What happened to the 120GB thing? No change on my account...

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › What happened to the 120GB thing? No change on my account...

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#616717 28-Apr-2012 19:11

Switching ISPs for a month, then back, just because you can't wait for a FREE upgrade in cap is a bit over the top.

What happens if you ask to switch and then find out there isn't any ports available in the exchange or cabinet? You lose your service and go to a queue. Then if you actually get connected and find out the speeds are not great - but going back to your previous ISP means you again risk losing your service and going to the queue if there's no port available, etc...

People don't make changes in winning teams.

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#616724 28-Apr-2012 19:19

freitasm: Switching ISPs for a month, then back, just because you can't wait for a FREE upgrade in cap is a bit over the top.

doing it only for a month would only be the plan if the new ISP had intolerably bad service. if they've worked out their bugs, there would be no reason to change back to a more limited and more expensive plan.

calling a 'free upgrade' is rather humorous...as though people should be thankful a company finally has to make a better offer because competition is finally so good that people will consider jumping ship.

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#616725 28-Apr-2012 19:21

freitasm: Switching ISPs for a month, then back, just because you can't wait for a FREE upgrade in cap is a bit over the top.

What happens if you ask to switch and then find out there isn't any ports available in the exchange or cabinet? You lose your service and go to a queue. Then if you actually get connected and find out the speeds are not great - but going back to your previous ISP means you again risk losing your service and going to the queue if there's no port available, etc...

People don't make changes in winning teams.

Exactly- and if you get shifted to their LLU branded network, try to go back to Telecom, you'll end up with reconnection fees as well (or maybe this happens LLU or not now that Chorus is separate).
The deal has been crystal clear from the start. From May 1, customers eligible for the free upgrade will automatically receive it on their rollover date. The key information being "from May 1".

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#616727 28-Apr-2012 19:26

snnet: customers eligible for the free upgrade will automatically receive it on their rollover date. The key information being "from May 1".

do you have any information on the plan switch limits I asked about here? is that what people should do if they want to have a free upgrade from May 1st, or will plan restrictions prevent them from shifting plans so few days apart?

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#616729 28-Apr-2012 19:32

Lykho:
do you have any information on the plan switch limits I asked about here? is that what people should do if they want to have a free upgrade from May 1st, or will plan restrictions prevent them from shifting plans so few days apart?

I couldn't say for absolute certainty, but it would be logical to think that if you wanted to do a plan change in May the new data volumes would apply? All you can do is try it and see I guess? The plan change system might even list the new caps from May 1..

Just be aware if you're changing the plan, as mentioned, it is pro-rata with a month in advance. While you will be credited for the unused portion of your previous plan, you will still have partial month charges as well as one full month (from what I can understand)

edit: If you are referring to the frequency of plan changes, I was under the impression it was once per calendar month - so once in april, once in may, once in june etc -- However, if you feel it would hinder your usage I would call and make sure first because they have said once per calendar month with T-stick prepay usage a while ago when they gave them free for broadband customers but they actually meant 30 days.

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#616738 28-Apr-2012 19:45

snnet: All you can do is try it and see I guess? The plan change system might even list the new caps from May 1..

hopefully I can find out, rather than just trying and then finding out how exactly their policy works.

snnet:
Just be aware if you're changing the plan, as mentioned, it is pro-rata with a month in advance. While you will be credited for the unused portion of your previous plan, you will still have partial month charges as well as one full month (from what I can understand)

yea.
presumably, though, what will happen is that my '30 day billing cycle' dates will shift, rather than being double-charged for those days of the prior plan. (I've changed plans two or three times before, I just don't recall how they went about determining how much you get charged).

if nullmee's cunning is on point, then it would make sense for Telecom's 'pro rata' policy to be some sort of either/or based on what gets them the most money (the way you see deals 'buy one get another of lesser value' specified)
an example will clarify: if their "rate" is, say, '$90 for 30 days with a 30 gig cap', and I wanted to use 30gigs, why would I do anything other than download 30gigs in one day and then cancel my account, leaving them to reimburse me $87 already paid?
if the 'pro rata' system was with respect to bandwidth ('use half your limit and cancel, receive half your payment back' instead of 'cancel connection after 1 day receive 29/30ths of your payment back irrespective of usage'), or a 'whichever is greater (days or usage)' method, instead of merely the calendar, someone who has used up the bandwidth before the billing period ends would not be entitled to any money by canceling or switching their account ...and if bandwidth is such a commodity as we're led to believe, you'd think this is the sort of protection they'd have in place.

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#616741 28-Apr-2012 19:50

snnet:
edit: If you are referring to the frequency of plan changes, I was under the impression it was once per calendar month - so once in april, once in may, once in june etc -- However, if you feel it would hinder your usage I would call and make sure first

call? madness! lol I'm just looking for the applicable webpage. I feel much more annoying when my lingering puzzlement is on an uninterrupted phone call than on a forum where people come and go as they please :P

snnet:
they have said once per calendar month with T-stick prepay usage a while ago when they gave them free for broadband customers but they actually meant 30 days.

wow, did they get reported/fined/etc. for that?

