AndyC

You're not alone

Mate thats terrible news

Hi Mick Steer well clear of Autoglass mate (unless your insurance covers their full cost - but I don't know what the service is like), they are very expensive, iirc around £900. That said it would be for a genuine Nissan screen, however you don't really need to end up with that. The ones that are manufactured from other companies are perfectly up to it (although some people strongly disagree) and are significantly cheaper. My insurance policy only covers upto £350 for a screen with a £60 excess and the company I've used really are fantastic, although they are a long way from you I'm pretty sure they're part of a network so would be able to recommend someone for you - may be worth giving them a bell anyway its: Bolton Safety Glass 97-99 Derby Street Bolton, BL3 6HH 01204 393260 Good luck

Very brave Paul but really looks mate, well done!!

Nice one mate, cheers for the explanation - perfect

Lookin forward to this fellas!!

Yeah point taken. However I don't have a crystal ball............

Hey guys Ok, whos got a PS3 and what are your online tags? Mine is bluebadger, anyone else? Also, I haven't really looked into this at all but whats the score with the online stuff???

Wouldn't disagree with that Louis, I love the Cerbera in a big way but certainly one of the most unreliable ones. There used to be one that kicked round Blackpool that was pink it was some lucky (for the car not the colour of it) lady that used to drive it

Utter fools

1. M13KYF - ok 2. AndyC - ok 3. TheMinel - ok 4. beavis - ok 5. Jacko 6. Sarnie - ok 7. Liam 8. Sinbad - ok Sinbad, if you're struggling to find it or are unsure you can head to mine first if you like.

Have had the download thing with Belkin products before - they don't tell you anything about it. Like I said I have heard mixed reviews of Sky - the people that have got connected say its a great service and have been connected with no problems at all. The issues are for people that can't get connected - Sky appear to have absolutely no ability to rectify the problems and their Customer Services leave a lot to be desired. I guess its like any new service - there are bound to be teething problems.

Surely that would be per episode - they trashed absolutely tons of the things with all the daft jumps and such. Maybe this is so expensive cos its the only one that actually survived!

Total con. And you have to give the seller your clothes, your boots AND your motorcycle

Can't add a lady unfortunately, my Sis lives in Hove (which is around 300 miles away from me) and my missus is 23 which won't help the premium a bit!!

