back to article C&W kicks Bulldog rump into touch

Cable and Wireless has fired off letters to Bulldog broadband customers telling them they will be cut off in less than a month because it doesn't want them dangling around anymore. Most of Bulldog's customer base was sold to Pipex last year for £12m. C&W refused to tell us why some subscribers remained on its network, saying it …

COMMENTS

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  1. John Merlin

    Payment

    It's probably not the Bulldog customers fault if they appear to not be paying.

    I was a customer of theirs for about 6 months before I realised that apart from the first months fee, they had taken no money from my account. I tried to tell them about it and they cut me off and charged me the full 12 months of the contract. I was reinstated a few days later, but never got the money back. However, as they still weren't taking anything from my account I was prepared to leave it be, rather then have their (largely) incompetent staff try and deal with their broken system.

  2. Ian Parr

    I'm one of the unclean !

    I'm one of the apparently few customers being cut off.

    Not because I'm a pikey sponger that won't pay but becase the Bulldog billing systems are so poor I have not received a correct bill since joining them 9 months ago.

    Their customer support and complaints department are just as poor and seem unable or uninterested in solving the problems.

    Take a look at the Bulldog forums at http://www.adslguide.org to see just how many peope concur.

    I for one, am very happy to be able to get out of my one year contract three months early.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bulldog Bullshit

    I am still receiving email and written notices of intending disconnection for a Bulldog service which they said they would disconnect last year on a BT line which was disconnected in January. The letters contain no contact address or number and emails are replied saying that Bulldog cannot discuss the matter under the Data Protection Act and I must contact either via a premium rate number which I never do or via my now none existent Bulldog email account.

    Bulldog administration always was very poor. I gave them notice of disconnection only after they failed to ungrade my service after 6 months of trying.

    I think it is unlikely that many people owe Bulldog much money - I certainly don't. More likely that their paperwork is in such a mess that they do not know who is or who isn't a current customer and are sending out bills and disconnection notices to all the names on their database in the hope that some will pay up. Only reason I can think of for them sending out demands after month of silence.

  4. Andy Cunningham

    Before C&W...

    Before C&W took over, Bulldog were fantastic, the best ISP I had ever found. Almost as soon as C&W took over, the customer service dropped through the floor and every bill I got was wrong. They seemed completely unable to get money from the direct debit set up for them - in fact it never worked in over a year, and I got tired of the monthly admonishments for non-payment, and eventually gave up.

    I'm now with Be who are pretty good, but not upto Bulldog's pre C&W standards.

  5. Chris Jau

    No transfer of service

    I've also been disconnected. I've been trying for months to pay my bills by direct debit - every time I call, they claim it's gone through, but then no payments come out of my account.

    What's more, they're not transferring us to new providers. BT are charging £125 for a transfer, and the rump of Bulldog is £100.

    Why the hell aren't they just transferring us over - I shouldn't have to pay this charge!

  6. Emma Anderson

    Excuses, Excuses

    I'm one of the people they are bumping off as well.

    As with everything Bulldog related, it's excuse after excuse with them.

    I do NOT owe them money - in fact due to the number of complaints I have to make to them on a regular basis, my account has been credited every month for the last 4 months or so, as way of compensation.

    Bills did get unpaid for months at a time - but that was nothing to do with me as a customer! It was due to their finance department who couldn't get their backsides into gear and do their jobs properly.

    It's the usual bullsh*t from Bulldog - it's always the customer to blame.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Their direct debit was broken!

    I was with them for about 18 months and only paid for my broadband twice. After the 2nd payment they kept sending me an e-bill but never taking the direct debit. Contact with their department either by phone or e-mails is excruciating. E-mail typically dissapeared into a black hole or you received a garbled one reply which had nothing to do with the original request. When I got through by phone I'd always end up with someone who was confused and scared because their system kept telling them I didn't exist, or my connection had been cut off or my account had been deactivated even though everything was working fine. When I disconnected my service with them my e-bill was coming in at a juicy 600 odd pounds. You have to give it to them though, they ran the first proper "Free" broadband.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Their direct debit was broken!

