I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they goofed. I
received a message from them asking me to pay a small fee to do with my change of fibre service. The message ticked all the boxes as a
suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to open unsolicited
attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not respond last night, but
this morning, I checked with their billing webpage, and it was true.
But it was a masterclass in how not to ask subscribers for a sum of
money. I sent the message to their abuse desk with a complaint.
And even worse, their Chat used 'Zeni' instead of a human.
Oh dear.
On 01/04/2026 23:18, Davey wrote:
I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they goofed. I received a message from them asking me to pay a small fee to do
with my change of fibre service. The message ticked all the boxes
as a suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to open
unsolicited attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not respond
last night, but this morning, I checked with their billing webpage,
and it was true. But it was a masterclass in how not to ask
subscribers for a sum of money. I sent the message to their abuse
desk with a complaint. And even worse, their Chat used 'Zeni'
instead of a human.
Oh dear.Thanks for reporting this. I was considering changing to them when
my current contract ends, but now not so sure. Please tell us what
response you get to your complaint.
On 01/04/2026 23:18, Davey wrote:
I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they goofed. IThanks for reporting this. I was considering changing to them when my current contract ends, but now not so sure. Please tell us what
received a message from them asking me to pay a small fee to do with my
change of fibre service. The message ticked all the boxes as a
suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to open unsolicited
attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not respond last night, but
this morning, I checked with their billing webpage, and it was true.
But it was a masterclass in how not to ask subscribers for a sum of
money. I sent the message to their abuse desk with a complaint.
And even worse, their Chat used 'Zeni' instead of a human.
Oh dear.
response you get to your complaint.
Try IDNet - they still have real sensible people, as do Andrews and Arnold. Both of these ISPs started around the time of the dawn of the domestic Internet and are still going strong. I canrCOt think of any others that have remained not taken over or extinguished, other than perhaps Zen. Well
perhaps BT countsrCa.
Try IDNet - they still have real sensible people, as do Andrews and Arnold. Both of these ISPs started around the time of the dawn of the domestic Internet and are still going strong. I canrCOt think of any others that have
remained not taken over or extinguished, other than perhaps Zen. Well perhaps BT countsrCa.
I believe that Zen offer a free static IP address - which might be a consideration for some people ?
Try IDNet - they still have real sensible people, as do Andrews and Arnold. >> Both of these ISPs started around the time of the dawn of the domestic
Internet and are still going strong. I canrCOt think of any others that have >> remained not taken over or extinguished, other than perhaps Zen. Well
perhaps BT countsrCa.
I believe that Zen offer a free static IP address - which might be a consideration for some people ?
Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> wrote:
On 01/04/2026 23:18, Davey wrote:
I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they goofed. IThanks for reporting this. I was considering changing to them when my
received a message from them asking me to pay a small fee to do with my
change of fibre service. The message ticked all the boxes as a
suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to open unsolicited
attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not respond last night, but
this morning, I checked with their billing webpage, and it was true.
But it was a masterclass in how not to ask subscribers for a sum of
money. I sent the message to their abuse desk with a complaint.
And even worse, their Chat used 'Zeni' instead of a human.
Oh dear.
current contract ends, but now not so sure. Please tell us what
response you get to your complaint.
Try IDNet - they still have real sensible people, as do Andrews and Arnold. Both of these ISPs started around the time of the dawn of the domestic Internet and are still going strong. I canrCOt think of any others that have remained not taken over or extinguished, other than perhaps Zen. Well
perhaps BT countsrCa.
On 02/04/2026 14:46, Tweed wrote:
Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> wrote:As I will be out of contract soon, I checked Idnet. Cheapest for my
On 01/04/2026 23:18, Davey wrote:
I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they goofed. IThanks for reporting this. I was considering changing to them when my
received a message from them asking me to pay a small fee to do with my >>>> change of fibre service. The message ticked all the boxes as a
suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to open unsolicited
attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not respond last night, but >>>> this morning, I checked with their billing webpage, and it was true.
But it was a masterclass in how not to ask subscribers for a sum of
money. I sent the message to their abuse desk with a complaint.
And even worse, their Chat used 'Zeni' instead of a human.
Oh dear.
current contract ends, but now not so sure. Please tell us what
response you get to your complaint.