Hey folks Right, as some of you may or may not be aware I've had no internet connection at home since January. I'll tell my tale of woe for anyone thats interested below, but to cut to the chase, if you are considering switching ISP or need broadband for the first time or whatever get these guys onto it: www.bethere.co.uk They are absolutely awesome . I don't say that lightly, but far too often people are quick to criticise and far too slow to praise. Be really are first rate, customer service they way it should be. So, to give you some background to how I've ended up with them and the problems I've had, also it may mean that someone can avoid dealing with the numpties that I've had to. It all started in January, I was with Orange as my broadband supplier. When I first moved to my flat over a year ago I signed up to (what was) freeserve as I'd had them in previous places for years. Freeserve then changed name to Wanadoo but that was still all ok. Then they chaged to Orange - what a joke. It was all absolutely fine until it had been Orange for about a month, then the connection started being very slow and then it started dropping the connection more and more frequently until it just stopped working altogether. So I rang up Customer Services (thats a misnomer if ever there was). I explained my problem and ran through all sorts of tests with them none of which sorted the issue. Orange continually tried to blame BT but I just wasn't buying that - particularly as I'd had absolutely no issues with my landline - bear in mind its all operated on the same piece of copper coming into your home. After 4 weeks of countless phone calls, complaints, moaning and me generally getting very angry and annoyed at their never ending layers of admin I got them to cancel the service - I'd just had enough and they were getting nowhere. Around that time I was gettng bombarded by Sky's broadband offering - no doubt you are too. So I checked out some customer reviews, which, to be fair were very mixed. But the offer of broadband at £5 per month was too good to resist, so I placed my order at the end of Feb. All of the equipment landed a few days later and I was due to go live on 5th March. That date came and I installed everything according to their instructions, it all connected fine except the internet light wasn't lit on the modem. So I rang Customer Services - here we go!!! I spoke to quite a helpful guy in their Scottish callcentre who did all the usual line checks and everything else and confirmed that he couldn't see what the problem was so he passed me through to Tech Support. Which is based in India I think, now please don't take this the wrong way - I am in no way whatsoever racist (if you know me you'll know nothing is further from the truth) - but I don't think it is much to ask that I am able to understand everyone they put on the phone, some were absolutely fine but a couple you just couldn't understand a word no matter how closely you listened. Again, I had countless coversations with this team, every one of them was nothing short of an hour. Each and every time I called they ran the same checks, asked me the same questions and filled in the same forms on their computers all of which when you answer a yes or no gives another set of questions. I can't stand these people (tick box people - I encounter them all the time in my work), as they have absolutely no common sense at all, also I don't think it is much to expect that a "Technical Team" has some form of technical knowledge. Eventually I lost my rag and was told not to worry as I would now be passed to "Tech Level 3" - well woopty bloody do, what the hell does that mean? Well, what it means in reality is that you get to deal with another bunch of numpties that have no idea what they are doing and can't resolve your issues. Even within their "3 day service standard". Nor do they ring you back, even when they have promised to. On more than 1 occasion. Well, on more than 10 occasions if you want to really get into it. All along Sky's system was showing that my internet was connected and there was no problem. Even though that little light never lit up. And they were sending me all this bumph through the post telling me about all the wonderful things I could now experience with their wonderful broadband service, boy did that get me Cutting a long story short, again I gave up. And really kicked off. And got a MAC code, even though they'd never got me connected. And got all the money back from them that they'd taken even though they never provided me with a service or connected me. So, I was beginning to think there was a common denominator in all of this - me or my place or my line. Anyway, then I was put onto Be (link above) by an IT mate. So I placed an order not expecting to get anywhere at all. But first impressions were better than before - they've got a great website, nice & simple and kinda catchy and on my level (not dead techy). Which you can track the progress of your order each & every step. Added to that they give you some dial up details while you're waiting to get connected so you can get some form of internet (albeit very slow!). They also text you to let you know what is going on (for example your modem has now been dispatched and will be with you on .......) All of the stuff arrived as promised and on the date I installed it all and then the little internet light wasn't lit AGAIN!! Here we go again were my thoughts, or words to that effect. But in fairness I did try to get it working after I'd staggered in from a Friday night out so I figured I may have done something wrong. So the next day, I checked through everything and it still wasn't working. So I rang their customer services which is also a foreign call centre (this time in France I think) but their English is all fantasic and they really know what they are doing. But more than anything else their customer service is absolutely first rate, completely refreshing. The agent i dealt with asked me to hold for a few minutes while they ran a line check with BT. Within a couple of minutes they came back to me to confirm that there had been an issue with the internet connection by BT at the exchange but they had raised it with BT and it would be resolved in 3 working days. This was 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon. Fine I thought, at least I know whats going on. Just before 3.30pm that same day I got a text from Be confirming that my problem was sorted and I could connect, yeah right i thought! More crap where they don't know what they're doing. But how wrong can you be, it worked!!!! Within an hour of me reporting it. And having to get a 3rd party involved btw (and that being BT as well!!!). I then got a phone call the next day from another agent at Be just to check that I had been able to get on ok and that there were no other problems. They then texted the day after to confirm all still ok. Absolutely stunning service and a total change from virtually any other company (be it internet or not) I've dealt with for a long time. Other great customer features are: - you can raise tickets (issues) online and also check on their status - the agents there update it all the time - if you have got an issue that you can't get sorted or are struggling to follow what they want you to do they will remotely access your modem or computer and put it all right for you - they speak to you in normal English without all this techy jargon - they've got a update on the phone system saying how many people are in front of you in the queue All in all I can't get over just how good they are and have been for me, absolutely incredible and I can't recommend them highly enough

Oh and 1 other point, someone raised it - Chesterfield I think, that the line was a physical connection at the exchange - you're quite correct there is a physical line connection that someone actually has to "plug in" so to say. Also speeds are all dependent on the quality of your line coming to your house (yep its all still the BT copper cable) and also the distance from your exchange. There is a site where you can check all of this in addition to the ISP equipment that is in there. It used to be that BT had all their own equipment and rented it out, this is changing and its not uncommon for 6 or 7 or so ISPs to all have their own kit in an exchange - this is a great benefit imo.

Guys the netgear stuff is very good indeed, have used it in various guises at home (although not now) and always been very impressed. Additionally we are a completely wireless office running 8 laptops and 3 desktops all off netgear stuff (ok its the pro stuff but still). As for ISPs I'm just about to give you the recommendation of all recommendations - its a lengthy story which I'm just about to type out but is well worth a look for anyone who is considering a new/switch ISP. I reckon I've encountered every problem out there now so take a look

Good innit? Do I win the award for "Most Ripped Off"???

MUCH more than you mate. 31, 8yrs NCD, no points/convictions. Car is garaged at home and also at work. No mods. £1130 Its my horrid postcode that does it (I still fall into a Salford postcode which ranks pretty similar to Iraq). I asked what it would be to insure from my Mum & Dads out of interest and it came back at a far more reasonable £450

Certainly seems excessive wear regardless of driver use. Mine hasn't had the easiest life in the world, however it hasn't given up (touch wood) yet and is just short of 34k. Good luck Jimbo.

Ming, try giving these guys a bell, Bolton Safety Glass 01204 393260. They've done 2 screens for me in the last 3 months and although mine is a UK car they are incredibly helpful and may be able to put you in touch or get some info from their supplier. Certainly worth a shot I'd say.

Hey Digsy, at least we can spell our home ground too eh??

Actually now you mention it Val looks a bit like Rodney!