After ignoring the gist of my query and saying effectively "if it says you need to upgrade then it's time to upgrade!" they now say:
We are currently reviewing the system error. We apologize for any inconvenience that might have been caused.
I might be wrong, but I'm a bit skeptical that they are just sending out pro-forma replies. Here's hoping they mean it.
1999: Freeserve 48K Dial-Up => 2005: Wanadoo 1 Meg BB => 2007: Orange 2 Meg BB => 2008: Orange 8 Meg LLU => 2010: Orange 16 Meg LLU => 2011: Orange 17 Meg Untweaked 19 Meg Tweaked WBC