iFollow self-help / FAQs

[Sincilbanks]

I have two accounts with payment details entered. One working, one ‘blocked’ - after a failed payment attempt on Saturday. My thinking is that a failed attempt somehow screws the account. Maybe a primitive security measure.
Under payment information, the remove action is greyed out - for both accounts. That looks like a separate glitch. I suspect there are many throughout the iFollow system.
I have a third account with no payment details entered, this is also working ok.

you can never have enough iFollow accounts. (Or strikers)

My account works fine for everything except buying a match pass it would appear. They certainly successfully renewed my audio subscription with no interaction from me and I listened on Saturday with no issue once my free coupon had inevitably failed to work.

What a shambles though, no doubt Ifollow are delighted with their sign up numbers though and are currently reporting the great news about how many new people they have on their service to senior management right now!

 

[NottyImp]

My account works fine for everything except buying a match pass it would appear. They certainly successfully renewed my audio subscription with no interaction from me and I listened on Saturday with no issue once my free coupon had inevitably failed to work.

What a shambles though, no doubt Ifollow are delighted with their sign up numbers though and are currently reporting the great news about how many new people they have on their service to senior management right now!

Your shit service is someone else's shareholder dividend.

 

[nlondonimp]

My account works fine for everything except buying a match pass it would appear. They certainly successfully renewed my audio subscription with no interaction from me and I listened on Saturday with no issue once my free coupon had inevitably failed to work.

What a shambles though, no doubt Ifollow are delighted with their sign up numbers though and are currently reporting the great news about how many new people they have on their service to senior management right now!

When I said screwed, I meant the ongoing inability to pay for a match pass. My guess is you won’t be able to buy a video pass for tonight either, on that account. If you want to watch the game tonight, time to create a new account

 

[SalfordImp]

And another thing - the mobile app has been updated, but everytime I access it on my phone it reverts to the old version and takes me to the Play Store to update. Not had an app do this before, again, mildly annoying.

Anyone else had this? Do I need to uninstall and reinstall and log on to the new version?

Have the same, now just use the EFL iFollow app and not the old Lincoln City iFollow app as in previous seasons.

 

[Sincilbanks]

When I said screwed, I meant the ongoing inability to pay for a match pass. My guess is you won’t be able to buy a video pass for tonight either, on that account. If you want to watch the game tonight, time to create a new account

Exactly right, which is I tried it yesterday rather than 10 minutes before the game like Saturday.
I tried a new account just to prove it isn't either a technical issue or a payment provider issue at my end, neither of which I thought was probable but figured at least Ifollow support couldn't bounce me around if I got it working with a new account and the same details.

I also suspect it will magically start working at some point in the future when Ifollow get enough reports to understand they have a bug in their accounts system that needs fixing and get around to sorting it out.

 

[Liam Scully]

As you can imagine we have been back and forth with iFollow over the last few days and I have copied below an abridged version of their response to cater for the common issues.



Further to this, and I really hope you trust my intentions in saying this, we have also investigated and found a large number of “user errors” which resulted in problems on Saturday (and prior). We are reviewing our comms and looking at what we can do to assist, including more visual aids as opposed to the written form we currently have in place. I doubt we will have this in place for this evening but certainly something we are working on in the next week to 10 days.



Outside of these common issues there are a few anomalies we are working through with individuals, and I would suggest that if you feel you fit into these categories, that you email the club via feedback@theredimps.com so the team can look into this for you.



Liam



iFollow response (abridged):



“Firstly, on the 1080p point; you're absolutely right. We have raised a ticket with tech support to find out what this option wasn’t available to your supporters.



…



Then on to the issue with payments & redemptions.



We can confirm that there was an issue with the Promo Code redemption mechanism on iFollow on Saturday afternoon, that occurred after 15:10.



We know that this did not affect all users that tried. We can see that redemptions occurred, and we tested codes ourselves. Nevertheless, an issue has been identified, and it has been fixed for subsequent fixtures.



We understand that users have come to you to flag the issue, and they will have fallen into one of two types, described below with a suggested remedy:



- Users who tried to use a code that did not work, who subsequently paid. We will process a refund for these users.



- Users who tried to use a code that did not work, who walked away. We will work with the club to find an amicable solution to this group



We apologies for the inconvenience, though please assure your fans that the issues raised have been rectified moving forward.”

 

[Sincilbanks]

As you can imagine we have been back and forth with iFollow over the last few days and I have copied below an abridged version of their response to cater for the common issues.



Further to this, and I really hope you trust my intentions in saying this, we have also investigated and found a large number of “user errors” which resulted in problems on Saturday (and prior). We are reviewing our comms and looking at what we can do to assist, including more visual aids as opposed to the written form we currently have in place. I doubt we will have this in place for this evening but certainly something we are working on in the next week to 10 days.



Outside of these common issues there are a few anomalies we are working through with individuals, and I would suggest that if you feel you fit into these categories, that you email the club via feedback@theredimps.com so the team can look into this for you.



Liam



iFollow response (abridged):



“Firstly, on the 1080p point; you're absolutely right. We have raised a ticket with tech support to find out what this option wasn’t available to your supporters.



