Reply from Chess Telecom
[REPLY]
- Reviews (228)
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- Lynne Sykes
- Ashton, GB
- 1 Review
Chess Ltd - Big Mistake!
We tried for many months to resolve longstanding wrongful charges on our account (resulting from the on-going service problems) with Chess Ltd. Throughout we have been met with inconsistent advice, incompetence, continued lack of acknowledgement finally resulting in us taking our business elsewhere. This is when Chess Ltd sprung into action and issued extortionate “Breach of Contract Charges!”
It’s a shame Chess Ltd do not employ the same level of service/customer service to the general day to day running of their Company that they seem to have when harassing customers pursuing contractual disagreements, we are astounded just how many other customers of Chess Ltd seem to have been in the same situation.
Our complaints to Chess Ltd have been repeatedly ignored, Chess Ltd failed to reply to correspondence, to provide requested information (ie. call recordings, logs of our complaints, the original contract, copies of engineers reports etc.) finally they failed to notify us of the arbitration route. When we were notified (by a 3rd party) of CISAS arbitration, Chess Ltd agreed to our ‘Deadlock’ situation and referred us to CISAS the ombudsman. They then proceeded to issue court proceedings the very next day which in turn means CISAS will not engage and refuse the arbitration.
In this difficult business climate, is this the type of service you would want from your communication provider.
We are a small family run business, our losses resulting from their poor service and the time it will take to assess the same, together with the stress of attending court are something we could well and truly do without.
Would appreciate hearing from others in a similar situation.
Trevor Burgess Auto Engineers
Lynne 0161-368-9911
- Wendy
- 1 Review
So far !!!!
Mark, who handled my enquiry about moving to Chess, was extremely helpful, patient and efficient, causing me to be very optimistic about having Chess as my new provider. Now, of course, I have to see how they perform and intend to report back on service satisfaction. So far, 5 stars.
- Mark A Guthrie
- 1 Review
Do what they say on the tin!
Nothing big to say but an examination of our three accounts recently suggested that Chess had our interests at heart.
- I H Agnew
- 1 Review
Chess Telecoms - trouble free communications!
I've been supplied by Chess Telecoms since December 2003, both office and home, with very few "hiccups" in those 10 years.
Best factor of their service is to know you will talk to a human being (always cheery and polite) when 'phoning "Customer Services" and query/problem receives very prompt attention.
Well done, Chess - many other organizations would be well advised to copy your benchmarks!
Keep it up!!
- Sue Parkes
- 1 Review
Great service, response always on time, prompt billing.
This organisation has been with Chess a number of years, and even though we are quite a small business we are made to feel important, we value the friendly service and the user friendly language !
- Eileen Satchwell
- 1 Review
I understood what he was saying!!!!
We have been with Chess for our telephones for over 12 years and have been very pleased with their service. Our broadband is with Orange and recently we have experienced lots of problems, unfortunately when you eventually get to speak with a technical person they sound a million miles away and I for one find it difficult to understand the accent.
Yesterday I spoke with Colin at Chess, I understood every word he said! Not only did he sort out our broadband but found another tariff saving us money as well.
WONDERFUL.
- Gary Bridge
- 1 Review
Good Service, very competitive pricing.
Even though we were a little slow in getting back to Chess to renew our contract, they were completely ok with the situation. What was even better is that they looked at our usage & advised that they had a more suitable package that is about £10 per month cheaper, in these days every penny counts for a small charity like ourselves.
The price quoted was very competitive & we couldn't find a cheaper like for like product even with the aid of comparison websites, & of course we had had no trouble with the service or product.
In the end it was an easy decision to make to renew our contract with Chess.
- David
- 1 Review
Joe was helpful, knowledgable and managed to be parient without surrendering his effecient proffessionalism, Many thanks.
Joe helped me to understand and navigate through the Chesstelecom on-line system to access the information necessary to my oprganisation. I am not overly technology friendly, but Joe was helpful without being at all patronising and pitched his instruction / advice at exactly the correct levcel. Understandabvle without being patronising.