    I was with them for about 18 months and only paid for my broadband twice. After the 2nd payment they kept sending me an e-bill but never taking the direct debit. Contact with their department either by phone or e-mails is excruciating. E-mail typically dissapeared into a black hole or you received a garbled one reply which had nothing to do with the original request. When I got through by phone I'd always end up with someone who was confused and scared because their system kept telling them I didn't exist, or my connection had been cut off or my account had been deactivated even though everything was working fine. When I disconnected my service with them my e-bill was coming in at a juicy 600 odd pounds. You have to give it to them though, they ran the first proper "Free" broadband.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Title

    C&W and Bulldog couldn't organise a p***t up in a brewery..since joining Bulldog over 2 years ago the muppets still can't set up a direct debit... I end up on phone every 3 months to sort out payment.They are the laughing stock of the IT community and deserve everything they get.

  10. Emma Anderson

    For Chris Jau

    BT aren't charging £125 unless it's a new line you need.

    If you ring them and tell them you wanna come back from Bullsh*t, they'll do the bizz and get you sorted.

    I agree though, it's bloody ridiculous we have to go through all this hassle just because THEY have seen fit to bump us off.

    Rather than deal with the crap that is their company, it's easier to get rid of customers.

  11. Anonymous Coward Silver badge
    Anonymous Coward

    Pipex

    Talk to Pipex. It's only the C&W side that seems to be screwed up.

    Pipex have reconnected me, without going back to BT, for no charge, and the monthly bill is a fiver cheaper.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    what a laugh bulldog are

    Hmm, I have never before seen an IP offering FREE telephone AND internet. Entirely free , my friends not been charged since November last year for either phone or internet, ITS GREAT,lol. Got to say, Internet speeds are great, phone quality is crap.

  13. b166er

    Not alone then

    When I got the mail, I just laughed.

    I've had hassle from Bulldog from the beginning (that's what you get for being an early adopter I guess).

    Up to 16Mb they said. Never sync'd at more than 6.7Mb.

    Had exactly the same problem as others with billing.

    So good riddance I guess (Pipex are/were no better)

    If I followed my hunch, I'd go back to Zen and never move anywhere again, but I'll probably go with my pocket and try Be.

    If anyone is fed up with their ISP, I can strongly recommend Zen. The line never drops, they pick up the phone within 3 rings and they all know what they're talking about.

    Just my 0.02p

  14. Tom Parkinson

    totally rubbish

    - bulldog - bullshit more like

    my tale of woe was so tedious (over 6 months of utter nonsense with sdsl) i shan't bother you all with it but needless to say C&W screwed up a really excellent company and pioneer of LLU BB (and post indie status their accounts couldn't count or arrange a direct debit if it hit them in the face)

    DOUBLE SHAME on you c&w!

    (how much does their senior management get paid to screw things up time and time again?)

    pipex leased circuit we moved to from sdsl is so-so ok but still copper tho ...will no one sort fibre cheaply in suburban london (NW6)?

    pipex aren't much better overall tho and are in a right fix at the dedicated server end where weve just escaped from too

    gawd!

    second class service and overpriced broadband UK - again - positively rubbish - embarrassing

    Think ill raise the peoples army and seize control of the state...

    HUM THERES AN IDEA...

  15. Simon Irving

    Every cloud and all that...

    Imagine my frustration when, after trying for literally weeks to cancel my Bulldog account due to their compete lack of being able to provide me with either a broadband or telephone service, and finally moving my line back to BT, the Bullshit Bastards try to charge me £30 for a months subscription.

    Luckly, I noticed on the day the Direct Debit was being drawn; a quick call to the nice people at Smile bank assured me that as I cancelled the DD in the nick of time, the transaction would be reversed.

    Then, two months later after they charged their customer base several times for one months subscription, I received a credit for £60 to compensate for this error... despite having cancelled my Direct Debit as previously mentioned, and not paying diddly squat since!

    I dont mind em messing up... as long as they do it in my favour :)

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