etc.

They haven't sold Enta for several years. They moved away completely from them during the early WBC screw-up.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

They haven't sold Enta for several years. They moved away completely from them during the early WBC screw-up.

They i think use daisy wholesale for their at least for their o2 based products

There has been the weirdness recently with them changing their name from ADSL24 to, er, "So Purple" or something similar.

The issues I've been having - which aren't really the topic of this thread - seem to be packet loss in the MurphX network (or whatever it's called this week). I don't really care what the problem is, all I know is that I'd rather be with a different provider!

Incidentally, it seems that this is a sale of the customer base of ADSL24, rather than an outright sale of the company. I can't say that I have ever heard of Coms plc. Their website sent me to sleep.

I have not had any problems with my FTTC connection and hold ADSL24 and their staff in the highest regard. I have never failed to get 110% from them.

I will be getting my MAC if I am no longer with ADSL24 or more importantly, their staff. Have already found a replacement supplier if needed.

DrT

Is that absolutely true - who are they using in non-LLU land?

I have been with ADSL24 for a few years now and for the past couple of months i have had more connection issue problems than what i have had since joining them.

Surely if a company is sold ect ect they are obliged to let their customers know?

In reply to a post by DrTeeth:

I have not had any problems with my FTTC connection and hold ADSL24 and their staff in the highest regard. I have never failed to get 110% from them.

I will be getting my MAC if I am no longer with ADSL24 or more importantly, their staff. Have already found a replacement supplier if needed.

DrT
I could not agree with this more as i would probably do the same.

In reply to a post by therioman:

Is that absolutely true

Yes.

Confusion arose because uniquely amongst the vISPs that looked around they moved their BT Wholesale services as well from Enta, but managed to replicate the Enta packages. I believe they went to Murphx, but although James said they had completely left Enta he didn't say where they had gone.

Maybe they even found some deal with BT Wholesale?

Murphx were later taken over by Daisy.

I have been with ADSL24 for a few years now and for the past couple of months i have had more connection issue problems than what i have had since joining them.

Surely if a company is sold ect ect they are obliged to let their customers know?

Me too - they have been brilliant for such a long time, but over recent months they have just gone worse and worse connection-wise. In the end, it was with regret that I had to get my MAC from them and move on. They are not the cheapest, and I have no justification for 'unlimited' (I use about 15GB a month) so why stick around?

STILL no official word from ADSL24. That could make my mind up to move .

DrT

who on earth is this coms PLC?

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

who on earth is this coms PLC?

link

Not dificult to find out

Run by the same person who was behind O-Bit

In reply to a post by greenglide:

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

who on earth is this coms PLC?

link

Not dificult to find out

I done a search and came up with a load of nonsense, thanks for the link. coms PLC, seems to be another large company, if ADSl24 have gone to them, I think if i ever did go back to fixed line broadband i would give them a miss.

In reply to a post by vivaciti:

Run by the same person who was behind O-Bit

O-bit? I heard of them, but i can't remember what it was.

my thoughts are thats a large gross margin when the small isp's have ben claiming they make tiny profits on what they sell. almost 25% margin.

murphx isnt (wasnt) a great network in my view, I was on it for a short time after I left ukonline, and seen poor performance to many locations. That is the main reason I stayed away from vivaciti, adsl2, xilo etc. when I went onto FTTC, as I didnt know how many of them still used murphx.

I have not had any significant issues with my ADSL24 FTTC connection; but I am seriously considering leaving. They have not made any announcement to their customers and that is just not on. My hosting is with Xilo and their customer service is very good indeed.

Initially I was told that there would be an FTTC migration fee of £50. The package that I selected, which is identical to my ADSL24 one is £5 a month cheaper. When I tried to place my order using my MAC, the migration was £80! I'm awaiting clarification. Aren't ADSL migrations cheaper? 50 sovs seems a bit steep to me.

DrT

Edited by deleted (Sat 18-May-13 23:29:50)

Been out of the country so missed all this. What does this mean for us customers? Will be be effected by some kind of change or wont be notice anything?

no idea, you may notice nothing at all or they could decide to change everything.

