Direct Save Telecom - it was once a good company.
I signed up with DST 2 years ago for a line at work, and was so impressed that when I built a new house I got them in to do my new line & broadband. However the company has changed from what it was and the line/broadband is now very poor indeed and the customer service is not good at all.
I have gone from recommending them to people to thinking that they ought to give up and get proper jobs.
2/10 at best. Less on a bad day.
Direct Save Telecom Reviews
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Re Tom
Yes, agree with you (see my last post) it all depends on the day! I just like to give praise where it's due, and luckily, I've had no reason in 4 years to complain!
Best of luck with your new contract! -
Re: Peter B's numbers
You fail to note that 20% of the positives on DST are from the same poster.
Ian,
My own experience when I had an outage was not nearly as positive as yours.
All 9 houses in my road were affected however 8 of them were returned to service reasonably quickly without any trouble from their respective service providers.
DST however spent days on end being evasive and unhelpful even when I had the direct contact number for the manager responsible I had to constantly chase. I never had proactive contact from them.
When I cancelled service sometime later it took weeks and multiple emails from me to get anyone to accept that they had erroneously charged for cancellation without notice when in fact notice had been given. They even threatened County Court Summons for non-payment of the spurious invoice.
I found them unhelpful and unpleasant to deal with in the extreme.
I'm very pleased for you that you have had no such difficulties, I hope it continues. -
re Peter B;
No doubt a difficult market, but look at all the "top" names - they always come in the bottom sector when it comes to customer satisfaction. I've been with AOL, BT and Virgin and all 3 are diabolical for customer service AND they're expensive!
I can only speak as I find, and having moved house 3 times in 4 years, can only say that DST have always handled things brilliantly.
Not long ago I had an outage, so rang DST who answered the phone promptly, investigated, found a fault and informed me that they needed to contact "engineering" (Openreach?) to get the fault in my local exchange fixed. Later on that day, I got a phone call from DST telling me that the problem had been a failure of a piece of equipment that had now been replaced and my service was back to normal - how many other providors would have rung me back? Their staff genuinely do seem to want to provide a good service. -
Hmmmm..........total of 60 reviews, 31 good 29 bad, (don't count the angels and devils, read the words. Lots of the bad reviews have angels for some inexplicable reason!!), so only 50% customer satisfaction. Do you want to buy into that?
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I've been with DST for years and always found them quick to answer the phone and swift and efficient at fixing any problems. You never have to wait twenty minutes before being answered by an "idiot-card-reader" in Mumbai! Their confidence is in their rolling monthly contract - no other ISP offers a contract with no tie-in. Their prices are amongst the lowest out there too! What more could you want? They obviously resell other providors packages, but have just upgraded me automatically to another providor because they have installed new equipment in my local LLU exchange. My broadband download speed has now increased by over 20% - brilliant service!
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I've been with Direct Save for several years. Initially they were pretty good, but I think they've got complacent recently. They seem to be OK as long as everything is working OK, but if they have server problems, watch out, you could have a long wait.
They've had several server problems over the years, and you could count their recovery times in days not hours, but this latest one takes the biscuit, and has convinced me that I need to ditch Direct Save and find another ISP.
This latest problem started 4 days ago when I lost my emails, could'nt send or receive. I phoned them and they said that their mail server was down and they were working on it. To cut a long story short, it's 4 days later and I still can't send or receive emails. I phoned them this morning and their Internet faults desk told me the email server had been fixed and I should have my emails back. It's not fixed, I told them. The faults desk then passed me over to customer services !!!!! The customer services girl told me that the email server was fixed. It's not fixed I told her. She asked me to hang on and she'd check with Internet Faults !!!!! Over 2 minutes later she came back to me and said no, sorry it's not fixed and she didn't know when it would be, is there anything else she could do for me. I resisted the temptation to answer that last question the way I would have liked to answer it.
So It's bye bye Direct Save telecom, you've lost the plot, and you deserve to lose all your customers too...I definitley would not recommend this ISP to anyone. -
I could be filling this page for a long time...!!! to cut the history short, AVOID THEM!!, Too typically whilst your direct debit keeps rolling out to them "no problemo", but... when you need help with any problem.( & believe you me, you will.) That is something else!!
Unless you are prepared to wait and do as you been told, that is...
