Question for UTV Talk & their Broadband

Sully

dub45 wrote:

Nobody has criticised UTV as often as me but in fairness your point at no 5 is totally wrong. Carl has consistently bent over backwards to help UTV customers for ages and answers problems for posters at all hours of the day and night often from home. He is one of UTV's few goodpoints. And if the powers that be wont tell him what they are going to do that's not his fault.

I disagree with your first point; im either on par with you criticsing UTV or moan more Made a complaint today to a guy who deals with complaints, about the poor responce times, ignorance of some of the staff etc. Apparently, UTV rep. are supposed to give there name when they answer the phone! Never do to me.

The only reason im sticking with UTV is its the cheapest, and no other better offers (besides Smart who I await to come in my area) are around..

- Sully

Billabong

step 1 - set your UTV account to suspend if download cap is exceeded
step 2 - dont ever log off as you cannot get kicked off but you can be denied logon
step 3 - see how much you can download in a month and then try beat it the following month.
step 4 - Keep a handy eircomnet dialup ready for when a powercut logs you off and your already over your cap

This trick is something I kind of stumbled upon back before christmas. I've been using utv bb since the summer and had found myself constantly checking to make sure i didn't exceed my limit and get my account suspended until the next month. ( note i have the suspend my account option selected which means they cannot legally bill me for any excess capacity I might "accidentally" use)

One day just before christmas I accidentally went over the limit buy a meer 2 gigs, there was a 10 days left in the month so I was a bit ****ed off. To my surprise, even the next day UTV had still not kicked me off the server. I remained on the server for the remaining 10 days and got a grand total of 16.5 gigs out of my 8 gig cap.

Apparently the server knows when your over your limited at the once daily update time but does not have the capability to kick you off. Your username simply gets blacklisted for the remainder of the month so you cannot log on which is not a problem when you are already logged on.

According to UTV who I rang twice over this issue " you cannot get charged if you have the suspend account option selected"

It does mean that your computer must be on 24/7 but thats the norm now for all you legal downloaders of linux and the likes over P2P.

sorry about the excessively long post but i've an awful load of work to be avoiding.

My final note to any UTV staff that may be reading this, My 12 month contract will be up in a few months and hence I will have no loyalty to U.TV ( a company who seem to have a standard phone queue wait time of 20 mins "based on the average of 3 calls to UTV"). I am happy to stay with U.TV based on the fact that I can download on average 13 gigs a month which I feel is adequate. Should the U.TV techies avtually find a way to disable this trick, It shouldn't bother me, especially with smart telecom around the corner. No hard feelings.

Sully

Billabong wrote:

step 1 - set your UTV account to suspend if download cap is exceeded
step 2 - dont ever log off as you cannot get kicked off but you can be denied logon
step 3 - see how much you can download in a month and then try beat it the following month.
step 4 - Keep a handy eircomnet dialup ready for when a powercut logs you off and your already over your cap

This trick is something I kind of stumbled upon back before christmas. I've been using utv bb since the summer and had found myself constantly checking to make sure i didn't exceed my limit and get my account suspended until the next month. ( note i have the suspend my account option selected which means they cannot legally bill me for any excess capacity I might "accidentally" use)

One day just before christmas I accidentally went over the limit buy a meer 2 gigs, there was a 10 days left in the month so I was a bit ****ed off. To my surprise, even the next day UTV had still not kicked me off the server. I remained on the server for the remaining 10 days and got a grand total of 16.5 gigs out of my 8 gig cap.

Apparently the server knows when your over your limited at the once daily update time but does not have the capability to kick you off. Your username simply gets blacklisted for the remainder of the month so you cannot log on which is not a problem when you are already logged on.

According to UTV who I rang twice over this issue " you cannot get charged if you have the suspend account option selected"

It does mean that your computer must be on 24/7 but thats the norm now for all you legal downloaders of linux and the likes over P2P.

sorry about the excessively long post but i've an awful load of work to be avoiding.

Id agree with your steps, but the last one (dialup). Does Eircom have to know when your going to use the dialup? Or can I use it anytime and just get billed for the time I use?

And if I go over the limit, dont log off etc. then I can still use UTV BB ya? Even tho I hit the limit and they dont have the power to d/c me? What happens if I log off sometime next month, I wont be given "Access Denied" for not logging of last month hence I was still able to use BB?

- Sully

dub45

Sully04 wrote:

Id agree with your steps, but the last one (dialup). Does Eircom have to know when your going to use the dialup? Or can I use it anytime and just get billed for the time I use?

And if I go over the limit, dont log off etc. then I can still use UTV BB ya? Even tho I hit the limit and they dont have the power to d/c me? What happens if I log off sometime next month, I wont be given "Access Denied" for not logging of last month hence I was still able to use BB?

- Sully

I thought that UTV threw everyone off every two days or so? Remember there were complaints about that a while ago?

PcP

Mine is set to cut off when it hits the cap but I'm fairly sure that if you dont logoff, whatever you downloaded since last logon will be carried through to the following months allowance.

