Slow Internet is not the only place to begin with Pipex. The constant takeovers have gradually decreased my Internet speed until it resulted in under 3mb connection. I'm on a 8mb package! I ring up Pipex, asking for my MAC code. This problem was going on for months so I needed to end it. Three days later, my MAC arrives. I start thinking to myself that this will be a quick and easy switch. How wrong was I! Two weeks after being issued the MAC code I applied to Telecom Plus Internet, giving them my MAC code. It all handled well and they said the line will be connected in a week. One week later, I get a letter from pipex saying the MAC has already expired. What a pile of rubbish. MAC's last for 4 weeks! After hours on the phone to their support team I managed to get a new MAC. I had to go through all the same procedures, and a couple of weeks later I'm connected to my new ISP. Three months on, I have received a letter from Pipex ordering me to pay £150 in debt. I haven't been using their services!! I have now arranged to take pipex to court. Avoid them at all costs!

Posted by N.B on the 10th February 2010

Thank god there is a pipex victim support group here. Like most on this site I was a pipex vic..... member until last week. My feeling is that they are running the service into the ground to remove it from there retail/business portfolio in favour of more lucrative markets. Good luck with that. Another great idea from the people that brought you dialup speeds for broadband prices. Will the last one out please turn the light off.

Posted by John White on the 10th February 2010

I have been with Pipex for some time for phone and broadband, however I have been without my phone for 4 days and they appear to be doing nothing, even though I need it for medical reasons due to illness, no matter who one speaks to nothing gets done.

Posted by Peter Little on the 2nd February 2010

Absolutely terrible company. Use the following numbers to get around there premium rate numbers. Customer service 020 3302 8402 /3 /4; Credit control 020 3302 8454 /5; Technical support 020 3302 8407; Cancellations and MAC requests 0800 912 1649.

Posted by Steve on the 1st February 2010

Absolutely terrible. Extremely poor service, on one of the most overcharged tarrifs in the world! I'm currently one their 8mb, unlimited downloads service and in the recent months the speed has not risen above 4mb. Most of the time, the speed is the same as a dial up connection!

Every time I ring them they ask me to conduct speed test at different intervals in the day, which always leads to nowhere!

Once more, now that I am cancelling my connection to them I have to send a LETTER of cancellation. It seems an email just isn't enough for them. I fear that they will lie about receiving it and continue to charge me after I leave them, as I have read in many other reviews!

I don't know how Pipex are still running, they should've been shut down a long time ago! I feel even giving them 1/5 is far to generous but there is no lower mark up. Avoid Pipex AT ALL COSTS!

Posted by A.F on the 3rd January 2010

I asked for a new broadband Toucan disc as old one would not load onto new laptop but it has not arrived. To date I have not experienced loss of connection on my old laptop and have to say bills have also always been accurate even since Pipex took over Toucan. I have requested my MAC code so I can go to BT but reading everyone complaints I am fearful this will be deliberately delayed even tho it has been promised by next Thurs the 17th Dec 09. Will let you know if it does arrive as might indicate a change of policy by them. However, as new laptop has Windows 7 is it true the old Toucan broadband cannot load? If this is untrue and you have an old Toucan disc you don't now need, I would love to hear from you.

Posted by david john davies on the 12th December 2009

It gets better folks! Recieved a letter from a debt collection service saying that I owe Pipex £424.57. Thing is I've never had any of their services! not once!

Me and the wife just laughed at this as we haven't even had any of the services from the companies that used to be tied in with Pipex, so how they managed to get hold of my details is beyond me. I know there was a state of companies buying details from people quite some time ago so perhaps bad old Pipex has been doing this...

Good things is, after talking with Pipex and the debt collection people, Pipex have now scraped the so called debt and account I supposedly had with them. Watch yourselves people!

Posted by Tony on the 7th December 2009

Worst company ever. I have been a bulldog customer for yrs, then it was taken over by Pipex. Since all the upgrades and web forwarding have taken place I have been locked out of my account and more importantly my business webspace. I spent over 2 hrs speaking to tech support (not uk based) and customer care... what a joke. Given stupid excuses and was told I would get a call back. 7 days later I had to recontact them. Spent 40 mins talking to 2nd line support who took all the details and said I would get a call back within 48 hrs. That never happened. ACCOUNT CLOSED. YEY.

Posted by Garreth Paterson on the 28th November 2009

Ask for a Mac code to be given a wrong code, so after waiting for 5 days for the first I now have to wait another 5 days, what a joke. Went to the Ofcom website to complain and they just say make a formal complaint to Pipex.

Posted by oliver pettit on the 16th October 2009

I've been with Pipex for around 6 years now and I've recently had to call them regarding my web space. Quite frankly, I cannot wait to move house as I will be finishing with them as quickly as I can. They used to be great but it looks like Tiscali have ruined them with regards to customer service. They are rude, don't listen, don't even attempt to pronounce your surname correctly even when correcting them, never call back when they say they do.... I could carry on. Nearly two weeks and my webspace is unusable and I'm trying to run a business. Considering that you get charged a good whack per minute for calling them, they are exceptionally inefficient. TIME TO CHANGE!!! I suggest everybody else does. They are easily the worst company that I've ever dealt with and I work in the IT industry and have the patience of a saint!

Posted by Mike on the 24th September 2009

After being a pipex customer for over 10 years without any major problems, on Saturday they decided to cut me off completely. I phoned the customer services helpline on Sunday only to be told that as I had a business account I could not speak to anyone until Monday! Phoned on Monday only to be told that they had 'sort of' made a 'mistake' and would try to rectify the situation. Technical support were useless. Got me back online eventually but my email was blocked (one that I had for 6 years). They then told me that I was unable to use that email as it was 'too short' and had a .com on the end and that I would have to change it to a longer name with a .co.uk on the end. I told them that this was not possible as all my business contacts and letterheads etc had that address and that it was imperative that I keep it. They told me that, that was not possible. I phoned 'customer' services to ask for a MAC code. They weren't in the slightest bit bothered that I was leaving.

Had a good 6 years with them, but since the tiscali merger they have become utterly useless and have no respect for customers whatsoever. Pipex have now caused me nothing but grief and stress.

Posted by Anna on the 25th August 2009

After taking monthly payments for over two years from my account Pipex suddenly claimed I haven't paid last invoice - to top this after contacting them they also claimed that they do not have any bank details to take payments!!! I have now been cut off even though I can prove I have made payments (I now fully expect debt agency letters etc).... I have got my MAC code and am off. I will never deal with this company again, do so at your own risk.

Posted by ian noble on the 18th August 2009

I cancelled Pipex broadband at home on 15 May 2008. I transferred live to O2 on 4 June 2008 after the MAC key was obtained from Piepex under duress..... They continued to take money from my bank for May, June and July then stopped. I telephoned, email, wrote, telephoned, wrote, emailed... until threatening county court small claims. They did not refund my money. On 9 June I went to the local magistrates court with copies of documents, filled in the claim form, added interest since last May and added £30 for the court costs... - it explains how to do this at the court in a booklet. The court issued the claim. Pipex wrote back in 14 days and said they would defend the case (std practice apparently to give them 2 more weeks to look at it) and then they wrote to me with 3 copies of a form to dismiss the case (for me to sign) and a promise to pay the money back in 14 days. Of course I signed NOTHING.... the cheque came on the 14th day. But as the interest was now increased due to their delay, I cashed the cheque and let the court continue the claim. Just had the Court write to me to confirm they upheld my case... and Pipex now owe me 14 pence........... which means Pipex cannot request for the court to cancel the judgment (apparently if anyone pays within 30 days of a CCJ... they can delete the judgment). I wanted them to suffer... like they made me. I won - got my money PLUS interest and they had to pay £30 small claims court costs. Serves them right.

