Downtime when Transferring ISP's

[asimmd]

Hi All

I have been with Pipex for nearly 2 years now,and recently fell victim of their "We haven't taken a payment for 6 months",so you are in arrears rubbish.

In trying to transfer to a different ISP,it seems to be that I will have to be without internet access for 6/10 day's,while the new provider set's up my account.

Anyone know of a way not to lose internet while switching?

Thanks
Alan

[spin-dizzy]

The only way to avoid (much) downtime is to tell Pipex that you are discontinuing use of their services and you want a MAC (Migration Authority Code). They should give you a fairly long alphanumeric code, which you then give to your new provider when you sign up.

If you just cancel with Pipex and then join another provider, they have to wait until Pipex releases authority on your DSL line with BT. (= anywhere upto a month of downtime)

If you use a MAC code, and a good new ISP, the downtime will be somewhere in the region of a few hours.

I migrated from Tiscali to Zen Internet recently and the only downtime I experienced was because Zen took control so quickly, I didn't have time to change my username / password They're a good company.

BTW, if Pipex are difficult about giving out your MAC code, threaten them with Ofcom. They agreed to a code of conduct making sure they wouldn't cause un-due hassle.

Good Luck!

Edit: See this link if you have any problems: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond.../statement.pdf

[unique]

Originally Posted by asimmd

Hi All

I have been with Pipex for nearly 2 years now,and recently fell victim of their "We haven't taken a payment for 6 months",so you are in arrears rubbish.

In trying to transfer to a different ISP,it seems to be that I will have to be without internet access for 6/10 day's,while the new provider set's up my account.

Anyone know of a way not to lose internet while switching?

Thanks
Alan

if your with pipex you obviously have adsl, and thus a phone line. don't you have a backup dialup account? it's not as good as broadband, but it's a lot better than nothing and should last you a few days albeit without downloading much

i kept my old BT pay per go dialup account that i haven't used in maybe 4 years or more. i don't even have a phone line in my current flat, but i connect my office laptop and dialup from the office once every few months to ensure it's still working, and i use the email addy regularly, which is mainly why i keep it active

if you don't have one, you could maybe grab and AOL trial disc or wannadoo or whatever from dixons or somewhere, as you usually get the first month free

alternatively, if you can get cable internet, get that installed and then d/c pipex, thats what i did when i moved flat. in fact the cable guy installed my internet 45 minutes after i had the keys to the flat, the day the sale completed. i used to have pipex, never had any problems with them, but that was about 3 years ago, i heard they've went down the tubes since. cable is far better and more reliable, plus unlimited bandwidth

[asimmd]

Thanks for the replies.

I have checked out Zen,as I have not heard of them.Looks interesting.

That was going to be my next question,which ISP to migrate to.Seems to be a bit of a minefield.

After the way Pipex have treated me recently,they should not need to ask why I don't want to be with them anymore.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I don't have a dial up anymore.I have a Wireless Modem Router,and deleted all other connections.I didn't expect Pipex to mess up,they have been OK for so long.

Alan