Lionheart wrote:

5. UTV have a newsgroup but their spokesperson has little or no power to do anything. He's always to busy even to ask the UTV powerbods questions on behalf of the customers. In other words, he couldn't be bothered.

I would agree about the cap charges and constant 12 month lockins but that last bit ^^ is utter rubbish.

bush

Well I was using the internet on the 13th of this month and was over the limit by a gig and they cut me off. My internet is always on too through a router.

Dinner

As far as I know UTV do kick you off every 2 days or so to get a read or something like that so I'm not sure if Billabong's idea will work anymore.

Sully

Not really on my side. I just randomly d/c for no reason.

- Sully

Repli

I dunno about Billabongs idea.. I think the T&C's say "you will be charged for exceeding the cap", not "you wont be charged if you check the box to disconnect yourself for exceeding the cap". And from stories I've heard about UTV, if they find out about it they could hit you with a bill for a few hundred euro a few months down the line.. just be careful is all I am saying

Sully

Repli wrote:

I dunno about Billabongs idea.. I think the T&C's say "you will be charged for exceeding the cap", not "you wont be charged if you check the box to disconnect yourself for exceeding the cap". And from stories I've heard about UTV, if they find out about it they could hit you with a bill for a few hundred euro a few months down the line.. just be careful is all I am saying

So your telling us that - even if we select the option to "Disconnect on exceeding cap" - we will still get charged no matter what option is selected?

Thats pathetic.

- Sully

Repli

Sully04 wrote:

So your telling us that - even if we select the option to "Disconnect on exceeding cap" - we will still get charged no matter what option is selected?

Thats pathetic.

- Sully

No, if you select that option and play by the rules you won't be charged for exceeding the cap.. I was talking about Billabongs method of not logging off.. also

Apparently the server knows when your over your limited at the once daily update time but does not have the capability to kick you off. Your username simply gets blacklisted for the remainder of the month so you cannot log on which is not a problem when you are already logged on.

We are just taking his word that this information on how their system works is correct

PiE

That is the way it works, however they can and do disconnect everyone every 48hrs to tally up the downloads. His method does work, but you should only do it around the last 2 days of the month unless you don't mind having no 'net.

I've gone over it by a fair few gigs most months using this method and haven't been charged. I'd like them to try charge me

PcP

Sully04 wrote:

So your telling us that - even if we select the option to "Disconnect on exceeding cap" - we will still get charged no matter what option is selected?

Thats pathetic.

- Sully

Your data traffic is sent on each disconnect so if you leave it connected until the first of the month surely everything you downloaded on that connect will be taken off your new monthly allowance. You won't get charged for going over but I would imagine it's still counted in your cap.

Sully

If things where fantastic this would be a good (fairy tale) idea:

Whatever is left over in the cap on Month A is added to Month B :P

- Sully

Billabong

Ill try and answer a few of the queries which came up after my post (revised post).
1. eircomnet is my backup and quite simple charge you at the local call rate.
phone no. 1892150150
username eircomnet
password eircomnet

2 I was having problems with the 48 hours disconnect before christmas and the extreem difficulties of reconnection. I find the automatic disconnect rarely happens anymore on either of my two connections in two separate counties (dublin,louth). Whether this was due to my obsessive complaing or just coincidence i just dont know.

3 for the past 3 months now I have being leaving my connection alive and downloading for the last 7 days of each month without fail. I must admit though there were one or two occasions where itdid disconnect, usually because my computer having a nervous breakdown from laque of sleep. However with a quick reconnect I actually got reconnected, i'm assuming because of the delay in updating.

at the very least, even with a two day disconnect you should be able to start heavy downloading 4 days before the end of the month, disconnect and reconnect 2 days before the end of the month and before the update occurs (From my observations on sleep deprived nights, U.TV updates are accounts between 2 and 3 in the morning. They do not necessarily have to disconnect in order to tally up. I thinks). Try it! whats the worst that can happen, you might have to do without broadband for two days, not the end of the world, try reading a book or something. Just make damn sure that you have the correct option selected to suspend your account, remembering that there is a delay of a month for any option change.

4 I was quite paranoid about this when it first happened accidentally so I took a few precautions. I made 3 separate phone calls to U.TV to explain exactly what had happened. Their harmonious reply was that if I had selected not to be billed for excess that I could not be charged under any circumstances. I had the foresight to record the thrid conversation although I did not declare it when I was speaking to the operative so I dont know how that would hold up legally. My only worry is that the operatives out of some "freak occurance" dont have a clue what they are talking about, god forbid.

5 one last thing, I have deffinitely not ever experienced carry over into the next month under any circumstances. I get a clean slate each month without fail. If anyone experienced otherwise please let me know as i dont want my luck to run out.

Try it, dont try it, I don't care, it works for me and I just wanted to share it with the rest of us deprived broadband users.

Repli

Your current bandwidth usage this month is:


Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server error '80004005'

[DBMSSOCN]General network error. Check your network documentation.

/clicksilveraccountie/onlineusage.asp, line 96

Anyone else getting this error when checking the cap?