Well, James / ADSL24 hasn't posted on this forum for over 6 months... change of company policy maybe .... who knows? So don't expect anything here.

Hopefully we won't notice anything! Still very pleased with my ADSL24 / TT LLU ADSL2+ connection and away from the BT profile nonsense

I was please with ADSL24 technically. It really got to me that they did not feel it necessary to write to their customers as a COURTESY, if for no other reason. It would have created oodles of free customer service goodie points. Their reasoning for not doing so did not pass muster here.

Anyway, left them today for the same deal, but £5 per month cheaper to the ISP that hosts my sites; Xilo.

DrT

Depends if anything changes. If they still use same network and CS then there is no change for the customers

In reply to a post by bobble_bob:

Depends if anything changes. If they still use same network and CS then there is no change for the customers

They can use the same network and not upgrade capacity. They can use the 'same' CS, but with less staff. There are many changes that can happen. Even assuming NO changes; a courtesy of an email to customers would have been appreciated. I know courtesy is an old-fashioned concept...

Says that have acquired 4000 users. Is that all of ADSL24's userbase?

I agree it would be nice to be informed of who is now providing our service.

The backend systems are still the same, if you do a traceroute so nothing changed that end.

ADSL24 of course. Did you know who owned it before?

Who owns Range Rover these days? How many Range Rover owners know?

The ownership of a car manufacturer does not affect the day-to-day ownership of a particular vehicle; particularly as there are laws as to how long spare parts HAVE to be available.

Poor example .

Does the ownership of an ISP affect the day-to-day provision of the internet service? That was the point of my post.

In the case of ADSL24, I haven't seen any howls here from distraught customers of it who have lost service.

As for laws about the availability of spare parts, a bad example when the jurisdiction is very unclear. It isn't many years, maybe 15-20, since a foreign takeover of a major UK company, with a pile of guarantees, was followed within a year by a complete shut-down of the company in this country. Nothing could be done about it.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Does the ownership of an ISP affect the day-to-day provision of the internet service? That was the point of my post.

It can do, that was the point of MY post.

If it does, you leave. We're all customers of ADSL24, who they use as the backend is up to them.

I have paid access to Astraweb news server and have for many many years. Im sure over the years they have changed backend systems and thier provider. I dont know this though, and unless my connection to the server gets worse i dont really care

In reply to a post by DrTeeth:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Does the ownership of an ISP affect the day-to-day provision of the internet service? That was the point of my post.

It can do, that was the point of MY post.

Yep, that is why I left metronet because I knew what Plusnet was like.

Got this today

You may be aware that ADSL24 was acquired by Coms Plc. in May 2013. This is an exciting opportunity for both companies to come together, ensuring that you are receiving the best possible products and services available within the market.

Coms Plc. was established in 2000, and we have been providing voice and data services across the UK ever since. We have been working hard in the background with the ADSL24 team, to integrate ADSL24 into Coms Plc. This move will allow you to benefit from Coms�s own next generation network and infrastructure, allowing you to enjoy continuous improvements.

We recognise that just like Coms, ADSL24 pride themselves on providing a high quality service with excellent UK based support and we are absolutely committed to this going forward.

Over the next few months you will start to see a lot more of us. You may notice the ADSL24 website and My Account going green, as we begin to integrate ADSL24 into the Coms brand. Rest assured we�ll be in touch every step of the way to keep you informed of exactly what we�re doing.

Please be assured that there will be no change to the cost of your service, or your existing contract length. There will be no adverse effect on your monthly usage limit, or maximum available broadband speed. Line rental customers will retain all of their existing features.

We�d like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Coms Plc. and we will be in touch again soon to update you on our progress.

If you have any questions in the meantime please call 01457 6000 24 or visit our website: www.coms.com for our Frequently Asked Questions.

Q: I�ve had some communication from ADSL24 about moving my products, what does this mean?

