KEY POINTS:
Broadband users on Telecom's Go Large service are in line to receive a refund of at least $130.
Telecom announced they are crediting customers of the service for monthly plan charges incurred since last December because of a problem with the management of customer downloads under the plan.
The Go Large plan allows customers unlimited downloading and internet surfing but gives Telecom the right to reduce download speeds between 4.00pm and 12.00am - the peak time for internet traffic.
>> Read the story
>> Read a selection of yesterday's views
This forum is now closed. Here is a selection of your views:
Kim
Having experienced what instant, fast, fabulous ADSL speed is like in the Middle East I cannot believe the dinosaur pace of the lumbering, hopeless Go Large Broadband Telecom allows me to have access to since I signed up 6 months ago. Currently my speed is around 300-400. I liken this to the equivalent of a little man typing the words as I read. Absolutely shameful and appalling that I'm paying through the nose for this. I will never reach my quota of 1G because there is no point in trying to download anything - it would take all night. GO LARGE should be renamed GO LIE DOWN. I look forward to my refund but frankly - Telecom need to prioritise how they spend their money and investing in Australia vs providing NZers with a service that is promised is a no-brainer. It must be embarrassing to work for this company.
AP
I used to work on the Telecom helpdesk. Criticise Telecom all you like. Some within the helpdesk will support you. But do not pick on those guys. They do an amazing job 24/7 with no thanks and have to take all the abuse you give them when it should be directed at higher management. They have to play along to save their job as superiors monitor calls.
John Doe
I am an employee in Telecoms broadband department. I am ashamed of the way Telecom treats its customers. Telecom is deliberately letting the local loop degrade and not spending the time effort and money on it that it desperately needs. Instead all profits (which are hueg) go to offshore investors. Beware! When unbundling comes, Telecom with pick apart anything of value that it can keep and leave you/ us with a worthless shell.
Hank
Well have been having problems with Telecoms service for a long time. I threatened them with an email as calling them got put on hold for 45 mins. In the email I explained to them about the poor service and told them that I would be going to Fair go with my complaint. I then emailed Fairgo and within a week Telecom had sent me a letter allowing me out of my contract and a month of free Broadband. I have since transferred to Woosh as the ease of the plan is great. Fine Telecom for the lies and the false advertising that they presented to the New Zealand public. It was so easy for them with the monopoly the
have on the lines.
Andrew Harrison
Surprise, surprise. Have had conversations with Xtra for several months now about their lack of speed with the Go Large internet plan. I always found it impossible to download anything over 32k per second with there Go Large plan. Even though speed tests stated i was able to get up to 5mb per sec. Interesting to find I could download at 400k per sec consistently from local sites leading me to conclude they were traffic shaping. They tried the usual it is your line crap on several calls.This was utter crap seeing as I has a 2mb plan with ihug prior to switching plans and was able to download most of the time at 200k + per second. So changing plans I went from a fast connection to something that was meant to be faster but turned out slower than a snail. Was hoping things would be sorted out by now but going by the latest sorry letter things are not going to be any better. They are going to continue traffic shaping the Go Large plan, but now 24 hours a day.
Carl
What about all the other broadband customers they have ripped off over the years. I changed ISP around 5 months ago and I am saving around $65.00 per month for a better service that i had with Telecom/Xtra.
Sam
So Go Large was a mess up. Hats off to Telecom for admitting it but the exchange I am connected to and the international lines were so overloaded it killed my $59.95 Adventure connection. I constantly complained and now get no offer of a refund. Not good enough Telecom!