…



Then on to the issue with payments & redemptions.



We can confirm that there was an issue with the Promo Code redemption mechanism on iFollow on Saturday afternoon, that occurred after 15:10.



We know that this did not affect all users that tried. We can see that redemptions occurred, and we tested codes ourselves. Nevertheless, an issue has been identified, and it has been fixed for subsequent fixtures.



We understand that users have come to you to flag the issue, and they will have fallen into one of two types, described below with a suggested remedy:



- Users who tried to use a code that did not work, who subsequently paid. We will process a refund for these users.



- Users who tried to use a code that did not work, who walked away. We will work with the club to find an amicable solution to this group



We apologies for the inconvenience, though please assure your fans that the issues raised have been rectified moving forward.”

But no response to the customers who raised it via Ifollow though Liam, which is after all where we were directed for "payment issues" by yourself?
No tweets from them on the subject?
No feedback via the pages Ifollow maintains on the club website?

One assumes without your intervention Ifollow would have just "fixed it" and rolled on as though nothing had happened?

And neither of these "remedies" fixes any issue with ongoing failure to process "match day" passes such as mine yesterday and today? It's all "retrospective remedies" rather than a proactive examination of the root cause? (Or Problem Management as it's called in ITSM circles)

I appreciate the feedback but you're simply doing Ifollow's job for them, I would think we don't have enough resources in these troubled times for that, we should be demanding a higher standard of service from a supplier that's charging around 10p a minute for all non-season ticket holders (and everyone for cup games) with no option to go to another provider should it be unsatisfactory.

Streaming isn't a new technology, online payments for streaming aren't a new technology, online payments with discount codes aren't a new technology and Ifollow's owners are a massive multinational streaming company who I would have thought would have this sort of thing down pat by now, instead we're left with a sub-standard service, poorly rolled out and a customer service attitude that frankly sucks and requires customers to make all sorts of workarounds to solve their problem.

 

[nlondonimp]

interesting that they are saying their system fail was at 15:10 as if that somehow makes it ok. pretty sure the fail was earlier, at about 14:55... (which was about the time i spent 35 minutes trying to deal with it.)

 

[mikeosullivan]

I think we need to cut iFollow a bit of slack here. Yes they are a "massive multinational streaming company" - but a company that are dealing with maybe 1000x the demand overall for their service this season.

I know it is of little consolation to those who couldn't get their match pass or season ticket code to work on Saturday, but I thought the service was superb as regards the streaming and audio - bearing in mind the hugely increased demand from last season.

As an overseas iFollow user since it started, I have had occasional issues that have been solved by using a different web browser/clearing cache etc - but with a Cat5 internet wired connection to my PC and a long HDMI cable from my PC to my TV, the quality is not much lower than watching a live TV game. And I find that quite remarkable.

As regards log in problems, just create a new free yahoo or hotmail email account and either clear your existing browser's cache and cookies or access via a different browser using your new email account, and I don't think you will have issues buying a match pass. I can't comment on season ticket codes though.

 

[Riiiiik]

And another thing - the mobile app has been updated, but everytime I access it on my phone it reverts to the old version and takes me to the Play Store to update. Not had an app do this before, again, mildly annoying.

Anyone else had this? Do I need to uninstall and reinstall and log on to the new version?

I also have to go through the Play Store each time I access the app. I uninstalled and re-installed twice but still have the old app coming up.
It works fine, I just have to access via PlayStore.

 

[Chesterimp]

I also have to go through the Play Store each time I access the app. I uninstalled and re-installed twice but still have the old app coming up.
It works fine, I just have to access via PlayStore.

Posts #118 and #119 on previous page solved it - there's a new EFL app on your device which is the up to date version with (hopefully) correct log-in details, add this to home screen and delete the old 'Lincoln City' app, seems a shame to replace that with a generic 'EFL' but it works.

What I've not found is score alerts, we're away for a few days from the end of the week and I'm relying on those to keep me discretely updated! May have to use the BBC again.

 

[SalfordImp]

But no response to the customers who raised it via Ifollow though Liam, which is after all where we were directed for "payment issues" by yourself?
No tweets from them on the subject?
No feedback via the pages Ifollow maintains on the club website?

One assumes without your intervention Ifollow would have just "fixed it" and rolled on as though nothing had happened?

And neither of these "remedies" fixes any issue with ongoing failure to process "match day" passes such as mine yesterday and today? It's all "retrospective remedies" rather than a proactive examination of the root cause? (Or Problem Management as it's called in ITSM circles)

I appreciate the feedback but you're simply doing Ifollow's job for them, I would think we don't have enough resources in these troubled times for that, we should be demanding a higher standard of service from a supplier that's charging around 10p a minute for all non-season ticket holders (and everyone for cup games) with no option to go to another provider should it be unsatisfactory.

Streaming isn't a new technology, online payments for streaming aren't a new technology, online payments with discount codes aren't a new technology and Ifollow's owners are a massive multinational streaming company who I would have thought would have this sort of thing down pat by now, instead we're left with a sub-standard service, poorly rolled out and a customer service attitude that frankly sucks and requires customers to make all sorts of workarounds to solve their problem.