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I strongly advise everyone to avoid signing up with this company.
I was with them from 2007 to August 2011 and whilst intitally I was pleased with the service and the customer service support they are definitely not to be recommended now. I don't know what went wrong but they need to look back at how they dealt with customers a few years ago and change back. -
The same happened to me jonathan, but completely not in DST hands, my previous provider gave me many problems with my MAC code which you can appreciate, and if you was with virgin or talk talk then it could be delayed because of the transfer to a bt line, and in the few occasions when i have to call DST they promptly answer in the u.k and have no worries, obviously if you call out of hours team they might not be able handle the problem
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I was promised that the "service" would be connected on 20th May 2011. On 27th May 2011 I returned home (I was away for a week) and the line rental was with DST, but the broadband was not working. It seems they botched up and it has been delayed till 2nd June.
Their customer "services" were useless. Calls that they promised to return weren't returned.
Avoid at all cost! -
I have been with DST since 2007 and have been very happy with the service provided and their value for money. Broadband speed is usually about 6-8mb although it slows at peak times like all providers. When you phone them they answer!
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n1 Jamie, well done for being fair!
As you can see from my 2nd March post, I've now been on the uncapped service for a month and no probs. The monthly bill is always under £30 (there's often a fivers worth of 0871 numbers we have to pay for!) so brilliant VFM!
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After speaking with DST there are a couple of things i misunderstood, and i now do not blame them for.
Yes i was charged for 0845 numbers, but my particular package did not include them.
I will Still consider them for their home phone service as getting connected is fast, and geographical numbers are at a reasonable rate.
Called them today and i was even offered a free connection if i sign up for 18 months when i move back to the UK, which is looking ever more likely right now, i will definitely be taking them up on this. -
DST is an outstanding company. completely U.K based and an amazing service to go along their low prices, im recieving 8mgb speed on my broadband and was only recieving 2mgb from my previous company. They saved me more than 50% on my bills and upgraded me to free evening and weekends to free calls 24/7 i know they charge £50 to leave within the first year with broadnband but only because they pay £90 to bt for the line :@ so stop with those complaints, they still make a loss, i spoke to customer services and the person who answers (first time) isnt only based in england but sorts the problem themselves withoutpassing me around the world. just wanna say thanks to DST for an amzing deal and service, i would recommend to everyone and anyone to try them out you WONT be disappointed.
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Re Ian Boothby's response
"6) DST do not charge for calls to 0845 or 0870 numbers, not since 2009 at least!"
I agree that's what their website says, since 2009?
I have just received what i assume is my final bill, checked the call charges, and i have indeed been charged for calling an 0845 number.
I joined in 2010, i will be calling them on Monday because if this is an error, DST may end up owing me money. -
Re Jamie Rox' comments
Good post, lots of details. I'd like to make a few comments please;-
1) The £50 they charge you to leave is because Openreach charge DST to connect a new setup (in fact I'm told Openreach charge nearly £90, so DST still lose @ £40 if you cancel within 12 months. But I agree - it SHOULD be more transparent and not in the small print.
2) Anyone can download a program that measures and records your broadband usage - you don't need to get this from your providor. (www.thinkbroadband.co.uk have a good one).
3) DST sell broadband not just from Opal, my service was via Eclipse - one of the top rated providors in the UK.
4) I, like you, exceeded my 45gb limit one month, but they moved me from Eclipse to a totally uncapped service, explaining that Eclipse had moved their goalposts because they were supposed to be not monitoring usage between midnight and 6p.m.
5) Line speeds are always subject to the quality of the copper line, distance from exchange and how many people are logged into it (and what they're doing too)
6) DST do not charge for calls to 0845 or 0870 numbers, not since 2009 at least!
7) Mine streams TV great and is never a problem Skyping Oz!
I'm really pleased with them.
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To be frank, if you want speed and no caps this is NOT the company you want to go with.
They resell broadband from Opal Telecom (a talk-talk company) - So they’re basically reselling talk-talk.
The 28 day rolling contract is smoke and mirrors, as you get charged £50 if you want to leave within 12 months, I unfortunately found this out well after my first month and was given the excuse that because I got a small discount on my line “install” £20 or something in some promo at the time (for someone to flick a switch) im tied for a year.
