Problem getting new Skinny Fibre installed when moving house

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Problem getting new Skinny Fibre installed when moving house

mattwnz

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#290751 2-Dec-2021 00:32

I have signed up to Skinnys fibre broadband deal giving 6 months free on a new 12 month contract. I am moving into a new house on a particular day in mid December, and the current owners are moving out the day before. So I set my move in date as the start date for the Skinny connection.
However Skinny have contacted me to say that there is a problem and they can't process the order. This is because the current owners have arranged to cancel their internet connection the day before I arranged for Skinny to connect my connection, and Chorus have an open service order to disconnect and already active connection. Skinny have said that they can't process my order until Chorus have disconnected the connection, as they can only process one thing at a time, apparently to 'avoid confusion'.

Because it isn't my current connection, Skinny have said I need to wait for the disconnection before they can process the order, and then there will be downtime. I potentially could have to wait weeks without an internet connection. It also sounds like I may lose the special 6 month free deal if they have to process the order after I move in, as the deal ends on the 8th December, which is before I move in.

This doesn't sound right because surely people moving house is a normal process. Is there something that is normally done in this situation? Obviously the current owners do need to cancel their contract with their current ISP, but can the actual Chorus broadband connection be transferred to me on the date it is cancelled. It seems odd that this situation has occurred, because I would have thought this would be a very common occurance as people move house all the time and expect services to be continuous.

Anyone had this problem and know what to do so I can get it connected on the day I move in? This may be helpful for others in the future who encounter the same problem.

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#2822904 2-Dec-2021 08:39

You can request that Skinny initiate a connection to LAN2 (or 3 or 4) on the ONT. That will mean you plug your router into this port instead of the usual LAN1. I use thjis technique when changing ISPs (with a start date on the new ISP that is before the end date on the old one).

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mattwnz

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#2823188 2-Dec-2021 12:24

Thanks. I will ask Skinny about whether they can do that. But that sounds like a weird way to do it for a simple house move which should be a common occurrance. According to the @chorusnz website, moving house when the is already fibre in place and the old owners are moving out should be a simple thing to do.

mattwnz

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#2823209 2-Dec-2021 12:55

It appears that it is a problem with @chorusnz processes that are causing the problem, and essentially blocks the new owner getting their ISP to setup an account until the old owner has moved out.

dolsen

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#2823219 2-Dec-2021 13:17

mattwnz:

It also sounds like I may lose the special 6 month free deal if they have to process the order after I move in, as the deal ends on the 8th December, which is before I move in.

If you have signed up before the end of the deal I would say you are safe and will get the deal. I have signed up for that plan with a start date of 15th Dec (fibre needs to be installed in the property), and no issue has been raised. I have arranged for another one switching over on the 30th of December, also on the 6 months deal with no issue raised.

mattwnz

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#2823243 2-Dec-2021 14:20

dolsen:

mattwnz:

It also sounds like I may lose the special 6 month free deal if they have to process the order after I move in, as the deal ends on the 8th December, which is before I move in.

If you have signed up before the end of the deal I would say you are safe and will get the deal. I have signed up for that plan with a start date of 15th Dec (fibre needs to be installed in the property), and no issue has been raised. I have arranged for another one switching over on the 30th of December, also on the 6 months deal with no issue raised.

Thanks. I would hope so, but they said that they would need to cancel the order and then setup a new order on the 16th, which is that date I had set for the connection, so still not sure what that exactly means. I think the deal ends on the 8th. This is becuase @chorusnz will disconnect it in the 15th, and they can't put in an order until after they do this, which would be the 16th. Then there will be downtime, and that could be a week and probably longer due to the Chrismas break, but I want it to be continuous. I have suggested they set it up on another port on the ONT as suggested above. The problem is that Skinny are not very responsive to emails, and have no way to phone them. Live chat is also pretty slow and tedious, but I will have to do that to try and get it sorted. It is surprising that it is such a difficult process for something that is so common as moving, but it seem to be Chorus that are getting the blame due to their processes.

mattwnz

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#2823251 2-Dec-2021 14:46

OldGeek:

You can request that Skinny initiate a connection to LAN2 (or 3 or 4) on the ONT. That will mean you plug your router into this port instead of the usual LAN1. I use thjis technique when changing ISPs (with a start date on the new ISP that is before the end date on the old one).