A: Coms have made a significant investment to ensure our broadband customers receive the very best in service, and will be moving all ADSL24 customers on to the Coms next generation network and systems. This means that all our customers can benefit from Coms� own future proof network and infrastructure.

Q: When will my account transfer to Coms?

A: We are aiming to transfer all ADSL24 customers to Coms in early 2014. As soon as we have more specific dates we will let you know.

Q: What happens to my ADSL24 broadband service?

A: You will continue to receive broadband service from ADSL24 until you are moved to Coms. In most cases the move to Coms will provide an improved broadband service. No broadband service will be down-graded as a result of the move.

Q: Having looked at the Coms products I want to move on to one of these, can I?

A: Absolutely. Simply call 01457 6000 24 and our team will be happy to discuss your needs and recommend one of the new ADSL & Fibre Broadband packages.

A: I�m moving house, what should I do about my ADSL24 services?

A: You will no longer be able to keep your ADSL24 service. However, you can easily buy a Coms service which also offers great benefits at a very competitive price. Simply call 01457 6000 24 and our Customer Support team will be happy to match one of our products with your needs.

Q: What happens to my bill?

A: You will continue to be charged the same price as usual. There will be no price increases. Once you�ve been migrated, your bill will come from Coms rather than ADSL24. Any outstanding bills will be transferred to your Coms account.

Q: Will my payment date change?

A: For most customers there will be no change of payment date. In some cases we may have to change the date we collect your payment, but don�t worry we�ll write to you in advance and tell you if this is the case.

Q: Will my monthly payment change?

A: No. The cost of your service will be unchanged. In a small number of cases, where we have to change your payment date, your first bill from Coms may be a slightly different amount as we align your billing cycle, but don�t worry we�ll give you advanced notice if this is the case.

Q: I pay by Direct Debit, do I need to do anything?

A: No. The great news is we will contact your bank and take care of everything for you. Your payments will automatically transfer to Coms. Once we�ve migrated your account the name that appears next to payments on your bank statement will change from ADSL24 Internet to Coms.com.

Q: You collect my payment automatically by credit or debit card, will I need to make any changes?

A: Yes. You will need to re-enter your card details on your My Account portal once your account has been migrated to Coms. Your card details are currently held securely by WorldPay and we have no access to these details so they unfortunately cannot be transferred to your new account automatically. We will write to you if this affects you.

Q: I don�t want to re-enter my card details, what are my options?

A: Why not take the opportunity to setup a Direct Debit. Direct Debits are secure, reliable and every payment is covered by the Direct Debit guarantee. Also there is no need to update your details if you lose your card or if it expires. You can setup a Direct Debit online now and we will automatically transfer this to Coms when we migrate your account.

Q: I pay manually by credit or debit card, can I continue doing this?

A: Yes. We will continue to offer this facility but why not take the opportunity to setup a Direct Debit. Reduce the risk of late payments and any disruption to service and let us take your payment automatically by Direct Debit. Don�t worry every payment will be covered by the Direct Debit guarantee.

Q: Will I still be able to access My Account?

A: Absolutely. You�ll still be able to access your My Account portal using your existing username and password.

Q: I have line rental or a Complete (phone and broadband bundle) package with ADSL24 will there be any changes?

A: No. Whether you have just line rental, line rental with broadband or a complete package and broadband bundle there should be no changed to your telephone line, number or features.

Q: I have a Complete Plus package, will my free minutes bundle still apply?

A: Yes. There will be no changes to your existing bundle.

Q: Will the call rates remain the same with Coms?

A: We are committed to giving you the best possible value for money. We promise to charge you the same rates for calls as ADSL24 or even less where we can.

Q: What happens to my email address?

A: Nothing, you will be able to continue to use your existing ADSL24 email address.

Q: What happens to my web storage?

A: Nothing, you will be able to continue using your allocated web storage.

Q: What happens to other services I have with ADSL24 apart from broadband?

A: In the vast majority of cases these will also be moved over to Coms. If for some reason, we cannot move the service over to Coms we will contact you directly to explain your options.

