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Devastatin Dave
09-25-2003, 13:38
What follows is a superb example of British humor in A LETTER THAT WAS TRULY WRITTEN AND SENT. The piece suggests two things:

1) Americans and Canadians are not the only ones who get poor service from their ISP, cable and/or alarm companies. (NTL is a cable operator in Britain).
2) The Brits probably write the world's best letters of complaint.

Dear Cretins:

I have been an NTL customer since 9th July 2001, when I signed up for your four-in-one deal for cable TV, cable modem, telephone, and alarm monitoring. During this three-month period I have encountered inadequacy of service which I had not previously considered possible, as well as ignorance and stupidity of monolithic proportions. Please allow me to provide specific details, so that you can either pursue your professional prerogative and seek to rectify these difficulties or more likely (I suspect) so that you can have some entertaining reading material as you while away the working day smoking B&H and drinking vendor-coffee on the bog in your office.

My initial installation was cancelled without warning, resulting in my spending an entire Saturday sitting on my fat arse waiting for your technician to arrive. When he did not arrive, I spent a further 57 minutes listening to your infuriating hold music, and the even more annoying Scottish robot woman telling me to look at your helpfulwebsite. HOW?

I alleviated the boredom by playing with my testicles for a few minutes -- an activity at which you are no doubt both familiar and highly adept. The rescheduled installation then took place some two weeks later, although the technician did forget to bring a number of vital tools -- such as a drill-bit, and his cerebrum.

Two weeks later, my cable modem had still not arrived. After 15 telephone calls over four weeks my modem arrived, six weeks after I had Irequested it -- and begun to pay for it. I estimate your internet server's downtime is roughly 35% -- the hours between about 6 pm and midnight, Monday through Friday, and most of the weekend. I am still waiting for my telephone connection.

I have made nine calls on my mobile to your no-help line, and have been unhelpfully transferred to a variety of disinterested individuals who are, it seems, also highly skilled bollock jugglers. I have been informed that a telephone line is available (and someone will call me back); that I will be transferred to someone who knows whether or not a telephone line is available (and then been cut off); that I will be transferred to someone (and then been redirected to an answering machine informing me that your office is closed); that I will be transferred to someone and then been redirected to the irritating Scottish robot woman. And several other variations on this theme.

Doubtless you are no longer reading this letter, as you have at least a thousand other dissatisfied customers to ignore, and also another one of those crucially important testicle moments to attend to. Frankly I don't care. It's far more satisfying as a customer to voice my frustrations in print than to shout them at your unending hold music. Forgive me, therefore, if I continue.

I thought British Telecom was shit; that they had attained the holy piss-pot of god-awful customer relations; and that no one, anywhere, ever, could be more disinterested, less helpful or more obstructive to delivering service to their customers. That's why I chose NTL, and because, well, there isn't anyone else is there?

How surprised I therefore was, when I discovered to my considerable dissatisfaction and disappointment what a useless shower of bastards you truly are. You are sputum-filled pieces of distended rectum incompetents of the highest order. BT -- wankers though they are -- shine like brilliant beacons of success in the filthy mire of your seemingly limitless inadequacy.

Suffice to say that I have now given up on my futile and foolhardy quest to receive any kind of service from you. I suggest that you cease any potential future attempts to extort payment from me for the services which you have so pointedly and catastrophically failed to deliver. Any such activity will be greeted initially with hilarity and disbelief and will quickly be replaced by derision, and even perhaps bemused rage.

I enclose two small deposits, selected with great care from my cat's litter tray, as an expression of my utter and complete contempt for both you and your pointless company. I sincerely hope that they have not become desiccated during transit -- they were satisfyingly moist at the time of posting, and I would feel considerable disappointment if you did not experience both their rich aroma and delicate texture. Consider them the very embodiment of my feelings towards NTL, and its worthless employees.

Have a nice day. May it be the last in your miserable short lives, you irritatingly incompetent and infuriatingly unhelpful bunch of twits.

May you rot in Hell,
Robert Stokes
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

el_slapper
09-25-2003, 13:46
wow. THAT was worth reading...:p

My ISP(Tiscali) is not that bad, but I've got some surprises with them; as the need to dl XP drivers with my old PC & then transfer them with good old diskettes on the new one, or getting my service stopped because they had lost my creditcard number. But what I've heard is that it is usually worse; so I stick with them. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

Teutonic Knight
09-25-2003, 13:53
ROFL

so very polite, yet very insulting at the same time http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

katar
09-25-2003, 14:11
that is a lovely letter and one of the nicest pieces of sarcastic humour i`ve seen in a long time. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

i can just imagine him ripping an NTL rep apart while at the same time appologising for getting blood and brain matter on his suit http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wacko.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

those wankers at ntl tried to get me to sign up with them two weeks ago, needless to say i refused, this reinforces my first thoughts on them, i`ll just stick with British Telecom if you don`t mind. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

