I would really appreciate my connection speed back too.

Is there any way we can escalate this further?

Since I'm out of contract I could move to another provider but Zen's whole setup works very well for me (or it did from joining until this migration issue) and nothing else would really fit my requirements as well as Zen, unless I spend more than Zen prices, which are already higher than the big providers (not really something that's on the table with the cost of living situation).

Edited by FakeJake (Tue 26-Apr-22 11:43:40)

In reply to a post by SteveBushell999:

Has anybody actually been fixed of this problem? I am wondering as the 30 days OFCOM gives to isp's ends very shortly for me, and I am considering what to do.

Hi Steve

I stepped away from commenting in this thread on 7th April as it was clear then that this major issue was going to drag on for some time and there is little appetite here (not you) to apply pressure to Zen to come up with an interim solution in the mean time.

In Brandon's last post there is an impression that this issue is within the Openreach network but even a layman knows that its extremely unlikely to be, this issue was introduced when the GEA migration occurred and other ISP's using the same Openreach infrastructure with their own cable-links are not having the same issue.

In reply to a post by hazey_flakes:

The data we took from the site visits appears to show packet loss between us handing traffic over to the Cable-link and the traffic arrive out of the ONT to our test server.

When you have Brandon saying below it doesn't sound positive, if that was you or I we would be on the blower every day and would escalate the issue all the way to the top as a priority but from what I am seeing they are siting on their hands hoping Openreach will tell them what they are doing wrong.

In reply to a post by hazey_flakes:

I'm still waiting on a response from OR.

I would recommend to everyone think seriously about staying with Zen if this is the level of service you get from them when a major issue occurs.

Hi Dect,

I fear that this is going to end in tears, it just doesn't feel like anything is happening, I totally agree with your comments about awaiting an OR response. To some extent I don't really care 'where' the problem lies, other than an overall technical interest, I just want things to work like they did before the UNASKED FOR migration.

I think other people may have different reasons to need Zen to fix, but for my part, it's the support that I used to get from Zen before I moved here that keeps me, but it seems that isn't happening now (PLEASE 'surprise me'). Other than that, I simply need bandwidth and fixed IP, those can be had from other suppliers more cheaply it seems, which is why the Shell offer of £49.99 a month for 900Mb down seems reasonable (plus £15 one off payment for fixed IP) - Still a saving over Zen.

I fully agree that as this issue affects multiple clients that there doesn't seem to be the level of urgency I would hope for or expect. I don't WANT to leave, but I am seriously unimpressed that after a month I am still left with a really BAD connection, averaging just 5% of what I pay for.

Edited by SteveBushell999 (Tue 26-Apr-22 12:42:09)

Are you working an open support case regarding this? Not from the perspective of getting it fixed quicker, but if you want to exit a contract or need to escalate further then Zen are unlikely to consider posting in here to be an approved way of raising issues to them.

Yes ! See below from Zen (dated 30 March) - NB fault first raised 23rd March, and my 'migration' was 21st March

Thanks for contacting Zen Internet regarding your performance issues.

Our Technical Support team have now identified that there is a performance issue with the connection continuously performing below the 'Guaranteed Minimum Download Speed' we provided in the confirmation email we sent to you.

In line with OFCOM guidelines Zen now have 30 days to investigate and resolve the performance issue. If the issue can't be resolved within the 30-day period, you may terminate our agreement without penalty but the charges for your use of the services up to the point of termination won't be refunded.

The issue has now been passed to our Fault Management team who endeavour to contact you within the next working hour to discuss the details and provide some initial timescales for the fault progression.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the issue and rest assured that Zen will now be working to resolve the problem.

Kind Regards,
Zen Technical Support

Edited by SteveBushell999 (Tue 26-Apr-22 14:23:08)

In reply to a post by SteveBushell999:

In line with OFCOM guidelines Zen now have 30 days to investigate and resolve the performance issue. If the issue can't be resolved within the 30-day period, you may terminate our agreement without penalty but the charges for your use of the services up to the point of termination won't be refunded.

So with consistently severe throughput speed for over a month they reckon no compensation is due? Hmmmm.

To paraphrase: "You don't get what you pay for".

In reply to a post by pluralist:

So with consistently severe throughput speed for over a month they reckon no compensation is due? Hmmmm.

If compensation was due this fault would have never dragged on this long. Its a [censored] show from Zen and most of their customers I would expect would prefer what they paid for rather than this [censored] service and a month plus of compensation payments.

Compensation is over and above a refund for the service, I think Zen would find it very difficult to argue that they don't owe you a refund for the month of disruption if you wanted to pursue a claim.

This is getting well beyond a joke. I know that Zen people read this (Hi Brandon) surely it's obvious that we are all well and truly [CENSORED] off. This has gone on beyond long enough, it's obvious that there is no intention to simply switch us back to what used to work just fine, and that Zen no longer give a damn, but instead just blame OR hoping that it's their fault (which it clearly isn't). I USED to be a big fan of Zen, and have recommended them in the past, but the total lack of any progress on this issue is speaking very loudly to me. For me, it's deadline Friday - the 30 days OFCOM give, and then I'm off - it wouldn't be so bad if we were kept in the loop as to what is happening, but the total lack of communication suggests maybe we ARE in the loop, and NOTHING is happening?

Refunds, compensation, whatever, I just want service, that I pay for (still do!) nothing more or less. On this issue, unless something changes tout de suite, it's not possible to recommend them - put simply, they have unilaterally ruined my connection, and done nothing about righting the obviously untested action (evidence being the number of people [CENSORED] off). My job is a software tester, and it's as clear as day that this has NOT been adequately tested, and we are just guinea pigs, unpaid UAT testers, who aren't even able to attend a defect triage...... MUSHROOMS - (kept in the dark, and fed on bull waste products).

Please surprise me Zen...... Last chance ! I am happy to delete this post if things are resolved in a timely manner. We don't pay nearly £700 a year each for this kind of 'service' !

Edited by SteveBushell999 (Tue 26-Apr-22 19:16:09)

I just can't understand why they don't just switch you back to keep you happy whilst they investigate, or if they need a real world connection that's experiencing the issue, so they can eventually prove they've fixed it, agree with you to keep it as is in exchange for offering you a very sweet deal (free service, refund + compensation).

I know a forum isn't an official mechanism for support, but this is now out there and it isn't exactly giving them a glowing review is it.

I actually thought it was a really good show recently to see them responding on here as it showed a real improvement to them caring about the level of service they offer, but obviously not. I sent them an official ticket months ago about the gateway issue and never ever received a reply.

Edited by zebb_edi (Wed 27-Apr-22 09:07:37)