I was asked to look at someone's computer because they discovered that their internet connection wasn't working on returning from an extended holiday. After trying the basics I spent two hours on the phone with Pipex/Tiscali only to be told that my client's account had been closed several weeks earlier, despite the client having bank statements indicating that money was still being debited from their account at a point after the supposed cancellation.

The nice lady in India, who was surprisingly helpful, was at a loss as to how this situation arose, and in fact no-one seemed able or willing to hypothesise, but one can't help thinking that it was something to do with the migration from Pipex to Tiscali.

Reinstating the service apparently takes longer than it would for a new broadband connection to be provided. A new connection can be made in 10 days, reactivating an existing paid for account takes 16 days.

This email balls-up sounds like yet more of the same uselessness. As I said to the client after explaining to them that despite them paying for a service, their provider had taken it into their heads to kill their service and keep taking the money, this kind of incompetence requires years of practice.