Logging in or registering with OrangeProblems.co.uk will alow you to log your speeds and add to our statistics
Why Record your Speeds?
OrangeProblems.co.uk has been around for just over a year now and we have watched the development of the LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) which is supposed to offer you, the customer, greater flexibility in choosing who supplies your broadband (and other telecommunications).
With this greater choice, you, the customer, can choose a broadband supplier that suits you. Whether you choose them for price, for ease (e.g. you want all of your telecommunications with the same company), for reliability, for speed or for other features that the supplier may offer now, or in the future.
Depending on who you chose as your broadband supplier, and we're guessing you chose Orange as that's why you are here, depends on the level of service you are currently experiencing. One of the biggest complaints that we have on OrangeProblems.co.uk is broadband speed. Customers signing 12 or 18 month contracts with a supplier who is offering them speeds of up to 8 Meg... Which is fast... Much faster than the up to 2 Meg speeds and of course, as they advertise so loudly, MUCH FASTER THAN DIAL-UP... Or is it?
Unfortunately, for the customer, that's you, there have been a few technical glitches with LLU and the promise of offering up to 8 Meg broadband speeds. OK you say, well a few glitches is OK so long as it's not for long... Well, therein lies the issue... The problems with LLU and speeds have been going on for well over a year now with suppliers constantly promising that things will get better... In fact, some suppliers have made things a whole lot better and are having very few difficulties with their LLU systems. Others just keep offering empty promises.
So what can you do then if you have signed up to a 12 or even 18 month contract with a supplier that is offering empty promises? Your speeds are dismal - less than dial-up in some instances and your new found love of the World Wide Web is floundering with the frustrations of waiting for web pages to load...
Cancel the contract! Oh if only it were so easy! You see, there are clauses in most internet service providers' contracts that effectively say that they cannot promise you the speeds they signed you up for, if any speed at all... Yes, according to their jargon-filled contracts, they do not even have to supply a broadband service at all... But you must keep paying every month though or else they'll take you to court for breach of contract! That can't be right I hear you scream...
Well, apparently it is... Until somebody eventually goes to court with one of these suppliers to show that the contracts are void... And who really wants to do that?
And here is why recording your speeds may help you.
By keeping a record of your speeds over time, let's say 2-3 times per day (spread throughout the day so that you get peak and off-peak times), you can offer this information (together with a cancellation notice) to your internet service provider as proof of an appalling level of service. If they tell you that you must complete your contract or else pay the remaining difference (and let's face it, this could be up to 17 months worth of bills) then you could quite reasonably see them in court - with proof of your terrible service.
Alternatively, contact the press. The press will be much more interested in your story if you have proof of a poor service rather than just your say-so.
