Overcharged by Slingshot for months - warning to existing customers

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Overcharged by Slingshot for months - warning to existing customers

dusty42

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#154199 20-Oct-2014 21:44

Wow,

What an awful company.

Slingshot reduced the price for dsl broadband months ago, but charge existing customers the previous price and will not reduce it unless the customer asks.

The contact center tonight confirmed it is their policy to try and keep customers paying the old rates for the same service. They hope you won't notice the price drop and will keep autopaying an extra $10-20/month.

This seems like a scam to overcharge existing customers. They have been skimming an extra $15 a month out of us for at least 3 months - our plan is no longer offered by the company, but they charge us for it!

Decided the best thing to do is make a formal complaint and take it to the Telecom Ombudsmen.

How many thousand people are they ripping off?

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#1158867 20-Oct-2014 22:17

Glad to hear it's not just me noticing this!

I don't think there is any fundamental difference between the old and new plans, except for the price.

Bravo to the middle manager who decided to screw the customer base with this one.

graemeh

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#1159029 21-Oct-2014 09:21

dusty42: Bravo to the middle manager who decided to screw the customer base with this one.

This is standard old school telco behaviour.

I suspect most of them still work this way. To be fair, in most situations they change some aspects of the plan (remove features, change data limits etc) so sometimes customers are better on the old plan.

sbiddle

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#1159030 21-Oct-2014 09:27

This is no different to how any business anywhere in the world operates, and is certainly common place in the telco (particularly mobile) and power sectors.

Typically they don't change you because plans are virtually ever identical - if you look at mobile for example we've seen prices crash but then hidden catches such as the move from min+sec rounding to all calls being rounded per minute.

Just because a price has dropped doesn't automatically mean you're better off, and there have been many examples on here where companies have migrated customers to new products or cheaper pricing automatically and there has then been outrage at this.

timmmay

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#1159033 21-Oct-2014 09:28

dusty42: Decided the best thing to do is make a formal complaint and take it to the Telecom Ombudsmen.

Playing devils advocate, you got what you paid for, how do you think the ombudsman will help? They probably didn't reduce the price of your package for new customers, they probably created a new package which is available to both new and existing customers. While a bit sneaky I suspect it's legal. TelstraClear did the same thing in the past.

Snap! on the other hand gives existing customers upgrades as their packages change.

Skot323

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#1159059 21-Oct-2014 09:53

Thanks for the heads up! Was calling to complain but got upgraded to unlimited VDSL for the same price as my current plan.

NZCrusader

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#1159063 21-Oct-2014 10:00

Actually some providers do not allow you to move to the new pricing until your contract has expired. Slingshot on the other hand almost always allow this.

It has been present in the industry for years that customers must often move themselves on to new plans / pricing.

Normally when an existing plan is upgraded (eg with higher datacap) the changes are automatically applied.
However it is usually up to the customer to move themselves onto new plans, when the old plan is grandfathered and the new plan is available.

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DravidDavid

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#1159066 21-Oct-2014 10:06

The best one is where someone signs up to a 12 month contract and then moans that a new, better plan has come out that they can't get because they aren't a new customer, lol.

I don't have a problem with it. If I was that price conscious, I'd be on the Slingshot website checking every month.

dusty42

117 posts

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#1159067 21-Oct-2014 10:08

timmmay:
dusty42: Decided the best thing to do is make a formal complaint and take it to the Telecom Ombudsmen.

Playing devils advocate, you got what you paid for, how do you think the ombudsman will help? They probably didn't reduce the price of your package for new customers, they probably created a new package which is available to both new and existing customers. While a bit sneaky I suspect it's legal. TelstraClear did the same thing in the past.

Snap! on the other hand gives existing customers upgrades as their packages change.

Slingshot certainly aren't transparent on what plans are available, didn't notify us any new plan availability, which are as far as I can ascertain, is identical to the old plan (bar price). Of course no information is provided to allow any comparison by a consumer, so I have to guess.

Maybe you're right and this is widespread. If so we have a industry working entirely at odds with consumer interest - keeping prices high through obfuscation and a lack of consumer awareness.

This sort of profit seeking is damaging to our economy. It's inefficient. It's not morally defensible as it's predatory, and incentivises the entirely wrong sort of behaviour.

Slingshot - What a horrible company. They will rip you off. Long wait times for help desk, and rude and abusive consultants.
What a horrible horrible experience it has been.

sbiddle

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#1159076 21-Oct-2014 10:30

dusty42:
Maybe you're right and this is widespread. If so we have a industry working entirely at odds with consumer interest - keeping prices high through obfuscation and a lack of consumer awareness.