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#616745 28-Apr-2012 20:00

Lykho:
freitasm: Switching ISPs for a month, then back, just because you can't wait for a FREE upgrade in cap is a bit over the top.

doing it only for a month would only be the plan if the new ISP had intolerably bad service. if they've worked out their bugs, there would be no reason to change back to a more limited and more expensive plan.

calling a 'free upgrade' is rather humorous...as though people should be thankful a company finally has to make a better offer because competition is finally so good that people will consider jumping ship.

It seems you have been quite unhappy for a while, so I suggest you just move to another ISP. The grass is always greener...

I'm leaving this discussion because I see where this is going.

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#616746 28-Apr-2012 20:01

The pro rata billing is purely based on the days the plan has been active, not the data used. However
-
Let's assume $90 for 30GB
Previous plan was $50 for 10GB
Billing cycle for broadband is 28th to 27th

on 29th April, customer changes from 10GB to 30GB so-

1 day used of 10GB. 50/30 = 1.67 $50 charged last month, Credit of $48.30 applied this month

29 days of 30GB = 90/30= 3.00. 3.00 x 29 = $87 charged pro-rata.
1 month in advance of new 30GB plan = $90 charged.

Cost of changing plan:

$87 Pro-rata
$90 1 month in advance
$177.00

Credit of $48.30 for unused portion of old plan

Total bill for broadband this month $128.70

Still paying more than $90 to change plans.............. of course this is circumstantial and you need to work it out for yourself...

Regarding whether or not telecom got a fine for their blunder on the t-stick giveaway, no they did not- probably because it was corrected pretty damn quickly after a few people mentioned it.

By the way everything I've posted re plan changes -is- available on their web site and you can also email or live chat their support (during certain hours) from their web site.

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#616822 29-Apr-2012 01:17

snnet:
29 days of 30GB = 90/30= 3.00. 3.00 x 29 = $87 charged pro-rata.
1 month in advance of new 30GB plan = $90 charged.

Cost of changing plan:

$87 Pro-rata
$90 1 month in advance
$177.00

edit: page shifted and accidentally posted; then I misread your post since you were proposing something different to my situation.

I'm not sure how you figure a person gets double-charged (that they pay in advance, but then, having thought they had already paid for that month, discover at the end of the month that they're being charged again for the portion of that month they were on that plan (what you call 'pro rata' here, as though it means something like 'additional connection fee').

edit 2: if I pay the pro rata + a month in advance to begin a plan, then in your scenario, I must have paid $50 in advance for the 10gig plan. should I receive the $50 as well as the pro rata credit for the unused portion when I change plans, since in the advanced month I won't be on that plan I've already spent $50 on, as that's the month I'm paying pro rata the new rate, and it has an advanced month I'm already 'paying in advance'? if you don't get the 'advanced month paid for' back when you close/change your account, doesn't that just mean the policy is actually 'you pay twice the going rate for your first month on any plan' not 'you have paid in advance for the service to be provided, but if you cancel that service you will get your money back for the unused month/days'?

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#616836 29-Apr-2012 06:53

Lykho:
snnet:
29 days of 30GB = 90/30= 3.00. 3.00 x 29 = $87 charged pro-rata.
1 month in advance of new 30GB plan = $90 charged.

Cost of changing plan:

$87 Pro-rata
$90 1 month in advance
$177.00

edit: page shifted and accidentally posted; then I misread your post since you were proposing something different to my situation.

I'm not sure how you figure a person gets double-charged (that they pay in advance, but then, having thought they had already paid for that month, discover at the end of the month that they're being charged again for the portion of that month they were on that plan (what you call 'pro rata' here, as though it means something like 'additional connection fee').

edit 2: if I pay the pro rata + a month in advance to begin a plan, then in your scenario, I must have paid $50 in advance for the 10gig plan. should I receive the $50 as well as the pro rata credit for the unused portion when I change plans, since in the advanced month I won't be on that plan I've already spent $50 on, as that's the month I'm paying pro rata the new rate, and it has an advanced month I'm already 'paying in advance'? if you don't get the 'advanced month paid for' back when you close/change your account, doesn't that just mean the policy is actually 'you pay twice the going rate for your first month on any plan' not 'you have paid in advance for the service to be provided, but if you cancel that service you will get your money back for the unused month/days'?

Have a look on their web site's help section for "what happens when I change plans".

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#616916 29-Apr-2012 12:40

snnet:
Have a look on their web site's help section for "what happens when I change plans".

I did. it wasn't entirely clear.

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#617004 29-Apr-2012 15:57

Lykho:
snnet:
Have a look on their web site's help section for "what happens when I change plans".

I did. it wasn't entirely clear.

Well if you can't understand the picture of the bill and the explanation under it I really can't simplify it

cbrpilot

955 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

#617057 29-Apr-2012 19:15

I heard that you wouldn't have to wait till your anniversary date.... But it will happen in early may.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

clod

64 posts

Master Geek

#617625 30-Apr-2012 20:24

Well congratulations, after reading this I'm totally lost. I'm on total home broadband 80 gb- which will go to 160 under new plan. I dont need this so was going to change to the total home 60gb plan just before my rollover date 27th may so that I would then be on the 120gb plan saving myself $20 a month but your saying I would have to pay another month in advance- surely that cant be right as I'm going to a cheaper plan plus I already paid another month in advance when I upgraded about 2 years ago. Arn't I being ripped off?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4