You cant change to another ADSL broadband provider as the phone lines are provided with DST/Opal numbers and not recognised by the BT line checker used by other ISP’s, I found this out when i wanted to move to BE as DST charged me for going over my broadband allowance..
Was told by both BE,o2 & ukonline I would need to get the line cancelled and pay BT to install one of theirs before I could continue.
DST advertise their speeds are up to 24mb, tech support tell me i cant get more than 8 meg because of exchange distance, the router negotiates at 9 on occasion, speedtest reports 4 - 5mbit, spoke to BE who after doing a search on their end confirmed, like my next door neighbour, i could get around 17 meg.
Guys from BE told me its more than likely DST are not using adsl2+ max and are just using standard adsl similar to something called BT IPstream which isnt really used in my part of london anymore, im guessing they rent these lines cheaper (reselling the old crap basically).
Been with them for 10 months, they are charging me £50 for leaving 2 months early but im moving abroad for work otherwise i would stick it out .
Weird telephone numbers given to London customers instead of 0207 or 0208 i got 0200 00 - puts people off picking up the phone as they thinks its a service or VOIP number used by marketing companies.
They advertise they are cheaper on phone calls and their broadband
I am paying £12 a month line rental
I am also paying over £26 a month for 8 meg broadband with a crap 100gb cap.
Phone calls to mobiles and landlines averaged £15, would have been cheaper to call them from my mobile.
They charge £1.06 for a black and white paper bill, which has a very Amateur layout and explains the broadband service as "other", the bill looks so Amateur in fact my new bank thought I had printed it out myself when I tried to use it as a utility bill to open an account along with my passport.
My over usage letter did arrive on proper headed paper (in colour) ironically.
Last couple of bills came in at over £55 which is do think is expensive, more for the broadband than the actual calls.
I don’t own a TV set and stream most of the programs I want to watch with the likes of iPlayer, I also do lots of video editing and download large ISO files mainly, but not limited to, the early hours.
When I originally joined they said it would be unlimited off peak, was then told after my first warning letter unlimited meant 40gb.
After I complained when they called me about this, they changed the wording on their terms and told me that this phone call was to inform me i would be charged if it happened again.
So I upped it to the 100gb package, not wanting to incur futher charges, guess what?...Still incurred a charge again.
If I was with BE, it would have be truly unlimited, my line rental and my broadband would also be cheaper and i would have the option of a 3 month contract for both my phone and my broadband - for me this would have worked out cheaper as i could have a connection good enough for VOIP.
Pros,
Good company if you only use your Internet for checking email and browsing.
Set up was relatively quick.
Would recommend to an elderly person as technical support is UK based and polite .
Cons
Very Slow Internet, especially in peak times
Not good for streaming at most times, youtube, iplayer, megavideo etc
Not good for using skype with or without video
If you are sharing this connection with other people who download and use p2p, watch out – they will not hesitate charging you for going over your limit and their poor website has no means for you to log in and check these kinds of things.
Slower than the big name ISP’s, as applications become more hungry for bandwidth in the near future, this is not an ISP you want to be with.
Expensive for 0845, 0870 or calls to mobiles.
Silly looking phone numbers 0200 00 etc
Cannot move to another ISP if you have one of their phone lines. – This is not explained anywhere.
Paper bill is chargeable for and is black & white bill that cannot be used as a proof of utility bill.
Did actually ask for broadband and phone to be terminated on the 28th of feb, after speaking to one of their managers about the £50 termination he informed me I would get a call from disconnections asking me if I wanted to proceed on the day, instead got cut off at 4am on the 28th, no call, no email, nothing.
Their loss, I was going to take an extra 2 weeks.
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Dear Miss E Taylor
A thousand apologies for mistaking your gender, it's just that, from behind and wearing the trousers and cheesecutter, you looked like a bloke! (D'oh again)
Re BT (Bleedin' Terrible)
I sincerely wish you good luck now that you ARE tied into a long contract (ask yourself - WHY do they NEED to do that??)
The "well trained British person" you spoke to when setting up your long contract was no doubt from BT UK Sales, but you will find that when you need to speak to broadband support (and after pressing multiple choice buttons for five minutes and waiting another ten for someone to answer and immediately put the phone down on you) it will be in India where they have the mother of all call centres.
You have also misled readers by inferring that DST charged you £155 EVERY month - I'm sure they did not.
