Tiscali fumes as BT carpet-bombs its customers

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 18 Jul 2008 at 08:40

Tiscali is reportedly considering legal action against BT, after the telecoms giant targeted its customers with mailshots casting doubt over the ISP's long-term future.

The letter, which leads with the headline "Tiscali chief plots sell-off", was apparently sent to customers of Tiscali and its associated ISPs, including Pipex and Nildram.

The mailshot is clearly designed to sew doubt into the minds of customers regarding Tiscali's much-publicised sell-off, which was announced earlier this year.

"We can understand why you're wondering what might happen to your Tiscali broadband service," the letter reads. "And because no one really knows the answer just yet, it could be a good time to look for an alternative broadband service."

You'll be shocked to hear that BT Total Broadband is the alternative that the Samaritan-like BT has in mind, and proceeds to detail how customers can apply for their MAC number from Tiscali in order to hop over to BT.

According to ISPReview, which has a copy of the letter, Tiscali is taking legal advice over the letter.

The letter has also caused a privacy stir among the recipients, who wonder how exactly BT obtained their details. BT Wholesale would certainly have access to such data, but that is meant to be run as a separate legal entity from the Retail division that operates BT Total Broadband.