Edit: i`m actually with AOL (no problems with them yet), B.T. just supplies my phone line. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Portuguese Rebel
09-25-2003, 14:14
I love my ISP. They haven't failed me once in a whole year... I must sound like an alien for what i've heard people talking about how crappy they can get... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Scipio
09-25-2003, 14:23
I can't say that I havent had problems in the passed but my isp is generally good. Where did uo get that letter from? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Iggyred
09-25-2003, 14:51
I feel I have to add to this. NTL is my ISP and they came, they saw, they installed. I have had one problem since and that was URS (user related stupidty).
I'm ashamed to admit but at the first question, Is the cable modem plugged into the computer ?, I noticed that I had unplugged my modem .... DOH http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

Devastatin Dave
09-25-2003, 15:02
Quote[/b] (Scipio @ Sep. 25 2003,08:23)]I can't say that I havent had problems in the passed but my isp is generally good. Where did uo get that letter from? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
A friend of mine. I'm not sure where he got it. I thought it was funny, so I thought I would share. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
I have had several problems with my ISP, Prodigy, such as account deleted and other pain in the ass issues. I don't have a cable modem right now becasue I live in base housing and my wife and I are holding out till I get out of the Air Force and get a house. Till then....slow.....56......k.....modem.... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif
That's why I post most of my ramblings at work where I'm in a consant state of RAGE http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

lanky316
09-25-2003, 16:17
How the bloody hell did he get hold of my letter http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

I'm on NTL they're not that bad, however under no circumstances should anyone try to negotiate with npower

*shudders*

Pitt_Slayer
09-25-2003, 16:34
haha theres been many times ive felt like saying that years back when i was with bt, but im lucky i'm with telewest(blueyonder) speed is brill BUT sometime slow at peak times ie between 4pm to 7pm (mainly when kids finish school)
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Gregoshi
09-25-2003, 17:14
That was a good read. I always appreciate those that have a way with words. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

I've had one or two small problems with my ISP, but I'd have to say I'm quite happy with them.

Wellington
09-25-2003, 21:17
Nice post dave. I laughed my rocks off http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

It's the sort of letter we all wish we were capable of writing

Jabberwock
09-25-2003, 21:30
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

Once got cold called by NTL (as they provide my telephone line) asking whether I wanted them to be my ISP.
I replied that I was happy with my current ISP (Virgin) but I might be interested if they had Broadband in my area.

The reply was What's Broadband http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif

At this point I said Never mind and put the phone down.

DemonArchangel
09-25-2003, 22:20
LOLL

Alrowan
09-26-2003, 01:06
that was worth the read indeed

i love my ISP TPG, only ever had 2 downtimes with them, and those were both explained, and short. One being a server crash, which was fixed within minutes of calling, the other was a whole hour it took for them to upgrade thier servers, needless to say, i noticed a HUGE improvment in bandwith during peak hours.

bighairyman
09-26-2003, 02:56
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif , funniest letter i have ever read, i also had a few problems with my ISP, liitle problems like, can't log on to the net, e-mail problems and ect.....
i also hate it, when the machine tells you to go online for such and such problems when you can't go online http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif .

anyway, i live in new england, and my ISp is comcast, since they 're pretty new, a couple of years, they are working hard to provide excellent service

Shono
09-26-2003, 09:23
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif Nice one, I wish I could have seen them open the envelope

I am with NTL and not shamed to admit it, getting setup was a nightmare, they cancelled me three times and the forth time they never showed. I was about to cancel but decided after hours listening to the music and the stupid voice, just to ignore them and wait a while before I went to another provider.

Low and behold they rang me and gave me a new date on which they came, installed where I wanted it and set it all up (have TV, Tel and BB).

This was over 2 years ago and since it has been down once and very occasionally slowed for a period.

However I dread if there ever was a problem because there customer support is pants.

Most people I know who have ntl say the same, it works but I would hate to have to contact them about anything.

Alas, I could never go back to a 56K modem http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

Portuguese Rebel
09-26-2003, 14:47
Guys in here are pretty satisfied with their ISPs. Guess what, most disgruntled guys never make it in here in the first place http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

-Isapostolos-
09-26-2003, 17:00
I litarally got tears in my eyes because of laughing. That man is a genius Truly this is Brits at their best http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

Anyway I thought it was so funny so I decided to share it with my nephew today. He thought it was funny aswell and he shoewed it to our English teacher. He was so amused by it that he decided to use it as teaching material

Anyway I hope your friend will someday get internet, I really do hope so

Mount Suribachi
09-26-2003, 18:23
I work with 2 CS nuts who have NTL broadband. I could be here all night typing a litany of dreadful service they've had to endure (no BT broadband in our area).

However, if you like that kind of thing, I suggest you head on over to NThellworld.com. There you shall find literally thousands of disatisfied NTL customers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

monkian
10-16-2003, 16:04
I work for Ntl and letters like that normally go in the out tray...the bin http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

lancer63
10-16-2003, 17:37
That was insulting poetry at its best. Enjoyed it very much and gave me a few pointers for future complain letters. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

Sir Chauncy
10-16-2003, 18:02
It was quality, I laughed outloud for ages.

My sevice provider was Onetel before I moved house, I never had a single problem or had to listen to any music. They were great.