Q: Will my contract terms and conditions change when my service is moved over to Coms?

A: You will become a Coms customer and therefore be subject to the terms and conditions of Coms. Full terms and conditions can be found here. Use of the Coms service will be taken as agreement to the Coms terms and conditions. Don�t worry there is no change to your minimum contract date.

Q: Will I need to change my username and password?

A: For the majority of customers your username and password will remain the same. Unfortunately, there are a small number of customers who have services provided by Cable and Wireless that we cannot move to our network without providing new usernames and passwords. These customers will be provided with a new username and password which will have to be used to reconfigure your router. This is an easy process and we will provide you with information on how to do this.

Q: Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns that are not covered here?

A: Please don�t hesitate to contact our Customer Support team if you have any questions or want to know more about the move from ADSL24 to Coms. Customer Support can be contacted on: 01457 6000 24.

So we will be a coms customer and only thing left with adsl24 is the name?

I got that email too. I notice that although they say there wont be any real changes to existing customers, Coms are more expensive and do not offer a static ip except on top products, unlike adsl24. I wonder how long before we begin to feel it in reality?

Their phone +bb deals are a fair bit more per month.

I was considering moving ISP in the new year (and indeed have been looking around already), but this might be the final push I needed.

Coms PLC are an aggessive player in the market with a stratagy for growth by aquisition (ummm, remember Tiscali, thats how they played) and are now headed up by David Breith who founded the now defunct Dabs Direct.

Woody

Was thinking the same, but will give them a try at least

Do they even have any broadband infrastructure to speak of, or was that the reason they bought out adsl24? Ive never heard of them until they bought them out.

Weird that on the coms.com website the phone number to ring to get broadband through them, is the current adsl24 sales number

Interesting to note the email says "There will be no adverse effect on your monthly usage limit". And looking at the broadband packages details (not that there's much detail that I could see) on the coms website it's not clear whether the monthly data allowance is the total allowance, or a peak allowance with unlimited off-peak. I also noted there's no mention of a static ip address. But, that's not to say any of those details will change for existing customers. A case of wait and see I guess.

Same with the My Account bit. They say it will still work, but does that include usage tracking, online status, line profile options etc?

So another good small ISp gone up the swany. so one less Isp for me to look at if I decide to go back to fixed line broadband.

In reply to a post by ukwoody:

Coms PLC are now headed up by David Breith who founded the now defunct Dabs Direct.

Wasn't that David Atherton? So are you talking about the same person?

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by ukwoody:

Coms PLC are now headed up by David Breith who founded the now defunct Dabs Direct.

Wasn't that David Atherton? So are you talking about the same person?

Yes you are correct. My appologies, somehow I found a link I was reading and took it from that. Obviously wrong, and I'm not able to look for it right now. Sorry about that.
woody

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by ukwoody:

Coms PLC are now headed up by David Breith who founded the now defunct Dabs Direct.

Wasn't that David Atherton? So are you talking about the same person?

Dabs' customer service was appalling, the worst I have comeacross in many a year. And that herbert is heading Coms PLC? Smart move on my part jumping ship a few moonths ago and saving a good few sovs a month into the bargain.

The question also needs to be asked; "How can one get a better service when one's line is already running at the maximum?".

you got your teeth into the wrong end of the stick.

Within the last 24 hours, you might have received an order confirmation email, stating that your order has been committed. If you have, please disregard it.


Please note that this email was not generated by anyone at ADSL24 or Coms, this has in fact been raised by our current supplier. They had placed requests against all of the customer connections in error. We have chased this and are ensuring that all of these requests have been cancelled.


We can confirm there will not be any disruption to your service.


We apologise on behalf of our suppliers for any inconvenience or alarm caused.

Anyone else get the original email regarding their order being committed? I didnt

Edited by bobble_bob (Fri 06-Dec-13 18:41:01)

Same, I got the "Order confirmation error" e-mail but nothing else.

I'm wondering if they are going to leave those on partial LLU (TT DSLAM) like myself with the same setup. I hope so.