Great product, brilliant service. Very pleased.
- Colin Wells
- 1 Review
Mostly better than the rest.
I have been impressed with the staff at Chess Telecom since they took over from our previous supplier.
With all telecom providers I swiftly loose the will to live because of the appalling service quality and their lack of interest. Nothing ever works on time and they all have the same casual manner when it comes to customer's time and delays.
I have found Chess to be different. Their key strength is that the staff are always pleasant and interested, they always deal with questions or situations promptly and you feel as if your issue is being dealt with in a professional manner.
In all of the moves and changes that my company has undergone over the past months Chess has dealt with the Telephone changes very efficiently.
Chess broadband dept however need to catch up with the telephone side. The broadband dept's service level is the same as the rest of the industry, wrong information, dangerous instructions to make changes that upset other computer settings and then the usual comment " Oh - we don't support that". The wrong information has cost several hundreds of pounds to put right and which disabled the company for 36 hours.
What started as a good experience was destroyed by the broadband issues and misinformation. It is a shame - mostly very good but let down badly.
- Joanne Rothery
- 1 Review
Positive Sandwich...
First dealings the company very positive and all in all not a bad experience...but there is a but.... I have experienced quite patronising to the point of being offensive manner on occasion and quite frankly was made to feel like a criminal not a customer by a couple of staff members. I was also advised payment had been actioned when it hadn't!
All other experiences have been as to be expected and the last Sales people I dealt with were very helpful
- John Murphy
- 1 Review
Fast and efficient
We have recently switched a contract from an account holder to ourselves with Chess and this was done with minimum fuss and no disruption to the phone service
- Pamela Parkes
- 1 Review
Matthew Parkes was excellent and was an excellent ambassador for Chess.
I emailed Matthew the Chess Telecom Bills we had and the other quotations and within 24 hours he had beaten those prices which gave me the confidence in Chess moto "We cant be beaten on price ".
Very happy with him and have now decided to transfer our subsidery companies telecoms to Chess and hoepfully a new dialler system.
- Sandi Gorton
- 1 Review
Not impressed
The account handler at the time told me I could change companies because I had found cheaper. I was then called by someone from Chess and told I couldn't leave as there was a contract date. The person who was a man was extremely rude and as much as called me a liar, saying that the account handler wouldn't have told me I could leave. I find chess extremely expensive and the promise of not being beaten on price is a load of rubbish.
- Anar Bhatia
- 1 Review
Very helpful
The last couple of times I have telephoned Chess with a Query, they have been very polite and helpful in sorting out the accounts query that I have had.
I only deal with the Accounting Team as I am responsible for payments in my organisation.
- Paul - The Carpet Man
- 1 Review
Very happy, would and have recommended..
Very good customer service with no product problems so far in the time I have been with Chess. I have given a rating of 5 stars as I am a happy customer but I would prefer Chess to email me my invoice instead of having to log into my account online. Just a little thing to make my life a bit easier.
- Kathryn
- 1 Review
Excellent Service
After several frustrating calls to BT it was a great relief to speak to a pleasant sales person from Chess. We would like to thank Lewis for his help and co-operation, the transfer over to Chess went so smoothly.
- Natalie Moon
- 1 Review
chess telecom have been very helpful and provided a great service.
Chess Telecom have provided me with a great service so far. I would definitely recommend them to my friends. I joined Chess after BT became increasingly difficult to deal with and i'm so pleased i did. :0)
- Julie
- 1 Review
Great Customer Services
There is no messing around! I made a phone call, explained what I wanted and everything was sorted out quickly and smoothly by experienced staff.
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- Anne Fox
- Berrow, GB
- 1 Review
No support when you need it
My telephone line failed intermittently and I reported this to Chess nothing could be done by first line support they 'arranged' for a fault engineer to call me back using my mobile number. No call has been received and no fault reference number given. Luckily I had a different broadband provider they checked the line identified a problem and arranged for an Open Reach engineer to visit. Called Chess to ask for my calls to be diverted to my mobile and remind them I needed to speak to a fault engineer, calls diverted but had to add it as a new paid for service. I already pay for a manual divert to mobile. Line came back up so asked for divert at their end to be removed.
