Good Customer Service From NTL?

So I had the dubious task this morning of contacting NTL to let them know that Lou and I will be moving house at the end of next month and therefore would no longer require broadband.
That means using the words "disconnection of service" which is a companies most hated customer utterance. As I have dealt with NTL before in unfortunate circumstances I was keen to get this over with as soon as possible and rang their customer service line at 9am on the dot. I was greeted by the usual pre-recorded message informing me that my phonecall was important to them but that due to a busy line I could be waiting for up to 30 minutes. I sensed this would end up with me hanging on the telephone for 20 minutes before being told by customer services that I should actually be talking to another department and that they couldn't connect me and I would have to phone back or that they could transfer me and then I would be summarily disconnected or have to wait 20 minutes for someone else to answer.

Imagine my surprise when the pre-recorded messages telling me how NTL were upgrading their services to provide better customer satisfaction stopped after only 10 minutes and I was
able to inform NTL that I wish to terminate my contract with them.

Me: Hello. I am moving house on the 31st August and wish to disconnect my service.

NTL: What is your customer number?

Me: XXXXXXXX

NTL: And your address?

Me: XX XXXXXX XXXXX.

NTL: And how do you pay for your service?

Me: Direct Debit.

NTL: Good. Where would you like your final bill to go?

Me: XX XXXXXXXXX XXXX.

NTL: No problem. Would you like your service terminated in the morning of the 31st I assume?

Me: Yes.

NTL: No problem. That's everything taken care of.

Me: Uh, OK. Thanks very much. Bye.

NTL: Goodbye.


Sweet Jesus. Could that just have happened? Was I dreaming?

Had I fallen asleep listening to pre-recorded messages and was imagining the whole thing only to wake up and find it was all fiction?

Only time will tell. I've read horror stories about previous customers being continually harassed by NTL for payments long after everything had been supposedly wrapped up. Letters sent were seemingly lost and trying to extract owed money from NTL was like taking candy from a baby and that baby was Finn MacCool. The upshot is that I pay by direct debit so after the final payment goes out in September I can just cancel it and hope that's the end of the matter.

Watch this space!