Thanks. I have been on their online chat, and asked them about this. But they said they couldn't do it because there was an open disconnection order open, which I presume their ISP did when their cancelled their contract. So it appears it isn't possible to do it that way when @chorusnz has an open disconnection job on it, until that job is completed. I am amazed that there isn't more info on this and more people haven't had a problem. The chorus website makes it look so easy when it isn't and if the current owners refuse to cancel the cancellation request rather than transfer the connection, then it causes problems. I don' have direct contact with the owners, so have to go through their real estate agent to ask if they will do it. https://www.chorus.co.nz/home-fibre/moving-house

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OldGeek

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#2823294 2-Dec-2021 15:19

Thats odd. Last year I changed ISP (Orcon to Voyager). I recall establishing exactly when my 30-day cancellation date would be, ordered Voyager to start 7 days beforehand on LAN2, then when Voyager confirmed that date I cancelled Orcon on the cancellation date. It all worked perfectly. Note that Voyager were able to order the LAN2 connection with the existing (LAN1 with Orcon) connection was still live.

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RunningMan

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#2823301 2-Dec-2021 15:29

This may help https://sp.chorus.co.nz/product-update/multiple-primary-offers-single-ont

mattwnz

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#2823314 2-Dec-2021 15:48

Initially they said they could do it on another port, but then said they couldn't because there is a cancellation request with @chorusnz already open. They said I need to contact the existing owners for that to be closed before they could do anything. It does seem to be a problem that @chorusnz has with their processes that a workaround would even be needed.

Bung

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#2823333 2-Dec-2021 16:54

mattwnz:
Thanks. I would hope so, but they said that they would need to cancel the order and then setup a new order on the 16th, which is that date I had set for the connection, so still not sure what that exactly means. I think the deal ends on the 8th.

"Just sign up for one of our broadband plans and we’ll give you 1 or 6 months free depending on the plan!" Unless they have some small print limiting the offer to connections actually working by a certain date any problems with the process shouldn't alter the fact that you signed up. The 16th is cutting it fine, I wouldn't like to be relying on smooth sailing that close to xmas!

mattwnz

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#2825088 6-Dec-2021 14:58

After much time and frustration I have gotten nowhere. The current owners requested that the disconnection notice with Chrous is cancelled to allow it to be transferred to my new ISP, but their current ISP have apparently refused to do this and that it wasn't possible to do. The ISPs and @chorusnz don't work together. They just blame one another and say conflicting things, making the consumer the piggy in the middle.

They have however assured me that I will still get the promotion. Just that I won't have broadband for some time after my move in date. I can't believe @chorusnz systems are so broken when it comes to people moving house. Terrible experience for the consumer @chorusnz @sparknz

The ironic thing is that the current owners are having the identical problem with the new house they are moving into, where they too can't get their ISP to connect up on the date, due to a disconnection notice on fibre being in place. So this looks to be a common problem. Why can't @chorusnz fix their processes. Who does one complain to about @chorus?

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mattwnz

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#2825095 6-Dec-2021 15:15

OldGeek:

Thats odd. Last year I changed ISP (Orcon to Voyager). I recall establishing exactly when my 30-day cancellation date would be, ordered Voyager to start 7 days beforehand on LAN2, then when Voyager confirmed that date I cancelled Orcon on the cancellation date. It all worked perfectly. Note that Voyager were able to order the LAN2 connection with the existing (LAN1 with Orcon) connection was still live.

I asked them again about this but they say that it can't be done when there is an active disconnection notice on the account. That had to be closed before they can issue do anything at all. Sounds like Chorus's systems are very inflexible.

quickymart

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#2825133 6-Dec-2021 16:50

Your provider follows this up for you, with the correct area at Chorus.

farcus

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#2825139 6-Dec-2021 17:05

things have obviously changed. I moved my skinny connection into a house the day after prev occupants moved out. Skinny / Chorus simply put my connection on Lan2.
I wonder why they aren't doing this any more.

mattwnz

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#2825147 6-Dec-2021 17:38

I have just spoken to Chorus abut this and they have told me that Skinny @sparknz are wrong and it was misleding what they told me. They said they can order it now or they can put an order through on the xtra day so connection occurs on the 16th. The guy said he previously worked for @sparknz so knew that it could be done and what Skinny were telling me was not correct. Unfortionalety Skinny don't reply to emails, and can only use Live Chat. I have asked for it to be escalated but they said they would forward it through to a manager to look at the livechat. Not good customer service from Skinny @sparknz. The guy from @chorusnz suggested I change to another ISP but I have already signed a contract and been billed for the modem. I did ask @chorus to write me an email confirming this so I could send to Skinny to finally get it sorted, but they said they couldn't.

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