Trouble with Tiscali (Long)

Hi,

I have been with Tiscali for Broadband since December 2006 with no major
problems, In about April 2007 we decided to take the Tiscali Talk package
which meant we paid the line rental to Tiscali and the BT account was
closed.

Anyway, all was well and at the end of November 2007 we received a letter
from Tiscali saying that free line rental was now available in or area and
we could get the Broadband (8 MB) and the phone for £19.99 pm, ok so we
switched over, the switch took place on about December, 15th (we were away
at the time), We got back just before Christmas and that's when thing's
started to go wrong.

For a start the Caller Display service is no longer reliable, it is pot luck
whether a number (or anything) is displayed on the screen when the phone
rings, I have tried two different phones and a CD 50 box (which worked fine
previously) straight from the master box with the front faceplate
disconnected. Other problems include star services which no longer work such
as, 1475 (1471 erasure) and reminder call, both of these services say the
number dialed has not been recognised. These worked fine previously under
Tiscali.

Apart from the Caller Display issue the most annoying thing is the stuttered
dial tone presented indicating new voice mail (I had the Voice mail service
removed because that too was unreliable). I tried dialing 1571 and it says
"Please enter your mailbox number" Technical support said to try my full
home phone number minus the 0, eg 1xxx xxxxxx and a pin of 1111. Guess what?
"Pin not recognised".

I had Call Waiting removed after the "upgrade" because it could no longer be
controlled by *43#. #43#. Great when your expecting a fax!

On the Broadband side, after the "upgrade" my speed is now 2mbs, I have been
told by Technical Support that my line can no longer support anything above
this speed!

I have contacted them on several occasions to try and get this sorted out
but it is like talking to a brick wall, they never do anything about it and
they never phone you back when they say they will.

Sorry this is been a bit long but I thought it necessary.

Regards,

Nick.

On Jan 15, 11:09 am, "Nick Castle" <nickcas...@live.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> [Long post removed for readability]
>
> Regards,
>
> Nick.

At first glance it sounds like your line has been "unbundled" onto a
Tiscali LLU service.

I had a similar experience with losing a load of bandwidth on my
broadband when Pipex unbundled it to LLU. It transpired that they had
"set" the profile of my line at the exchange as 0.5MB, even though it
previously synced at 6.4MB. You should still get the same bandwidth on
your ADSL as your physical line has not changed, so the line loss
(which determines maximum theoretical bandwidth) has not changed. I
would ask them whether someone can check the profile set for your ADSL
line at the exchange.

With regards the voice problem I can't offer any additional advice -
you're in Tiscali's hands on that.

On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:09:18 -0000, "Nick Castle"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I have been with Tiscali for Broadband since December 2006 with no major
>problems, In about April 2007 we decided to take the Tiscali Talk package
>which meant we paid the line rental to Tiscali and the BT account was
>closed.
>
>Anyway, all was well and at the end of November 2007 we received a letter
>from Tiscali saying that free line rental was now available in or area and
>we could get the Broadband (8 MB) and the phone for £19.99 pm, ok so we
>switched over, the switch took place on about December, 15th (we were away
>at the time), We got back just before Christmas and that's when thing's
>started to go wrong.
>
>For a start the Caller Display service is no longer reliable, it is pot luck
>whether a number (or anything) is displayed on the screen when the phone
>rings, I have tried two different phones and a CD 50 box (which worked fine
>previously) straight from the master box with the front faceplate
>disconnected. Other problems include star services which no longer work such
>as, 1475 (1471 erasure) and reminder call, both of these services say the
>number dialed has not been recognised. These worked fine previously under
>Tiscali.
>
>Apart from the Caller Display issue the most annoying thing is the stuttered
>dial tone presented indicating new voice mail (I had the Voice mail service
>removed because that too was unreliable). I tried dialing 1571 and it says
>"Please enter your mailbox number" Technical support said to try my full
>home phone number minus the 0, eg 1xxx xxxxxx and a pin of 1111. Guess what?
>"Pin not recognised".
>
>I had Call Waiting removed after the "upgrade" because it could no longer be
>controlled by *43#. #43#. Great when your expecting a fax!
>
>On the Broadband side, after the "upgrade" my speed is now 2mbs, I have been
>told by Technical Support that my line can no longer support anything above
>this speed!
>
>I have contacted them on several occasions to try and get this sorted out
>but it is like talking to a brick wall, they never do anything about it and
>they never phone you back when they say they will.
>


When you started with Tiscali you probably had a wholesale line rental
service sourced from BT Wholesale. You are now probably fully
unbundled onto Tiscali's network.

