written by Alexxxxxx1975 on 07/11/2013
I really liked this company, I have been with them for years. They have not kept up with pricing and I dont really use my home internet like I used to so I looked for a better option. I have now had 6 emails and still I do not have my MAC code. As soon as you request it they start to mess you about. Surly there is a watchdog that looks at this stuff. A real shame after all these years that they care so little about there reputation that they will muddy it in this way. I am seeing LOTS of review from old customer moving on cos fast have not kept up with the times. This is the problem with a lifestyle business.
written by MIchaelHasLeftTheBuilding on 25/05/2013
WOW, Ive just got off the phone and am very happy. My internet stopped working so I phoned the support team. The automated message said the team were busy and I thought I would have to wait for ages, I didn't have to wait at all! I left my phone number and they called me back in minutes. Just enough time to grab a cup of tea. I think I spoke to a gentleman called Sean, he wasn't in a call centre in Delhi so I could understand every word he said, which is always a bonus. He ran through my settings, explained exactly how to fix my problem and I was up and running again in minutes. I've only had to phone them on average once a year for different reasons and they are always this good. Keep up the good work guys.
written by markgl on 07/03/2012
I had been with Fast for almost 5 years. With increasing demands for bandwidth, I found that I was occasionally exceeding my download limit, with the result that speeds were strangled by them to slower than dial up. I decided to leave them but was offered their LLU broadband, which was a little bit cheaper and had a higher download limit. I decided to go ahead and sign up to the 3 month contract. However, I had nothing but trouble with their LLU service. The download speeds I experienced fluctuated wildly. The highest it ever managed was about 4MB, but most of the time it was so slow (average 0.13mbps) that it was practically unusable. I got nowhere with their customer services. At best they were disinterested, at worst rude and sarcastic. I actually work in IT but, as I am a woman they were patronising and presumed I didn't know what I was talking about. Their 'Helpline' shuts at 8 o'clock and on one occasion I rang at half past seven and it was very clear the guy who answered had no intention of doing anything because it was close to home time. I pointed out over and over again that my problems had a definite pattern to them - the internet was faster during non peak times but slowed to a crawl during peak times. Their reply was that 'there was something very strange going on here' and the fault must be on my premises. I tried two different routers, but the problem remained. They offered to send out an engineer, but I would be charged if no fault could be found. I was convinced the problem wasn't with my equipment, so I decided to leave Fast. I requested a MAC over the phone. I was told to email, which I did and received an email asking why I was leaving - no mention of the MAC. I eventually had to threaten OFCOM regulations (that MACs should be received in 5 working days), was told that the problem was BT Wholesale weren't providing the MAC to them (which I don't believe.)I requested the MAC on 27th January and, after several emails, received it on 9th February. I migrated to SKY broadband and I have had no trouble with their service whatsoever - my download speeds have been much faster than they ever were with Fast.co.uk,(consistently 9MB+) and I am paying considerably less (presumably I was right and there was no fault with my equipment.)
written by JohnBanks on 12/08/2011
Having read a few of the reviews here I was a little bit apprehensive when I asked FAST for a MAC code. With the advent of iTunes, iPlayer etc I wanted to change provider for more download capacity. I have been with FAST since 2007 and have not had a single problem. Having asked for a code I had a customer support email asking what they could do to make my stay with them, I told them, and I am still with them! If you are unhappy, tell them, you never know they may be able to help.
written by jrthomps on 14/06/2011
i left a review for fast on a site that seems to be owned by them ispreview and it was promptly deleted and replaced with review praising their service. fast are rubbish, expensive and rude. they have called me a lyer for the review i left on another site and had this replaced with another review which was not mine. i was with fast for quite a long time and during this time had email problems and connection problems which they could not be bothered to fix and kept blaming british telecom. i would not recommend this service at all j thompson
written by PaulDs on 18/01/2011
I arrived at Fast.co.uk in April 2008.