Posted by Stevie on the 6th August 2009

The worst company I have ever had the misfortune to have dealings with. I left Pipex in August 2008, after having informed them on July 7th that I was intending to do so, and asked for my MAC code. I had a lot of problems getting my code, but eventually my broadband was switched over on the 19/08/08. Pipex took £41.41 out of my bank account at the end of August, but I did not receive a breakdown of what this payment entailed. I had been told by a friend, that they had taken monies out of her account after she had left them, so I cancelled my DD. Two weeks later, I received a phone call from Pipex asking me to reopen my DD to them as they wanted a further £43.00. I said I required a statement for the £41.41 and this new amount, which they were vague about why I owed it, they promised faithfully I would have both within 5 days. To cut a very long story short, I have received a Bill from a Debt Recovery Agency for over £230. I have now put it in the hands of a solicitor, who informed me he also had problems with Pipex and has other clients with similar stories. Please, tell everyone you can, don't touch them with a Barge Pole. Rating -00000001

Posted by William Johnston on the 20th July 2009

Pipex are terrible. Apart from the billing errors and slamming, their customer service is appalling. I even set up pipexproblems. co.uk to tell people how terrible they are. I now have thousands of users all singing from the same song sheet.

Posted by Mad Mark on the 1st July 2009

Got cut off in may 2 for not paying a bill but I am not with them I am with sky, they also said that it was sky that has cut us off and not pipex but we have a letter of them telling us that they have cut us off so they lie too, so I have got trading standards in to sort the mess out as they are not doing anything to help to get it back on line.

Posted by lorraine heames on the 27th May 2009

I've been with Pipex for at least 7 to 8 years and never had any problems except for the last two years. I now have found out that they have not billed me for broadband for 6 months and as usual cannot get hold of them. This is the third time something like this has happened.

Posted by Lisa on the 11th May 2009

Appalling. Cut us off in January, without notice after we hadn't paid our bill. We had, but could not prove it on-the-spot. As we needed our connection for business, we paid £87 (our missed payment) just to get back online. Quickly after, we proved payment originally made, made bundles of phone calls, bla bla bla...to no avail. We have now cancelled the account, switched ISP (successfully so far, thank God!), but never once seen the refund - even though on their Terms & Conditions, (have you actually read them? Do, it might make you laugh, or cry), they resolve to settle all problems within 28 days. We've been waiting >100 days for refund.

Now expecting legal letters for non-payment of the payment we have made. They actually owe us money. There's loads more to this story but, suffice it to say their customer service is a misnomer. It's a farce, a sham, rude, unprofessional, uninformative, frustrating, lengthy-in-holding...a DISservice in a nutshell.

They should be renamed SWIPEX, for swiping people's money!!

Posted by Jon on the 10th May 2009

I was with pipex for over two years or more but encountered loads of problems which forced me to change to this service, I canceled my accounts and broadband service in march last year only to find that pipex were still have money from my bank account without my consent, I dont no how they manage ed to do this but they did now i'm trying really hard to get my money back plus compensation for lengthy telephone calls and letters i've sent with no joy or reply from them now i will have to pay to make a claim against them in the small claims court, if you no anyone who as this same problem i do have there registerd company address in london

Posted by john robinon on the 9th May 2009

I had been with Pipex since March 2003 and all had been fine but then billing errors started to happen this time last year. I was migrated to a phone service I did not want and it seemed almost impossible to leave Pipex Homecall when all I wanted was Pipex Broadband.
Eventually my broadband only package was restored but then I had 4 months of them billing me too much. After the lousiest service I have ever encountered, I left in November 2008 and joined O2. On leaving, they owed me £16.68 and I have spent the last 6 months trying to claim this money back. I realise that I have spent more than this amount on phone calls. Yesterday I threatened them with action through the small claims court but they did not seem to care. All they could say was 'It must be very frustrating for you'.
Then today, I receive a cheque from Pipex for the whole amount but when I rang yesterday, they had no idea. The date on the letter that came with he cheque was the 16th April.
Pipex were OK before they got involved with Tiscali and since then the customer service has sunk to an all time low. If anyone is looking to go with Pipex, please please PLEASE look elsewhere. Oh and by the way, visit www.saynoto0870.com to get a Geographical telephone number for Pipex. It is cheaper than the 0871 numbers they give you.

Posted by Stuart Buckingham on the 6th May 2009

Alan Ramsay, let's work together with this one. Let me know how you are getting on. If I knew how to take them to court, I would. No way will I pay them!

Posted by lorraine heames on the 4th May 2009

Broadband failed due to faulty router, spent loads contacting router help desk as advised by PIPEX. Still no broadband, so fed up I rang and asked for my MAC code to leave PIPEX. Explained problem and promised new router and £10 for hassle. Stupidly I agreed then still no router arrived. Finally let the customer care department have my frustration promised router would be dispatched and costs £40 refunded, I would have been better believing in fairies. I finally transferred to BT after 3 further attempts to get my MAC code. Now getting bills for broadband service I don't have and phone calls since BT took over. Once again Customer care have promised refund and cancelling of bill (although they have threatened me with credit blacklisting for cancelling standing order for services I do not have). Somehow I think this will go on. HELP does anybody have the number of their MD? Can we have negative ratings?

Posted by robbie on the 2nd May 2009

Ahhhh...Pipex....
My line was slammed by them 8 weeks ago (from Orange), I still have no ADSL service. I have spent dozens of hours on the phone to them, written around a dozen letters to no avail. What a disgustingly incompetent company!
The ironic thing is I NEVER EVEN SUBSCRIBED TO THEIR SERVICE IN THE FIRST PLACE! They illegally migrated my connection from my previous ISP (Orange). Their tag is on my line and I CANNOT get it removed by anyone! Re the post below taking them to court, how do you go about this?

Posted by Alan Ramsay on the 30th April 2009

I had a bill from pipex on 23 April saying that we owe them 10.66 but guess what, I'm not with them, I am with sky. Never been with them. They also said that if we don't pay we will be cut off. I have ring them twice to tell them but they are not listening to what I am telling them, they re still trying to tell me that I have got to pay them. Over my dead body will I pay them!

Posted by lorraine heames on the 29th April 2009

I have had Homecall Broadband since 2005 (now Pipex) I asked about a new contract in February and have had nothing but trouble since, last week it cost me £40 for calls on a borrowed mobile phone after being passed from Dept to Dept, because I had refused to pay a Bill that I considered incorrect, IT WAS , my Broadband was however cut as was my telephone, then just 4 days ago 19th of April my Broadband was re-connected however my telephone only allows incoming calls but I cannot phone out, even though I have informed them that I am a woman of 68 living alone with heart problems and require a telephone in order to dial 999.

I today 22/4 asked for a MAC code and have been promised same would reach me within 5 days! I will wait in antisipation of it arriving but don't hold much faith in receiving it after reading other peoples reports.

I stopped my Direct debit as soon as the large incorrect bill of £91.30 arrived at my home in March and Pipex have been unable to take any monies from my account, I have refused to complete another Direct Debit mandate & I think they have now removed my Pipex e-mail so how I am going to pay via the internet I have no idea? I will no doubt be inundated with phone calls again from Lithuania and Mauritus and end up talking to people who have no idea!