Rishab Ashwin
Since last year I had been on Telecoms Adventure plan and the service and speed of the plan was excellent with download speeds from overseas connections that were upto 1.5 Mbps and a monthly cap of 10 MB. I went overseas for a few months to return and re-connect to broadband only to find that all the plans had changed and had become even better and faster in every way and I noticed the Go large plan which was the only plan with unlimited cap with unlimited download speed. When I signed up for the plan I was extremely disappointed to see the overseas download speed ranging from 150 to 250 kbps maximum which was absolutely shocking. I thought there was something wrong with my phone line or my computer but it wasnt to be. I called Telecom within a week and expressed my disappointment only to find out that the plan was not working up to standard and the representative told me to upgrade my plan to the PRO plan which was another $ 30 more or to cancel if I chose to. I really didnt have a choice but $80 a month is quite high for a high speed plan especially when the average plan is not working up to standard. I feel Telecom should get rid of the Go Large plan if they cannot fix it and price the PRO plan for $60.
The PRO plan seems to be satisfactory but Telecoms marketing strategy using words such as Max speeds for download and upload is arguable. It might apply to NZ websites but 90 per cent of the time, customers always download information and surf the web using overseas websites that allow a max download speed of 2600 kbps and upload of 550 kbps (figures from my connection from internet speed test websites).
Natalie
I am also looking forward to the Commerce Commission taking Telecom to court over their false advertising. I live in Pokeno and was told I woul have to wait for space available at the exchange (its too small) - about 8 weeks later I had broadband, but its so slow. Watching YouTube is absolutely hopeless and we pay $40 per month + monthly phone well over $100 with no toll calls!!!Get Ya S.. Together Telecom.
Mike
Telecom have a lot to answer for in regards to this. NZ is far behind with ADSL technology. We have been paying for the Go Large, and before that the Adventure Plan, both should be getting download speeds of up to 8 mbps (megabit per second), by we are lucky if we get 1.5 mbps. Before the plans we uncapped we still getting the same results, even though we were paying in excess of $100. We have been told by Telecom on several occasions that we live too far from the exchange (suburban Sth AKL), and that they have no plans to upgrade the exchange. I would take my business to a wireless provider, but currently not within range (Takanini) to receive a reliable connection.
Rebecca
Telecom are a nightmare company, I agree that I expect, like most people paying for a service, good service. With Telecom, it seems that they offer these credits when the s really hits the fan. We have battled with them on many occasions, and when they admit they have been in the wrong, they have given us the odd 50.00 credit. However our time (usually months) is worth a lot more than this. I would rather deal with Vodafone, and not because of cost, but because of service, and because I am fed up with Telecom. Anyone that thinks they are a "good" company, needs their head read.
Paul Burke
I have been a Telecom Xtra Broadband client for over 2yrs now due to living in Helensville we are just outside the Toll Free calling area so are obligated to go with Telecom for our phone line and internet as this is the only option. Last year in November / December I enquired about internet plan to see if I could upgrade to the Go-Large or similar to gain the "Full Speed Connection", but was told there is no point as my line will not handle this and have to remain on the current old plan. So I am currently paying $49.95 per month for a service I am not getting and cannot downgrade as the data limit is only 1GB - exceeding this will cost more per MB, "Excess Usage means you will pay 2c (incl. GST) per MB (or part thereof) you use once you go over your monthly data allowance to maintain your connection at broadband speed". So at present I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I go to another ISP, I am up for connection fees and they cannot offer anything different as the line is connected back to Telecom and we have to sign up our calls with the new ISP, too costly as we are outside the toll free calling area! I doubt it will be sometime before myself and many others in the same area get to see an improvement in Broadband connection speeds and not having to pay more for local calls to Auckland, not that we are not that far out of the toll free calling radius.
Keith Currie
Even on the "Go Plan" at 1GB per month there is definately a slow down after 3pm. I measured my download speed at 7am (when I usually am on line), and it was approx 1.5mb per sec. At 7pm last night it was 550kb per sec and the upload was pitiful at under 90mb per sec. Telecom advertise that we can have speeds as fast as the phone lines will allow. So that must mean either their lines are of the antique type or they cant handle the capacity, and if its capacity that the problem then they are in breach of the consumer rights legislation. To be fair to Telecom though, how can you invest in infrastructure if you never really know if you will actually own the business in the immediate future?