This followed 12 months of ADSL hell with Virgin Media, where the internet connection became consistently unstable and slow from the moment their service began! The only "help" I received from Virgin were e-mails suggesting I check this, that and the other, and no offer from Virgin to do anything else to resolve the issues.
From day one of the service with Fast my internet service was fast and stable. It was also a blessing to be able to speak to intelligent and knowledgeable people that were genuinely interested in providing a service. I have consistently received a high level of customer service from Fast, and this is their greatest strength.
Recently my broadband connection deteriorated, and in frustration, I contemplated leaving this ISP. Once this issue was raised in detail with Fast, they really began to shine and took ownership of the issue. After conducting some initial tests, and providing a new Router, a fluctuating synch problem was diagnosed, and they referred my case to BT Wholesale.
You may all be aware that most ADSL ISP's have their service delivered through the BT Wholesale Network and that many broadband issues can only be physically fixed by a BT Engineer.
Fast asked BT to carry out certain checks, the result of which was that there wasn't a problem! Fast did not accept this result, and showed resilience by insisting BT look at my issue again. Again BT came back with the same result! Fast arranged and paid for a BT Engineer to visit my home, and the engineer's diagnostic tests revealed that my line was running at only 58% of its capacity. So one telephone call from the BT Engineer to a BT colleague fixed my fluctuating synch problem. I now have a superb internet connection increased by a further 1.5Mbps.
Without this awesome service provided by Fast, I would never have reached this point. They have boldly gone where no other ISP has gone before!!
Fast handles criticism well and reacts positively, so they must be commended on this point.
The cost of the service has also been an issue for other reviewers, as it has been for me. The reality is you get what you pay for. Remember the old saying "if you pay peanuts, you get monkies"
I feel privileged to be a customer of Fast, and can sleep easily knowing that when broadband trouble strikes, as it does for us all at some point, I can make a local rate telephone call to caring people who are passionate about their service, and who want to help me experience the best internet connection possible.
They deliver a service with no speed drops at peak times. If you are not getting this with your ISP, let Fast fix it for you like they did for me.
Fast are The Best, so forget the rest.
written by on 29/09/2010
Having been with Fast for a year with no problems, when I moved house initially had no hesitation in signing up to them again. However one month later, after ENDLESS e-mails and phone calls am still enduring dial-up speeds with no sign of improvement.
Worst of all has been their customer 'service'. They have been variously: rude, dismissive, sarcastic and consistently blamed the slow speeds on everyone but themselves (bt, the line, my equipment etc.) before finally admitting that "my profile was set a bit low" and could make "various changes" and that I should wait 48hrs to see some improvement - (one month and.....) 24 hrs in and still waiting - we shall see!
written by on 30/08/2010
One of the better, if not best, broadband providers.
For a few pounds more you get consistent connection, as fast as possible internet speed for your line, and excellent customer service.
I have been with them for over 2 years now and no complaints at all. I have a 20GB per month package costing 23GBP and it certainly seems consistent. It will depend on your phone line of course, but I get a reasonably consistent 11Mbps (measured periodically at speedtest.net) on an up-to 24Mbps package.
Definately recommended.
written by on 13/05/2010
After the utter nightmare of Tiscali, a carrier pigeon would have been an improvement. That said, I've now been with Fast for about 2 years and have no complaints. Steady connection, good speeds, no throttling, helpful customer service. A few months ago I did get a major issue of frequent disconnects, but that was clearly a line problem. It was affecting my phone as well, so I contacted BT myself and they came quickly and fixed it (problem was with master socket luckily, so no charge) - maybe a lesson there, as BT need to be contacted via your ISP for broadband problems, but not for phone problems if BT are your phone service provider. I'm in a very rural area (Scottish Highlands) but get a steady 6 Mbps. Fast ARE expensive compared to many providers, but frankly Tiscali nearly drove me mad, so for me it's worth it.
written by on 28/04/2010
Only been with Fast for about a week but everything seems great. Had a slight problem when I did not receive my welcome email with my login details, I phoned them up and it was all sorted within minutes. I can't fault them at all - I will keep Y'all posted :-)
written by on 08/03/2010
I wouldn't normally bother with a review but given how against the current trend Fast are I couldn't avoid it. Having spent several years tolerating continuous throttling, over-bandwidth limit charges and appalling tech service I made the switch to Fast.