Yea im on partial LLU (broadband only)

Im still not sure how the whole setup will work. Do Coms have their own network, or are they gonna use ADSL24's now they bought them out?

Traceroute to www.bbc.co.uk goes via Daisy network. I *think* it was via C&W last time I looked.

Mine had always been murphx but changed to daisy last time i ran a tracert

I didn't get the original email either. I wonder if anyone did? Not the most auspicious of starts is it?

My tracert has always been Murphx since I joined in January of this year. Which is actually a bit of a bummer as I was hoping to get away from them.

I'm full LLU via TT (opal) so waiting to see what happens there

woody

Yeah, Daisy Wholesale acquired murphx so it is still the same network.

Even before I had partial LLU, tracerts would always go via murphx / Daisy

I never quite understood the setup and all the different companies involved. . AIUI, ADSL24 were just resellers. They have no network. They re-sold amongst others Daisy, who were the wholesaler, and it is Daisy that provide the connectivity using their own network, and it is them who have the wholesale connections with BTWholesale or Opal / Talk Talk Wholesale. If coms are just acquiring the ADSL24 name then I guess nothing will change, and we will still be on the Daisy network. But, if we are being moved to coms own network ... who knows? It's all FUD ...

The biggest mystery is why James suddenly did a Lord Lucan. His last post here was over 12 months ago.

In reply to a post by ukwoody:

Which is actually a bit of a bummer as I was hoping to get away from them.

Curious why. I have always found murphx / Daisy to be rock solid and very reliable.

Well very little is known about the coms 'broadband' network, and as i mentioned above the sales line for coms broadband is the current adsl24 sales line.

I did email adsl24 to try and get a better answer, but just got a copy & paste reply that didnt mean very much

Yeah I did.

We are pleased to advise you that your order is now being processed.

The anticipated activation date of this order is 17th Dec 2013.

On this date shown above you will need to configure your ADSL router to connect to the service.

Once logged in to your router setup page, you will need to enter the below username along with the password you signed up with.

Username: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If you have any difficulties in getting online once the service is activated please contact our 24 hour support team on 01457 6000 25.

The time of this update was 5th Dec 2013 19:00.

You can track the status of this order via your My account page at https://adsl24.co.uk/myaccount/

Thank you,

ADSL24



Pain in the ass, no details worth noting. We are a disposable item.

Yes. It would perhaps seem that coms, until now have been mostly a telephony / VOIP provider, and they could be expanding their offering (broadband side of things) through the acquisition of ADSL24.

I had a quick look at their broadband offering and the closest that they offer to what we are on is DSL30 but with no off peak periods.

It seems ADSL24's previous owners, So Purple, wanted to ditch the broadband side of things

In reference to www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/05/so-purple-uk-sells-its-broadb...:

Our broadband division was no longer a key focus for us but it is a natural fit with Coms and both parties will benefit from the transaction.

What does it say in 'your account' under 'orders'?


Also what does the username in the email end in? Is it @adsl24 or coms?

Edited by bobble_bob (Sat 07-Dec-13 06:11:38)

In reply to a post by bobble_bob:

What does it say in 'your account' under 'orders'?


Also what does the username in the email end in? Is it @adsl24 or coms?

The only orders showing in my account relate to orders a few years old.

In the original email the address is shown as sales@adsl24, the email stating that emails had been sent in error is news@coms-marketing.

Sorry, i meant what did the username end in?

Username: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Was it @login.adsl24.co.uk or something else? As we still dont know if after the changeover we will be on adsl24 network or Coms

In reply to a post by bobble_bob:

Sorry, i meant what did the username end in?

Username: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Was it @login.adsl24.co.uk or something else? As we still dont know if after the changeover we will be on adsl24 network or Coms

It was [email protected]

Ah, so different to what we have now then

Yes but only time will tell if the new service will be on a par with what we have now.

I think I must be becoming a luddite in my old age as I can't help but feel that the change won't bring anything good or worthwhile. Perhaps James has £ signs in his eyes.

