Bad experience with Spark customer service regarding on-going fault, wondering about options

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Bad experience with Spark customer service regarding on-going fault, wondering about options

xai

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#181030 29-Sep-2015 21:37

Hi all,

I don't really comment on the forums much but I'm looking for some advice as I'm not sure what to do at this point. Since August I've had issues with the broadband service I'm receiving from Spark. Connection speeds dropped from about 7-8Mb/sec to 2-3Mb/sec, I began experiencing regular disconnections, and the static on the phone line got so bad that it was unusable. I called Spark's broadband helpdesk, had the fault confirmed, and a Chorus tech was scheduled to come take a look. The Chorus tech came around and decided it was an issue with my house's wiring, he disabled two of the three jackpoints in the house and installed a splitter at the one remaining jackpoint.

I was charged $200 for the work, I didn't realise it would be so expensive but if it had restored my connectivity to normal it would've been worth it. I am still experiencing reduced network speeds at 2-3Mb/sec, regular disconnections, and static on the phone line. When I try to call the wait times are extremely long, last Saturday I finally stayed on hold long enough to get a response. It took an hour and a half for me to get a fault specialist on the line (granted it's the weekend but it still seems like a long wait), verify my fault, and this time tell me that I needed to consent to a potential charge of at least $130 before a tech would be sent out. I told the specialist I would not consent as it seemed unreasonable to be charged twice for the same fault. The specialist told me that the work was done to fix a complaint about the phone line and my current complaint was about broadband. I asked to be forwarded to someone else who could address the issue, ended up being forwarded to Spark's business helpline which was closed for the weekend.

This didn't seem right so I filled out the online complaint form, it's been a couple days now and I haven't received any response, not even confirmation that my complaint was received. At this point I'm wondering what else I can do, I'm $200 poorer with nothing to show for it.

Additional info recommended by bot:
ISP: Spark
Plan: Unlimited Broadband
Connection: ADSL2
Bandwidth (up/down) (assuming this is sync rate?): 249kbps / 3.111kbps
Line Attenuation (up/down): 39,0dB / 41,0dB
SN Margin (up/down): 12,6dB / 10,5dB
Location: Awapuni, Palmerston North (would classify it as suburban)
I am unsure about the details of my connection (re: exchange/cabinet/conklin and ULL/wholesale service)
Isolation test: Modem is the only device plugged in with these stats.

PeterReader

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#1396895 29-Sep-2015 21:37

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

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Lias

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#1396959 29-Sep-2015 22:28

It's probably a bit unfair to blame this on Spark.. I'm fairly confident the majority of the blame will fall on Chorus..

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

michaelmurfy

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#1396966 29-Sep-2015 22:37

This is a wiring fault to either falls back on Chorus or your houses internal wiring. It doesn't fall back on Spark here as they can only log another fault (and advise you of a potential charge to cover them).

Re: wait times: they're actually public about their current wait times on the contact us page: http://www.spark.co.nz/contactus/

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

hio77

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#1396972 29-Sep-2015 22:55

As your having an issue with static on your phone line, Dont even mention your DSL fault. That will complicate things.

Just look to have the static on your Phone line resolved, More than likely the cause of both issues is the same.

Spark are simply at the mercy of Chorus unfortunately.

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

xai

11 posts

Geek

#1396986 29-Sep-2015 23:20

@Lias - That may end up being true but the only people I've actually interacted with are Spark fault specialists. The first specialist did not inform me of the possible charge, the second specialist told me that the charge only covered a complaint about the phone line. When I asked to be directed to someone else to discuss the issue, I got forwarded to a dead end.

@michaelmurfy - The reported longest wait time on the 'contact us' page was 45 minutes for a fault specialist on the day it took me 90 minutes to reach a fault specialist (I don't think this page is updated on weekends though). My understanding at this point is that the fee I paid covered the Chorus tech's diagnosis and attempt to mitigate the wiring issues in my home via disabling additional jackpoints and installing a master splitter. This assumption might be wrong. Honestly, I just don't want to be put into a position where I'm forking over another $130+ only to be told 'it's a problem on your end, we patched up what we could last time, bye'.

Any suggestions on what else I can do from my end would be great. I had no connection issues for 18 months prior to August. Since then I've tried swapping out the router, replacing the cable that goes from the router to the jackpoint, replacing the filter/adding a filter on top of the splitter, and the previously mentioned Chorus tech disabling jackpoints/installing a master splitter.