What would you say if I told you that I went to the supermarket and bought 4 cartons of milk at RD$50 each, and paid the cashier RD$200. However, on my way out another staff member removed 3 of the cartons from my bag and said I had to make a phone call to their customer service department before he could let me have them. Meanwhile, if I needed milk, I was to go back to the supermarket and buy another carton.
That's not what really happened, but in effect it's what the telecomms companies here do with their pre-pago deals.
It happened to us with Claro banda ancha internet - see this recent thread http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/103400-claro-codetel-way-they-treat-their-paying-customers.html - and now with Orange net.
I paid for 4 days of internet service with the USB thingy because they had to order the 'flybox' option we chose, and once the flybox arrived we were going to get a one-year contract - not pre-pago.
What happens though is that with the pre-pago set up, when the first 24 hours are up they say you have to recharge, even though you've paid for a full four days. Customer service instructs you to remove the SIM from your USB and put it in your phone, and dial *223. The first time I did this I was very reluctant, but it worked - only to find that when I replaced the phone chip it no longer worked and had to be replaced. At first they wanted me to pay for the new chip but I managed to persuade them that I would have never removed it if they hadn't told me to, and that in any case it seemed like an unnecessary and absurd manoeuvre.
The second time the chip thing didn't result in a successful restoration of service, so the person we've been dealing with at the local branch made a complaint, which will be dealt with in 48 hours. They told her that I had used up much of the balance by attempting to connect and no longer had enough credit. My stance is that I paid for 4 days and only got 1, so they have in effect stolen 3 days worth of money from me AND not provided the service I paid for. But I still need to wait for them to get back to me.
Meanwhile the only option if I want to remain online is to pay again for a new recharge, meaning I'm paying them twice. As if the supermarket had made me go back in and buy another carton of milk to replace the one they'd taken away from me at the exit.
Our options for internet service are running out. The first company we used - Bectel - went belly up. Codetel have installed cables in the entire neighbourhood but not in our building for some reason so regular landline/broadband is not yet an option. Claro pre-pago banda ancha was too slow and we had similar issues when it came to recharging. The Orange signal is quite good and the local staff member is much better than Claro/Codetel so we would have liked to give it a chance, but I'm seriously concerned about making a one-year commitment to a company that has such absurd practices.
I think the only other wireless option in our area is Tricom but everyone I know who's tried it say the signal is non-existent. I don't think we can afford satellite internet, and in any case have not seen any options here in the east - although I'm sure they exist.
That's not what really happened, but in effect it's what the telecomms companies here do with their pre-pago deals.
It happened to us with Claro banda ancha internet - see this recent thread http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/103400-claro-codetel-way-they-treat-their-paying-customers.html - and now with Orange net.
I paid for 4 days of internet service with the USB thingy because they had to order the 'flybox' option we chose, and once the flybox arrived we were going to get a one-year contract - not pre-pago.
What happens though is that with the pre-pago set up, when the first 24 hours are up they say you have to recharge, even though you've paid for a full four days. Customer service instructs you to remove the SIM from your USB and put it in your phone, and dial *223. The first time I did this I was very reluctant, but it worked - only to find that when I replaced the phone chip it no longer worked and had to be replaced. At first they wanted me to pay for the new chip but I managed to persuade them that I would have never removed it if they hadn't told me to, and that in any case it seemed like an unnecessary and absurd manoeuvre.
The second time the chip thing didn't result in a successful restoration of service, so the person we've been dealing with at the local branch made a complaint, which will be dealt with in 48 hours. They told her that I had used up much of the balance by attempting to connect and no longer had enough credit. My stance is that I paid for 4 days and only got 1, so they have in effect stolen 3 days worth of money from me AND not provided the service I paid for. But I still need to wait for them to get back to me.
Meanwhile the only option if I want to remain online is to pay again for a new recharge, meaning I'm paying them twice. As if the supermarket had made me go back in and buy another carton of milk to replace the one they'd taken away from me at the exit.
Our options for internet service are running out. The first company we used - Bectel - went belly up. Codetel have installed cables in the entire neighbourhood but not in our building for some reason so regular landline/broadband is not yet an option. Claro pre-pago banda ancha was too slow and we had similar issues when it came to recharging. The Orange signal is quite good and the local staff member is much better than Claro/Codetel so we would have liked to give it a chance, but I'm seriously concerned about making a one-year commitment to a company that has such absurd practices.
I think the only other wireless option in our area is Tricom but everyone I know who's tried it say the signal is non-existent. I don't think we can afford satellite internet, and in any case have not seen any options here in the east - although I'm sure they exist.
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