DST charge
£11-95 for the line rental
£4-50 for anytime calls
£9-95 for (20gb pcm) broadband
TOTAL £26-40
It just CANNOT be beaten on a one month rolling contract! -
firstly to the guy who thinks MISS Taylor is a guy, DOH!!!
secondly while i may be paying a little more on monthly prices by using BT, they will not change the conditions without giving me notice, and then charge me an £120 in 1 month, which is exactly what DST did to me, and the reason i moved,
18 month contract is not a problem, and comparing prices, BT all in £40, DST monthly £35, + £120 = £155,
no choice really it has got to be BT, and aagain the service i have recieved from them has been great, well trained british person on phone when help needed
oh and at start a full copy of terms and conditions, something DST did/does not provide, so that when they change them on website many have no way of proving what they signed up for -
DST can no more improve your broadband speed than BT themselves can - it all depends on your location & number of others using broadband on your section at any given time, so the guy who's going back to BT (at much higher rental for both broadband AND the line, will find himself on an 18 month contract that he cannot get out of! D'oh!
I've been with DST for 3 years and find them always to be of utmost help. Nothing is too much trouble, your call gets answered quickly by a native English speaking person who has been properly trained - they don't pass you onto someone else after 20 minutes of moronic questioning!
Their deals are really great value and you're only on a rolling monthly contract - I asked them why they didn't tie customers into a 12 or 18 month contract like nearly all the other ISP's and they said it was because they just didn't have to - why would anyone leave them??!! -
I’ve been with DST for about 2 years. They contacted me in August as my usage had exceeded 180Gb in each of the previous 3 months, they warned me again in September and it was clear that they’d charge me if October was the same. I contacted DST and it turned out that my son was using some shareware software and much of it was upload. My usage in October was down to 25Gb, I’m glad they warned me.
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i have been with DST for 3 years now, and no problems until this year, my contract was for unlimited BB between midnight and6 pm, but they have changed this without informing customers, and now unlimited BB = 40gb! so not unlimited!
am in the process for changing to BT unlimited, which surprise, surprise is ....unlimited!, OK price is a little higher, but having just paid an £100 for a 1 month period with DST, so be it
i will be taking legal action and reporting DST to ofcom -
I have been with DST since 2007. I am currently signed up to their Option 4 Broadband and Telephone account. I have not had any problems. They answer the phone promptly. I get a download speed of about 2-3Mbs, but as I am at least a mile from the exchange that is probably as good as can be expected with simple ADSL. BT are supposed to upgrade the exchange to ADSL2+ sometime!!!!. It cost me about £26 per month, which includes line rental.
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I have the problem that I can get the internett befor 7pm but after it gets very slow, after 7.30 it can take 15min to change a page, and after 8pm forget it. If this is good service I do not think so. Sid.
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I have been ith DST for a couple of years and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. My broadband speed runs about 6mb. They answer the phone when you need to speak to them. With regard to the warning by 'Anonymous' about the £50 penalty charge this was the same as when I signed up and was clearly in the contract. DST is good value.
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I have nothing but praise for this company i have the best speed on my computer better then all the other companies i have been with.Great customer service they are there when you need them and UK based. I would recommend them to anyone.
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Please do not use this company as they will only let you down. Problems too numerous to list, but a big mistake which I will not be making again
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This company has no commitment to customer service and their technical support is amateurish as I have learned through bitter experience. The rolling 28 day contract looks too good to be true and is. Cancel before the end of 12 months and you'll be hit with a £50 penalty charge. You have been warned!
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I have nothing but total praise for this company. They installed the phone line for half the price of BT. I just can't understand these negative remarks about this company. Their customer service is clear and to the point. Calls don't keep getting transferred from one department to the other. Usually the person who answers the call is the person who deals with all kind of enquiries and information about all the products and pricing. I also got broadband from them. The activation was 2 days late, but since then it has just been brilliant. Sometimes I have suffered minor loss of connection, but it was isolated and never lasted more than a minute. I recommended it to many friends, and 4 of them got their phone line and broadband from them. No one has faced any problems whatsoever. I would highly recommend this company to anyone. A little word of advice would be, not to jump on the phone if your phone line or broadband activation is 2-3 days late. Just be a little patient. Once everything starts working, you won't have a single complaint.