Now comes the worst bit Saturday morning line dead again call Chess for a divert to mobile at their end as I was unable to dial a divert. Customer support unable to do this as only first line customer support on duty no one technical available. It took 4 calls on my mobile at great cost to discover this. Onone call I was put on hold to speak to a supervisor for about 5 minutes then the call was dropped. The Saturday staff have no access to Chess customer fault reports and every different one you speak to has to take all your details again as they have no fault reporting system all this on a 0844 number which cost a fortune if you have to call on a mobile.
I would not recommend this telecom company to anyone. 7 years ago when I worked in the telecoms industry an inept support system like theirs would not of been acceptable how can it be acceptable in 2013 and how can Chess win customer support awards.
To add insult to injury in the process of trying to get my fault resolved they tried to sell me a broadband service !
- John White
- 1 Review
Would NOT reccomend this company to anybody.
Poor customer service
Failure to reply to correspondence
Inability to do what was requested for nearly 12 months
- James Davenport
- 2 Reviews
No point in trawling the net for a better offer, this is it.
Have used numerous providers over the years for the business account. All have promised the earth and just provided problems with poor back up. These people deal with any issues right away without being passed from department to department. Not that I have had many issues at all, just one with an intermitant fault on a router, explained the problem to them and a new one was delivered the next day.
Cannot see any point in looking elsewhere, I get good service at a very good price.
Would recomend them 100%
- Peter F
- 1 Review
Ther person I was dealing was efficient, helpful, knowledgeable and lovely to deal with, which makes life easier.
Chess Telecom staff were friendly, efficient, knowledgeable and were straight to the point. Would highly recommend them.
- Steve Jeffries
- 1 Review
Friendly service that just got the job done
No problems with actioning my request.
- Kathy
- 1 Review
The cheapest around with a high quality, friendly service.
Chess Telecom are the most inexpensive phone company that I found with really friendly helpful staff. They help tailor the phone/broadbent package to your needs and aren't pushy! We have used the company in three of our locations and recommended them to a company who we do business with, who are also delighted in their service.
It's lovely to deal with staff who are knowledgable and easy to understand.
- Marie
- 1 Review
- Neil Hodges
- 1 Review
As easy as it gets!
From the moment i called asking for advice on how it worked to have an 0800 number diverted to my mobile, Lewis could not have been more helpful. He explained everything in detail, but never with a "hard" sale aspect. This is just the way i like to do business. Once it had been explained, i made my decision to go ahead immediatey. This was a simple and easy process. My new 0800 number was up and running within an hour! I would have no hesitation in using their services again and would highly recommend them to any of my friends and business contacts. Thank you.
- Liz Salmon
- 1 Review
Happy, friendly and great service
The guy I spoke to, Lewis, was great on the phone, he knew how to explain the services in plain, clear terms so even I, being a technophobe, could easily understand, we got cut off during our initial call but he called me straight back, he explained the options available, the benefits of each and all the costs. I was happy to buy from Lewis as I felt that I had been given all the necessary information to make that decision. I trust the service provided will be up to the high standard of the sales team behind it!
- Natalie
- 1 Review
- Terry Fisher
- 1 Review
NOT NEEDING OUR BUSINESS
Looking to move premises wanted info on how to go about moving our phones was told sales would call back urgently on 2 separate occaisions so far have waited over 2 days still no call back. We will now look else where.
Also took 28 mins to pick up my call, do not have this amount of time to waste
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- Farida Rahim
- 1 Review
Brilliant
Phone was answered promptly and efficiently, brilliant advisor managed to go through troubleshooting and resolved the problem, knew his stuff and pleasant to talk to
- Linda Best
- 1 Review
Great prices, friendly and professional service
was thinking about moving away from Chess but they gave me a great deal to stay and there never been beaten on price idea is brilliant, perhaps as a business we should adopt the same practice!
