Kingston Communications (Karoo) Monopoly Abuse

We all knew that Kingston Communications offer an expensive and dire broadband and telephone service. Karoo have recently had to pull the plug on disconnecting customers without any warning or evidence of copyright infringement. They can afford to be like this because they’re the sole provider of telephone and broadband services in Hull, and they’ve made it far too expensive for competition to move in. Their monopoly means they can treat customers how they want. Customers have no option but to be without telephone and internet services if they want to ‘take their money elsewhere’ as punishment for a shoddy service, as there is no ‘elsewhere’.

I’ve recently been trying to get a phone line and broadband installed for my student house. On 31st July I phoned at 9am and they carried out a credit check. I was told this would take until the 3rd or 4th of August at latest, and that they’d phone me back with the conclusion.  On the 5th I received a letter informing me I must pay a £100 ’security deposit’ if I wanted to be connected as I either had bad or no credit rating, and that this wouldn’t be returned for 12 months. I presume it’s the the latter as I always pay bills on time. It wasn’t quite as straight forward as this however.

Karoo received a phone call from me requesting to pay £100 to them by card. I was told that this wasn’t possible, it had to be a postal order or cheque. I don’t require a cheque book, I’ve never wrote a cheque, not one company I use requests this as sole payment. Postal order was my only option. I was told I could speed the process up if I took my postal order to their office in Hull. The people downstairs would simply give it to the people upstairs. I promptly set off, having to pay £10 for the privilege of purchasing the postal order.

Once I arrived at the office there were three technical support staff, only stationed there for pre arranged appointments. Along side them were a bunch of telephones where customer service could be contacted. I spoke with the staff who wouldn’t take my payment upstairs, instead gave me a prepaid envelope and insisted I had to send it there. When I glanced at the address it was in fact that same office building.

This is where I am to date, 6 days on without even starting to set up my phone line and broadband service. I don’t even have an account with them yet as they won’t open one until the £100 is paid. They’re able to exploit their customers because we literally have no alternative. We have no market competition to turn to in order to punish a bad company. Ofcom desperately needs to step in and change this situation.

10 Responses to “Kingston Communications (Karoo) Monopoly Abuse”

  1. Chris  on August 6th, 2009

    I read a similar rant about a phone company on Isi’s blog a while back. When you have lived on your own for a couple of years you realise that this is common practise, even in an area of complete competition like London. £150 deposit with Virgin Media and they didn’t connect me for a month is one example of many. The simple fact is that these companies get away with anything they deem risk effective – I guess because they know other companies do it and that your not going to risk more time ’shopping around’. It’s not as easy as choosing between a Mars or a Snickers (indeed, like many phone companies they are both produced by the same conglomerate anyway).

  2. Chris B  on August 6th, 2009

    I find it strange Andrew that you got credit checked. Did they tell you specifically why, and if not ask?

    Thursday morning I phoned up KC to find if the house I was moving into had a telephone line. Within ten minutes I had my telephone contract set up whch was to be activated the following Saturday (1st August) when I would move in. The internet was set up, which I was told would be activated the subsequent Monday (3rd).

    Arriving to my new house I had four letters from KC waiting for me. One telling me about the telephone line, one with the direct debit arrangements, one about the internet service and one with my internet settings. Sadly they moved the date of activation back to the 4th.

    By 4pm on the 4th I had working internet. 10mb working internet.

    I’ve not complained, so far.

    The problem is I am paying way over the odds for this service. Me and my housemate have to shell out £20 a month each for combined internet and telephone lines. At home, my parents pay £12.99 a month all inclusive. Unlimited phone calls, unlimited 5mb broadband. In comparison what do I get for the total cost of £40 a month? Free calls to 01482 numbers. (Fantastic, I don’t know anybody in Hull who actually uses their landline). 10mb broadband capped at 75Gb a month, but unlimited use between midnight and 8am.

    I know what I’d rather take, and I can’t, because KC have squeezed out competition from the Hull area. BT had to allow in competition and i believe aid the cost of it. KC don’t. It’s ludicrous.

  3. Stu H  on August 6th, 2009

    “I spoke with the staff who wouldn’t take my payment upstairs, instead gave me a prepaid envelope and insisted I had to send it there. When I glanced at the address it was in fact that same office building.”

    I think this angers me most. That’s possibly the most ridiculous and unecessary thing I’ve ever heard. Karoo fails at customer service. Their actual internet service is OK. Good customer service is what brings new customers to your business, but of course this isnt something Karoo has to worry about – it always has the customers. It’s become lazy as a business. Our country has always worked on a free market and competition. And some competition in Hull would benefit residents immensely and make Karoo a better service. I agree, Ofcom need to step in.

  4. david  on August 6th, 2009

    When I moved to Hull they did a credit check on me but I must have won or something as I did not have to pony up £100, I did have to pay their set-up fees and their moving house fees when I later moved (and i was tied into a 12 month contract), which you don’t normally get because people are too busy fighting for your custom they can’t charge you to connect or another company will step and and won’t.

