Changing ISPs shouldnt be difficult. Or messy.

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Changing ISPs shouldnt be difficult. Or messy.

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rugrat

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#1138197 26-Sep-2014 13:07

Snip

NikT: (e.g. worst case scenario: LSP submits a disconnection order in error, which prevents the reassignment going through, delays everything, & requires a reconnection)

OP was probably worried that would happen which can mean period without internet, which is messy.

I can't understand why changing service providers can't be like changing power companies. You don't have to notify losing provider of power company and billing stops at the losing one, when billing starts of the gaining one automatically.

I believe ISP's being able to put in contract one months leaving notice is a crock, and shouldn't be allowed, and at wholesale level the charges to ISP should stop at change over date from Chorous or whoever, so they're not out of pocket with customer they no longer have.

khull

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#1138199 26-Sep-2014 13:13

I switched to Snap and they looked after me all the way through. Bad provider? Case in point, DNS issues, Xtra Yahoo Spam from their users, Over/incorrect billing

Also I believe Orcon makes a killing with the 30 day notification clause

MichaelNZ

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#1138214 26-Sep-2014 13:31

rugrat:

I can't understand why changing service providers can't be like changing power companies. You don't have to notify losing provider of power company and billing stops at the losing one, when billing starts of the gaining one automatically.

The electricity industry is heavily regulated by government and the powers that be.

Do you really want this for the Intenet industry?

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NikT

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#1138236 26-Sep-2014 13:36

rugrat:

I can't understand why changing service providers can't be like changing power companies. You don't have to notify losing provider of power company and billing stops at the losing one, when billing starts of the gaining one automatically.

Unlike power companies, ISPs' products and services are not all the same, even if they're used for the same basic purposes. Some use different access methods, some have different bundled services, some have different provisioning systems and ways of delivering similar products, et cetera.

If ISPs were the equivalent of power companies, this would be a vastly less interesting industry IMO. :)

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Bee

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#1138241 26-Sep-2014 13:42

The fact that I got a courier bag to return the modem the day after Orcon was disconnected, was a pretty good sign to me that they were aware of what was going on here...

Perhaps I should have contacted them to say I was leaving, but then they would have asked "when" and Spark wouldn't tell me exactly when, and when nothing had happened at all after 3 weeks(!) I almost believed that it was not going to happen.

So I stick to my original statement : Be aware that the process is flawed overall, and Spark Customer service hasn't changed just because they have a new name...

Edit : for grammar as usual :)

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CcMaN

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#1138293 26-Sep-2014 15:04

khull: I switched to Snap and they looked after me all the way through. Bad provider? Case in point, DNS issues, Xtra Yahoo Spam from their users, Over/incorrect billing

Also I believe Orcon makes a killing with the 30 day notification clause

Be careful with Snap also, I got "snapped" by the simliar 30 day clause when leaving. I thought being a loyal customer for many years and never missing a bill would count for something, but in the end they are just like all the others.

I guess it was my mistake, and to be honest I would have accepted 14 days notice. It's just sad that they can make such a killing by exploiting people who have other stresses on their mind when moving house.

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jpfree

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#1138367 26-Sep-2014 16:44

I too have been bitten by this policy. It does feel a bit insulting for a number of reasons, one of which being that the losing provider knows full well of the changeover occurring since the gaining provider contacts them to verify account information. Additionally, even with a full notification period it would be very difficult to tee up a switchover without double-paying for at least some amount of time.

The expectation on a customer to know all details of every contract with their service providers is a case of being technically correct but is not realistic.

In my case I made a complaint through TDR which resulted in a refund. This is not necessarily the "right" approach but it did result in an outcome that I was happy with.

Unfortunately I've since realised that a 30 day cancellation policy is surprisingly common.

MichaelNZ

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#1138389 26-Sep-2014 16:58

jpfree:

The expectation on a customer to know all details of every contract with their service providers is a case of being technically correct but is not realistic.

Unfortunately it's a necessity to have these contracts because there is a certain percentage of clients who don't know (or care) how to behave.

Among the worst ones are the [insert appropriate description] who somehow lose their login details, and their account becomes a source of spam, which is a pain in the butt for the SysAdmin and the other clients on the network.

They are almost always low margin customers anyway, and after this they become a big loss for the ISP.

This is one example of why contracts are needed.

jpfree:

In my case I made a complaint through TDR which resulted in a refund. This is not necessarily the "right" approach but it did result in an outcome that I was happy with.

Unfortunately I've since realised that a 30 day cancellation policy is surprisingly common.

Tell us how much you were worth as a client to them. Generally customers who switch to save a couple of bucks a month aren't worth much.

WFH Linux Systems and Networks Engineer in the Internet industry | Specialising in Mikrotik | APNIC member | Open to job offers | ZL2NET

jpfree

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#1138391 26-Sep-2014 17:08

MichaelNZ:

Tell us how much you were worth as a client to them. Generally customers who switch to save a couple of bucks a month aren't worth much.

In my case I switched to save $25 per month - that's a significant amount but not relevant to the discussion.
A fair free market should allow a consumer to choose a better provider whether for reasons of cost or quality.

tkr001

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#1138403 26-Sep-2014 17:56

I am moving from orcon to bigpipe. I don't know how bigpipe could cancel my existing service as they didn't ask for acct number or anything like that. I talked to orcon who said to notify them of the rfs date when I got it. I will do that as I requested an install date in the future to allow for the months notice. I have allowed for a four day overlap which will give me time if things change.

I don't think this is very onerous.

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