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A letter sent to Redten customers, cited on the ISPReview website, states that "Fatcat Communications Ltd has acquired some of the assets of Redten Communications Ltd and will now be responsible for the provision of your broadband service under your existing contract with Redten."

It appears, however, that Fatcat bears more than a passing resemblance to Redten. Its registered address is identical to that of Clode Retail Finance, Redten's financial backers.

Fatcat's domain name contact is also listed as fatcat@watford.co.uk - Watford Electronics being the company behind the original Redten offer, before Watford went into administration and Redten was spun off as a "separate legal entity".

Fatcat is apparently none too keen to talk about its origins. When PC Pro

A Companies House search reveals that Fatcat Communications Ltd was only set up on 8 May this year, and lists the sole director as Mr Jeremy Rich Morris. According to the FSA website, Mr Rich is also the director of Clode Retail Finance.

Connection problems

The letter sent to Redten customers says "we have been made aware of some concerns around Redten's service in recent months and rest assured that we can assure you that Fatcat will work to ensure that your service in future will be of the highest standard."

In March this year a number of customers lost their broadband connection for almost a week after BT Wholesale stopped providing a service to Redten for non-payment of invoices.

A number of Redten customers continue to voice their displeasure about the service on internet forums, with some claiming to have complained to Ofcom.

Redten's wholesale provider, NJP Services, is reportedly willing to provide MAC codes to users wanting to migrate to another provider, although this may leave them in breach of their contract with Redten, which demanded they sign up for three years of broadband to qualify for the free PC.