I got home from work yesterday and found this letter had been delivered. Although the letter was dated 2nd February, the postmark was marked 7.2.07. Here it is:
Thank you for your recent letter.
As we are keen to ensure our customers receive the greatest benefit from Demon services we had to introduce the Fair Use Policy (FUP) for our residential ADSL services. I apologise if you feel this policy was not made explicit however it is stated in the ADSL Terms and Conditions, to which you agreed when ordering the service. The limits imposed are generous in comparison with our competitors and are on a rolling-basis.
These limits are also subject to change without notice. I would like to emphasise that as the FUP is considered on a rolling-basis, and with such high acceptable use limits, we do not send advisory letters when customers approach this limit. Should the usage on such an occasion be found to be excessive, then it is important that service is restricted to ensure the stability of other customer's connections is maintained.
On behalf of Demon I would like to apologise for any undue inconvenience you feel you have experienced as a result of our FUP, but trust you will appreciate this policy is effected to provide the greatest use of Demon services for the maximum number of customers.
If you have any queries regarding this, or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Services Team on 0854 2722666. Alternatively to initiate a live chat session with one of our Customer Service / Support advisors on-line please go to www.demon.net/helpdesk, this service allows you to receive a response immediately to any questions you may have regarding your account.
Please note our Customer Service telephone lines are open from 8am - 8pm, Mon-Sat. [sic] and our e-mail address is enquiries@demon.net. Please remember to quote the reference at the top of this letter should you wish to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
Customer Services Administration
As you can see, they are sticking to the same line. Where is the proof I asked for that I had actually downloaded what they claim? They still do not tell us what the limits are as they say they are "subject to change without notice". They still refuse to give warning and frankly the fact that they give 24 hours notice of their actions is outrageous.
The offer to enter a live chat session on-line is hilarious - I can't even get the BBC web site between 8am and 10pm, how in hell am I expected to hold a conversation?
This action has had a severe impact upon my business. My daughter, who is educated at home cannot get to the educational materials she needs. The web is useless, email trickles in, any kind of voice messaging, like Skype or Ventrilo is impossible and the MMORPG, for which I pay a hefty subscription, is dead in the water.
In point of fact Demon is lying. If they were trying to reduce the use of their services to "... ensure the stability of other customer's connections is maintained." then a reduction from 8mbps to 2 or 1 mbps would suffice. Reducing it to 128kbps is draconian and imposed as a deliberate punishment to ensure that you are so scared that you will not dare to exceed the limit again (if you can find out what it is, of course).
Countdown to proceedings - 5 days.
