I intend to forward a  formal written copy to Orcon. My friend advised me to post this online to get a quicker response. The first part was meant to be sent last month, but I refrained from doing so because I thought I would let it slide. However, a new issue has cropped up, and I am force to join my previous complaints with the new issue.

LETTER OF COMPLAINT

Dear Orcon,

I am writing this letter to voice my disappointment with the delivery of your services. Let me start by saying that I have been a loyal customer of Orcon for many years now and that I was once very satisfied with what you had provided. Unfortunately, my recent experiences with you have changed my perception considerably.

About two weeks ago I opted to change my plan from the Orcon Purple (which included no landline, and had cost me $30 something a month for the first gigabyte, and two dollars a gigabyte thereof) to the Orcon Genius. I decided to change my plan after receiving bills that exceeded $100 a month. Ordinarily, I would take responsibility for the amount of internet being used by my family members, but I have a bone to pick with such a plan and which consumers it should be recommended to.

Orcon Purple is an ancient plan, and I am surprised that it still operates for families such as our own. Today, many households are connected to high-speed internet and are using well over the mere gigabyte. Understandably, there will be the odd customer who feels that one gigabyte is sufficient, but I do not represent those customers. I would like to think that your company has the ability to provide convenience by introducing to fellow customers better plans, especially for those households that are using the internet more frequently and have received bills in the $100+ range. Of course, I am aware that you have rolled out new plans for the Orcon Genius and have an advertising campaign on television, magazines, and on your website. But as far as I am concerned, your campaign only seems to target a specific type of audience—new customers.

Why should I pay more money for Orcon Purple, when there are cheaper plans out there that would easily cater my needs? More specifically, why are not current customers being advised by your representatives to change to these new plans when this sort of usage is occurring? I can tell you that both Telecom and Telstraclear have sent me, on a regular basis, pamphlets detailing their offers. I have often thought about changing to these, as they have made the effort to introduce to me their offers. Attached with this letter is my latest invoice statement before I left the Orcon Purple plan. For one month of internet usage I was charged a staggering $178.84, almost double the price of any one of your Orcon Genius or any one of your competitor’s plans (for example, Slingshot offers unlimited internet at $90 a month). I must not be wrong to say that the bill I received would be expensive for any household in New Zealand.

My second complaint regards the support line. When I changed to Orcon Genius, I specifically asked for a handset to be included with the router. What use is having a landline with Orcon, and not receiving a handset from you guys, when conventional handsets will not work? Unfortunately, I received no handset with my package. And after a very lengthy conversation with one of your representatives about the missing piece, I was left rather confused and frustrated. I was told that my contract would be extended from 12 months to 24 months, unless I was willing to incur an additional $10 month fee on the plan. I agreed to the condition to extend the contract period, but was left confused as to what this was all about. It all seemed like a marketing-scheme just to keep us on-board on the plan for a longer period and an opportunity for one of your representatives to make a bigger sale. The representative did a terrible job of explaining it all in broken English. In all honesty, I should have just opted to terminate my contract then and there to save time.

My third complaint regards faulty equipment. After the debacle of the second complaint, I sent back the Orcon Genius package and received a new router with my handset. Within a week of usage, the router stopped working and the handset buttons became non-responsive. For example, the number six button on my handset needs to be pushed multiple times before it registers. Both the router and handset appears fragile, light, and poorly made. Moreover, the Wi-Fi signal on the router is weak. I have the router established near the centre of the house, and yet, I can barely pick up a signal two rooms away. The internet signal will drop in and out during usage. This seems rather disappointing when the router is supposed to supply, what is termed, ‘high-speed’ internet.

While I support your ‘Green’ policy to promote the reusing of equipment after testing, the equipment should be tested more carefully to assure the customer it is of an acceptable standard and quality.

I should add that I was put on hold for well-over 50 minutes before a representative could answer my call to have the equipment replaced. The fault occurred on Friday 22nd February and, for obvious reasons with postage, I will not receive the new router and handset until later this week. In the meantime, I am without internet and a phone, and I am expected to pay for a full month of service while these errors are corrected.

Now, each complaint on their own might seem unimportant, and I would ordinarily ignore each issue if they had occurred over the contractual period. But since these issues occurred over a single month, I feel that I must inform you of the many problems that seem to plague your service. Anyone who has ever experienced a similar ordeal that I did would also carry the same opinion. Take these complaints with a grain of salt if you must, but I believe some new changes should be implemented to maintain the loyalty of your customer base. We have considered terminating the contract, but we will remain under your service to see you make the necessary improvements to your service. We hope you can continue to become a top provider in this country.

Yours sincerely, [omitted]

27/02/2013

Updated 17/03/2013- Note: This is my latest complaint

I began drafting the above complaints last month. I have left it largely unchanged, as it accurately states my objections at the time. I originally did not want to send the above complaints in hope that matters will be resolved. Unfortunately, I am now forced to bring this to your attention with another invoice I have just received. I have been recorded to have made a payment to Orcon for $219.31 for this month. The previous month I was charged $178.84. I talked to one of your representatives today and did not receive the answers I wanted. From what I gathered, I was billed from my previous old plan and for the Orcon genius sign-up to the total of $178.84 on February 4th. And now I have an invoice totalling $219.31. I have paid nearly $400 of internet and phone usage in the space of two months! That is more expensive than my power bills at the moment.

My household has become most infuriated and concerned with the lack of answers received. We are also sceptical of the amount of money being deducted from our accounts. There is no reasonable justification for imposing a bill of $219.31 on any household for internet usage. I am supposed to be on the Orcon Genius plan that should be costing me $89.00 a month (with exception to excessive usage and international calls). Do any of your representatives understand or sympathise with the position you people have left us in? I will definitely now consider terminating my plans with Orcon and incur the penalty. It is unbearable to see what kind of company this is. For a state-owned enterprise I expect better. If I should not hear from you in the next couple of months, we will most certainly move on with plans to join a new provider. We expect answers and relief to this abysmal mess you guys have created. Consider this your last warning.

[omitted]