Introduction
This Code of Practice provides a summary of our services, how they are provided and supported and lists the means by which you can get in touch with us. This is not a contractual document. If you place an order for a Product and we enter into a contract it will be on the basis of our Terms and Conditions. In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with the service that you have received from us, this document explains what you should do.
Contacting Us
There are many ways to correspond with us, please see the Contact Us section of this website for further information.
Our Services
We provide a wide range of Internet services. The most up to date information can be found on this website.
Although we supply a range of products for Internet Access, most customers use our Broadband products to provide their connectivity.
Broadband Internet Access is offered at speeds from 512kbps to 8Mbps. We offer ADSL and SDSL based broadband at a variety of contention ratios from 1:1 to 50:1. Some of our broadband products are also available for bonding: that is combining multiple ADSL or SDSL connections to provide increased download or upload speeds, or increase resilience.
ADSL based broadband shares the customer’s existing BT phone line. SDSL requires a dedicated line - it can either take over an existing line or we can arrange for a new line to be installed.
Our charges will reflect the Type, Speed and Contention of the connection. We may also offer discounts in return for longer-term contracts.
Most products place no limits on the amount of use the customer makes of their connection. However from time to time we may make available promotional products, at a reduced rate, which may have a clearly stated data transfer limit.
Most of our Broadband packages will include some amount of Web Hosting, Email and Domain Name Registration at no additional cost.
Web Hosting
We offer professional web hosting services on a Unix, Windows, or Microsoft FrontPage platform.
The charges for web hosting are based on the Number of Web Sites being hosted and the amount of storage each Web Site occupies on our servers. We do not charge for the amount of data transferred to the Internet from your website.
We supply multiple POP3 email addresses or an SMTP mail feed as standard with most of its connectivity packages, including Broadband.
All our POP3 accounts include webmail access and anti-spam / anti-virus filtering at no extra charge.
We can also quote for “mailman” managed mailing lists and Authenticated SMTP on request.
Dialup Internet Access
We provide Dialup Internet Access through either V.90 modem or ISDN at no extra cost as a backup to customers who take another form of connectivity (Broadband, Leased Lines, etc) from us. Access is provided via an 0845 prefixed phone number. The customer can expect to pay local call rates to their phone or ISDN line provider whilst they are using this service.
Billing & Payment
Our prices are quoted at monthly, quarterly or annual rates.
If a customer terminates their contract within a period for which they have already paid, they are given a pro-rata refund. This is subject to notice periods and minimum contract lengths, as stipulated in the contract or Terms and Conditions.
We send invoices to our customers in electronic form, emailed to an address supplied by the customer. The customer can request paper or electronic copies of any of their invoices on demand at any time.
We currently accept payment by Credit Card or Debit Card and Direct Debit.
Ordering
Our services can be ordered online via the website.
Terms and Conditions
Please see our terms and conditions section on this website. Additional terms may apply to some products, promotions, resellers and bulk contracts.
Acceptable Usage Policy
Please see our terms and conditions section on this website. Additional terms may apply to some products, promotions, resellers and bulk contracts.
Service Levels
We work hard to ensure that we provide the best service possible for our customers. However different products are provided in different ways and so guarantees of particular service level will differ from product to product. If no service levels are specified on the order form or contract, then service levels as specified in our terms and conditions apply.
Some products, for instance Leased Line Internet Connections, may have their own Service Level Agreement (SLA) and/or Service Level Guarantee (SLG). Such terms may offer a greater level of service than that guaranteed by our terms and conditions and in these cases the SLA or SLG will be referred to in the order form or the contract.
In the unlikely event that a customer’s service fails to meet service levels, compensation and/or a refund may become payable to the customer under the terms of their contract, SLA or SLG.
Ceasing Services
Customers may cease their service at any time upon giving 1 months' notice subject to any agreed minimum term in the Contract. At the time of writing the majority of our broadband customers and products have a minimum term of eighteen months. Contract terms are specified both on the relevant product’s page(s) on our website and the contract the customer agrees to at the time of order. We regret that we cannot accept notice to cease via telephone.
Complaint Resolution
We are committed to ensuring a high level of service and satisfaction to all customers. We therefore encourage customers to provide us with feedback. We may be contacted at any time for suggestions or comments to be registered.
We take customer feedback very seriously and regularly review our systems and processes taking customers views into account. We are always looking for ways to improve.
If you have a query or suspect that there is a fault with a service we supply, please let us know as soon as possible using the contacts on this website. We work hard to respond to customer queries promptly, to resolve issues in the shortest time possible and to a very high standard.
In the unlikely event that you are not happy with your experience, please ask to speak to a manager. In the case of an email or fax communication, request that the matter is escalated to a manager. If available he/she will try to attend to the matter immediately, though this may not always be possible and you should be prepared to leave contact details so that they can contact you at their earliest opportunity.
If you remain dissatisfied after you have received a response from a manager, you should write to Complaint Resolution as shown in Contact Us section on this website
Where applicable please include your Account Number, Ticket Number(s), Invoice number(s), ADSL phone number(s), a summary of the issue, details of contacts with us regarding the issue, and anything else you feel is relevant.
We aim to respond to you within 5 working days, however depending on the nature of the complaint our investigation may take longer. If our investigation is expected to take longer, we will write to inform you and keep you regularly updated.
If we have not resolved your complaint to your satisfaction after 12 weeks or if you have received a letter from us saying that your complaint has reached “deadlock”, you may refer the complaint for independent review. We are a member of the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) - an Ofcom approved scheme run by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. You can contact CISAS by writing to:
CISAS
The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
12 Bloomsbury Square
London
WC1A 2LP
By Email:
By Telephone:
020 7421 7432
Ofcom
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
For more information on OFCOM please see http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
Obtaining Additional Copies of this Code
Additional copies are available on request and free of charge to any domestic and small business customer. It is also available in large print.