26 May 2006

Mr Mike Read,                                                                                              

Chief Executive                                                                                
PIPEX Communications UK Ltd                                                                

Portland Street                                                                                 

Beeston                                                                                             

Nottingham

NG9 2LP                                           

2 pages by fax only to: 0115 877 0213

Dear Mr Read

RE: 123-Reg.co.uk: Fault ticket: 1255190: www.tellshell.net

This fax is in relation to the 123-Reg.co.uk division of Pipex Communications UK Ltd.

This is now the third consecutive day that the above website has been down.

The following is the announcement displayed on the website since Wednesday afternoon: “ERROR:  This blog is on hold because its bandwidth has been exceeded. Please contact your blog provider.”

I have already supplied you with copies of relevant correspondence including the apology received yesterday afternoon just after 3pm. In the same email I was informed that you hoped to have the bandwidth problem “resolved shortly”.  

Since service was not restored, I telephoned on a number of occasions before 6pm knowing that your support only operates in office hours. It says on your website: “Phones are manned from 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday. Calls are charged at 50p per minute.”  A pre-recorded voice made a welcome to 123.Reg.co.uk announcement and informed me of the 50p per minute charge. This was followed by 2 minutes of the phone ringing before another announcement stated that no one was available to take the call. Assuming that the 50p per minute charge commences from the time the first announcement is made, it cost me £1 per call (and I telephoned on more than one occasion) before discovering that I was wasting my time. When I telephoned this morning, I was informed that contrary to the claim displayed on the Reg-123 website, your phones are not manned until 6pm. For several months the so called support service has ended at 5.30pm not the advertised time. This discrepancy has cost me money (and no doubt other Reg-123.co.uk clients misled by the relevant information).

The information given today is that the bandwidth problem is being handled by your development team. There is no indication of when the service will be restored. If this does not happen today, the site will be down over the weekend.

I have already mentioned to you that the service is unreliable because of the downtime due to “maintenance” (several hours at a time without any advance warning received) and bandwidth being exceeded (again without any advance warning). I have also sent emails to Reg-123 when the site is unobtainable for several hours at a time without any reason being given. Do you want your company name to be besmirched by such poor service? Surely it would be a better policy to charge more and provide proper support. 

Your support team appears to be fed up with my telephone calls (I am also fed up with making them). The person I spoke to this morning (Paul?) is for some reason tetchy about questions relating to the involvement/reliance on your sub-contractors.

I have repeatedly made your support staff aware that there is nothing personal. My complaint is in relation to Reg-123.co.uk, not against any individual.

I would respectfully request that you personally look into this matter as a matter of urgency. That is an element which appears to be totally lacking.

Yours sincerely

Alfred Donovan