Thus & Demon

[Tacitus]

There's some interesting speculation here as to whether C & W who recently aquired Thus are going to sell part of it.  Since it seems the Demon brand will in future be limited to the consumer and SME markets, this might be the division that is up for sale.

This could turn into a replay of the Pipex saga.  A once great ISP asset stripped, mismanaged and, the remains sold off to anybody with some loose change.

[Simon]

I was tempted to go with Demon at one stage, but I heard so many mixed reports about customer service, and they were also quite expensive, so I was put off them.

[Tacitus]

I was tempted to go with Demon at one stage, but I heard so many mixed reports about customer service, and they were also quite expensive, so I was put off them.

TBH I don't regard them as particularly expensive - 60Gb for £23/month is not excessive when you look at (say) iDNet's 30Gb for £24 or so.  However their customer service has really gone down the pan with the move to Bangalore and, there is simply no comparison with iDNet.   When I first joined in the days of dial-up, you could ring Finchley 24/7 and speak to someone with comprehensible English who actually knew what they were talking about. 

Now, with Bangalore it's pure luck of the draw what you get.  That said the majority of the problems I have, are down to BT and their poor lines.

If there is any truth in it, it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

[Rik]

Do they still use their Turnpike(?) software?

[Tacitus]

Do they still use their Turnpike(?) software?

I believe so Rik.  As a Mac user I've never tried it 

Interestingly there seems to be a flurry of complaints on the Demon section of TB.  Some of this is to do with ADSL2, which Demon appears to be moving people to without any option.  Others concern the poor level of customer service, which could be a symptom of Thus getting it ready for sale.

What seems to be happening is the increasing concentration of mass broadband into a few large companies, with others like iDNet/Zen/AAISP etc serving niche markets at a premium price.  How long they can sustain this type of business model remains to be seen. 

[Rik]

I hated Turnpike, Tac. Ghastly piece of software which caused me to move swiftly on.

I know what you mean. Increasingly, the market is getting tighter and the recession will hit the niche companies harder imo.

[Tacitus]

Increasingly, the market is getting tighter and the recession will hit the niche companies harder imo.

I think a lot will depend on the proportion of domestic to business customers that each ISP has.  It never ceases to surprise me the number of complaints on TB from people who go to one of the pile it high sell it cheap ISPs, and then complain, 'I run a business which depends on the internet and the customer service from X is rubbish'.

If an ISP has a decent number of business customers I think they are more likely to survive since a business which depends on good internet access is usually prepared to pay accordingly, provided the service and support are reliable.

[Edit for spelling]

[Rik]

And IDNet do have a sizeable business market.

[Tacitus]

And IDNet do have a sizeable business market.

Good to know.  They seem to be following a decent strategy at the moment upping the allowances for WBC customers, although that could backfire going by the AAISP blog.  No matter how low your expectations of BT they will always fall short.

[Rik]

 

So true...

[colonelsun]

I was tempted to go with Demon at one stage, but I heard so many mixed reports about customer service, and they were also quite expensive, so I was put off them.

Demon was my joint first choice when i decided i'd had enough of Sky broadband......IDNET was the other. To be honest all i had to go on was a load of Google searches on each company to make my final choice. IDNET was the clear winner because i couldn't find any negative posts about the company. I usually hate basing any opinion on search engine results alone but sometimes there's no other option.

[Simon]

I get the impression that, like Pipex, Demon used to be a good ISP, but have gone downhill in recent years.  We're glad you chose IDNet, Dave. 

[Tacitus]

I get the impression that, like Pipex, Demon used to be a good ISP, but have gone downhill in recent years.  We're glad you chose IDNet, Dave. 

I think that's about right Simon they certainly aren't what they once were, although they still have a way to go before reaching the dismal levels achieved by Pipex in their Tiscali years.  I can attest to that as my sister was on Pipex before I pushed her over to iDNet.  Needless to say she's well pleased with the idea she can now ring support and get someone who knows what they are talking about.  For her, it 'just works'.

To be fair, in my experience the Demon product is not that bad; although my profile has just reached the dizzy heights of 1750k, throughput is almost always around 85/90% of profile, suggesting they are not over stretching their network.  It's their once excellent customer support which has really gone downhill as they moved it to Bangalore.

The real problem for me has always been BTs poor lines and, a move to anyone else - no decent LLU around here - is unlikely to change that significantly. 

[RichR]

I get the impression that, like Pipex, Demon used to be a good ISP, but have gone downhill in recent years.  We're glad you chose IDNet, Dave. 

You're spot on with that.
I don't want to worry anybody but I used to be with Demon and then they were taken over by Thus and rapidly went downhill. So I moved to Eclipse who were really good and then were taken over by Kingston Communications and rapidly went downhill. Then I moved to IDNet who are really good  ... :-)

[Rik]

 

But BT have taken over Kingston, so the chain has been broken.

[Ray]

I think you're safe, I came to Idnet from Eclipse just over 3 years ago and all is still fine. 

[Rik]

I'm rapidly approaching the 3-year mark too, Ray, doesn't time fly.

[Ray]

it does indeed, Rik. 

[alhenderson]

I hated Turnpike, Tac. Ghastly piece of software which caused me to move swiftly on.

I know what you mean. Increasingly, the market is getting tighter and the recession will hit the niche companies harder imo.

Demon were my first ISP too.  Those were the days :-)  They were good, although I'll agree with your comments about Turnpike - bloody awful piece of software..

Al.

[Rik]

I actually knew someone who liked it, Al. 

[alhenderson]

I actually knew someone who liked it, Al. 

Perhaps their guide dog liked it...

[Rik]

 

Quite possible.

[colonelsun]

I get the impression that, like Pipex, Demon used to be a good ISP, but have gone downhill in recent years.  We're glad you chose IDNet, Dave. 

Thanks Simon.

My searches nearly always indicated business customers were fed up with the service and complained that their email wasn't always available. As a residential customer myself i wanted to know what it was like for people like me, and people like me were leaving in droves.

I'd add that a lot of the results were very complimentary prior to 2003/2004.

[Sebby]

Sounds very much like Pipex.

[colonelsun]

All this just goes to prove how difficult it is for anybody to get a decent, reliable broadband provider. IDNET was my fourth and last attempt.