Ray
Although I use Clear Net as my ISP, they are actually just reselling Telecoms broadband. I find the speed varies from reasonably fast to woefully slow (more of the latter than the former) and trying to contact their help desk - well dont bother. I am seriously thinking of switching to Vodafone with a connect card or vodem but will be checking them out thoroughly first. It is a disgrace that we have third world telecommunications - but then we are rapidly becoming a third world country anyway.
Claire Forsyth
I have been an Xtra customer since the service first started operating. I changed to Broadband as soon as it became available. In November and December 06 I was recieving emails that were days late because Telecom had been dealing with so much Spam apparantly and as a result I had weeks of delayed emails. I switched from Go everyday to Go large and immediately noticed a huge slow down. Often at peak times everything including emails were being downloaded at dial up speed. I have never complained or contacted them as they arent really interested and I didnt have the spare 30 to 40 mins to wait for an operator to answer my call. All in all very disappointed with Telecom Xtra. But I stay because it would be too hard to change ISPs and email addresses.
Renee
My husband and I had reached our limit on our previous Xtra Broadband plan, so wanted to "upgrade" to Go Large after seeing ads for it promising unlimited internet and downloads. I looked into it and found that they did limit usage during "peak" periods (coincidentally the only time of day except weekends when we actually use the net) however was willing to use limited downloads in exchange for higher speed (other downloads we would leave running overnight and watch/listen to next day). Anyway we got onto this plan, and lo-and-behold - slower than dialup. Our fee hasnt changed (fortunately) but have been resetting our router and restarting our computers to try and speed it all up. Though we must applaud Telecom for actually owning up to it being their problem. Now lets hope they fix it or we will be switching to another company.
Craig Arderne
But sadly it is another episode in a chain of events where customers have signed up for broadband services that were advertised as offering attractive speeds or data limits, but in reality have delivered a whole lot less. Newman said Telecom needs to understand that people make business and lifestyle decisions based on expected telecommunications service quality. "For a customer it is not just a matter of being let down or disappointed by speeds or services, it can have huge consequential effect on individuals lives. "Something in Telecom needs to change. There have been too many disappointments, too much over-promising and under-delivering. This simply adds to the concern of many people that when it comes to the impact of broadband on customers lives and businesses, Telecom has not yet got the message." My experience with Xtra: The above excerpt could not describe my feelings any better as I have had the broadband service for the last year, upon moving house from Howick to Dannemora (Feb 07). I was informed at the last minute that I would have to now wait until May 07 to get broadband again when in fact my broadband service could have been moved to the new address. The previous tenants in our new house also had broadband. To be told that other customers had been waiting longer than I had and I would now go onto the waiting list is just totally unacceptable seeing that I am an existing customer. I have come to rely on this type of service and my communications as I require have come to a standstill, which has been extremely annoying and inconvenient. Prior to this incident, it was always on my mind to raise the issue of broadband speed with the monolith but felt that nothing would come of it. My experience is that the service was slightly slower after the much advertised un-leashing of the service. While steady for my needs certainly not fast. This has forced me to consider the alternatives (Woosh) to see if they understand customer service and continuity.
Chris R
Well this is interesting. For our family computer at home, two days ago I contacted xtra requesting a change to the go large plan $49.95/month because I just realised that I have been paying $59.95/month for a Discoverer plan that is capped at 5G/month. I will be investigating another ISP. Last year when I changed to Broadband I experienced disconnections all the time (it takes 2 minutes to walk to the exchange from home). The helpful technician blamed it on the length of lead between my wall socket and modem. interestingly, since I started standing this telecom-supplied modem on its side (not how the instructions say to have it) it runs cooler and I have had zero loss of connection.
Pierre
I am not a 'Go Large' customer. I have the plan above, which costs 10 dollars more per month and is supposed to be faster. But I paid the price too for the traffic jam on the copper lines. My download speed can sometimes go to a ridiculous level (not far from the modem of the olden days). I remain with Telecom all the same. The alternative is no better but sometimes I have the feeling that it is robbery in full daylight (or perhaps between 12 noon and midnight).
