New Broadband Plans

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3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#279928 7-Dec-2009 10:53

BreytenVT:
susri:
Hey people out there - I want to warn anyone thinking of moving your plan to slingshot.
For starters the customer service is pathetic and secondly be prepared to get billed even before your service commences !!

I signed up to their 'just Broadband plan' which is their NakedDSL plan. I had to contact their 0800 number at least 25 times before I could get my internet working. I had broadband and phone outage of three whole days. It took at least 20 of calls form me to get just the broadband going.

Now that the broadband is going I have to battle to get the italk (VoIP) service ported across. If you are signing to Slingshot for any plan, just be prepared to spend hours on the phone chasing on your case. I signed up for their plan on the 24th Nov, today being 7th of Dec and I still cant disconnect my old provider as they have not yet ported my phone lines. When I call them - at least on two occasions I was told by the call centre rep that I would have to select a new number for my res as they cannot port to my old number. When they say this (which I know is not correct), I just disconnect and try again hopeing that the next customer service rep is more informed about the plans they provide. This show the ignorance on the part of the people at the call centre. I've also noticed that they are not consistent with what they say so it is really hard to believe what they are saying.

And here is the icing on the cake - a bill arrived in my mailbox charging me for a service that has not yet commenced. When contacted they say that they bill in advance for any service they provide - but wait where is that service????

In all the whole experience of moving form xNet to Slingshot has bee really really painful and in the end I think it was not even worth the pain.

Here is the part of the BILL

Transaction History
Previous Balance         $0.00
Payments Received      $0.00
Latest Invoice             $72.28
Payments Received     $0.00
Current Balance Due    $72.28
Credits Pending          ($2.33)

Sounds very much like my first attempt… Feel your pain and frustration. Must say it does feel like there is a communication gap between the technical/marketing team and the sales team.

Thus far, my second application seems to be going through as promised (thanks Admin/Scott) with ETA being after lunch.
Will keep you posted.

Cheers.

Does that mean that erery peron wanting to join SlingShot has to do it through Admin/Scott to get it right??

Detruire

1788 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 84

#279962 7-Dec-2009 12:37

When we were connected, there wasn't really any issue besides poor wording on the sign up form (which I'd interpreted as increased DSL cost if you weren't paying SS for the phone line in addition to tolls.)

However, I was fully aware that they do "pre-paid" DSL rather than post-paid like the previous provider (Xnet).

Once I'd been signed up is another story, though. The support/helpdesk (which I now cheesily call the 'desk') is awful. I've never had them successfully solve an issue (or even give me correct information on the topic.) Only times I've had things resolved was when Scott followed them up, or when they were fixed months later due to (what I assume) was regular maintenance.

rm *

BreytenVT

20 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#280051 7-Dec-2009 17:13

I'm online!!!!

Thanks Scott/Admin... Bit of a mission, but well worth it thus far!
Xnet download speeds was around 2meg download... what a difference!!!!!

Broadband

Again thanks,
Cheers,
Breyten

giollarnat

138 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#284001 19-Dec-2009 13:36

Has anyone here switched from telecom line rental/slingshot tolls/slingshot broadband to this new "Just Broadband" plan and Voip (or the old Naked Dsl)?

What does it take in terms of hardware and installation (if i want to keep using my old phones)?
        - I have slingshot standard modem and my own wireless router, do they supply an ATA box free or for what fee?

        - Apparently a technician installation is required and costs $99 - any way of avoiding this?

        - How long will the house be phoneless/netless for?

Voip: italk is included - is it reliable or can it be set so that when the net goes down, it can be routed to my mobile so no lost calls?

The slingshot website is useless at this detail, of course, and their helpline is a bit of a joke. The guy on their couldn't tell me what hardware i needed - i had to suggest a linksys ATA myself and he didn't seem to know what it was ;-) He also seemed to think i'd be offline for 7-10 working days which seems extreme.

Basically i've been trying to escape Telecom's clutches for ages and get an integrated package but no telstraclear or woosh wireless here in eastbourne and of course no unbundling in wellington yet. Just waiting for NDSL to become a viable/cost effective alternative.