My correct charge in March I hasten to add was not £91 but £37 so everyone out there please check your bills.

When Pipex run a Broadband Company why don't they contact via this service as they appear to be incapable of reading letters/e-mails and understanding phone calls.

I'm sure the Saga will go on for quite some time but I can honestly say I have had enough!!!!!

I HAVE GIVEN A ONE STAR RATING, IT SHOULD BE 100 MINUS

Posted by Lynda Harper on the 22nd April 2009

At last I have my Mac Code from Pipex on 1st April. But the Mac Code and indeed the email is dated 4th January. Is this why so many ex customers who migrated continue to be charged by Pipex. I'm going to watch my direct debits like a hawk! What an awful company. Thank heaven I'm now free of them.

Posted by Stephen Haude on the 3rd April 2009

OH JOY! After 6 years and now at breaking point, I phoned Pipex for the Mac Code (25 minutes on premium hold with crap music). They asked why I am leaving. It was difficult not to turn the air blue! They then offered me a lower price for the same 'service'. Cheek!!! However, the Mac Code came in a recorded phone message next day followed by an email with the Mac Code. Both codes were different, but luckily my new ISP found the right one. I owe Pipex/Tiscali 7 weeks subs to fulfill the contract. I'll watch my bank account like a hawk. As soon as Pipex have had what is due I will cancel the DD and to be sure phone the bank to make sure no more goes to Pipex. Just 4 more days before I receive broadband from Fast.co.uk. It has been a dream to phone them. Answered in two rings on a normal phone line in England with a kind and patient voice. A few quid a month more, but you really do get what you pay for.

Posted by Stephen Haude on the 2nd April 2009

My problem has been going on for months, with downloads regularly as low as 0.31. Phoning the helpline in Asia is a WASTE OF TIME, and is nothing but an endless pack of lies and broken promises. They have ignored THREE registered letters, so I have now sued them through the county courts. MY ADVICE IS, AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.

Posted by dave owens on the 28th March 2009

DON'T TOUCH PIPEX. EVER!!
Cancelled account. Ignored. Bills kept coming. Stopped DD. Bills continued. Now threatening letters. I phoned 'Customer service' on the premium rate line. (Trained parrot at call centre). Told I have no account at my address! Come on the Pipex, sue me! Avoid!!

Posted by Mark on the 27th March 2009

Not only do I agree with all the comments made in this forum, but they have deducted money before the agreed date costing me additional bank charges. Please avoid anything that has the name Tiscali/pipex/buldog. They are like a virus, very hard to get rid off! Avoid like the plague.

Posted by Anthonio Palmiere on the 27th March 2009

Pipex has used an american who has been with a serious drink problem in it's advertising, are they now employing them in customer service and accounts? Leaving an elderly lady who is prone to falling down without a phone for over a week just because the acounts department is incapable of processing a cheque is disgusting, if not even immoral. If you love your nearest and dearest, please do not put them in or leave them in the hands of Pipex..

Posted by Chris Vernon on the 17th March 2009

Used to be great - then tiscali took them over. Terrible service, poor speeds, company now in trouble. A shame but not a surprise. Look elsewhere for an ISP.

Posted by Jon on the 10th March 2009

I agree with most of all the comments that Pipex is a bad company. Toucan was far better before being taken over from Pipex.

Posted by Bazag on the 7th March 2009

ABSOLUTE LIVING NIGHTMARE. I have never encountered such incompetence, failure to provide even the pretence of customer service and downright daylight robbery. Have been driven completely nuts over a few issues. Called, emailed, wrote a letter to them and none of the issues have been resolved. When you call premium rate lines, you are constantly given another number, which is invariably either the wrong one, or they are closed... even though the recorded message says they should be open. Emails are constantly returned unanswered requesting MORE security details, complete rip off merchants. And a disgrace to the name Pipex, which was indeed (before Tiscali) a fantastic service. RUN A MILE!!!!!

Posted by Janine on the 7th March 2009

Amazing how these jokers have not been shut down. Used to be great but now, words fail me. And if you think things are bad when you are with them, just wait till you leave, threatening letters, phone calls, emails. Basically just a scam to get you to call their premium rate numbers and joint the queue for half an hour.

Posted by Dave on the 5th March 2009

Take my advice - Don't go to Pipex!

They used to be good before Tiscali took over but after suffering email drop outs and poor customer service I cancelled.

Now three months later they are still taking money from my account. Looking at the posts on this website and other forums it seems like there are many like me that are sharing the experience.

They can't have many customers remaining - and no surprise.

Posted by Matt on the 20th February 2009

PIPEX is RUBBISH!!!never sign up to them.rip off,rude,etc
PIPEX is RUBBISH!!!never sign up to them.rip off,rude,etc
PIPEX is RUBBISH!!!never sign up to them.rip off,rude,etc

Posted by s on the 16th February 2009

RUBBISH, BUNCH OF T's, I had been with Pipex since the beginning of Broadband and they we're amazing always easy to speak to and in ENGLAND!!! upgraded my services and contracts at the drop of a hat, until Tiscali took them over. Having left them last November I am still trying to pay my outstanding phone calls balance and they have taken 3 weeks to apply a credit so that I can pay it!!!! I'm trying to give them money and they can't apply it. AVOID AT ALL COSTS unless you like ringing premium rate phone lines in you're own time and like speaking to people in another country!!!!! 1 star is too many but as the original Pipex I would have given a 5.

Posted by Jezzer on the 11th February 2009

Pipex USED to be a great ISP, fast, reliable, great UK support staff etc. After over 6 years this is my last broadband connection before transferring to BT. From all the comments here and on other sites, it's clear that Tiscali is the villain. Ever since their takeover, speeds have gone down, customer service is little more than a way to milk us 'punters' of money for absolutely nothing. When connecting to SMTP servers for outgoing email started to take minutes instead of milliseconds, I had enough. Wish me luck with BT

Posted by Ralph on the 6th February 2009

Avoid like the plague. Three times in the last two years they have overcharged us. You then have to ring a premium rate line to put things right, and they do the same thing next month. Broadband speed is total carp and constantly cuts out. Apparently this system won't allow me to give a zero star rating, so I am forced to leave an extremely generous one star.

Posted by Rosie on the 8th January 2009

what a bunch of total idiots they have at the other end of there phone lines! I was offered a free wireless router for my new laptop! But then charged me £50 for it and took it from my account last November. I have since switched to Bt who are much more helpful, but am still awaiting my money back! Emails are ignored or sent back. You ring and all you get is oh i do apologize mam! Apologises are beyond a joke now and have contacted trading standards! KEEP AWAY FROM PIPEX AT ALL COSTS!!!!

Posted by hayley on the 6th January 2009

After several years with them I'm just awaiting my MAC code then like many others 'I'm off'!

This last year have been littered with problems, no service/no e-mail/ etc. The customer service and billing is like some nightmare comedy farce. You laugh..........you have to, it's the only way to keep sane. They have just sent me an e-mail telling me my on-line bill is available; the link takes me to a blank web page. Says it all really.

I'm going to IDNET, I rang, they answered, the lady was lovely, helpful and talking from Hertfordshire. She used to work for Pipex so she knew exactly why I was leaving this shambolic organisation!