As a result you are possibly now connected to a voice switch other
than a (BT) AXE10 or System X (or remote concentrator for same) that
doesn't support the CLI protocol of the CD50 or network service codes
you are used to. Other BT network services such as you describe may
also not be available from Tiscali.

You need to ask Tiscali for the feature codes including for Call
Waiting. The CD50 may need replacing.

Someone else may be able to confirm more detail.

HTH

Mark

Mark" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>

> As a result you are possibly now connected to a voice switch other
> than a (BT) AXE10 or System X (or remote concentrator for same) that
> doesn't support the CLI protocol of the CD50 or network service codes
> you are used to. Other BT network services such as you describe may
> also not be available from Tiscali.
>
> You need to ask Tiscali for the feature codes including for Call
> Waiting. The CD50 may need replacing.

From: http://tinyurl.com/3e4e6q

Question
How do I use the Tiscali Talk Call Waiting Feature?

Answer
Call Waiting alerts you to a second incoming call and allows you to put your
current phone call on hold, whilst you answer the second call.

How it works:

.. To switch the service on key * 43 # on your telephone handset.
.. When a call comes in press the 'recall button' on your telephone handset
to speak to caller #2.
.. To return to your 1st caller press the 'recall button' again.
.. To finish the call just hang up.
.. To switch off Call Waiting key # 43 # on your telephone handset .

From: http://tinyurl.com/378cqb

Question
How does Tiscali Talk 1471 work?

Answer
The 1471 service allows you to trace the last number that called your phone.
This service is supplied free of charge on all Tiscali Talk packages,
additionally you on't need to order this service, as it is available by
default.

How it works:

To find out last number that called you, Dial 1471.
To call the last caller (Call Return) Dial 3 once you've heard the number of
a caller*.
Erasing the last caller (Last Caller Erase). Pick up the phone and dial
1475.

*Please not that this return call is chargeable.

---

On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:42:13 -0000, "Obsidian Order"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Mark" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed).. .
>>
>
>> As a result you are possibly now connected to a voice switch other
>> than a (BT) AXE10 or System X (or remote concentrator for same) that
>> doesn't support the CLI protocol of the CD50 or network service codes
>> you are used to. Other BT network services such as you describe may
>> also not be available from Tiscali.
>>
>> You need to ask Tiscali for the feature codes including for Call
>> Waiting. The CD50 may need replacing.
>
>From: http://tinyurl.com/3e4e6q
>
>Question
>How do I use the Tiscali Talk Call Waiting Feature?
>
>Answer
>Call Waiting alerts you to a second incoming call and allows you to put your
>current phone call on hold, whilst you answer the second call.
>
>How it works:
>
>. To switch the service on key * 43 # on your telephone handset.
>. When a call comes in press the 'recall button' on your telephone handset
>to speak to caller #2.
>. To return to your 1st caller press the 'recall button' again.
>. To finish the call just hang up.
>. To switch off Call Waiting key # 43 # on your telephone handset .
>
>From: http://tinyurl.com/378cqb
>
>Question
>How does Tiscali Talk 1471 work?
>
>Answer
>The 1471 service allows you to trace the last number that called your phone.
>This service is supplied free of charge on all Tiscali Talk packages,
>additionally you on't need to order this service, as it is available by
>default.
>
>How it works:
>
>To find out last number that called you, Dial 1471.
>To call the last caller (Call Return) Dial 3 once you've heard the number of
>a caller*.
>Erasing the last caller (Last Caller Erase). Pick up the phone and dial
>1475.
>
>*Please not that this return call is chargeable.

Are those the codes for the OP's old or new phone service (or possibly
both?).

The way I read it, they are for the original Tiscali Talk service
which was probably a WLR offering.

BICBW

"Mark" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

> Are those the codes for the OP's old or new phone service (or possibly
> both?).
>
> The way I read it, they are for the original Tiscali Talk service
> which was probably a WLR offering.

They are the only codes that seem to be listed on the Tiscali webshite as
far as I can see.

I'm also with Tiscali and know exactly what you mean about the CLID thing
where my Caller Display phone doesn't always display the caller etc.

I had speech break-up from the other party when they provisioned my line,
now sorted but I still can't use an analogue modem to dial up and send faxes
or dial in to remote modems/servers etc or a PAYG ISP. The modem simply
won't train up on my Tiscali line, presume they have used some piss poor
sampling rate which is distorting the FSK frequency. Problem is, I need to
send faxes from time to time and this is starting to annoy me.

