BEWARE: VOX REFUND SECRETS

[Thor]

Actually VOX are very reasonable and have good support.
I have been called by them many times when issues popped up.
No other ISP has called me to solve an issue other than CW.

Exception you are, you can search vox on mybb, support is the last thing you'll associate them with saying this as someone who's been a happy client of their's since 2009

 

[Skowt]

No problem. I understand where you are coming from, but VOX is the wrong company to reason with. Axxess = Afrihost, so meh perhaps your lucky

- Got a nice trick that lets you get full speed. Not sure if it's common knowledge but I haven't been able to replicate it on other ISP's as of yet.

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If I signed up for Internet access and the account didn't work I'd query it. If they couldn't get it working for some bizarre reason I would cancel and possibly expect a refund. This begs the question though, if the service did not work as you claim, how did you manage to clock up usage on it?

- Responded to a similar question previously, although that's what I'm simply getting at. You would also expect a refund. It is normal to expect one and it shouldn't be something where the norm is "as soon as you start using even 1mb on our network, you won't see a single cent":

No problem. I understand where you are coming from, but VOX is the wrong company to reason with. Axxess = Afrihost, so meh perhaps your lucky

If I signed up for Internet access and the account didn't work I'd query it. If they couldn't get it working for some bizarre reason I would cancel and possibly expect a refund. This begs the question though, if the service did not work as you claim, how did you manage to clock up usage on it?

If you know anything about an internet connection then you know what having packet loss is like, or an intermittent connection. Just because I can use the internet for an hour doesn't mean that the product is not broken. I pay for a reliable internet connection not an hours worth of connectivity.

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Maybe sign-up for a tiny package then?
What's the issue here.
You need us to tell you how to use the internet properly as well?

When I trialed Web Africa I signed up for the smallest package they had, the same with Afrihost.
Seriously, these are the things you learn in school.
Basic logic and common sense should have driven your decisions.

- The issue is that we should not be having these problems. How can we go from being able to return any product in a shop, with no reason needing to be given to, "The moment you start using data, you won't see a cent". The fact that that mindset is the norm is the issue here. Until you're in a situation where you rely on a good connection to support yourself and anyone you're with, it won't seem as much of an issue to you.

There's a flaw to your logic though. I needed to test that the connection I'd end up with, would be suitable for me. Sure, I could purchase a 5GB or 10GB test account and test using that. BUT, if you've been online for a bit as I'm sure you have judging from your post count, you KNOW for a fact that capped accounts get better connectivity than uncapped. If I am going to end up on an uncapped account, then testing on a capped account might help a little on the surface but it's not going to give you the proper experience.

In the same way, I could have gone for a 2Mb uncapped as it would be cheaper than a 10Mb, but then I don't have full line speed and I can't tell if I would get full speed or if I'd be stuck with a 4Mb or 6Mb connection.

This is why having a normal refund policy makes sense. It's what we expect for our guarantee's, our products and services worldwide, but then why is South Africa behind again in terms of our ISP's? This is what I'm trying to get across. This should not be the norm. We should be protected and safe in knowing that we can test ISP's without losing our money. Yes have a cut off limit, 5GB, 2GB or whatever, but simply stating that no refund will be given because we see you had some sort of usage is closed minded when everyone knows you can have a connection but it can still be unstable and the worst thing under the sun.

 

[cueball]

I'm pretty sure I said I'd expect a refund if it didn't work. The fact that there is usage means it did work. It's not rocket science.

 

[Skowt]

I'm pretty sure I said I'd expect a refund if it didn't work. The fact that there is usage means it did work. It's not rocket science.

An unstable, intermittent connection does not equal a working product. It is not rocket science. Do you consider Telkom providing a working product when your telephone line goes down? Or Eskom when your electricity is faulty?

 

[quovadis]

- Got a nice trick that lets you get full speed. Not sure if it's common knowledge but I haven't been able to replicate it on other ISP's as of yet.

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- Responded to a similar question previously, although that's what I'm simply getting at. You would also expect a refund. It is normal to expect one and it shouldn't be something where the norm is "as soon as you start using even 1mb on our network, you won't see a single cent":









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- The issue is that we should not be having these problems. How can we go from being able to return any product in a shop, with no reason needing to be given to, "The moment you start using data, you won't see a cent". The fact that that mindset is the norm is the issue here. Until you're in a situation where you rely on a good connection to support yourself and anyone you're with, it won't seem as much of an issue to you.

There's a flaw to your logic though. I needed to test that the connection I'd end up with, would be suitable for me. Sure, I could purchase a 5GB or 10GB test account and test using that. BUT, if you've been online for a bit as I'm sure you have judging from your post count, you KNOW for a fact that capped accounts get better connectivity than uncapped. If I am going to end up on an uncapped account, then testing on a capped account might help a little on the surface but it's not going to give you the proper experience.

In the same way, I could have gone for a 2Mb uncapped as it would be cheaper than a 10Mb, but then I don't have full line speed and I can't tell if I would get full speed or if I'd be stuck with a 4Mb or 6Mb connection.

