KC ... Komplete Cr*p

 

KC HQ on Carr Lane, note the distinctive cream telephone booths. 

You really don't have to read the following.

Anyone wanting to use telecommunications in Hull has more or less got to deal with this blast from the past  KC or Kingston Communications. Hull council's very own phone company, privatised in 1999 has a de facto monopoly on landlines and internet connections in the city and neighbouring places. I recently changed the tariff I was on and have had, in the past fortnight, more disconnections, slow up/download speeds than I had in five years on the old one. I only changed because KC were going to charge 50% more for my old dependable system than the new on/off super-dooper speedy (I don't think so) ADSL+2.
Woke up today to find my speed was 15% of yesterday's, phoned up customer support and they said there might be a fault on the line. They'd send an engineer out to check but , get this, if there wasn't a fault I would have to pay them £70+!!! I will not distress you with the strength of my response to this. Anyhow after more hmming and twiddling by the KC guy someone will come and install a "new plate"(??) for no charge and make sure my connection is actually up to the job; this after all is what I'm paying them for, so they get no thanks for that. Even then this guy left me with no connection speed up or down; so yet another call just get any connection at all.
Every other town and city in the UK has a choice of phone and internet provider but not Hull. BT and the rest won't enter the Hull market apparently because it's too small. So we're stuck with this colossus; no use complaining to the regulator OFCOM recently gave KC a clean bill of health (I'm not saying palms were crossed with silver but it wouldn't exactly be a shock).Yes it's got cream phone boxes but its a very sour cream.

A chap from TimeOut magazine said Hull was the nicest city he'd visited; he wouldn't say that if he had to deal with KC.
I feel better for that .... normal service will resume tomorrow; KC permitting.