I spoke to the morons in India who despite me trying to explain the problem,
had the absolute cheek to put me through to their broadband people thinking
it's a broadband modem, this despite me shouting at them that this is an
analogue modem and not broadband modem, they just don't have a clue! I lost
it with one of the call centre staff and to be honest I'm surprised she
didn't hang up on me as I've got very little patience for some of these
morons you deal with. This is one of the reasons I changed mobile operator
from Three to Vodafone, I'm now regretting the Tiscali Talk deal. Can't
fault their Broadband though, apart from a slow news server!

As they say, pay f*ck all, get f*ck all I suppose!! This saying has been
going around the budget airline industry for years!!



"Obsidian Order" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Mark" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>> Are those the codes for the OP's old or new phone service (or possibly
>> both?).
>>
>> The way I read it, they are for the original Tiscali Talk service
>> which was probably a WLR offering.
>
> They are the only codes that seem to be listed on the Tiscali webshite as
> far as I can see.
>
>

Neil wrote:
> I'm also with Tiscali and know exactly what you mean about the CLID thing
> where my Caller Display phone doesn't always display the caller etc.
>
> I had speech break-up from the other party when they provisioned my line,
> now sorted but I still can't use an analogue modem to dial up and send faxes
> or dial in to remote modems/servers etc or a PAYG ISP. The modem simply
> won't train up on my Tiscali line, presume they have used some piss poor
> sampling rate which is distorting the FSK frequency. Problem is, I need to
> send faxes from time to time and this is starting to annoy me.
>
> I spoke to the morons in India who despite me trying to explain the problem,
> had the absolute cheek to put me through to their broadband people thinking
> it's a broadband modem, this despite me shouting at them that this is an
> analogue modem and not broadband modem, they just don't have a clue! I lost
> it with one of the call centre staff and to be honest I'm surprised she
> didn't hang up on me as I've got very little patience for some of these
> morons you deal with. This is one of the reasons I changed mobile operator
> from Three to Vodafone, I'm now regretting the Tiscali Talk deal. Can't
> fault their Broadband though, apart from a slow news server!
>
> As they say, pay f*ck all, get f*ck all I suppose!! This saying has been
> going around the budget airline industry for years!!
>
>
>
> "Obsidian Order" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> "Mark" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>>> Are those the codes for the OP's old or new phone service (or possibly
>>> both?).
>>>
>>> The way I read it, they are for the original Tiscali Talk service
>>> which was probably a WLR offering.
>> They are the only codes that seem to be listed on the Tiscali webshite as
>> far as I can see.
>>
>>
>
>
Perhaps I have been lucky so far but I would not put the budget airline
industry in the same group as the likes of Tiscali and Carphone
Warehouse group who I have totally give up with.

Neil wrote:
> I'm also with Tiscali and know exactly what you mean about the CLID thing
> where my Caller Display phone doesn't always display the caller etc.
>
> I had speech break-up from the other party when they provisioned my line,
> now sorted but I still can't use an analogue modem to dial up and send faxes
> or dial in to remote modems/servers etc or a PAYG ISP. The modem simply
> won't train up on my Tiscali line, presume they have used some piss poor
> sampling rate which is distorting the FSK frequency. Problem is, I need to
> send faxes from time to time and this is starting to annoy me.

Failure of analogue modem transmission can, IME, be
down to synchronisation problems in parts of the
digital network. A slow rate of slippage between two
clocks which aren't locked together will not be
noticeable on speech but can prevent successful fax
transmission. This is very difficult for a subscriber
to detect. Keep complaining until you get to speak to
someone technical. Ask the operator to send you a
test fax.

Jim wrote:
> Neil wrote:
>> I'm also with Tiscali and know exactly what you mean about the CLID
>> thing where my Caller Display phone doesn't always display the caller
>> etc.
>>
>> I had speech break-up from the other party when they provisioned my
>> line, now sorted but I still can't use an analogue modem to dial up
>> and send faxes or dial in to remote modems/servers etc or a PAYG ISP.
>> The modem simply won't train up on my Tiscali line, presume they have
>> used some piss poor sampling rate which is distorting the FSK
>> frequency. Problem is, I need to send faxes from time to time and this
>> is starting to annoy me.
>
> Failure of analogue modem transmission can, IME, be down to
> synchronisation problems in parts of the digital network. A slow rate
> of slippage between two clocks which aren't locked together will not be
> noticeable on speech but can prevent successful fax transmission. This
> is very difficult for a subscriber to detect. Keep complaining until
> you get to speak to someone technical. Ask the operator to send you a
> test fax.

Yes, or simply its just that the speech bandwidth they are allocating,
and the compression applied is not suitable for analogue modem use at all.

If you want to send ba fax, you need a proper BT line. Period.