In reply to a post by DooGie:

... I can't help but feel that the change won't bring anything good or worthwhile.

It almost always never does!

James could be long gone already. Either he left or there was a new policy of no posting here.

Some more info i found. Have a feeling they're going to be using the adsl24/Daisy network, and just rebranding it

Coms launches range of super-fast broadband services for home and business

Coms plc. (AIM: COMS) is pleased to announce that Coms.Com Ltd has launched a number of new high-speed broadband products suitable for home and business users.

Dynamic broadband for home and business customers - more than a match for the competition

With a range of plans available to suit all users requirements and budgets, the Coms broadband product set fit into the communications and connectivity solutions the business already delivers.

The broadband products offered start at monthly data allowance of 30GB and increase up to an unlimited Fibre offering, to ensure all needs and requirements can be catered for home and business. Additionally, with broadband speeds matching those offered by other mainstream operators such as BT, Coms offers a real and positive alternative.

UK based support

Additionally, with 24/7 support and sales from a UK based contact centre, customers can be assured of a service to ideally suit their needs by a provider geographically near them. Furthermore, when a user signs with Coms they can easily upgrade if they find they need extra capability, for instance faster download speed or more storage.

The launch of these products comes in a year when one of the acquisitions made by Coms plc was ADSL24 - a specialist in home and business broadband. As a result of this product launch, all ADSL24 customers have transferred to Coms for their ongoing needs.

Dave Breith, CEO for Coms plc, commented: "By providing these enhanced broadband products we are able to offer both business and residential customers a service that ensures they can continually stay online at a cost that is affordable. With our product's performance more than a match for our competitors - such as BT - current and future customers can be assured that the service they receive will be refreshing, dynamic and most importantly, robust."

Rebranding ADSL24 I assume you mean? They went to Daisy (Murphx at the time) years ago. Soon after Enta took WBC, with the chaos that caused.

Yea under the Coms name, but reading between the lines i still think we will be with Daisy

Almost certainly.

Although according to the email that adsl24 sent in error, we will be getting slightly different usernames to connect with. Not too sure why

I guess it'll just be a case of suck it and see. email addresses and webspace will remain the same. So no great change there

In reply to a post by DooGie:

Yes but only time will tell if the new service will be on a par with what we have now.

I think I must be becoming a luddite in my old age as I can't help but feel that the change won't bring anything good or worthwhile. Perhaps James has £ signs in his eyes.

I don't think you're being a luddite, it's quite a reasonable comment based on previous experiences. The question is who is a good alternative?

We've just got FttC at our cabinet which I was going to get signed up with but then found out about ADSL24 being bought over which made me hesitate as I didn't want to sign up for a year and be stuck with a poor service. As others seems to be experiencing my connection over the last few months has not been as good as it used to be, it's been down quite a few times for a few hours at midnight.

Also recently a bit of equipment failed at the exchange which meant the modem couldn't sync, ADSL24's tech support were quick to answer the phone and there was no nonsense going through pointless scripts but frustratingly they needed a lot of chasing up to actually do anything. On the first call they said they would raise the issue with BT so that was fine, no word back the next day so phoned again, nothing happening so again they were going to raise the issue with BT. Third day still no contact, phoned back again, nothing happening so yet again they were going to raise the call with BT and I'd get a call back with the time. No call back unsurprisingly so called them again and this time a BT engineer had been booked but I hadn't been informed. The BT engineer finally came out and sorted it on the day but it was frustrating having to repeatedly call each day when it turned out nothing had been done.

I realise that's not much of a horror story compared to other service providers but was disappointed given the main reason I went with ADSL24 was for better technical support particularly when the line was down.

John

Well, they sent two identical emails over two days welcoming me to Coms, now the same letter turns up by post as well. Tenacious if nothing else.

woody

Not got the letter yet, however i think they have to inform you by letter when the T&C's change. I know banks do anyway

Just checked my ADSL24 Usage report and had a nasty surprise. Over 60GB shown to have been used in a one hour period on Dec 6th. Obviously an error, as my connection supports no more than 5Gb an hour and was only being used for email at the time.