Posted by Tim on the 6th January 2009

Been with Pipex for couple of years but problems when moving to what they somehow class as a 'business' service. It took ages to switch from residential account to business and I had the usual 'taking of money from my bank account' scenario for a closed account which was eventually refunded - followed by demands for the next months charge for the closed account.
Biggest issue is that despite many, many calls I still do not have the promised inclusive phone calls applied to my account - 5 months later. I think I have spoke to just about everyone at Pipex and I do get they the impression that some of them are as frustrated as customers. There doesn't appear to be any direct communication between provisioning and anyone else - either staff or customers. I don't really want to move as it will mean changing some email accounts etc and on the whole the speed is quite good but this issue is driving me crazy and I really believe the only solution is to cancel as if they can't fix what appears to be a simple issue in 5 months they probably never will.

Posted by Ant on the 31st December 2008

I still can not log on to get my pipex broadband to see my last bill, after three weeks of trying what has one got to do i give up.

Posted by john bossler on the 30th December 2008

Originally posted about my upgrade on 1st Oct, see below....

AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE! This company are just a bunch of bare faced liars. Say they're having issues with their provisioning team - it's been 10 weeks now since I requested an upgrade from their residential to business lite package and it still hasn't happened.

My cut-over (the 4th date they've fobbed me off with now) was due to happen last night 9th Dec but no, still nothing, Pipex keep on moving the dates out keeping me holding on! Thing is now is that because i've used the MAC to move to Pipex's business package (separate to the residential network) i'm now stuck with Poopex for at least 3 months - what a bunch of no-hopers.

Posted by Stu on the 10th December 2008

Appauling - getting 5% of promised speed, told BT would have to check line. BT checks line and it's OK. Pipex engineer then admits that lots of clients are getting this terrible service - suggested I only use it during the day!! Well that's all right then....!!!! Why isn't the regulator closing them down? - they are in breach of contract with many customers. If I could give negative stars I would.

Posted by Chris on the 3rd December 2008

Just asked for MAC and was cut-off.
Rang the technical support who made me reconfigure my network settings, for 45 minutes, even though I told him the problem was they had removed my username and password.
This was proven when they gave me the test username, testing@dslconnect.co.uk and password, testing, which work fine.
Give those a try if they cut you off.
They have not contacted me to sort this out, but Sky is hear in a couple of days.

Posted by mickey101c on the 29th November 2008

Been with them for 3 years, and no problems at all. I've never needed to get in touch with customer services, so I couldn't say what they are like.

The only oddity is that they took the initial payment from my card and specifically said that it was one payment only but in fact they've been taking the monthly payment from it using only those details ever since. I had heard someone else say that when I joined, so I was expecting it.

Posted by Dave F on the 24th November 2008

The Legal Proceedings letter arrived from Pipex credit collection agency today for the money that I have been assured by Pipex for the past 5 months.

I have never encountered such incompetence in all my life, I think we should charter a plane to Lithuania and each of us should smack one of their call centre staff in the mouth then they would think twice before they lie to the next customer (sorry English Mug).

Total scam merchants, must earn more money ripping off people that have left them than they do from subscriptions.

No matter how crap you think they are when your with them don't leave them that's when they get really crap.

EVIL, EVIL, EVIL SCUM!

Posted by Tony H on the 21st November 2008

I have been a pipex homecall customer since the company started. Like several other people I have recently had problems with them and initially they appeared to be helpful. Eventually, after a couple of weeks I decided to escalate the problem to CEO level. The customer services like all departments refused to give me any telephone numbers for their CEO's office (Tiscali head office). After a few simple google checks about the company and finding their head office telephone number and then ringing a few numbers around the last four digits, I got through to the CEO's office and within a few minutes of speaking to the CEO's PA I had a call from a Senior Resolutions Officer, who gave me his direct line number. Since then all my problems have been sorted at this level.

Hope this contact number helps you.

Posted by John Mac on the 19th November 2008

What a bunch of wasters. After 5 years of good service I have recently experienced a drop in my connection speed to half (8mb) of what it should be (16mb). I have called them several times, asked for escalation and they insist that nothing has changed at their end. From reading the posts below it is obvious something has changed. It all started around the 1st of November (when they started work in my exchange) and all I get from Pipex are a bunch of customer service agents who can just about read their scripts, never mind give any meaningful responses. Well I've had enough and I'm on my way to a free 1 month trial at O2. Hopefully this will reap a little more satisfaction. If you are still with Pipex then all I can say is GOOD LUCK!

Posted by Af on the 16th November 2008

I echo what most, particularly Sue Impett, has said. I too was a customer almost from the beginning. I too am being sent letters to threaten debt collection agencies. They still owe me for 2.5 weeks without a service. The customer services centre will not pass my correspondence on to credit control (data protection don't you know) without my account, password details etc. They don't understand that I do not have an account and they should not have my details. Apart from paying them 6p a minute to tell them I am willing to pay the amount we agree I am doing everything in my power to contact them.

As well as avoiding this company avoid Tiscali as well they own Pipex and it is only since they took over that things have gone downhill.

Posted by Michael on the 13th November 2008

I've had all these problems with Pipex a year ago. My bank was brilliant - they refunded every penny Pipex took without telling me (having broken the direct debit code) and pursued the money themselves. Don't talk to Pipex, talk to your bank.

Posted by Duncan Saunderson on the 2nd November 2008

I now seriously believe this company to be a scam!
2 years reasonable service, although I had no reason to contact them in this time, until I sought a better package with BT. Signed up with BT then tried to get my MAC code out of Pipex, started in May 08 and after numerous phone calls and emails finally got it in mid June! After my initial phone calls I resorted to emails and got a response to advise that the code would be sent within 5 days and that upon use of the MAC code our account would be closed and we would be unable to use their services. Hallelujah! Guess what, it didn't arrive, but they withdrew more funds from our account. Since then they've hidden behind just about every bit bull.. it legislation, data protection act, personal security, official secrets act... They could to get me to me phone their customer retention department if I wished to cancel. Finally I had to phone them, at my cost £3.59, to get any action at all, the upshot of this was that finally I received a letter confirming cancellation of our account with Pipex, and the eagerly awaited MAC code.
Job Done. No way since the letter, dated the 11th June, with BT up and running, Pipex have continued to swell their coffers by continuing to make withdrawals from our account each month. After repeated emails I have just received confirmation, by email that it was their fault and, contrary to my telephoned instructions back in June, they failed to cancel the telephone call side of our contract with them. But don't worry this does not stop them from continuing to extract illicit funds from our account! Guess what I've got to telephone their Cancellation Team!!
I've emailed them and cancelled the DD, I now await their response. I get the sneaky feeling that this is a company in serious trouble and are using any delaying tactic to continue taking money from peoples accounts. Reading posts from all over the web I know I'm not alone.

Posted by Brian on the 30th October 2008

I agree only the word BAD is not strong enough. They just did an outrageous four day email outage - it was apparently pre-planned but they didn't email me in advance and after the outage is apparently over my email still doesn't work - server problems their end.

Their service number is permanently engaged - a charitable view would be that they have so many thousands of angry customers they can't keep up with complaints - an uncharitable view is that they can't be bothered and have taken the single support phone off the hook.

This is not a rant and rave after one incident, they have been awful for ages, can't even be bothered to finish their web make over so half is old style and half is new style - all adverts but very few of those all important contact numbers and support info. All their effort is in hooking new customers - zero and I mean ZERO effort looking after existing. I have had many providers over the years and grumbles with all but PIPEX is absolutely the worst by miles. Don't go with them and certainly keep an eye on your direct debit if you are dumb enough to go with them cause they love to double charge - don't touch this one with a bargepole.

