Trouble with Chorus Broadband

mamamia79

Hey there Everyone!
Just a little bit of background here first. My partner and I moved into a new apartment last April and with each of us owning a laptop it only made sense for us to want to be online. Not having a landline and wanting to have a fairly rapid connection, we opted for broadband and signed on with Chorus who were offering one of their lovely 6 months at a low price deals. For the first few months, we had the odd glitch where the connection would be lost, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed by unplugging and then replugging in the modem and such. Then, about 4/5 months into our "special offer" the internet dissappeared completely.

We called chorus who first suggested we turn off our computer and reboot it. uhhhh....yeah, hadn't thought of that before. They then suggested that maybe it was a problem with our operating system. After two weeks of phone tag they eventually sent someone around who said our router was the wrong one and took it away only to replace it with what appeared to be THE EXACT SAME MODEL!!!! When this still did not work, we called again only to be told that broadband was not available in our area.

huh?

First off, we live in city centre. If anywhere in Cork City is going to get broadband, it's a pretty good guess that city centre will be the place to get it.
Secondly, for the last four or five months WE HAD A BROADBAND CONNECTION!!!!

Still, chorus insisted that we were wrong and that there was simply no signal available to us. They refused to discuss our history of internet use and getting billed by them for said broadband connection which now was apparently a figment of our imagination.

We then discovered that if we disconnected the cord leading to the cable and only used the internet and not the tv, we could surf the net and then if we wanted to watch tv, just switch the connections back again. Bit of a hassle, but at least we were getting somewhere.

Now, here's where it gets fun. The SECOND our 6 month deal was up and chorus began charging us full price, our broadband was suddenly up and running with not a glitch to be found at all and we could use it at the same time we were watching television. Suddenly, the "signal problem" in our area had been seen to and we haven't had a problem since, aside of course from when they shut down our direct debit without telling us and then charged us exhorbitant late fees three months later..... but hey! That's another post entirely!

A few months after we signed onto chorus, a friend of ours also signed up with him. Recently, he also came into the last month or so of his promotional period and funnily enough.... his internet has dissappeared. What's more, when he contacted chorus, he was given the same song and dance;
1. turn on and off your computer.
2. Is it your operating System?
3. Oh! Look at that! You have the wrong router! Let us hook up an identical one and take that one away.
4. Oh no! You're area doesn't GET broadband! There's no signal there! Never has been! uh uh! No Way!

What's even better is that during our little tangle with Chorus, I went to the local internet cafe to check my email. While I was paying I got to chatting with the guy behind the counter who's brother was also going through the EXACT SAME SITUATION with chorus.

What I want to know is this;
Is there anyone else out there who has had a similar problem with chorus or who is currently experiencing difficulties with them and if so, what can be done to remedy the problem?
Cheers! Sorry for the long winded post! If you've reached the end, well done

squibs

I had heartbreak with them years ago. The staff were universally rude. I always had to repeat my story from the start to whatever drone was on the phone that day - no such thing as recording a problem history. I finally told them to stick it, paid what was due, and moved to Sky.

They sent me new bills every month with charges for services I didn't have, with the letters becoming nastier, and the phone drones getting ever more rude and belligerent. Then it stopped.

Here's where it gets really devious. After 6 months of silence, I received a see-you-in-court form letter with a preprinted "signature" from an account manager. I can only assume that they hoped I'd thought it was over and dumped the relevant bills/paperwork, so I wouldn't have any hard evidence anymore. I never throw out paperwork

I summarised my story in a letter to the manager and let her know I was looking forward to my day in court, expecially seeing as they had never received a signed contract from me on day one, and I had all the paperwork to argue my side of the case.. They backed right off and credited my account to a zero balance as a "gesture of goodwill". The silly thing about it is that they never got paid, they knew they weren't entitled to be paid, and they must have spent a fair few quid trying to steal from me. Maybe they've learned that it pays to threaten, and to make their customer service impenetrable so that people will capitulate.

I would rather live in 4-channel land and communicate with CB radio than deal with Chorus again. Sky staff have gone downhill a little, and the hard sell is a pain, but they are always polite and they do listen to you

parsi

Rule No.1 - always pay Chorus by cheque in arrears.

When we signed up with them the sales rep falsified the form and signed us up for the sports package (not funny). They demanded our original form as proof of the overcharge and got upset when I said that I was hardly going to trust them with it..

We used suffer from breakdowns so I used adjust my bill payments accordingly, they used levy late fees which I ignored and I had great pleasure in bringing back my decoder to them when I got Sky.

Despite many calls I still get mailshots from them -must get ready for another battle.