Have received no email warnings about this so far (am on a 50GB per month package), but something is clearly not right with the system.

Never seen anything like this in 5 years with ADSL24.

I've had months of over stated usage although not at the level you have had.

My usual monthly use is about 2GB but the ADSL24 meter has shown 10 times the amount.
Initially I was advised this could be due to someone stealing my bandwidth ,in spite of changing password and having WPA2 setting. The problem still happened with wired connection but is less now that I switch off completely when I'm not on-line. Since I do not exceed my 50G allowance I've stopped worrying.

I joined ADSL24 for their phone service a year ago to get away from BT call centres and 12 months contract and have been pleased with their service and costs.I later moved to the 50G LLU broadband package and have had very good connections and their service support has been speedy even though they could not get to the bottom of the excess usage.

I do hope the Coms.com takeover does not change the service I get as it suits me fine.

I have been with ADSL24 since March, I got the E-mails and letter about the Coms integration/takeover and decide to migrate, and thats when things started to go wrong. It seems they are having a few issues tho it looks as tho nobody told their tech support.

I requested my MAC code on the 3rd Dec and got it the next day. I decided to migrate to Xilo rafter a a bit of research, went through the sign up thinking all went well only to be told the code had already been used.

To cut a long story short i have been going back and forth with ADSL24 fro a few days only to be given the same mac code again with a different expiry date! which still does not work, and now they have closed the ticket.

Seems that maybe the takeover is causing issues but someone forgot to tell the tech support people.

I'm now going to see if i can at least get my money refunded back from Xilo as I'm not getting any service as i can blooming migrate in!

I hope they get this sorted soon and this is not the level of service we customers can expect in the future.

One last thing if anyone else has tried to migrate from ADSL24 to Xilo or any other supplier for that matter can they post here and let us know how it went.

Hmmmm.

The last time I heard of anything like that, the ISP (reseller) was in the process of changing its customers from one Wholesaler to another. They do that by getting and using MACs for them all, as of course it is really a migration between the two wholesale ISPs.

I wonder if you are being moved off Daisy? If you are, then I think they can sort this by cancelling that move for you and then it will be possible to get a new MAC as the existing one would die. Otherwise you would have to wait until you were on the new wholesaler.

Edited by RobertoS (Thu 12-Dec-13 15:49:51)

Any MAC normally appears in your account area. Did when they did a mass migration from Enta to Murphx and so far nothing in mine.

If we aren't getting moved till early 2014 as there own faq said, getting MACS now for the internal changeover would be too early wouldn't it?

Unless this is to do with the 'order processing' error that we got emailed about

Edited by bobble_bob (Thu 12-Dec-13 16:25:40)

I imagine a bulk move would be scheduled in phases by Openreach, after receipt of the bulk order with MACs. So Coms may have already triggered it and it's Openreach telling them next year. I believe previous bulk moves were in batches.

Well there must be some plans going on as i dont think it was a coincidence that a day after we get the "Welcome to coms" email, we get an "your order is being processed" email the next day, even though coms say this was sent in error and they didnt authorize it

Id still like to know what im being moved to. There letterheads still have the adsl24 name on them, so am i with adsl24 with a new supplier, adsl24 with daisy, coms with a new supplier or do coms have their own network?

TalkTalk?

Hope thats a joke

I hear that Dido's no angel

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

TalkTalk?

Could be.... I'm on TT LLU with adsl24, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. If they are using L2TP so you're effectivley in an encoded sealed tunnel within the TT network - which I believe is how they do it -(cheers to yarwell for that) then it might not be too bad. It seems to be OK for me.

woody

Well i thought i would go straight to the horses mouth so to speak. Just emailed Coms to ask who they resell. See if i get an answer

In reply to a post by bodcod:

One last thing if anyone else has tried to migrate from ADSL24 to Xilo or any other supplier for that matter can they post here and let us know how it went.