Subc

yes i got that message

and any damn news from UTV, 31st of March and we have NOTHING

Dinner

Yeah I'm getting that message too.

UTV would be extremely stupid not to respond to what Eircom have laid out at the moment.

mickger

Arabel wrote:

Yeah I'm getting that message too.

UTV would be extremely stupid not to respond to what Eircom have laid out at the moment.

There silence since Eircoms announcement almost 3 weeks has been a bloody disgrace.Luckily my contract is up tomorrow so i will be leaving for Smart in May/June the sooner the better

Subc

mabey they have a surprise 5mb connection

Dinner

Subc wrote:

mabey they have a surprise 5mb connection

Yeah, and maybe they'll have no cap, and maybe, they'll make pigs fly.

If only.

rymus

Arabel wrote:

UTV would be extremely stupid...

I think that ship has long since sailed

Merik

if you look at the utv site, you'll notice they've extended their free 3/4 month offer to June now, so doubt we'll see any new offers from them anytime soon.

All we're going to see in the short term is probably the line speed increase because Eircom are increasing all lines.

Getting tired of having to sign a 12 month contract anyway, been with UTV since the beginning from the original friasco product, signed 3 rolling 12 month contracts, if they are good we wont need to sign these things. I'll think twice about renewing if they have a new offer, dont think a 16gb limit will tempt me to sign another 12 months away.

diarmo

Offer Ends
30th June 2005!

Well they need to do their best and lure prospective clients into UTV broadband with the biggest lure possible and Free Broadband? is what gets the contracts signed.

But they have not updated their "double eircomss download limit" lines yet....so who knows.

BTW
In the UK ISP's throttle the broadband for users from 2mbit to 512k for example....so if UTV dont want to give their customers 1 or 2mbit connections...then they dont have to!!!!

Subc

well for this month im at 15.2 gig or so of the 16gig cap
I'dd rather have 2mb line with 16gig cap then 512 with 16gig (short term)

_Kaiser_

Merik wrote:

Getting tired of having to sign a 12 month contract anyway, been with UTV since the beginning from the original friasco product, signed 3 rolling 12 month contracts, if they are good we wont need to sign these things. I'll think twice about renewing if they have a new offer, dont think a 16gb limit will tempt me to sign another 12 months away.

The silence from UTV about their plans certainly isn't gonna help them retain customers when a lot of the 12 month contracts expire next month.
I too am worried about the possibility of them trying to lock customers into another 12 months with this quote from the "any word from UTV on the speed increase?" thread a few pages back:

I was just talking on a guy in the UTV Admin department, and he said that they had "just heard" that the clicksilver plus would be upgraded to 2mb "in the next week or so" (His words in quotes)

I asked him about cap increases and he said "he didn't know, but something could be possibly rolled out next week"

I then mentioned about contracts, my contract is up on the 1st of april and told him i didn't want to sign anything for another year if i didn't like the packages/terms and conditions etc. he then mentioned that "An email would be sent confirming if i would like to agree to the free upgrade or not"

What do we need to confirm? The 512k package isn't gonna exist anymore as I understand it.. this therefore should be an automatic upgrade for all existing customers, right??
I think they might try a similiar line to the one they came out with for customers to avail of the reduced wholesale prices that time - get cheaper broadband, but only if you sign up for another 12 months.

In fairness, I've had UTV too since the fraico days and I've generally had no complaints (save for the rather extended teething problems with ClickSilver, that it's not always great for gaming, or the rather odd billing problem where they "mislaid" 6 months of calls and then charged me for em in one go whilst not even accepting responsibility for the error as my provider - instead blaming esat, who in turned blamed UTV etc). Aside from all this the service/connection itself is usually OK.

However, 12 months is a long time to be tied to one provider given the announcements and counter-announcements from the other ISP's in the past few weeks, so I think I'm gonna go with the 1-month rolling contract option and see what NTL or the others offer me (I'm not holding my breath for Smart tbh - and certainly not if I have to change my number).

As someone else asked earlier, whatever happened to all the great interaction we had on Boards with UTV when they first launched? I think they really need to announce SOMETHING soon, or a lot of customers will vote with their wallets and move on...

[Edited for clarity]

pat kenny

Surly if they dont change the web page that says "double eircoms capicity" they are up form false advertising.And seeing as Eircom are doubling their caps surley they would have to follow suit or take the page down.

Subc

3 days until the 4th and absolutley 0 news

PiE

What do we need to confirm? The 512k package isn't gonna exist anymore as I understand it.. this therefore should be an automatic upgrade for all existing customers, right??

From UTV Newsgroup wrote:

Technically everyone will be upgraded to the new speeds. Whether this
stay in place when the new products roll out, I do not know [Before
anyone begins to comment on how Eircom will not be releasing lower
speed options, pls consider QoS - it's what ISP's have been using for
years to resell bandwidth, and it's easily done on BB). As for the
caps - again technically there's any number of options, but it'll be
down to the product development team to make the decision.

So... apparently they don't have to upgrade everyone to the new speeds. Super.

Subc

they sure will when nobody wants to sign up with them or stay