appalling customer service

[aparkes]

I think I have hit a new low with Primus since moving house. They forgot to connect my new house on the date requested (17th january) leaving me with no phone or broadband 17th to the 31st January. They put in place a temporary diversion on 31st January, then "accidentally" disconnected the diversion on 12th February. They did not reinstate any phone or broadband service until 20th February. Since the new line connection on 20th February I have constant ADSL drop outs (based on usage logs average disconnect time 2 minutes - service availability running at approx 25%) I have reported this 3 times and they have still not contacted me or arranged for a technician to check the line.

Apart from the obvious loss of phone and broadband service, what is so frustrating is the time spent trying to resolve this. Every time I ring I am on hold for 20 - 40 minutes before I get someone who has no idea what I am talking about (in terms of the history of the problem) and works from a script telling me to reboot my router, conduct an isolation check etc.

Why are telecommunications companies allowed to continue to operate like this?. I know I could change providers but honestly when you read these types of forums I think none of them are any better than primus in terms of service and tech support.