What a breath of fresh air. Sure you pay slightly more but it can easily be justified; they don't throttle you (regardless of what you do), the tech support guy is just that - he's not some monkey in a suit reading from a sheet, he actually listens to your problem and offers genuinely helpful advice (the one time I had a proper non-router based problem and had to ring them it was sorted in a single phone call within 30 minutes - at 2100!). In the year that I've been with them it has only stopped that that one time, something I think you'd be hard pressed to find amongst the other cowboy ISPs.
On top of that their website offers a very handy tool for downloading allowing you to monitor your progress through your bandwidth day to day with a forecast total for the end of the month - something much appreciated from a serial downloader.
written by on 03/03/2010
I have never had so much trouble obtaining a reliable business service. The problems are not so much unforseable issues, no they are blatently customer unfriendly policies. They have limits on storage, limits on bandwidth, charges for everything (ok so does everyone else) but they don't tell you when these limits are about to kill the service, so the first you know about it is that it fails at the most inoportune times. Their solution? tell you its your fault for not going to their site and checking your status! Yeah I'm really going to buy a car that I have to keep pulling over to dip test the fuel tank because the manufacture doesnt put a gauge in my face. At midnight when I have been working late on a project I do not want to be told that I have worked all night to meet deadlines only to find that I cannot shift the data because some unknown limit has been reached. If they cannot provide a reliable warning system they should remove the limits rather than upset and lose customers. When I complained they told me to take my business elsewhere.
written by DukeTheDuck on 22/12/2009
When I first found Fast.co.uk, I asumed it was an expensive and high quality Service, and having been sick of the usual rubbish ADSL has to offer, I got myself onto their network.
Now sad thing is, all my issues from my previous ISP carried on over, and after 5 months of making sure the problem wasn't me with their support, all they offer is to "Send a BT engineer over", which to me seems to be more of a scam than anything. Fast.co.uk offer high quality service when it gets to you, but sadly there has been an ever degrading quality of service like many other users reported, and I think the common cause is BT, who don't seem to want to fix anything because it "Costs" them. Fast.co.uk apprrently contacted BT several times, where it denied each time there was any issue with my line or exchange, so their saying it's Fast.co.uk??
Either way, with the state the UK and ADSL is going, you're better off paying for the cheapest broadband and living with the disconnections and slow speeds, because in the end it all comes down to a company called BT who decide what you get.
written by on 17/12/2009
i signed up with these. the service was superb for months, speed was always around 5 to 5.5, i never once remember loosing my connection then literally over night i noticed lost connections then speed went from top notch to bottom of the barrell,not much more than dial up. i decided to contact there surport to get this problem sorted and im still trying to resolve this issue to no avail. they in my oppinion, just play for time, i sent them results one after another, for what, nothing at all. 3 months later my service as slowly got worst. every thing is bts fault, they do nothing to help you and basically they play on the fact they answer the phone in 2 rings. this maybe true, but be warned they dont do a single thing to sort the issue out. how these people get away with taking money then give you a shambolic service is behound me. you have been warned.
Written on: 22/12/2009
This is exactly the same problem I had, the service has just been getting worse and worse, and though the issue is BT, all they have done is offer to send a BT man round my house for £200. Rip off when the problem lies within THEIR exchange
Written on: 11/07/2011
What exactly do you expect them to do if the problem lies at BTs exchange? They can contact BT and report the problem but then they have to wait for BT to sort it out and I wouldn't hold your breath for that.
written by on 07/12/2009
Expensive and a lower (up-stream) speed than the competition for much less money, pleasant support, worth it perhaps when fast.co.uk perform well, but in my case a service of ever decreasing quality.....