Posted by Jon on the 28th October 2008

I had been with PIPex for about 14 months before I started complaints to end my contract. Originally I had signed up so I could sometimes work from home, but from the outset I had problems with connection and could rarely get into the MyPipex site. Pipex blamed my equipment and sent me on the goose chase checking this and checking that, which I did, but it continued to be a problem with the service. I often could not get a connection and once I got one, would often get cut off right in the middle of a transaction! Then from April I could not get any connection at all.
Pipex have consistently ignored my complaints since April until I finally warned them in writing, that I would not continue to pay for a service I was not receiving unless someone spoke to me to resolve the situation. No one called. I tried calling them, but I could never get past the call centre staff to a complaints person or manager.
Since I cancelled the Direct Debit they cut off my outgoing calls but continually harassed my answer machine several times a day with an automated voice messages telling me to pay. I tried calling them but they insist that I have to bring my account up to date before discussing my issues. Now I have a debt collection company after me for an amount 8 times what they originally asked for. If I have to go to court I will. This is an outrage and total breach of contract... Steer clear of Pipex at all costs.

Posted by Alda on the 7th October 2008

Been a happy Pipex residential user for about 5 years now but having moved home and informing Pipex of my change of address, they renewed my adsl service at the new home. All was well until March 2008 when my connection was intermittent and the connection speed dropped by half over a few days.

After a few months I realised (no notification from Pipex theirselves btw) that their residential service had been taken over by Tiscali way before I renewed at my new home! Anyway, after doing a bit of digging I found that my local exchange had installed the Tiscali equipment around the time I suffered my drop in connection speed (sync speed).

So what have I done? I was going to cancel but then realised that Pipex business is better for only a couple of quid more so I called for an upgrade. Anyway, this is still in the pipeline and I was informed that their business service is on their own network separate to Tiscali's own residential one, so I'm hoping that I'll get my usual line sync speed back if not better!

3 Stars for Pipex considering the lack of issues/service etc that I've had over the last 5 years but I wouldn't even give my latest Tiscali provided service 1 star.

Posted by Stu on the 1st October 2008

Avoid at all costs, been struggling to speak to a technician regarding slow speeds, 128kb(supposed to be 8mb), call centre in Phillipines. This started 21 September and the matter is still not sorted. Get dial-up, it's faster...

AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS

Posted by Dieter on the 30th September 2008

Sorry, left 4star rating by MISTAKE. They do not deserve any.

Posted by Anita on the 24th September 2008

I have had a Bulldog broadband for quite a few years without any problems even though I am a heavy user. Since Pipex has taken over, my connection has been very unstable, to the point where I had no connection for as long as two days. I have made in excess of 50 calls to Pipex customer support in two weeks without successful resolution. BTW I became disabled two years ago so my life now, really is online, in addition I am also on benefits. So I decided to switch providers.
On my first attempt to get MAC code I was placated with money off my bill and even better deal in October. On my second attempt, I was told that I can not get a MAC code, in fact no ex bulldog customer can get a MAC code because the system they use is incompatible with anyone else. I have to transfer my line back to BT, gave me a number, did that. It turns out I will be without broadband for at least a week and obviously I will be paying twice as much for a lesser service from BT. Surely this cannot be right. Please help, any ideas greatly appreciated.

Posted by Anita on the 24th September 2008

Pipex are wanting money from me months after our account was suspended and the final bill paid. I have proof of everything, and they will not reply to any recorded letters sent to their complaints department.

They are about to pass the debt onto the debt collectors. I have asked Otelo to get involved. Should I be asking a Solicitor to become involved as well??

please someone - help !!

Posted by Richard on the 17th September 2008

PIPEX... Hah!!! What a joke this company is turning out to be. Have they got any customers left, I wonder?
I first used Pipex years ago, but after a while, the broadband speeds dropped, and the connection was dropping too often. I decided that it was time for a change. After much searching I settled on Bulldog. The price was right and it was a total package, i.e. phone etc. I know other people had problems with Bulldog, but I wasn't one of them. For quite a while everything was bliss. Then Bulldog was sold... to Pipex, the people I had left because they were rubbish. I weathered the storm and for a time it all seemed to be OK. Then Pipex started with their usual tricks. After 5 weeks of suffering speeds that were less than dial-up. Not being able to access anything online, and an indifferent customer service, I decided it was time to move. Return to donor, (BT,) was my first move. Then I got in touch with Be. Within a week I was back online, at speeds that I had only dreamed about. (So much for Pipex trying to say my equipment was faulty.)
Then I received a phone call from Pipex. Basically saying that they couldn't get any money out of my bank. Well they wouldn't do because I cancelled the DD. Then I received a letter the following day saying I had to re-instate the DD, or send a cheque by return of post, otherwise they will bar my phone from outgoing calls.... How are they going to manage that then? Being as we are now with BT and not them.... Idiots the lot of them. So glad to be rid. I have a very nice letter here which will be posted to them in a day or so, telling them exactly what I think of them, and inviting them to go to court for their £32.00. I have also stated that maybe they ought to be giving me a refund for the service they charged for, but couldn't deliver...

Posted by Bill on the 4th September 2008

Have been with Pipex since they started and they were excellent, however as they grew the Customer Services got worse and worse, we had been overcharged by double premiums for 6 months and couldn't get a refund of £60 (despite lots of promises by their call centre staff that it was in hand and would be received soon!!) and so we decided to swap Broadband server to O2. We managed to get the MAC code needed to migrate to another server, wrote letters, spoke to staff (in Phillipines, Lithuania and other places!!) emailed Pipex to advise cancellation. I have references and dates of people I have spoken to and am now receiving letters and emails to tell me that our account is overdue and they will be giving it to External Debt collectors. I have phoned again, having sent a Recorded Delivery letter which they have ignored, and been told our account is not cancelled....but we had the MAC code and they are emailing us on our new O2 account!!!!!.....which part of cancellation do they not understand??. This is still not resolved and I have to keep calling, at 10p a minute and each call usually lasts 20 - 30 minutes. They are an inefficient, useless company and wish we had never heard of Pipex!!!! This is a warning for any potential customers...do yourself a huge favour and avoid PIPEX!!

Posted by Sue Impett on the 29th August 2008

I was a very happy Bulldog customer and an indifferent Pipex customer since they took over. Until this week the only problem I had was them screwing up direct debits from 3 accounts, even when the bank set them up! Because they don`t like you paying by cash I decided to pay via my Mastercard which they still screwed up and then blamed ME when they didn`t get paid on time. Also they say you can pay by credit card by phoning a 0871 number every month. What they don`t tell you is if you take that option they WILL phone you EVERY 2 DAYS threatening to cut your service off if you don`t pay the day the bill is generated and not by the day it is really due, 14 days before in my case. By now if you hadn`t worked this out for yourself Pipex/Tiscali is run by muppets. Can`t wait for Bt to take over my line so I can switch to BE*. Also Pipex customer services are as usefull as a chocolate fireguard.

Also 1 of their own employees has set up an independent website for people sharing in the Pipex nightmare

Posted by Darren Howes on the 9th August 2008

I am currently a customer with Pipex, waiting for the day my contract expires so I can switch. They are no good. They used to be very good, I was with them from the start almost and they were excellent, then all of a sudden they grew, their support got worse. Their network stayed the same and because I had no problems I was happy as I didn’t have to ring for support. But they just merged with tiscali and now I have noticed a massive drop in download speeds, torrents are fubar and basically their service is worth next to nothing.