Fred
I have been on Go Large for a while (probably prior to December as well). One thing for sure, it was as fast as it touted to be. I do not download movies and 1 or 2 songs once in a blue moon. Most of it are pdf files, work files. The average download was about 20kbps (how much is this compared to 2.5mbps which they claim). I have given up hope that they can provide any faster and had not bother with other ISPs as they all end with Telecom (unless it has been unbundled). Worst of all it their poor service. Once my system was down. Being IT savvy myself, I know theres nothing wrong with my system. Calling their help desk and waiting for someone to speak is 40 minutes. That is total unacceptable in any business environment. Their technical staff probably knew nothing much other than to regurgitate what is put in front of them. They insist I change the settings here and there. It still doesn't work. Total time wasted, almost 1.5 hours. They promise to call back by afternoon the following day. Of course, they didnt. I called them. It was a fault at their exchange.Its definitely right for the commerce commission to look into their advertising claims. Angry but nowhere to let off steam.
Jayne
I agree with other Xtra customers, Telecoms broadband leaves a lot to be desired. We went on broadband early last year and it was great at first , much better than dial up but it seemed to get slower and slower we thought it was our computer. So we went and upgraded our computer only to have the same problems "slow broadband" even though we are on a faster plan again. We experience huge difficulties getting connected also, (even though you are supposed to be connected all the time with broadband. They are ripping us off, by charging far too much for a service that just is not there.
James
Utter crap, complete marketing rip off, we are no better off today then we were 2 years ago, if anything the price of broadband has gone up with caps reduced, ahh!
Steve Limpus
Telecom is a disgrace. We already know to lie is Telecom policy (Hasta la Vista Theresa!) When I went ballistic at Telecom about my crap GoLarge connection they temporarliy upgraded me to the $70 plan to test the line. It worked ok but no more. Bottom line: Telecom decided to give me mediocre broadband for $70; but figured for $50 they would just keep my money! What are they going to do when we are all forced to even more expensive plans and the service is still crap?
Tim
My recent experience with Telecom has left me with a sour taste in my mouth. My computer was recently stolen so I had no use for my internet connection. I had been on my Telecom Broadband plan for 18 months so had completed my 12 month contract. I was shocked when I was told that they couldnt hold my contract for a month and that I would have to pay the base rate of $29.95. This lack of flexibilty meant I canceled my Telecom contract. Within an hour I was signed to ihug with a no terms contract. It is classic Telecom not using any discretion to treat their customers well. It is not government policy that will hurt Telecom but their ineptitude.
Julian Sheridan
Fantastic that they are refunding us, but they could at least be honest, they never made a mistake, they directly lied to the public about go large.
Moo
Telecom sucks. My dad has Go Large at his business and its so damn slow. I think they should be appalled at the fact they were listed as the worst ISP in the developed world.
Ego
I was a Telecom broadband customer but got so fed up and frustrated at their lack of service and slow connection speed that I changed over to Woosh. I had connection problem on and off for over 3 months, sometimes I couldnt get connection to internet for a week at a time. Called their help desk numerous times and of course that involved getting transferred in a loop. Finally got to talk to someone and they wanted me to do all these test to see whose fault it was. Of course it wasnt my fault or my equipments fault because I could log on before. They wanted to charge me a large sum of money for in-house check, just to establish the problem. I naturally refused because they should have fixed the fault for free. I asked for a rebate for my monthly fee but their declined. I explained to them that I couldnt get on the internet for 1/3 of the time over the 3 months period and that they should at least credit my account as good gesture. Anyway, got so frustrated with them and their lie about the connection speed which was so slow that I couldnt watch news clips so I changed to Woosh, which I am very satified - easy installation, friend and good service, convenient internet account and the price is unbeatable. I moved house at the end of last year and I never intended to want to get a phone line with Telecom because I think its a rip off. instead I got Woosh internet phone with my internet account and is still cheaper than what I would have to pay for just for Telecoms broadband!
>> Go to a selection of yesterday's views
