Emailyou > Finance > Broadband > Reviews

Review by Teyab, submitted 01/11/06.

How long have you used this internet service? More than 3 months Which other internet services have you used? Demon, Virgin, BT yahoo, aol How easy is it to install the service?   3 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   1 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   1 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   1 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? none What is negative? My min 12 months contract finally expired in May 2006 – I had sent them formal termination notice and subsequently received confirmation. Despite the fact, they overcharged further subscription months to my credit card – I was given a refund monetarily (not to my credit card but my Toucan account which I no longer have any use of). I still had been receiving invoices until Oct 2006 ie. throughout the 5 months since my broadband service was terminated. I now have an outstanding balance of £??.00 – they sent me final demand and threaten to pass my account to an authorised debt recovery agent to take further action – should I be the one who is doing it??? Summary completely waste of time!! Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by Paul, submitted 21/09/06.

How long have you used this internet service? Less than 1 month Which other internet services have you used? Virgin.net How easy is it to install the service?   1 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   3 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   3 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   2 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? Cheap (but that isn't the same thing as good valu) What is negative? Technical support never reply to emails. The 'Fair User Policy' is hidden away in the contract. There are additional (secret) download limitations. Summary Avoid at all costs Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by Chris, submitted 18/09/06.

How long have you used this internet service? More than 3 months Which other internet services have you used? NTL How easy is it to install the service?   2 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   1 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   1 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   1 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? It's cheap What is negative? Have been a customer for over a year. We moved house nearly two months ago and we have had no service since. In summary: - The notion that this company has decent customer service is an utter fallacy. - They NEVER call back when they promise to. You ring them and ask to speak to someone senior (as it says on their website), they say they're all busy and they'll call back in 72 hours. 72 hours pass and the process repeats itself. - They only resell the tiscali service - it's not even their own. This maybe explains why they cannot resolve any problems with it. - They renewed the contract when we moved house without telling us - meaning we are locked in to having no service for the next 11 months. - We have run up £100 in dialup charges over the last month as we've had no broadband service. In resposne, Toucan have credited £5 to our account while they continue to flounder trying to resolve the problem. Summary Do not go near them with a bargepole. We are long standing customers and we have been treated like dirt. They have reneged on their side of the contract by not providing a service, but there is nothing we can do about it. They will not even talk to us. Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by Mike Phillips, submitted 27/07/06.

How long have you used this internet service? Less than 1 month Which other internet services have you used? Blueyonder How easy is it to install the service?   5 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   1 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   1 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   1 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? Nothing. The service is diabolical. What is negative? 10p per min for helpdesk with very poor english Unfair contract Software slows down PC USB only modem Argumentative and agressive customer services. Summary DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER TOUCAN! Their unfair terms and conditions state that you only have 7 days to terminate once accepted for the service. The service is connected up to 14 days after this date. You therefore are tied in for 12 months the second you use the service and cannot disconnect for any reason! I've cancelled all payments and am taking legal action. Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by Jo Jagger, submitted 26/04/06.

How long have you used this internet service? Less than 1 month Which other internet services have you used? Virgin, Tiscali How easy is it to install the service?   1 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   1 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   1 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   1 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? Nothing positive about this company what so ever. What is negative? I cancelled the service before it was activated but due to a "system error" they activated it 4 days later. I hadn't received any software or a modem as promised and so could not take advantage of the activation. I work from home and needed to get online so they set up a dial-up account, telling me it was only 1p/minute. This was a lie and it has cost me almost £100 in dial-up charges for the few weeks I had to use it. Their customer services teams lack any training and quite simply couldn't care less. Summary AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!! Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by PG, submitted 12/04/06.

How long have you used this internet service? Less than 1 month Which other internet services have you used? Metronet, How easy is it to install the service?   5 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   4 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   4 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   5 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   3 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? Yes What is positive? Cheap. Connection is OK if you don't fall foul of their unfair use policy - see below. What is negative? Limit on up/downloads now only 1GB per week between 6-11pm - if you do P2P or just streaming videos look elsewhere. What really p*ss*d me off was their web-site advert stated they had no formal limit on downloads - this isn't misleading, it's a blatant lie. Have complained to Toucan & Offcom but am not expecting any result, so am spreading the word on sites like this. They don't send you the connection pack until 2-3 days AFTER you get connected (WHY???) - not so bad for a newbie, but if you are transferring then you're offline during this time (or have to connect yourself which isn't too difficult if you have a bit of experience) Help & support do pickup quickly, but English speaking ability decidedly variable & they aren't interested in fair use complaints - tell you to WRITE A LETTER to head office (very 21st century) Summary if you want a cheap service with no great demands on data transfer then it's probably OK Overall rating   2 / 5

Review by Xiang Lin, submitted 28/03/06.

How long have you used this internet service? 1-3 months Which other internet services have you used? Toucan 2Mb 'unlimited' Broadband How easy is it to install the service?   3 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   1 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   2 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   1 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? The price on its website is appealling, £15.99 for 2Mb 'unlimited' (not ture) broadband and free weekend landline call. Now I regret to leave NTL -- it's 2Mb broadband is a real unlimited service although it is a little bit expensive, but NTL worth every penny! What is negative? Never mention 3 Gig per week limitation in its website, in its T&C's, in its FUP.... NOWHERE. It actually has a limit of 3Gig per week. Toucan blocks P2P. It says there is no limit for off-peak time even you exceed 3Gig/week, however it always limits your download to the dial-up speed (5k/s), 24/7. Customer service tend to divert complaint or whatever to technical support. And technical support charges 0905xxxxxxxx premium rate. Summary NEVER EVER JOIN TOUCAN. ALSO TOUCAN IS THE RESELLER OF TALISCA. AVOID THEM!!! Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by jonnie, submitted 20/03/06.

How long have you used this internet service? More than 3 months Which other internet services have you used? Demon, Screaming.net, Worldonline, Tiscali, Virgin How easy is it to install the service?   3 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   1 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   1 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   2 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   1 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? No What is positive? NOTHING What is negative? The initial signing up process was a big mess, up until now they still have not had the courtesy to contact me in order to correct their error. But I am stuck with a 12 month contract. Although they claim to provide an unlimited download service, but wait for it, you will be slowed down or even zero downloads if you are a P2P user!!! Summary Don't bother if you are a P2P user!!!! Overall rating   1 / 5

Review by Steve, submitted 05/03/06.

How long have you used this internet service? More than 3 months Which other internet services have you used? ntl:home How easy is it to install the service?   5 / 5 How good and easy to reach is the customer support?   4 / 5 How good value for money is the service?   4 / 5 How often is the service out of order?   5 / 5 Is it possible to play Internet games (with respect to speed and ping)?   5 / 5 Does the actual connection speed correspond to the specifications? Yes What is positive? With my previous ISP the connection would drop at least a couple of times a week. Looking at the data from my router, since having Toucan the service has never dropped, so basically you are guaranteed to have a good connection to the internet. It is really cheap, and so are the phone calls. What is negative? Although this is "unlimited" internet, they do impose a fair use policy of 3GB data a week. If you exceed it, for the next week you are put system where at peak times you share bandwith with other excessive users. However I would not call 3GB excessive use, especially in these days of broadband video. At least they do not cut you off like other ISP's do when you go over the limit. Summary This is a fantastic service that I would not be able to fault except for the fair useage policy they have. Overall rating   4 / 5