    I thought it was funny I had to physically go to their HQ to sort out my initial line – very old fashioned, obviously my first taste of KC was bitter and it just got worse. The broadband is over priced for quality, when I asked what the difference was between the packages, they said they didn’t even know but that I’d have a better chance of getting on line at busy times with a more expensive package, I had not even considered *not* getting on line as a factor…

    I feel bad for the people working there but the guy who manges the twitter account either must find it hilarious or get pretty depressed about the negative @s

  5. LittleErn  on September 26th, 2009

    I want to say a massive ‘Fuck You’ to Kingston Communications who have been charging me for ‘Caller Display’ (a service I neither requested or use) since March 2008.

    This was apparently a free service prior to then, but customers on ‘KC Talk1′ now incur a charge for the ’service’. I wasn’t informed of this and have been paying the charge without even realising. I am told this information was sent out as a mailing separate from the quarterly paper bill, but I never received it.

    Hence, I have unwittingly handed over extra money to the shits since March 2008, for a service I have never used or requested to use.

    The filthy, monopolising, money-grubbing bastards.
    On top of this, I was informed that they charge £14 to remove the ‘Caller Display’ service from an account!!!

    How churlish is that??

    Here’s a question: Does anyone in Hull actually use their landline other than to be able to get broadband access? Probably not.

    Ofcom’s consultation on KC’s monopoly/stranglehold on the people of Hull was a whitewash. This company needs the plug pulling on them, they are an embarrassment to the city.

    Fuck you, Kingston Communications. Rest assured I’ll get my money back from you, you robbing set of cnuts, even if I have to ‘get creative’ about it.

    Hmm,now where’s my Sharpie and Graf sprays??

  6. NickT  on September 30th, 2009

    Little Ern, if you would be kind enough to contact me I will investigate what you are saying and if we are wrong will correct it.
    You can email me at custrel@kcom.com, I will have the team keep an eye out for it and forward direct to me. If you give a telephone number I can call you and establish any details.

  7. dedlok74  on February 12th, 2010

    I also would like to say a massive fook yiu to kingston communications.When i paid my bill using their super online doowhacky it took 2 of the same amounts out of my bank account (AND NO I DIDN`T CLICK THE BUTTON TWICE!).After noticing this within a day i contacted kingston communications asking for the 2nd amount back as that money was for my then due credit card payment .The operator told me that i would have it by the friday of that week .Three weeks later i got my money back off them but with a personal loss of 20 pounds because i was unable to make my card payment .
    Also recently i got charged a fiver for a late payment even though it wasnt late (not like their dilly dallying to give me my money back , 3 weeks they took lol )
    I dont know who to plead but please can we get some other phone companies in this city .Its a collective shaft party for the people of Hull.

    Would kcom reimburse me for their crappy site taking 2 amounts which cost me money because i had none in my bank account? would they fook

  8. maurice  on February 24th, 2010

    want it removing

  9. sadlad  on March 11th, 2010

    I HAVE NEVER READ SUCH PURILE RUBBISH IN MY LIFE? I HAVE LIVED IN HULL FOR 73 YEARS, I STILL ONLY PAY 5.5P FOR LOCAL CALLS UP TO 6 MILES AWAY, AND CAN STAY ONLINE FOR THAT CALL, FOR 24/7 IF I WANTED TOO, YOU CAN’T BEAT THAT PRICE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, NEVER MIND UK. AND THEIR BROADBAND IS THE SAME CHEAPEST, YOU SHOW ME ANYONE THAT CAN BEAT IT, THEN I WILL BELIEVE YOU. UNITL I ADVISE YOU TO KEEP YOUR INFANT RANTING TO YOURSELF, PROBABLY CAUSED, BECAUSE SOME STOLE UR DUMMY OUT YOUR PRAM. BARRY. ONEMALEUK@YAHOO.COM . ANY MORE RUBBISH AND LIES FROM YOU, AND I WILL PERSONALLY SEE YOU IN COURT, PROBABLY JUVENILE COURT EH. IN YOUR CASE.

  10. MikeK  on June 23rd, 2010

    @sadlad (Barry),

    BT charge £26 per month for unlimited downloads and 20MB connection. I’m a customer of theirs in Scarborough and I’m moving to Hull next week.

    By the way, your (yes “your” in the corrrect context) ‘CAPS LOCK’ key is to the left of the keyboard between the ’shift’ and the ‘tab’ key – turn it off.

    Also, how could you take someone to court (do they have a senile court?) over libel against KC, unless you owned the company? Not that any of this is libel, because every word is true.

    KC have a monopoly over the Hull broadband/telephone market and it’s going to cost me £100 per year more than I’m paying now, plus an early disconnection fee from BT because I can’t take my account to Hull with me, and on top of that a stupidly overpriced connection fee from KC. They are also accessing and monitoring people’s download data, which shouldn’t even be legal IMO and on top of that they’re disconnecting people without warning and delaing the reconnection of service. I can’t take that risk with my web design business but living in Hull I just don’t have a choice.

    It really annoys me when illiterate people start harping on about ‘juvenile behaviour’ – you’d think someone who has been using the English language for 73 years could do better. Take your juvenile English skills and do one Barry! Come back when you actually have a valid argument, not some random bollocks you’ve plucked from thin air

    KC cheapest broadband indeed!?! HA – Never heard anything so ridiculous!


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