Overall, once upon a time they were good, but if your going to go with anyone this is not the choice, overpriced for bad connection and terrible customer service.

Posted by Rowland Pickard on the 4th August 2008

I am currently using Pipex and I am outraged! I am constantly having problems loading web pages, and I'm having to use the wireless network 'NETGEAR' right now just so I can write in my frustrations for this utter rubbish. Basically, websites will load fine one second and the next they won't and this goes for any website. The downtime can last for days and it is constantly happening. This is inconvenient. If you want a stable internet connection, do not go for Pipex.

Posted by Adam Lindsay on the 29th July 2008

As a subscriber of Pipex since broadband was launched, I've been very very happy with their service. No service outages that I know of and no need to contact them. Most of my collegues in the IT industry use Pipex as they were considered by us as one of the best there is.

However....
Since Tiscali took over, I've now had 4 days with no connection. Ok, technically I'm connected as I have an IP on my router, and I can connect to ONE website, namely www.virginmedia.co.uk. I cannot even connect to www.mypipex.net to see I've no service outages!! I am now using a borrowed router (identical to mine) which still has the details of the person who loaned it to me (On Tiscali) and guess what.....it works! I changed the login details to my pipex logins, and no useable connection. Change back to the Tiscali login....it works.

I'll be on the phone to them tomorrow, as I've had no internet for 4 days now, and as a service analyst to a rather large IT company (so I know what I'm talking about when they try to fob me off) I'm probably going to ask to leave. Now I have to find another ISP, and I will NOT be going to anyone big or cheap, it's just not worth the hassle. I'd rather pay £50+ a month and use an independent ISP than go to one of the oversubscribed 'you're just another customer' companies.

Good Luck everyone. RIP Pipex, you were once a great ISP

Posted by Adam on the 20th July 2008

I agree with all thats on here. I would add that I also have been suspended by Pipex for non payment, although my account clearly shows a CC on file and a payment was taken by Pipex on the day they suspended me. Was told by Pipex that it was due to a computer error! and that I would be reinstated within 2-48hrs. That was over 2weeks ago to date my internet was restored in 8 days, My telephone dail out is still blocked. Pipex have not replied to any of my recorded letters they hide behind and misuse the Data Protection Laws, they lie and abuse customers Bank Accounts by taking money without any explanation as to what its for. They force customers to use a high cost telephone service that with creative accounting adds lots to your bill. I always thought that contracts were a two way thing but Pipex seem to consider that the customers has no rights. As they have not provided me the service that I have paid and don't think they have broken the contract. This is not the view of OFCOM or trading standards. So we are at an impass. Stay away from Pipex

Posted by Jon on the 9th July 2008

Pipex is beyond belief, as with most on here I have had the worst experience with this ISP & as soon as I can get away from them, the better & I will say that never the twain shall meet again!!!! I have about 4 more weeks to wait out of the 12 I am told by CISAS I need to give them before I can go through there complaints procedure & leave pipex for good. If anyone knows of a quicker way please tell me. My whole system has never worked since I joined them, my speed is about 2mg ( though I am supposed to be on up to 8mg ) every time I receive or make a call I get kicked of the net for at least 8 minutes at a time. Plus all the other rubbish I get from them, please put me out of my pain someone.

Posted by G.S. Dorset on the 11th June 2008

Agreed, PIPEX once were first class but now their level of customer service is disgraceful.

I've spent nearly all day trying to cancel my account and have spoken to several people based in a call centre in Manila. Most recently I spoke to a clueless operative (clearly local) going by the name of Bob!

The sooner I am away from Pipex the better. I personally plan to never deal with them again

Posted by Danny on the 10th June 2008

I wish I could show you my email correspondence. Despite outlining in a massive initial email all the problems I had with their Customer Services(!!) on the phone, guess what the one-line reply email said ... please call our Customer Services department on ...!!! Has anyone defeated them? Got out of the contract by proving them to be rotten? Has anyone got a name of a director/manager/anyone who can make a difference? And why do I have to leave a minimum one-star rating? They don't deserve even that.

Posted by Julie on the 4th June 2008

Pipex are rubbish now that they have become part of the Tiscali group. I have always had a great service from them for the past 7 years, but when they migrated me onto the Tiscali platform (without my knowledge) I have had only intermittent internet access. I have now requested my MAC number - be warned: it is time to leave.

Posted by Julia Stow on the 4th June 2008

Pipex have gone from an excellent provider to dreadful. Pipex now = Tiscali since they have taken them over, speeds are awful and customer service gone to India. You'd be quicker with dial up. Believe me. Why can't I leave a review with no stars ?

Posted by PJ on the 19th April 2008

Pipex are a nightmare. Without warning they cut me off saying my debit card had expired. It hadn't and they later told me over the phone it was an internal error. Customer services have been almost non existent and always useless. I have cancelled them. In the last 3 months they have taken hundreds of pounds out of my account with no explanation. Fortunately they have breached the direct debit guarantee as they gave me no notice of withdrawing the money. Do not touch PIPEX.

Posted by Duncan Saunderson on the 19th April 2008

I have been a customer with Pipex for 3 years with very little or no problems. However, over the last 2 months, I have had nothing but problems: not being able to connect, and customer services lying by saying it's my equipment's fault, only to find out that it's their equipment that's faulty. I have had enough of unreliable connections, and toilet manner customer services. Good-bye Pipex.

Posted by J.T. on the 16th April 2008

I am a new customer; I have been with pipex broadband since Jan. They must be the worst customer service ever, as well as tiscali. I have tried to get my problem sorted since Jan, you cannot speak to some one who understands you, and they don't understand us. We need English speaking service.

Posted by b taylor on the 11th April 2008

I use these idiots at my other address. Since Tiscali took over pipex have been a complete mess. Stay well away unless you want a big tech support phone bill and lessons on how to ping the BBC's website. What is going on with the UK's website provision atm?

Posted by johno on the 10th March 2008

You are right in every way, I agree 100% you worded it prefect: they do lie, they can't back anything up they say, they fail to let you speak to management, the staff are not worth talking too, just lie and make things up.

Posted by j fraser on the 6th March 2008

They were OK before Tiscali, but then service declined. And fell through the floor when they LLU'd my exchange. But they gave me a MAC without any hassle.

Posted by Jon Watson on the 6th March 2008

Good service until Tiscali came in to the picture, now rubbish. Where's my MAC?

Posted by Jon Watson on the 3rd March 2008

I've been with them for five years - used to be world class. Now Pipex are fraudsters and criminals. The abuse of customers and of customers' bank accounts is routine and systematic. The stonewalling, the refusal to back-up assurances and guarantees in writing, the failure of management to engage with customers even when illegal and unjustifiable activities are pointed out to support staff is unbelievable.

* I understand full well the implications of making statements that use the words 'criminal', 'fraudster', etc. and chose these words very very carefully and I believe with good reason.

Posted by Dean Marshall on the 29th February 2008

I've been with Pipex for 5 years. I did not even mind paying the extra money because I always has a fast reliable connection. However, on Feb 5th my connection dropped. This is just about the time the road leading to the exchange was dug up and new cables installed. 7 days later I found out that I have been migrated to Tiscalli LLU. I am no telecommunications engineer but I am assuming the road works were due to Tiscali installing their own equipment at the exchange. So since being switched from a reliable IPStream with Pipex to Tiscali LLU I have had no connection. I have manage to sync both my 3com router and speed touch modem to the ASDL line but can not connect to the internet. Pipex say they have sent engineers to the exchange to sort this out but can find no faults. So it's not my router/modem and pipex say it's not the exchange so does anyone know what could be the matter? I am in Appley Bridge Wigan and live less that 100m from the exchange. Any one around here having similar problems? 3 weeks still no connection.

