Anyone got tips to help ensure a smooth change between ISP's?

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Anyone got tips to help ensure a smooth change between ISP's?

cgreenwood

196 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Topic # 95416 3-Jan-2012 11:50

I have never had a smooth experience when changing ISP's, nonetheless I have recently decided to make the plunge from Vodafone to Orcon Genius.

If anyone can give me any advice on how to manage the changeover so as to minimise any down time without any connection at all and generally to avoid hassle that would be great.

In specific I know that Vodafone will require a certain amount of notice and Orcon a certain amount of lead in time but how long are these times going to be? Should I tell Vodafone I am disconnecting before I phone Orcon or should I do it the other way around?

DonGould

3889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 163

Reply # 563974 3-Jan-2012 12:01

Are you moving by layer 1 or layer 2?

If you're moving via layer 2 then there should be less down time in theory?

If you're being moved from one dslam to another then there would be more issue because there's more steps and more things that could go wrong.

UFB is going to be wonderful in fixing this problem isn't it :)

Promote New Zealand - Get yourself a .kiwi.nz domain name!!!

Check out mine - i.am.a.can.do.kiwi.nz - don@i.am.a.can.do.kiwi.nz

corksta

2082 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 218

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 563986 3-Jan-2012 12:39

I have no idea what Don is trying to say, but at this stage all you need to do is contact Orcon and sign up with them. They will contact Vodafone and close your account, then switch you over to their services (bear in mind this is just a real basic overview of what happens).

You'll get an email saying what date the changeover will happen, then all going well it will just happen with only a short downtime.

I changed from Telecom to Orcon last year, and when I woke up on the morning of the changeover it had already happened and there was an email from Orcon saying it was all done. I don't think there's much you can do personally to manage the changeover, unless you speak to them first and see if you can request a certain date and/or time to fit in with your schedule, but there's no harm in asking to see what they can do for you.

I'm not sure how long it would take for Orcon to hook you up at this time of year, it may depend on how many other requests they have. I would think 10-14 working days might be a reasonable timeframe, however again your best bet is just to ask them.

The only thing to keep in mind is you may want to check with Vodafone after the switch is complete to ensure your account with them has been closed. It's rare that it doesn't all work but there have been issues in the past.

cgreenwood

196 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Reply # 564053 3-Jan-2012 17:15

I have no idea what Don is trying to say

Me neither, but thanks for the effort, I think it is just too technical for me to get it.

Thanks corksta, I really really hope that it goes like that, will let you know how I get on.

One more thing, what if you are part way through the billing month? Will Vodafone charge you pro rata for the part month or do you have to time it right to avoid paying for a whole month that you only use part of?

corksta

2082 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 218

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 564088 3-Jan-2012 18:46

It should just be a pro rata charge based on the day your service with Vodafone is disconnected, plus any applicable early disconnection fee if you're in a contract with them.

Good luck, I'm sure you won't have any problems it's such a routine thing nowadays!

Be sure to let us know how you get on!

eXDee

4025 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1076

Trusted

Reply # 564104 3-Jan-2012 19:48

corksta: I have no idea what Don is trying to say, but at this stage all you need to do is contact Orcon and sign up with them. They will contact Vodafone and close your account, then switch you over to their services (bear in mind this is just a real basic overview of what happens).

This.

Don't contact vodafone till orcon changes everything over. Otherwise vodafone may cancel the connection and then its processed via telecom wholesale as a new connection instead of just a move, so takes far longer.

cgreenwood

196 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Reply # 568601 13-Jan-2012 20:08

Rang Orcon Monday

Recieved email about 10 minutes later saying change over would be Friday.

Genius arrived Friday morning.

Changeover done friday afternoon.

Genius plugged in and running as of now.

All in all a very fairly smooth process, there was a few hiccups with passwords etc but that is to be expected I guess. Speeds are great getting about 13 to 15Mbps downstream and about 0.8Mbps upstream, never got more than 13Mbps with Vodafone so pretty happy. Have not fully tested everything yet but the phone works fine a caller ID is working too. I have only yet to see what will happen with the Billing side of things, especially from Vodafone.

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2600
Inactive user

Reply # 568604 13-Jan-2012 20:24

cgreenwood: I have only yet to see what will happen with the Billing side of things, especially from Vodafone.