Having been with fast.co.uk for about a year now I have to say that what a disappointment they have turned out to be. I note with interest that earlier reviews have mentioned positively the quality of the service, where as currently, a number of reviewers have mentioned issues similar to those I myself have experienced. I should mention that I have previously been employed in a senior support function for an Internet ISP, furthermore, I retain contacts within the industry.
Yes, you can guarantee a well mannered, technically knowledgable fast response from fast.co.uk with a support question, unfortunately, and I may be cynical here, I get the distinct impression (from my own experiences within the industry)that the replies from fast are deliberatey obfuscating the issues. I say this as questions which raise issues which are not complimentary to fast.co.uk are ignored, I have also noted that they are now throwing fairly technical requests to a user when a support call is logged, which, in many cases would be sure to send the average user back into his box.... To add insult to injury I am now finding multiple disconnections in the evenings; I've given up. I do suggest you use BT's own speedtester at: http://speedtester.bt.com and compare this with what you are actually paying for... I do and the figures don't match up.
written by on 03/11/2009
I have been with fast.co.uk for over 4 years and in many ways they are an ideal ISP.
I have had good constant speeds and only one disconnect.
Fast are pricey and as I am retiring soon I have decided to request my MAC and shop around for a broadband / phone bundle.
The customer service is usually excellent but I am rather disappointed to say that I am having problems in getting my MAC code from them at the moment.
Overall it would be unfair of me not to rate fast highly. It's just a pity that I am probably leaving them feeling rather peeved at the delay in getting my MAC code!
written by foxeye1 on 03/11/2009
Have read some of the recent one star reviews with some disbelief. Have been with Fast.co.uk for about two years and overall, I am very impressed. Reliable connection and speed and above all, excellent customer service. When you ring for support, the phone is answered promptly, normally within ten seconds and you are speaking with an English speaker who knows their stuff which makes a change from a foreign call centre who's third language is English.
Worth knowing - if your internet speed drops one day, give them a ring. It could be that your cap limit has been reached and your download speed is being 'strangled'. Saves a lot of messing around checking connections!
Would I recommend them - YES, without reservation. Very good indeed.
written by zoey322 on 23/10/2009
I am really dissapointed with this ISP, and I think their customer supporters have been lying to me. I seem to have an impossible to fix problem of dialup speeds. Every day, all day, for the last 3 weeks I've put up with speeds of dialup. All you'll ever be told is to check your router, check your wiring and so on, when it's never even you. After enough evidence to prove the problem wasn't being caused by me, I was just being ignored and they will constantly lie. Fast support maybe, good support NO.
Also I was lied to that I was the only one getting speed issues when clearly another reviewer below me had the exact same. If anyone else is getting the speed issues, leave a review too because fast.co.uk's high reviews tricked me.
I'm in the process of getting a MAC code, but maybe they're gonna ignore my request for that just like my previous requests for help.
written by on 09/10/2009
paying for a premium service, recieving dial up speeds. Technical support fob you off although quick to reply. Also been extremely abrupt on the phone. avoid like the plague
written by Petes Pod Planet on 24/09/2009
Beware of Fast.co.uk - at first glance they seem like they're an excellent company, especially in contrast to many other broadband companies. Let it be noted though, it's all a facade. After a short grace period, be prepared to experience a variety of disconnects and speed changes. Further, the usage caps become problematic. Finally, when you actually decide to contact the customer service, you get stonewalled with some guy who reads off a piece of paper and gives you insincere encouragement and ridiculously irrelevant advice. Save money, get another ISP.
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As rated by our community of reviewers
Krazzinan's Response to MIchaelHasLeftTheBuilding's Review
Written on: 29/06/2014
So pleased that this customer was happy with the service he received , but there are too many negative ones. When people want to leave they should make it easy for them , and maybe they'll come back to them one day. Where as because of the bad reviews on getting a MAC code, I don't feel I want to use this company as my provider. And I would think many have thought the same , but not left a comment.