Worked for me, but a few months ago. Xilo were/are about £5-10 pcm cheaper than ADSL 24 for the same package. Excellent service from Xilo. They also have my web hosting.

So glad I jumped ship in time before this.

DrT

Yes I got the letter a few days ago. Didn't say anything I didn't already know.

Having just visited the Coms website i find myself very disappointed with there offerings.

Whilst,they state that existing ADSL24 customers will see no change to their current packages,when you see the minimal packages available to new customers it leaves you wondering just who they think they are competing with and what do they supply that would make new customers find them an attractive proposition.

I have been a customer of adsl24 for a good few years now and have never had any problems paying for the service i have received ,however, i now have to question myself and cant find any compelling reason to stay especially with a firm that appears to be more interested in its other products , broadband is not their core business,and has what quite frankly are over priced products.

Whilst i had heard from here that the take over had occurred it was underwhelming as a customer to be told 6 months after the event and that does not auger well for the people who choose to stay IMO.

Its a shame to see adsl24 go but hey ho these things happen, just need to do a bit of research to find another supplier but the suggestions on this site have served me well in the past and i am sure they will again....

Wait and see, we dont know what will happen. We may still be on 'adsl24' in everything but name

I agree with Bob, I think we should all wait and see. They pride themselves on an excellent business offering which may bode well for us yet. Their telephony network belongs wholly to them and is carrier class, so has top notch multiple redundancy built in.

They are rapidly expanding and want to supply a total one stop high class solution, so I guess its wait until we get moved over (quite to what we are getting moved over to, remains a mystery!).

I must admit tough, I do agree with the comments about their current offering being very expensive and somewhat limited. I certainly wouldn't want to move over to that!

woody

It's too early to say what the likely outcome will be. Having been bitten in the past by a similar buyout, my immediate reaction was to ask for a MAC, but I am now prepared to wait and monitor the situation.

My reaction to the published change is somewhat mixed. So far, I'm impressed with the download speed which now runs at 100% of my line capacity at all times. Previously I would get about 50% during the weekend unmetered window. Technical support is a little less impressive; I would say they are enthusiastic, but inexperienced. Certainly not a disaster, and I have no doubt they will improve as they gain confidence and experience.

One thing the doubters seem to overlook is the investment (however large, or small) made by Coms. This will not be recouped if they drive customers away by e.g. providing a substandard service, or raising prices too high.

Has anyone been moved to something?

I got an email saying I'd be moved on the 16th and have to use a new login. it was the exact same login, but with xxx at the front of my username.

No that was an error

Unfortunately having been with XILO and wishing to leave on cost basis, their invoices kept rising each month in relation to phone calls with no change in our habits, I was hit with an immediate £76 charge for leaving and still have to pay for a months advance rental invoice due later this month. Be very careful because on sign up these charges are not explained at all.

Sounds like you might have had a phone and broadband service, so a cease fee is always payable when ending service.

However, our phone costs have never increased but without knowing who you are, it's impossible to see if your actual phone usage did increase or change with the destinations called.

Notice will be 30 days from the request and a final invoice will include that notice, you'd not pay a further invoice for service after that date. The only exception is any calls made in the final month.

Do get in touch though and we'll be happy to look in to this further for you.

Edit: Having looking at the only cease placed today and a ticket that was submitted and replied to I believe I have found your account. You call charges have not changed by much, with an average of £2-4 a month. However, Octobers calls were higher as you made substantially more calls than normal and they were billed as such.

I believe accounts have already replied to your ticket raised and confirmed a few additional things for you.

Matt

Edited by uno (Tue 17-Dec-13 13:57:55)

I have been looking at moving to Xilo. I currently have my phone and broadband with adsl24. I'm on the LLU DSL C&W, will I have to pay a connection fee? I remember that it costs extra to move from LLU, but I don't know if things have changed.

In reply to a post by bobble_bob:

No that was an error

Okay, thanks. This was confusing me.

Drop us a message via the contact form and if possible include your number and postcode, we can then check this out for you and advise further.

Matt