Pipex broadband service brought down by technical problems

Users of Pipex's broadband internet service have had severe difficulties getting online this weekend after the UK ISP was hit by technical problems.

The company admitted that some customers had not been able to use the web at all following an unspecified technical problem.

A statement on its website reads: "We have been suffering from major issues with the PIPEX broadband platform. PIPEX are currently investigating as a number one priority all possible causes for the outage. However, we are beginning to see some semblance of normality return, though work is still going on to try and find the cause of the problem and make sure there are no outstanding issues."

Pipex added that broadband users should now be able to get a connection, although some may have to try disconnecting and reconnecting.

Many Pipex customers have been complaining about the fault on the forums of Pipexwoe.co.uk - which was recently renamed Pipexwow after many customers insisted they were happy with the service the company provides.

But the fault has upset some users, who have complained that the ISP was slow in communicating news about the problems to its customers. One customer was unhappy that Pipex's sales team appeared to know nothing about the fault, while another was unimpressed that it took Pipex until Monday morning to publish its statement.

One unhappy Pipex user, whose broadband account went down on Sunday, was warned that the company did not know how long the problems would continue. "I called their customer support, and the first thing they said when they finally answered the phone was, 'Are you an ADSL customer?' They admitted they were having problems, but were unable to give an estimated time for when the service would be restored," he said.

Pipex did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK