Are the Elderly being taken for a ride by Technicians?

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tedzart

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#91781 20-Oct-2011 05:37

Dear Forum readers, I am an old fella and not of the Digital Age.
On Monday 19th October 2011, apparently in response to contacting Telecom regarding a problem where my Thomson Modem is repeatedly disconnected, a Chorus Technician turned up at my cottage uninvited.
I stressed that I do not let people into my house who just turn up. He then got on my roof with some electrical gadget and stated that I had "27 kms of wiring" in my old cottage. I suggested that this was not a Jumbo Jet, so how could this be? He then stated that it was my "hard of hearing bell" which is attached to my Telecom phone line. He disconnected the bell, said that now I had 17 meters of wiring in my house and he had now fixed the problem with the broadband disconnecting.
As soon as he was gone, the broadband disconnections continued.
I was now contacted by a Telecom Complex Technician who started a 6 hour watch on my Modem, during this period I was disconnected 17 times. This tech said there was nothing wrong with my bell, as all the faults were at Telecoms end. The Telecom Complex Tech also stated the reasons he felt were due to my continuous problems were:
1. I had been given the wrong User Profile.
2. I had been given a "long line" yet I was a stones throw from the local Exchange in Foxton.
3. A "Port" had been changed.
He also stated that there never was a fault at my property, but Chorus needed to find one to be paid ... hence my hard of hearing bell was disconnected.
My Modem was put on another watch by Telecom who rang me Tuesday 20th Oct 2011. He stated that there had been more than 60 further disconnections. Chourus would be attending to it the next day Wednesday (not at my property). Later this day, Wednesday 19th October 2011, another Telecom Complex Tech rang me to say the problem was now fixed and the case would now be closed.
Through this Technician and through the Philippines help desk, I have demanded that Chorus now reattach my "hard of hearing bell".
This morning, being Thursday 20th October 2011, my disconnection problems have returned, making me a very unhappy customer.

This now brings me back to the subject heading ... am I being taken for a ride by the Chorus Technician who on every visit in the last 10 years has found some silly little fault, yet I am adament that the problems occur outside my property, and in this case this is also endorsed by the telecom Complex Technical Staff.
Have others experienced this sort of service and how would one seek to be compensated for the actions of the Chorus Technician?
Best regards, Tedz

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#535406 20-Oct-2011 06:25

Finding faults can often be difficult, but it's safe to say without doubt that the vast majority of disconnection and faults are caused by internal home wiring rather than issues with the Telecom network.

Extension bells are a common cause of DSL issues, so removing that was a logical step in the fault finding process. I'm guessing you don't have a master DSL filter installed, without one of these DSL performance will always be limited by internal wiring, and issues with multiple jackpioints, extension bells etc are very common.

tedzart

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#535411 20-Oct-2011 07:17

Thank you for the reply sbiddle,
No, I know nothing of a Master DSL Filter. However, I once again stress that 2 Telecom Complex Technicians have stated that the problems are their end. I actually asked the Chorus Technician if he was privy to all my complaints on the subject ... all he said was that a "fault" had been reported regarding my broadband connection.
I am once again expecting a call this morning from the Telecom Complex Technician and will ask his advice on a "Master DSL Filter" as the fault has again been recurring.
Cheers Tedz.

bazzer

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#535419 20-Oct-2011 07:49

Is your question "Are the elderly..." or "Am I..."? My parents had a Chorus technician come out to sort their issues and they are not very tech minded. By all accounts he was very helpful.

sbiddle

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#535422 20-Oct-2011 07:58

tedzart: Thank you for the reply sbiddle,
No, I know nothing of a Master DSL Filter. However, I once again stress that 2 Telecom Complex Technicians have stated that the problems are their end. I actually asked the Chorus Technician if he was privy to all my complaints on the subject ... all he said was that a "fault" had been reported regarding my broadband connection.
I am once again expecting a call this morning from the Telecom Complex Technician and will ask his advice on a "Master DSL Filter" as the fault has again been recurring.
Cheers Tedz.

If the fault is reoccuring I'd happily put a wager on the fault being wiring within your home as statistically speaking there is a far greater chance of this being the case, rather than a network issue.

Installation of a master filter is a ~ $199 charge. You own the wiring within your home, and if you pay wiring maintenance insurance Chorus will come and fix issues. They will however not rewire your house for free, in the same way you don't expect Harvey Norman to come and install a power plug for free if you buy a TV from them.

gzt

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#535430 20-Oct-2011 08:22

In my experience Chorus techs are generally very good, but I don't live in Foxton.

Disconnecting an essential part of your telephone system rather than advising you what needs to be done to resolve the issues with the system is not very good service. That is clearly wrong.

Bung

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#535435 20-Oct-2011 08:34

sbiddle:
If the fault is reoccuring I'd happily put a wager on the fault being wiring within your home as statistically speaking there is a far greater chance of this being the case, rather than a network issue.

tedzart hasn't stated which Thomson modem he has but some on this forum blame Thomson modems as often as they can.

Extension bells based on the old telephone bells have no place on a 2 wire network. The NZ bell impedance is really too low for a parallel connection. Tests were done adding things in series with the bell but Telecom sidestepped the problem by dropping the rental and gifting the bells to users.

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xpd

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#535437 20-Oct-2011 08:37

Depends on the tech you get... I went through about 5 different Chorus techs afew eyars back getting an issue resolved, most were generally helpful, one I felt like telling him to GTFO. The last one was great, found the issue straight away (he has no idea how the others missed it) and followed up with me a few days later to see how things were going.

Also had a tech out to my parents place to resolve an issue, and they installed a master filter and replaced some cabling for free.

XPD / Gavin

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cyril7

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#535455 20-Oct-2011 09:29

Hi, if you require and ringer for hard of hearing I recommend one that is powered such as those in this link

http://www.phonequip.co.nz/Ringer%20Lights.htm

These are compatible with modern telecommunication systems and work well with DSL assuming they are filtered appropriately, as mentioned old ringers typically are not appropriate.

Sounds like Telecom do have an issue at their end that is worth waiting through, but once that is sorted if problems continue I would suggest you have your house wiring checked and the wiring rationalised and re wired with a master filter to ensure its working as best as can be expected.

Also note that the Thompson modems do have a reputation for random disconnections, this may or may not be the case here but worth keeping in mind.

Keep us posted on events, as an aiside in this picture are you within the pink area and if so are you also within the green area.

Cheers
Cyril

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#535457 20-Oct-2011 09:39

As a slight aside too, if you install a master splitter right at the entry point, does the configuration of the internal house wiring still have any effect on your broadband signals or does the splitter isolate the modem from the rest of the mess?

cyril7

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#535459 20-Oct-2011 09:42

Hi Jaxson, that is exactly how it should be arranged in an existing birds nest, isolate the existing mess with the filter and run a clean new line from the modem port of the filter to the modem, that way the existing wiring and devices are isolated from the DSL.

Cyril

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#535460 20-Oct-2011 09:45

cyril7: Hi Jaxson, that is exactly how it should be arranged in an existing birds nest, isolate the existing mess with the filter and run a clean new line from the modem port of the filter to the modem, that way the existing wiring and devices are isolated from the DSL.

Cyril

Sweet, thanks for that Cyril.

That provides a fairly simple way of dealing with a potential raft of issues downstream.

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tedzart

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#535473 20-Oct-2011 10:10

@bazza ... I am elderly.
@ cyril7 ... I am in the Green Zone.
Further, there are two others in my Street who are with Xtra Broadband, and they are also experiencing disconnections.
One has had a Chorus Technician who stated that they are updating the exchange. They replaced his wire outside to the Telephone Pole ... yet he is still experiencing disconnections.
I am further advised by Telecom that a Chorus Tech will arrive between 12 - 2.00pm today.
The "hard of hearing bell" remains disconnected, so I cannot see that affecting the continuous disconnections.
I will gladly give an update after Chorus have been.
Thanks again for the comments and help.
Regards Tedz.

bazzer

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#535489 20-Oct-2011 10:31

tedzart: @bazza ... I am elderly.

Sure, you may be elderly but you don't represent all of "the Elderly". One elderly guy getting the run around doesn't equate to all elderly people being taken advantage of like your subject seems to imply.

Bung

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#535493 20-Oct-2011 10:36

tedzart:
Further, there are two others in my Street who are with Xtra Broadband, and they are also experiencing disconnections.
One has had a Chorus Technician who stated that they are updating the exchange. They replaced his wire outside to the Telephone Pole ... yet he is still experiencing disconnections.

How long have you been having problems? I see from Cyril's coverage map that an upgrade was completed Sept 2011. In the event that Telecom's equipment was changed, what was your service like earlier this year?

robjg63

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#535511 20-Oct-2011 11:07

I dont think it sounds like you are being taken for a ride at all.

You have described in great clarity the details you have been given by the Telecom and Chorus people - and all of those descriptions sound reasonable. Sounds like you have made good efforts to understand the possible problems and they have explained it well enough. Wiring does cause a lot of the issues with phone/broadband - so "the Chorus Technician who on every visit in the last 10 years has found some silly little fault" is probably starting the 'normal' fault finding procedure from their perspective.

What you have discovered is the great joy of having structural separation. Basically where once (in the old days) you would have rung Telecom and hopefully they would have sent various people to your house/the exchange/etc, you now have the joy of demarcation points. So you have the Telecom techos looking at the back end of the internet setup etc and the Chorus people fiddling around with the wiring from the exchange to your house. The problem could be on either (or both sides). Telecom and Chorus are effectively separate entities.

I sympathise with you - its not easy....

Does sound like you are getting taken seriously though - so good luck!

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

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