Last night, we lost internet. I guess we should have predicted it, really.
[This is my personal experience and just my opinion.]
We got a letter from Vodafone about 2 months ago saying our cable internet was so old and outdated it was going to break any time soon, and we needed to replace it ASAP. A little exaggeration, I think. The system is working fine, but fibre is cheaper for them to run, so they are pressuring customers to move. Anyway, I spent the obligatory 40 minutes on hold waiting to get through and signed up to swap over from cable to fibre. No problem. They said a tech would contact me to arrange the new modem and set up the internet.
I said, since they were calling me to arrange the internet install, they better call on my cell phone. Details were given and I awaited the call. Later I get a call, but on my landline, and of course, the reason I gave the cell was that we are often not home or not able to answer that phone. Tried calling Downer back, got nowhere. So I waited. Bad mistake. Last night at 8.40pm the internet suddenly goes off. As they say in Star Wars "I have a bad feeling about this". Yup, they had done just what you were thinking, too. They had cancelled my internet because surely it was on the new system. They didn't check first, though. Very bad mistake. Terrible, in fact. I'm without internet at my home because they cancelled my old internet connection without checking the new one was set up! Seems a pretty basic thing to check first. It's not rocket science.
Interestingly, when I was looking for a picture for this blog, I found this result at the top of the page. Trust pilot isn't huge here but a fairly reliable source, and Vodafone earned themselves 1 star. https://nz.trustpilot.com/review/www.vodafone.co.nz
So, no internet, what shall I do? Shall I try and get Vodafone to sort this out or move to a different Internet Service Provider?
How have your internet experiences been? What internet providers have you found the most reliable?
[EDIT]: It was going to take 2 weeks to get a new provider, so I decided to contact Vodafone. The notes the tech last night wrote were insufficient, and I had re-explain everything to the new technician. Only took an hour of my time. :(
[EDIT 2]: So now Vodafone have backtracked and said the modem is faulty, and it WASN'T simply because they turned off my internet. I personally think they are lying. Very sad. A tech is coming out tomorrow afternoon - if they have disabled the service, the tech will be unable to fix it. I guess we'll see.
[EDIT 3]: The tech didn't show up. I rang Vodafone and got the run around. It took 40 minutes to get through to a senior tech who glossed over the problem and kept asking questions that showed he did not understand the situation. At one point near the end of the conversation I said that the modem was not working and that I could tell because all the lights were flashing. His response? "So everything is working now, right?".
I eventually was put through to a supervisor, who said Downer had contacted me to rearrange the appointment since the technician in my area was sick. Of course, they hadn't called. Not even on the landline. They have arranged for a technician to come out on Saturday (that will make it 4 days without internet) and look at the modem. I can tell you now what he will see. He will look at the modem and see that the "online" light is flashing, which means the modem is not connecting to Vodafone's system....COS THEY DISCONNECTED IT!. He won't be able to help, and I'll have to call Vodafone and try to convince a technician that this is the problem, and that they should fix it.
Well, I have given up in advance. I popped into Spark's hub. Talked to someone within 5 minutes, they have arranged the new setup. Then they gave me a Wi-Fi unit to cover the internet while I wait. So, easy. Ahhhhhh. Not, this post is not sponsored by Spark! Lol!
[EDIT 4]: Vodafone called to make another time for the tech, and he actually turned up! We even had internet by the time he left. I got some pretty mixed messages from him which didn't make me feel confident of his understanding of the situation but he did get the internet going. Too late though, we are going to stick with Spark. I'll keep you posted in another blog as to how that install process goes.
https://chnz.co.nz/internet-wifi-repair