This sort of profit seeking is damaging to our economy. It's inefficient. It's not morally defensible as it's predatory, and incentivises the entirely wrong sort of behaviour.

But it's the way the world works - it's no different to any other subscription based service anywhere in the world, gyms are another big one that springs to mind.

You entered into a contract for a provider to provide you X product at X price. Contract law pretty much states that such a contract (whether it's 1 month or 12 months) will continue at that price until ended by either party.

Yes you can accuse companies of ripping you off, but the very simple reality is that it is the way the world works.

If Slingshot (or any other provider) had decided to put your price up would you have an issue with that? I'm assuming you would have done - but you can't have things both ways.

dusty42

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#1159086 21-Oct-2014 10:47

Lol, you working for them? What a suck-up.

You agree it's a method to fleece extra profit from customers. Not earned profit, just taking advantage of people. It's not morally defensible.

Here's hoping that you get scammed out of $40-$50 and remain so cheerful and sanguine about it.

/edit - if they want to increase their prices I'd expect to be notified. If they reduce their prices I expect the same. Go be sanctimonious somewhere else.

sbiddle

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#1159111 21-Oct-2014 11:14

dusty42: Lol, you working for them? What a suck-up.

You agree it's a method to fleece extra profit from customers. Not earned profit, just taking advantage of people. It's not morally defensible.

Here's hoping that you get scammed out of $40-$50 and remain so cheerful and sanguine about it.

/edit - if they want to increase their prices I'd expect to be notified. If they reduce their prices I expect the same. Go be sanctimonious somewhere else.

I certainly do not work for them and resent any accusations that I do.

You can't have things both ways. You're wanting them to reduce their pricing to you if they offer reduced pricing to others, but seemingly would object to paying more if they put the price up to new users.

Picking on an ISP for simply operating in a way that the world operates isn't going to change anything.

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#1159131 21-Oct-2014 11:39

Try and keep the namecalling to a minimum there OP.

I'm sorry if this has upset you but @graemeh is correct. The pricing you've quoted sounds to me like our Naked plans. Prior to releasing our new Naked pricing our Naked DSL plans came with a free iTalk rental whereas our new plans do not.

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dusty42

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#1159132 21-Oct-2014 11:40

sbiddle:
You can't have things both ways. You're wanting them to reduce their pricing to you if they offer reduced pricing to others, but seemingly would object to paying more if they put the price up to new users.

No, you've misconstrued me again. I think that if prices are changed then customers should be notified and empowered to accurately asses any changes. Companies have a duty of care to not mislead or obfuscate. A marketplace relies on informed consumers.
That's not having it both ways, that's expecting a modicum of customer service. And expecting a fair and open competition from companies for consumer's business.

Hurr hurring that this is common practice and customers deserve to be overcharged is entirely morally wrong. Your anti-consumer attitude is actually what is wrong with this industry. This is why tough consumer-focused regulation is needed to reign in scam tactics and overcharging.

Name and shame doesn't hurt either.

Picking on an ISP for simply operating in a way that the world operates isn't going to change anything.

Hopefully this serves as a salutory warning for anyone considering giving Slingshot their business; Slingshot have treated me with utter contempt. And it will take hours of my life to sort out.

Thanks for nothing, Slingshot.

dusty42

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#1159133 21-Oct-2014 11:42

Slingshot: Try and keep the namecalling to a minimum there OP.

I'm sorry if this has upset you but @graemeh is correct. The pricing you've quoted sounds to me like our Naked plans. Prior to releasing our new Naked pricing our Naked DSL plans came with a free iTalk rental whereas our new plans do not.

I can't find this information on your website. Please post the link to the page showing this.
How much is italk priced as an add on to the new plans?

Slingshot also care to tell us how many customers have not been migrated to the new pricing structure?

graemeh

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#1159202 21-Oct-2014 13:07

dusty42:
Slingshot: Try and keep the namecalling to a minimum there OP.

I'm sorry if this has upset you but @graemeh is correct. The pricing you've quoted sounds to me like our Naked plans. Prior to releasing our new Naked pricing our Naked DSL plans came with a free iTalk rental whereas our new plans do not.

I can't find this information on your website. Please post the link to the page showing this.
How much is italk priced as an add on to the new plans?

Slingshot also care to tell us how many customers have not been migrated to the new pricing structure?

I'd say it is this page with the naked pricing https://www.slingshot.co.nz/plans/broadband/naked

I don't know but I suspect that no customers have been migrated to the new pricing structure. They will only move ones that ask for it as the new pricing does not have an included iTalk service.

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