Communication breakdown.
I can't honestly say that my experience with Chess Telecom has been idyllic so far. I work for a charity organisation that provides support and advice to vulnerable children, young people and their families and I needed a free contact number in order to make the service more accessible for them.
Trusting the good reputation of Chess from another service within my organisation, I contacted Chess in November 2012 and requested the activation of a 0800 free phone number. I was given a list of numbers to choose from and I opted for the one that I though would have been easier to remember. Immediately after the number had been activated my staff started receiving an incredibly high volume of telephone calls...from customers of a major energy company!!! Thanks to a quick Google search I discovered that the same number had been previously owned by the above mentioned energy company as one of the main contacts for bill payment related enquiries. Imagine the consternation of those customers with payment issues being told by my staff (!) that they had just called the wrong number! I then raised the issue and brought it to the attention of the same operator who had been liaising with me for the activation of the number, but I was quickly passed on to someone else and had to re-explain the whole problem all over again. Not a big deal, I though. You just need to request a new number that has never been used by any other company before and make a formal request for the cancellation of the pre-owned number providing all the details via email. And that’s what I did. So why did I end up exchanging emails and telephone calls with a variety of other customer service officers during the following six (six!!!) months? Oh well, because the flow of calls from desperate EDF (oooops!) customers kept going on even after I had been told that the number had been cancelled from my account (which took three months to be completed, by the way…yes, at Chess they mean it literally when they say ‘it might take up to three months for the number to be ceased…’) and I kept being charged for the same number that wasn’t mine anymore! It might be useful to bear in mind that you get charged a fixed amount per month for the line rental, but also a variable amount per month depending on the number of calls received on your free phone number.
I eventually managed to get the number that I wanted (thanks again Google) and only recently Chess have offered me a credit note for me to recover the excess payments from the old and unwanted number.
Communication should be the bread and butter for a telecom company, regardless of how much you pay for the service. And yet Chess continued failures to communicate appropriately with its customers were quite appalling. It is fair to say that in these six months I have never been approached or responded in any rude manner from staff at Chess, but I’m sure this situation could have been handled much more efficiently if only they had better procedures for their internal communication and would have been a bit more honest about the nature of their products.
- Mike.
- 1 Review
TOP MARKS FOR EFFORT
Top marks for effort from Chess however would advise them to test their work before confirming completion to their customers. On numerous occasions work was confirmed as done to us but hadn't. However very quick response time to try, try and try again. Wouldn't have minded if they took longer to complete the work so long as it was tested prior to informing us that the work was done. Would recommend their work ethic to anybody.
- Chris Aylward
- 1 Review
Reliable, Excellent Price, Great Service on the whole
I've used Chess for many years now (at least 3) and they've provided me with an excellent service. I have not knowingly had any fault with re-directions of my business 0845 number for all these years, and the staff are helpful, friendly and professional.
I can't fault them in the slightest, the service you receive exceeds what you expect the cost to be (I think that makes sense!). They are thoroughly recommended from me - an individual with no affiliation and I don't benefit in any way by speaking positively about them.
- Jane Robinson
- 2 Reviews
Friendly, Helpful & Efficient
Chess Telecom were great to deal with. A very happy person who explained everything to me.
- Checkmated by Chess Telecom?
- 1 Review
Checkmated by Chess? I lose... I think???
I was advised to take this contract by the Association of Cycle Traders. I phoned Chess and the salesman sold the contract to me as a recording over the phone. At that point I should have just asked for a written quote. Bad move on my part and I shouldn't have been so stupid.
So I am now left with a contract which I only have my own notes about. The single letter I have received through the post does not match what I think I signed up to.