What are you expecting?

Final invoice will be posted out soon

mattwnz

14407 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1885

Reply # 568606 13-Jan-2012 20:27

cgreenwood: Rang Orcon Monday

Recieved email about 10 minutes later saying change over would be Friday.

Genius arrived Friday morning.

Changeover done friday afternoon.

Genius plugged in and running as of now.

All in all a very fairly smooth process, there was a few hiccups with passwords etc but that is to be expected I guess.? Speeds are great getting about 13 to 15Mbps downstream and about 0.8Mbps upstream, never got more than 13Mbps with Vodafone so pretty happy.? Have not fully tested everything yet but the phone works fine a caller ID is working too.? I have only yet to see what will happen with the Billing side of things, especially from Vodafone.

I presume you did contact vodafone to cancel it?

cgreenwood

196 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Reply # 568607 13-Jan-2012 20:33

I presume you did contact vodafone to cancel it?

Not yet but I did plan to Monday as per this comment:

The only thing to keep in mind is you may want to check with Vodafone after the switch is complete to ensure your account with them has been closed. It's rare that it doesn't all work but there have been issues in the past.

However judging by johnr's comment I might not have to?????

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2600
Inactive user

Reply # 568612 13-Jan-2012 20:44

cgreenwood:
I presume you did contact vodafone to cancel it?

Not yet but I did plan to Monday as per this comment:

The only thing to keep in mind is you may want to check with Vodafone after the switch is complete to ensure your account with them has been closed. It's rare that it doesn't all work but there have been issues in the past.

However judging by johnr's comment I might not have to?????

If Orcon has contacted Vodafone should be good but no harm in checking

Predated

169 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 22

Reply # 568620 13-Jan-2012 21:04

johnr:
cgreenwood:
I presume you did contact vodafone to cancel it?

Not yet but I did plan to Monday as per this comment:

The only thing to keep in mind is you may want to check with Vodafone after the switch is complete to ensure your account with them has been closed. It's rare that it doesn't all work but there have been issues in the past.

However judging by johnr's comment I might not have to?????

If Orcon has contacted Vodafone should be good but no harm in checking

Such Confidence

Ragnor

8027 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 387

Trusted

Subscriber

Reply # 568837 14-Jan-2012 16:35

Always check/ring to fully close your account with the previous ISP after successfully moving to the new ISP imo.

Also not applicable in this case but some ISP's require a notice period before cancellation.

webwat

1984 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 133

Trusted

Reply # 568870 14-Jan-2012 18:00

I generally suggest giving the cancel notice after the new ISP confirms a schedule for the changeover, so they have the order into telecom which blocks the old ISP from putting in a disconnection. Changeover generally involves an outage of up to an hour until the new settings kick in.

Don was asking whether you are connecting to Orcons unbundled service or not, implying that a tech is scheduled to go out and physically wire your line to Orcon's DSLAM.

Qualified in business, certified in fibre, stuck in copper, have to keep going ^_^

cgreenwood

196 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Reply # 570585 18-Jan-2012 20:52

Just when everything was going so well Vodafone had to go and ruin it. Even though they provided me with service for only part of the month they are going to charge me for the entire month of January. They state:

As all Vodafone accounts are billed on a monthly basis regardless of the date you switch to your new provider, your final invoice will include chages untill the end of this month

This is crap (I would like to word it more stingly but don't wan to get booted off the forum), the charge should be pro-rata for the part used month as stated by corksta:

It should just be a pro rata charge based on the day your service with Vodafone is disconnected

, I quite agree.

So they bill monthly, so what? I am sure the math is not beyond them. I pay my rates yearly but don't have to pay the whole years worth if I move out in July. I get payed monthly but would not get payed for the whole month if I only worked for part of it. They are charging me for services they have not provided and I think that stinks.

The worst thing about this is that I have absolutely no realistic recourse, short of calling Fair Go or something like that. I could complain to them but guarunteed it would fall on deaf ears. I could refuse to pay but that would ruin my credit rating. The only think I can do is bend over and take it knowing that it would be more hassle than it is worth to fight. Shame on you Vodafone.

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2600
Inactive user

Reply # 570598 18-Jan-2012 21:22

That is standard terms for almost all providers not just Vodafone and I would think its covered in our terms and conditions