Posted by MH on the 28th February 2008

Myself and two family members were/on Pipex/Nildram packages. Along come Tiscali and the ruin two perfectly good Broadband companies. Speeds have been slashed , weekdays and evenings, that is that you can log on. Service issues seem to beyond the helpline staff and emails to serviceline are not answered. In my opinion Tiscali are in my opinion failing to provide the surface to which I signed a contract and I also believe that there current advertising campaign could only be described as fraudulent if the service I have received in the last week since I was switched. I would urge ALL ex Pipex and Nildram customers to make a double complaint to OFCOM about there breach of contract, in not providing a service and squeezing the pipe plus over the outlandish promises made in their advertisements.

Posted by CJ on the 26th February 2008

Pipex are now the worst ISP around having been bought by tiscali, avoid them at all cost as there service has limits even though they say it's unlimited. You will get capped speeds on torrents or P2P at most times of the day and nothing you do will change this. Keep well away!

Posted by steve on the 24th February 2008

I am currently taking action against pipex for billing me for services I have never ordered and for distributing personal details (including billing information) to a 3rd party. The quality of service from Pipex has plummeted as of late and their customer service do not answer the phone. I have emailed 3 company directors and have only received one response from a secretary who fobbed me off with complete lies. Avoid them.

Posted by Paul Dean on the 19th February 2008

Pipex USED to be respected. I have been with them for 6 years and it's now time to jump ship as they've been taken over by Tiscali. Their service has become unusable and their customer service is horrendous.

I have a Pipex business account and a separate home account both close and on the same exchange.

Our business account started disconnecting constantly while increasing in speed, I spent 48 hours phoning Pipex (the business support is the same as the home) with just a recorded message saying they had high call volumes, call back later. Eventually at the end of the message there was music and I held for about 30 minutes to get some cretin telling me there was nothing wrong and to buy a new router (I am an IT technician and this is a 'Pipex business line' used for a government agency). I told him the speed was fluctuating wildly and it must be the exchange, but he didn't understand or care. I said my home account on the same exchange was had dropped from 2.2 Mb to 576k over the same period on the same exchange but he pulled the details and said I should phone back while sitting at the computer, it was like talking to air.

Next day my home Pipex account was suspended due to none payment! No mention of this when I phoned them less than 24 hours previously. The screen I got stated they had sent me emails and letters to warn me - an utter lie. I phoned Pipex on Saturday morning to restate my payment details and was told I would be reconnected in 2-48 hours! Fortunately it was 2.

I phoned again after the weekend with the intention of cancelling the business account and was told a whole different story - they were local loop unbundling (installing their own equipment in the exchange) and the connection would be unreliable for 10 days, 'the notes must not have been updated when I last called'. No warning of this on this PIPEX BUSINESS LINE. Frankly I don't care how fast it connects after this debacle and we'll be demanding a MAC code, though Pipex have LLU'd without any notice and migrating from LLU carries a charge. My home account is still connecting at 576Kbps for no apparent reason (I live less than a mile from the exchange, have a clear line, the business line is going to 6.5 Mb about a mile further from the exchange) and I will be leaving Pipex/Tiscali ASAP for a genuine Entanet ISP that does not LIE or employ incompetent staff ASAP.

Posted by Mike K on the 3rd February 2008

Like most people I thought Pipex were good, but then I found I was wrong. Been trying to connect but it won't. Never been online yet, Tech just have no idea just reading the script.
I think from this forum its the Vista problem, shall look at Microsoft site for help.

Posted by Warren Kingston on the 22nd January 2008

Completely rubbish.. I upgraded having been with pipex for years, from when it was an excellent provider with excellent Customer Services. I upgraded to 8mb broadband and things were okay for the first year, then last October/November the slowdown started every afternoon and evening down where my speed would drop from 3 to 4mb to 250 min and 1.4 max then rising after midnight. This went on a while and I contacted them and was told to try a different router, change leads, blah, blah oh! and monitor the site and also if BT had to check the line it would charge me £50... Anyway I changed routers and lead and monitored it with an online speed checker and the problem continued... I did kind of lived with the speed drop as I knew it rose at some time during the day for and use where I need the band... this was up to a few days ago when I started to get a continuous 250min with a max of 1.4mb... Like I am paying 24.99 for this. This service is basically useless like their customer service and now they have the frigging cheek to change their support line to a 10p per minute call. Anyway the issue is one of unfair trading... as far as I am concern and customers should be seeking compensation from this... they promote clearly speedy connections and deliver?

Posted by Art Ward on the 21st January 2008

I moved from Tiscali (which was absolute rubbish) to Pipex (who were excellent) several years ago. Since about the time Tiscali took over Pipex, I have had slow speeds and constantly dropping connections (sometimes within minutes of each other!). I think I will be asking for my MAC Code very soon.

Posted by Rosemary Taylor on the 16th December 2007

I agree with most of these comments, Pipex used to be great, but not they are utter useless, they cut me off by accident then expected me to pay to be connected again. Call centre is useless, and writing letters to them is a waste of a stamp.

Posted by Andrew Spink on the 4th December 2007

In the beginning 3 years ago I would have been here telling you what a great isp Pipex WERE. For the past few months I have had nothing but disconnects, slow downloads and just a all round bad service. I used to have a constant 8 meg synced connection at evenings, now I am lucky to get more than a 1.5mb connection as of late and I can't seem to log into my mmorpg's which I am paying for. Today being disconnected for an hour put the final nail in the coffin. I have just come off the phone requesting my MAC code. Goodbye Pipex hello ZEN.

Posted by Mark Sanders on the 19th November 2007

I signed up for the Pipex service which offered £13.99 for six months, and from the start, have been charged £19.99. Three weeks after sending a complaint, Pipex finally responded and claimed there never was such a deal - liars! I also complained to Uswitch, and have heard nothing from them either. To make matters worse, I just bought a computer with Windows Vista and the Pipex modem/software won't work.

I can't wait until the contract ends so I can find another provider!

Posted by Tony on the 30th September 2007

I cannot fault Pipex Max, it's always up and running. But customer service is rubbish! It's a real shame to see them get so many things wrong over and over again. It gets to the stage when you just can't face the 12 minutes of how they value your custom.

Even the Mac code never came, which is a shame as when you're thinking of leaving but it's not 100% then that final 12 minutes seals their fate.

Posted by Alan on the 17th September 2007

For the past 4 weeks my friend has had no internet connection using speedtouch, pipex and vista. I have sat for hours with their technical support on the other end of the line and they have finally given up any hope but told her that the contract she made with them is bullet proof even if she never gets on line. They are even proud to tell me that she is not the only one as loads of customers are in the same boat. Unbelievable.

Posted by Frank Poskett on the 23rd August 2007

Been with Pipex for 4 years they WERE fine but since they have expanded and now have Pipex Homecall they have gone to pieces.

I have been overcharged over £40 (of which all they have offered to refund was £20 back!) as they never reduced my tariff when I was put on the new midi tariff I am now stitched up for another 12 months and cannot leave or I risk a penalty of over £200!
DO NOT ASK FOR YOUR MAC CODE THEN DON'T USE IT- if you do they'll charge £243 for leaving them & breaking your contract (even if you don't use the code and decide to stay on with them)
I used to recommend them but now I don't. Speeds seem to be getting slower. Customer service is rubbish and all they seem to want is to extort money.