My moden arrived 10 days after my broadband was connected. When I took it out of the box the plug was broken and it was unusable. I phoned Chess and after some prompting they agreed to send one 'special delivery' that day, as I could not open my business without it. Nothing arrived so I phoned again. After being passed around I got someone to agree to send another one 'special delivery'. Again, nothing arrived. The beginning of the following week I was walking through the town when the postman, who knows me, called to me and asked me if a package was for me. It was a large envelope addressed to me personally at the shop address (no business name or signature required). It contained the plug. So I now I could use my broadband, 15 days after my broadband had been connected!
After I 'entered the contract' I had phoned back shortly afterwards to ask for a more'pesonalised' number for my landline. I was told this would cost £10 extra. I said ok. My phone was connected by the man from BT, who gave me my number. It was nothing special. When I asked him about the 'special' number he said he knew nothing but pehaps it would follow. I waited a week, phoned Chess. They said they were chasing BT. Nothing. Called them again. Nothing. After more chasing got an email with a list of numbers from which I chose three numbers. Waited. Nothing. Emailed them again. Heard nothing. A wek later phoned them. Got an email saying my numbers had gone; please choose three more. Did so right away. Waited a week. Nothing. Chased then. Nothing. Eventually called. Got another email. Those three had also gone. Please choose three more!
Chose three more. Heard nothing.... you get the idea?
Told finally that those three numbers had also gone. That was UNBELIEVABLE as I had chosen from a list of about 50 numbers. How on Earth could all those numbers have gone?
I phoned and after a lot of persistence eventually dealt with one lady who sorted me out with a 'slightly above average' number which allowed me to order my shop sign and literature for advertising.
My opinion:
I chose Chess partly because they had been recommended by the ACT, and partly because of bad experiences with both BT and Virgin. I now think they are all as bad as each other. I have no idea what contract I have actually signed up to and will have to go though the agony of contacting Chess to find the answer. Now I know why they are called Chess; I agreed the contract by phone so I suppose for them it is check-mate?
- Mike strawson
- 1 Review
BETTER THAN ALL THE REST
EXCELLENT PRICES, AND SERVICE NORMALLY EXCELLENT. THEY TRY THEIR VERY BEST AND ALWAYS COME UP WITH THE ANSWER.
HAVE USED THEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND RECOMMENDED TO FRIENDS
- Mark Prouse
- 1 Review
Friendly, informative and useful
The lady I spoke to seemed pleased to be speaking to me. She asked if she did not understand anything I asked. I found her to be friendly and helpful and would use her again
- R J K
- 4 Reviews
Cowboy Telecoms!
The initial sales team tell tall tales about high service but LIE about contract small print and horrendous exit claus.
They promised us a seamless switch over on a preset date. The day came and went with no switch over or any contact from Chess. After numerous chases they gave a further date but no explanation or apology for the delay.
The new date came and our broadband switched off from the old provider. Chess did not however switch on. Several telephone calls later at Rip Off rates we still didint get anywhere or get any of the call backs promised.
Our whole office lost 1 & 1/2 days work (we work 100% in the cloud) before we got connected.
We have made formal complaints but they havent even bothered to respond so we are now going to the Ombudsman (CISAS).
If you are thinking about joining them DONT!
If everything goes ok you might be ok but if you depend on a service DONT even think about Chess as Customer Service isnt on their agenda.
- Peter Hussey
- 1 Review
Ring Ring... it's your wake up call !!!
Our company switched 100+ telephone lines to Chess some three years ago and were grateful for the help given to us when introduce broadband and the Internet within the company. We have found the service to be reliable and cost effective and have experienced few problems in that time. Most importantly for us though, is that when a problem has occurred, we have easily been able to contact their support team who have always willingly conducted tests on lines and routers to establish the cause and lines have been repaired quickly or routers replaced if necessary. Colin, our friendly and helpful account manager is always available to us should we need him and that is why we are still with Chess three years down the line.
Never Beaten on Price - Guaranteed
All of our customers are protected by our Never Beaten on Price guarantee. If you recieve what seems like a lower price please call us immediately. We'll review the offer and if it truly is a better deal (which is very unlikely!) we'll beat it! If necessary we'll even create a special tariff for you. This promise ensures you'll always get the best possible price.