Try IDNet - they still have real sensible people, as do Andrews and Arnold. >> Both of these ISPs started around the time of the dawn of the domestic
Internet and are still going strong. I canrCOt think of any others that have >> remained not taken over or extinguished, other than perhaps Zen. Well
perhaps BT countsrCa.
address is -u37.50, which is quite expensive.
Regards
Try IDNet - they still have real sensible people, as do Andrews and Arnold. Both of these ISPs started around the time of the dawn of the domestic Internet and are still going strong. I canrCOt think of any others that have remained not taken over or extinguished, other than perhaps Zen. Well
perhaps BT countsrCa.
I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they goofed. I
received a message from them asking me to pay a small fee to do with my change of fibre service. The message ticked all the boxes as a
suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to open unsolicited
attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not respond last night, but
this morning, I checked with their billing webpage, and it was true.
But it was a masterclass in how not to ask subscribers for a sum of
money. I sent the message to their abuse desk with a complaint.
And even worse, their Chat used 'Zeni' instead of a human.
Oh dear.
On Thu, 2 Apr 2026 12:09:13 +0100
Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> wrote:
On 01/04/2026 23:18, Davey wrote:
I am usually a strong supporter of Zen, but yesterday they
goofed. I received a message from them asking me to pay a small
fee to do with my change of fibre service. The message ticked all
the boxes as a suspected phishing message, i.e. invitation to
open unsolicited attachment, request to use BACS, etc. I did not
respond last night, but this morning, I checked with their
billing webpage, and it was true. But it was a masterclass in how
not to ask subscribers for a sum of money. I sent the message to
their abuse desk with a complaint. And even worse, their Chat
used 'Zeni' instead of a human.
Oh dear.Thanks for reporting this. I was considering changing to them when
my current contract ends, but now not so sure. Please tell us what response you get to your complaint.
So far, just a survey request about the Chatbot!
This is a great shame, as Zen have always been very good at
Customer Service. I hope this current state improves.
I had received no response from Zen, so I called them on Chat. 'Zeni'
could not answer my question, so thankfully handed me over to a human.
He listened to my points, and agreed with them. He said he understood
why I was suspicious of the original message, and would pass my
feedback to the relevant department. He could not explain why the
additional -u1.90 charge was not simply added to my next bill.
He apologised for the inconvenience.
As much of a result as I could really hope for.
On 2026/4/9 10:24:8, Davey wrote:
[]
I had received no response from Zen, so I called them on Chat. 'Zeni'I'm sure you are right in saying that you got to a real human, but what
could not answer my question, so thankfully handed me over to a human.
He listened to my points, and agreed with them. He said he understood
why I was suspicious of the original message, and would pass my
feedback to the relevant department. He could not explain why the
additional -u1.90 charge was not simply added to my next bill.
He apologised for the inconvenience.
As much of a result as I could really hope for.
you described he said sounds exactly what I would expect from another AI:
* agreed with you
* understood why you were suspicious
* could not explain
. The "will pass to the relevant department" is something I don't
_think_ AIs are doing yet (when I've said "can't you do it?" to ChatGPT
it has said it can't), but I'm sure they will be programmed (to _say_
that, not necessarily do it) soon!
On 09/04/2026 18:28, J. P. Gilliver wrote:I finally received a real apology from Zen concerning the original
On 2026/4/9 10:24:8, Davey wrote:
[]
I had received no response from Zen, so I called them on Chat.I'm sure you are right in saying that you got to a real human, but
'Zeni' could not answer my question, so thankfully handed me over
to a human. He listened to my points, and agreed with them. He
said he understood why I was suspicious of the original message,
and would pass my feedback to the relevant department. He could
not explain why the additional -u1.90 charge was not simply added
to my next bill. He apologised for the inconvenience.
As much of a result as I could really hope for.
what you described he said sounds exactly what I would expect from
another AI:
* agreed with you
* understood why you were suspicious
* could not explain
. The "will pass to the relevant department" is something I don't
_think_ AIs are doing yet (when I've said "can't you do it?" to
ChatGPT it has said it can't), but I'm sure they will be programmed
(to _say_ that, not necessarily do it) soon!
The ZEN one passed me to a real human. I had to wait for availability.
I had questions about IP address and upgrade.
Dave
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