Posted by Sharon on the 20th July 2007

Disappointed I think would describe my experience of Pipex broadband, and I think Hasselhof should be considering distancing himself from the corporate logo.

Promised a stunning package by Pipex sales and was wooed into purchasing an 8meg line+phone connection, 150meg of web space and 5 email addresses. Great I thought, now I can really get the movies and music without the huge wait.... What a huge mistake. The throttling is soooo massive that it makes my old 2meg line look outstanding, even regular downloads such as the 239m byte windows 2003 SP2 file come in at a proxy 60kbs... I used to run a web server but have given that up as a lost cause due to lost connections. After reading about how pointless it is to complain to Pipex support I have decided to wait it out till the end of the contract and jump ship...

Posted by Phil on the 17th June 2007

Im sure most of u already know... Pipex is actually tiscali..... Yep, pipex just resell Tiscali broadband...

Posted by Shaun on the 2nd June 2007

Pipex still aren't providing installation instructions or software for Windows Vista. Their installation CD worked OK on one of my Vista computers but refuses to work on another (using same modem etc), Looking on their website I found this:

"The current standard installation CD for the modem which Pipex supplies was developed before the advent of Windows Vista and therefore certain problems may be experienced when using that installation CD with the new software.
Our technical support staff are currently working to finalise the development and testing of drivers which are compatible with Window Vista in order to provide these on the standard installation CD as soon as possible."

There are no new Vista instructions or downloads available from their website - all instructions refer to XP. It's not good enough considering the length of time since Vista was released. These problems should have been sorted out and the website updated weeks ago.

Posted by Jo on the 14th May 2007

Pipex is crap! Three words is enough, all these people writing letters about their experiences - I gave up. They never respond to your complaint, even when its from a fully qualified Lawyer. Waste of space and time. I got a recomendation many years ago to use Pipex and I now wish I hadn't even heard of them.

Posted by David Matthews on the 11th May 2007

I too have made the fatal mistake of taking a broadband contract with Pipex. One month later, I still have no broadband, but I can’t cancel the contract, as I didn’t cancel by email within seven days. The thing is, as I don’t have internet access, I couldn’t cancel by email. Meanwhile, every day I phone their customer services, and every day another different story. They send out modems which are incompatible with Windows Vista, and they expect their new customers to scarabble around finding (and paying extra for ) drivers to install and use their equipment. Pipex are a joke, don’t go there!

Posted by Teejay on the 26th April 2007

Barry who said he had never had a problem with Pipex is extremely lucky. I am a victim as are several other people on here and other sites like http://www.pipexproblems.co.uk

And now they have screwed everything up, they want to sell the company!

Posted by Pipex Victim on the 26th March 2007

Pipex is Crap. I have been getting speeds of about 0.5 MBPS while my nextdoor neigbour who is on the same exchange is getting his full 8mb from another provider. Its been like this for 5 months now and BT and Pipex cant seem to figure it out. Dont go with these. A BT engineer came in once sand says dont use microfilter - I tried it but does not work at all

Posted by Kowsar Ahmed on the 2nd March 2007

Brilliant rant against the faceless corporate machine that hates the paying customer, exactly how I feel against UKO

Posted by Ukonline Sux on the 24th February 2007

I've been with Pipex 16 months. During that time they've only ever answered 1 mail inquiry out of the 4 I made, and when trying to access online invoices the pages have been down for maintenance half the time I've tried.

Several months after I joined an unlimited service, Pipex became the first UK ISP to introduce traffic shaping, which made using the already slow ed2k file sharing network useless - Pipex applied a 20% bandwidth restriction on file shares 24/7 from then on, even at night.

Having used encrypted torrents since they now want me to cut down my downloads or face having my 'unlimited' account closed.

Furthermore when you leave they require 30 days notice (even outside of a 12 months contract) and this is added to the 72 hours they take to issue a MAC code - this is a deliberate measure to ensure they can take a final month's payment off you for a service you cannot possibly use.

Posted by Steve on the 22nd February 2007

pipex --- what a joke

heard great reviews , sighned up to pipexmax on 25th dec

had nothing but trouble since , we game a lot so the unlimited was great for us ...i was wrong - they stuck us with pipex homecall and we cant game now in the week because we have used up to much gaming ----1gig a week

get notted ....im moving

Posted by Kerry on the 16th February 2007

Have used Pipex for my mother's connection for over two years. Never a problem and completely happy.

Posted by Barry on the 6th February 2007

Customer Review of Pipex Broadband

Arrrrrrgghhhhh.

An unusual start you may think, but go any where near this lot and you too will need anger management therapy and a life time subscription with Laithwaites.

Where to start? Ah got to be customer service, or more precisely the utter lack of it. Like many companies Pipex has moved its service centre away from mainland UK.

On one of the more remote Scottish Islands, lonely and forgotten on its wooden pole, exists a sad, bakelite clad, phone. It's plaintive cries are lost in the wind swept wilderness. Occasionally, an inquisitive sheep bumps in to the post and dislodges the receiver where, much to its surprise, a voice from the dissatisfied multitude angrily shouts at it.

At other times the sheep just hears gentle snoring.

Most often, It regurgitates a favoured cud and continues with its slow and aimless mastication, pondering the world and the significance of the little shiny Pipex customer service agent badge that someone once pinned on it

I have tried to converse with the sheep. Trust me its not worth it.

Must be time to talk about billing now. Now traditionally, you subscribe to a service, provide continuous authority on your card, plug in the bits and shoot off to the nearest free porn P2P server, err check on world events at BBC news. Each month the ISP bills your account as agreed. It all works brilliantly.

Not so with these fella's. Months after closing your account (mainly due to the aforementioned sheep problem) you are presented with a bill for a load payments that they forgot to take. No comms, just straight on your card. Imagine if your utility or mortgage company behaved like this.

For those with poor or under exercised imaginations, its like chomping down on a turd and piccalilli sandwich.

Pipex folks can't even follow their own payment collection procedure. “Arrgh, well Jim Lad. The pirates code is more of a guideline really.”

Until recently, I thought deadlock was a move Big Daddy may once have used on a Saturday. CISAS was a Polari phrase and Otelo, a Shakespearean tragedy. If you can compliment Pipex about anything they certainly expand your legal knowledge.

A marketing guru once told me that a happy customer, on average, will tell four of his friends about the great experience he has had. A less happy person will tell twelve people about his poor experience.

A raging holocaust of dissatisfaction, such as myself, will wonder what the Guinness Book of Records has to say on the matter and will circulate this to around the same number of people who turn up in the taxi rank before me on a wet Friday night.

(I am talking Mancunian rain here not that poncy Southern drizzle and no, the number of people is not affected by what time you leave the Pub or whether a Kebab was involved. It will always be of sufficient quantity to maximise the contest between the urgent need of a quick snake’s down a dark alley vs. the desire not to lose your approaching ride to a fat bird called Britney).

My fondest desire would be to protect humanity against the evil scourge of Pipex, whilst knocking Viagra spam off the top spot in the world’s inbox. Oh and that African bloke who wants to give me loan.

If you wish to join in the crusade to protect the world from bad advertising (Hasselhoff for God’s sake, Steven King doesn’t run ISP’s but if he did…) and crap service then please feel free to send this to anyone who can stand upright and finish a simple sentence.

Irritated of Chester

Posted by Irritated on the 25th January 2007