Thanks for any help.

Slingshot

1004 posts

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+1 received by user: 59

Trusted

Slingshot

#284297 21-Dec-2009 08:54

What does it take in terms of hardware and installation (if i want to keep using my old phones)?
        - I have slingshot standard modem and my own wireless router, do they supply an ATA box free or for what fee?

Your slingshot standard modem and wireless router will work fine.

If you're going down the iTalk path, then yes I suggest purchasing an ATA from your local electronics store (we're out of stock, more coming early Jan). Our ATA's are not free with this package in anycase.

Also, if you are going to use an ATA, ensure your router has a port available for it.

        - Apparently a technician installation is required and costs $99 - any way of avoiding this?

There is no charge anymore.

        - How long will the house be phoneless/netless for?

It takes about a week for it to be completed. However the actual outage should only last a couple hours on the day of activation.

Voip: italk is included - is it reliable or can it be set so that when the net goes down, it can be routed to my mobile so no lost calls?

Yes it is quite reliable. Yes can be routed to your mobile so no lost calls.

www.slingshot.co.nz

www.twitter.com/SlingshotNZ

https://www.facebook.com/SlingshotNZ

giollarnat

138 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#284311 21-Dec-2009 10:21

Hi Slingshot - thanks for your help with this - you may want to inform your call centre as when I asked last week they told me it was $99. I will give "Just Broadband" a go... hopefully everything will go smoothly...

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Slingshot

1004 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 59

Trusted

Slingshot

#284315 21-Dec-2009 10:44

Thanks, I will do that.

www.slingshot.co.nz

www.twitter.com/SlingshotNZ

https://www.facebook.com/SlingshotNZ

giollarnat

138 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#284455 21-Dec-2009 19:48

While i'm at it, is Slingshot "Just Broadband"/ndsl happy for users to hook up the old dynalink 1320 +wireless router to a Linksys Pap2t, or will it only deal with Linksys 2102s (which are out of stock)? Cheers.

Slingshot

1004 posts

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+1 received by user: 59

Trusted

Slingshot

#284532 22-Dec-2009 09:07

That should be fine

www.slingshot.co.nz

www.twitter.com/SlingshotNZ

https://www.facebook.com/SlingshotNZ

illicit

553 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 15

#285423 27-Dec-2009 13:42

Slingshot,

How is it that i change to one of the new plans online around the 20th of this month, my billing month ends on the 23rd of this month, I see its says 1-5 days are required to change the account but when I called yesterday I was told I had to wait till the next billing month - 23 Jan 2010!

But a new customer can sign up and have it sorted within a few days, surely there is some way to get my new plan activated before then.... phone support says no. I'd be quicker to leave slingshot and sign up again - just to change plan!

nixgear

18 posts

Geek

#285824 29-Dec-2009 12:52

I would also like to warn people against switching to Slingshot. I was lured in by the promise of cheaper ADSL2+ and off-peak data, but it hasnt been worthwhile. I switched to Slingshot's "Just Broadband" NDSL plan earlier this month.

I am going to ignore the issues I had with installation (day without internet, failure to notify Orcon etc) and focus on the sub par service I am getting.

First of all and this most likely case specific, but my line speed dropped when moving from Orcons Network to Slingshot's. I know Slingshot uses Vodafone's Red, so this is not technically their fault, but I feel people should be aware this could happen.

Next, I was plagued by HTTP issues which rendered certain pages useless. I could not connect to a good number of random pages I visited. Turns out the majority of this was caused by Slingshot's Internet Caching System, because after I turned this off most of these sites came back to life.

Which brings me to the present, my internet now is functional for the most part of the day, but once we hit 8pm, it becomes worse than dial-up. After this time, my internet grinds to an intermittent, snails pace. Pages fail to load, unless you constantly refresh until they works.

Before someone tries to blame this on my router/modem, I have tried two router/modems (one new, one in good nick) with no change.

I understand this is peak time, but it is simply unacceptable to charge someone for a service that barely works. I mean I can accept slow download speeds at peak times thats reasonable, but I cant surf the net after 8pm, that is totally unreasonable.

