Internet woes

[stephbg]

My efforts to connect to the intertubes are being thwarted at every turn. It's getting messier by the day so I thought it would be best to do a recap. Bonus points if I can actually post! (ETA It only took 2 attempts.) I've been on dialup speed for a month now and it's very depressing.



Background:

My home internet is via a 3 contract for mobile broadband, because we can't get ADSL. We don't get great coverage, but it's good enough for what I do. I just don't try and stream video, for example. On or about August 23 I was forced to change networks from Three to Vodafone because of a corporate takeover. There were some technical issues associated with that, but I eventually found a workable solution.

My internet access immediately tanked: at limited times such as 6:30am on a Saturday morning it was almost reasonable; during school hours it was minimally bearable, mostly; during peak times it slowed to dialup pace with constant dropouts. Soon it will be school holidays and I'll lose even this limited time of slightly less suckiness. So on September 14 2012 I complained to 3/Vodafone. After 10 days I have yet to get a response to that complaint.

Realising that the situation was not going to improve, I decided to switch providers. If 3/Vodafone tried to penalise me for terminating my contract early, I wanted to make sure I had internet first. NEED INTERNET. On Monday 17 September I called Optus and signed up for a mobile broadband contract. It was a surprisingly long and involved process involving a mildly alarming credit check, but we got there. Possibly. I was told that my SIM and modem would be delivered on Thursday 20 September.

My SIM and modem were not delivered on Thursday, nor Friday morning. My tracking reference number was not recognised by their tracking site. At 2pm on Friday I got sick of hovering about waiting for the courier, and called Optus. I thought I could at least check that I'd written down the correct tracking number. Confusion ensued - their systems were toast because the iPhone5 had been released that day. I was told that my tracking number actually belonged to someone called Nadia, but that they couldn't look me up by name because their system was fucked overloaded. I could certainly hear a fair bit of chaos in the background. They offered to call back. That was Friday 2pm, and today is Monday 12pm and they've not called back.

So I called them again just now (Monday), only to hear a recorded message that they were experiencing technical difficulties and to leave my name and number for them to call me. Again. I'm not holding my breath. This took several calls BTW.

My backup situation was to try using my Optus prepaid mobile broadband by tethering my iPhone to the laptop. The phone told me that I needed to contact Optus to enable this service (i.e. make the iPhone a personal hotspot) and today I finally tried to activate it, only to learn that prepaid mobile accounts cannot be used for personal hotspots! What bullshit is that??? If I wanted to use my mobile as a hotspot I'd need to get a postpaid contract. But I'm already trying to get a postpaid contract and need the prepaid hotspot as a temporary fix.

ARGH!

And for all this I have yet to face 3/Vodafone's reaction when I try to cancel my contract with them. They are in clear breech but I doubt they'll see it that way. My online account details won't tell me how long my contract is yet to run, but I think it's at least six months. I can't even easily track down my actual contract to see if there is a cancellation fee or not.

So. Much. Bullshit. Meanwhile the internet is going to run out of cat videos before I can get to see them. On a more serious note I can't do paid work, and Pretty Rock admin is nearly impossible. This is *really* depressing.

Comments

[bunny-m.livejournal.com]

And for all this I have yet to face 3/Vodafone's reaction when I try to cancel my contract with them. They are in clear breech but I doubt they'll see it that way.

Don't be afraid to use the three magic letters, T, I and O if they even start to give you any troubles. Their service is not up to an acceptable standard, and if they do try to keep you on contract/charge you any fees at all, don't just threaten, take them to the TIO.

This *will* cost them no small amount of money, and if they aren't completely stupid (hard o tell, with Vodafail,) they will back the hell off.

As for Optus, they've always been somewhat of a pain to deal with in my experience, both privately and through work, but they are usually pretty good, just having a whole lot of hoops to jump through before they will help.

The level of utter clusterfuck you listed is something completely new to me from Optus though, I'm really sorry to hear you had to wear it.

*offers hugs*

[ozdragonlady.livejournal.com]

What Bunny_m says.

Keep a written record of all that has happened (a diary record is useful), and make a formal complaint. I very much doubt you are the only person experiencing this. The TIO is much better placed to get an appropriate response from them, because they can collate all the complaints and hit them harder.