A cracking post, you must be a good PM. But you forget the EFL have a figure in the pie so they have probably muddied the water that much with iFollow it makes a none-sense out of the contract. Also it will take an independent panel no-bodies to sort it out who have never used iFollow let alone any streaming site.

 

[Impish]

Posts #118 and #119 on previous page solved it - there's a new EFL app on your device which is the up to date version with (hopefully) correct log-in details, add this to home screen and delete the old 'Lincoln City' app, seems a shame to replace that with a generic 'EFL' but it works.

What I've not found is score alerts, we're away for a few days from the end of the week and I'm relying on those to keep me discretely updated! May have to use the BBC again.

Cant you use something like FlashScores?

 

[Sincilbanks]

I think we need to cut iFollow a bit of slack here. Yes they are a "massive multinational streaming company" - but a company that are dealing with maybe 1000x the demand overall for their service this season.

I know it is of little consolation to those who couldn't get their match pass or season ticket code to work on Saturday, but I thought the service was superb as regards the streaming and audio - bearing in mind the hugely increased demand from last season.

As an overseas iFollow user since it started, I have had occasional issues that have been solved by using a different web browser/clearing cache etc - but with a Cat5 internet wired connection to my PC and a long HDMI cable from my PC to my TV, the quality is not much lower than watching a live TV game. And I find that quite remarkable.

As regards log in problems, just create a new free yahoo or hotmail email account and either clear your existing browser's cache and cookies or access via a different browser using your new email account, and I don't think you will have issues buying a match pass. I can't comment on season ticket codes though.

This company streams NFL games worldwide to a global audience that dwarfs the entire watching population of EFL customers, scale isn't and shouldn't be an issue. It certainly shouldn't be an issue in this day and age of quickly spun up hosting services on demand, virtual environments and global hosting solutions providing localised point of access.

Given I can get an entire day of Sky Sports streamed to my TV / device for £8.99 (not that I would want to, but I can) or an entire months worth of Spotify music / podcasts, or an entire months worth of Netflix content, or an entire months worth of Amazon Prime all for less than the price of 1 paid for Ifollow match for which there is no rival service to move to should it prove less than adequate you can see the "value proposition" is not particularly great.

I don't normally buy video passes but I was obviously given a free one with my season ticket which I could not redeem on Saturday due to an error. I wouldn't be buying one for tonight except I was determined to find out if the code was the issue or the account. Now I know it's the account and it's beyond my ability to troubleshoot and resolve.

These are not log in problems they are payment problems and getting the payment applied. I'm perfectly capable of logging into my Ifollow account. If you read my posts above I have tried different devices, different browsers etc. and none of that works, it's clearly an error on the account. I don't reallly see why I should have to create, track and maintain a myriad of email accounts every time I want to watch a live game for a service I am paying good money for.

I have a Cat5 cable to my router and a 25mb broadband connection with copper to the main telephony box less than 500 yards away from my house and a fibre optic connection from there onwards and a contention ratio that must be miniscule given the rural area I live in.

I think it's fair to say that most overseas customers have experience and excellent service from Ifollow, some domestic users have received a less than optimal service for the money they are paying though...

 

[Riiiiik]

Bollox! Booked it and returned to site. Now I can't get back in. Says wrong password. So I tried to book it again and it says you've already booked the game. How the hell does it know that if it knows I've got the wrong password, which I haven't?
Weird.

 

[SalfordImp]

Bollox! Booked it and returned to site. Now I can't get back in. Says wrong password. So I tried to book it again and it says you've already booked the game. How the hell does it know that if it knows I've got the wrong password, which I haven't?
Weird.

Bollox! Booked it and returned to site. Now I can't get back in. Says wrong password. So I tried to book it again and it says you've already booked the game. How the hell does it know that if it knows I've got the wrong password, which I haven't?
Weird.

Try a password reset.

 

[Jules]

Bollox! Booked it and returned to site. Now I can't get back in. Says wrong password. So I tried to book it again and it says you've already booked the game. How the hell does it know that if it knows I've got the wrong password, which I haven't?
Weird.

Click "Watch live now" on this page and see if it works:
https://www.weareimps.com/Teams/mat...r/bradford-city-vs-lincoln-city-on-15-sep-20/

 

[Riiiiik]

Thanks Jules, SalfordImp and Chesterimp.
I've got back in somehow, on the phone though so I'll be back on here at half time.
Up the Imps!

 

[NewburyImp]

Haven’t been able to purchase the match pass, doesn’t give me the option when you click live match.

Have ended up registering with Bradfords ifollow and all works ok......

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Haven’t been able to purchase the match pass, doesn’t give me the option when you click live match.

Have ended up registering with Bradfords ifollow and all works ok......

Having exactly the same issue- when I click subscribe, it doesn't take me to the payment page but keeps taking back to my account details (which are all updated and I've even changed the payment card to make sure it is up to date).

Slightly shambolic really (I accept it isn't the club's fault but they are losing revenue here).

AND I've missed two bl**dy goals!!!!!!!