Now, I would like to stay with Slingshot, but this is not acceptable. Can anybody suggest anything that would restore my internet to working order or keep me with Slingshot? Otherwise, I will be forced to exercise my right to terminate my financial obligations to an unfit service.

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

Detruire

1788 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 84

#285828 29-Dec-2009 13:12

nixgear: I am going to ignore the issues I had with installation (day without internet, failure to notify Orcon etc)

It is your responsibility to notify your previous ISP, not that of the new ISP.

nixgear: I know Slingshot uses Vodafone's Red, so this is not technically their fault, but I feel people should be aware this could happen.

For their NDSL plan (and everything but TNBT) Slingshot use Telecom's equipment.

Were you on one of the Orcon plans which uses their equipment?

nixgear: Next, I was plagued by HTTP issues which rendered certain pages?useless. I could not connect to a good number of random pages I visited. Turns out the majority of this was caused by Slingshot's Internet Caching System, because after I turned this off most of these sites came back to life.

Cache is a pain in the rear. Gets far worse if you're not using their DNS servers (which is what usually causes major issues with it, but it is plagued with multiple minor annoyances)

nixgear:my internet now is functional for the most part of the day, but once we hit 8pm, it becomes worse than dial-up. After this time, my internet grinds to an intermittent, snails pace. Pages fail to load, unless you constantly refresh until they works.

I, as a Slingshot customer with the cache disabled who uses their nameservers, have to say I find it quite acceptable for browsing from 6PM to 1AM (where it gets a little shoddy some nights).
Not superbly fast, but nowhere near dialup speeds.

rm *

malco

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#285832 29-Dec-2009 14:17

Its not just that with slingshot, any tcp connection other than ssh or http seems to drop if open for a few hours, so imap, mms etc just stall. Cant change your cache settings if you have a static - have to call which is an exercise in frustration.

I specifically requested that there be nothing between my connection and the internet and I still am often having http stall during peak times.

IMO if there is a cache involed its not an internet connection.

Detruire

1788 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 84

#285834 29-Dec-2009 14:37

malco: Its not just that with slingshot, any tcp connection other than ssh or http seems to drop if open for a few hours

I've noticed that when idling. Keeps disconnecting me for no apparent reason. (And often fails to reconnect.)

malco: so imap, mms etc just stall. Cant change your cache settings if you have a static - have to call which is an exercise in frustration.

I do know of this hassle as I had to go through it myself before they offered the checkbox-to-disable option.
The helpdesk didn't do a thing, and in the end Scott had to follow it up.

rm *

nixgear

18 posts

Geek

#285848 29-Dec-2009 15:47

Detruire: It is your responsibility to notify your previous ISP, not that of the new ISP.

I assumed so, but I was told otherwise when I joined. Anyway, that's besides the point and I would ask you to please leave your loyalties at the door. I admit that I shouldn't have left this up to any customer service team however highly rated they are and maybe I should have just left any mention of previous problems out of the post.

Detruire: For their NDSL plan (and everything but TNBT) Slingshot use Telecom's equipment.

Sorry, if I am wrong about this. I thought I remember reading somewhere on their site something to the effect of "Vodafone is Slingshot's selected wholesaler". I can't find the page so lets assume your right.
I was on Orcon's unbundled network btw.

But, again I think that is besides the point. All I was saying was my line speed dropped when I switched and I thought people may find this interesting, especially if they were thinking of switching.

If this was where my problems ended, I would be perfectly happy, but its not.

Detruire: I, as a Slingshot customer with the cache disabled who uses their nameservers, have to say I find it quite acceptable for browsing from 6PM to 1AM (where it gets a little shoddy some nights).
Not superbly fast, but nowhere near dialup speeds.

I would like to agree, but I can't. In between intermittent http issues, it can work alright (id say 128kbps as a upper limit) but for the most part, its dial-up or less. What does that matter to me anyway when I need to refresh the site 10 times before it loads?

Anyway, this is just what I have experienced. It was a warning and appeal for help. I would really like to be happy with Slingshot, but this really is unacceptable.

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