This is why having a normal refund policy makes sense. It's what we expect for our guarantee's, our products and services worldwide, but then why is South Africa behind again in terms of our ISP's? This is what I'm trying to get across. This should not be the norm. We should be protected and safe in knowing that we can test ISP's without losing our money. Yes have a cut off limit, 5GB, 2GB or whatever, but simply stating that no refund will be given because we see you had some sort of usage is closed minded when everyone knows you can have a connection but it can still be unstable and the worst thing under the sun.

Here's a novel idea - ask the prospective ISP for the account you want as a limited trial or test account before signing up for a service and then cancelling 3 days later because your expectations have not been met? This is not a case where you made a genuine mistake or the service was misrepresented. If you feel that money back guarantees should be given then approach the ISPs which offer such a deal - don't demand it from ISPs which don't. You don't need 3 days to decide if a product suits your requirements.

 

[Skowt]

Here's a novel idea - ask the prospective ISP for the account you want as a limited trial or test account before signing up for a service and then cancelling 3 days later because your expectations have not been met? This is not a case where you made a genuine mistake or the service was misrepresented. If you feel that money back guarantees should be given then approach the ISPs which offer such a deal - don't demand it from ISPs which don't. You don't need 3 days to decide if a product suits your requirements.

ISP's only offer 1GB test accounts or such. This is common knowledge. If someone can demand a refund for a non-working consumer product, then the same should be said for an internet service.

"You don't need 3 days to decide if a product suits your requirements."

- You don't know my situation or my requirements so you cannot say how long or short I need. Specially with technical services where packet loss or intermittent connectivity may not be apparent in the first 24 hours. Technology isn't clear cut, it's not "Works or doesn't" it's "Works, intermittent, most of the time, rarely, never". If you know technology and the internet, you know this.

 

[wingnut771]

Hey Thor,

I appreciate the comment. I noticed WebAfrica seems to be very good if you're keen with having a limited download speed during the day and like you said, don't abuse torrents before midnight.

Currently I've chosen to stick with Axxess. I am able to get full speeds night and day with all my connections which allows me to work most effectively.

Why then the need to pay for another ISP account?

EDIT: You don't get packet loss with Axxess?

 

[wingnut771]

Exception you are, you can search vox on mybb, support is the last thing you'll associate them with saying this as someone who's been a happy client of their's since 2009

Support always phoned me back after I logged a fault when capped prematurely, but they could never fix the problem, that's where the poor support comes in IMO.

 

[quovadis]

ISP's only offer 1GB test accounts or such. This is common knowledge. If someone can demand a refund for a non-working consumer product, then the same should be said for an internet service.

"You don't need 3 days to decide if a product suits your requirements."

- You don't know my situation or my requirements so you cannot say how long or short I need. Specially with technical services where packet loss or intermittent connectivity may not be apparent in the first 24 hours. Technology isn't clear cut, it's not "Works or doesn't" it's "Works, intermittent, most of the time, rarely, never". If you know technology and the internet, you know this.

I've successfully approached many ISPs in the past few years to trial a specific account for a customer or myself - the majority have been accommodating but that may have to do with my approach as opposed to yours.

 

[quovadis]

- You don't know my situation or my requirements so you cannot say how long or short I need. Specially with technical services where packet loss or intermittent connectivity may not be apparent in the first 24 hours. Technology isn't clear cut, it's not "Works or doesn't" it's "Works, intermittent, most of the time, rarely, never". If you know technology and the internet, you know this.

How much data did you consume out of interest?

 

[cueball]

meh, good luck on your pointless quest.

 

[Skowt]

Why then the need to pay for another ISP account?

EDIT: You don't get packet loss with Axxess?

- Axxess has it's moments but if you were following the issues from this past week, that was the reason I jumped ship although in all fairness I should have just waited it out. You don't always know when it's going to get better though.

Support always phoned me back after I logged a fault when capped prematurely, but they could never fix the problem, that's where the poor support comes in IMO.

- Sounds quite frustrating.

How much data did you consume out of interest?

- As I left my computer on over night, it was around 2GB usage for 2 days. I'd say very low and not worthy of denying even a partial refund. I could use 50Gb of bandwidth on a VPS I buy for a month and still get a refund within 30 days, let alone 7.

 

[JonesY]

OP, check your final invoice after service is properly cancelled; it should reflect a credit for unused service after date of cancellation (i.e. Vox bills one month in advance).

I would recommend staying far away from VOX and their horrible cancellation policies and look for something where support actually understands when you have had an account only for a day or two.

RUN FAR FAR AWAY.

+1, everyone stay far away from Vox.

 

[JonesY]

How am I supposed to test various ISP's if I know I'm going to lose money at the end of the day?

Trial accounts?

If you work from home and the internet is your main source of income. How would you go about testing various ISP's or how would you react when you sign up with an ISP and over the 2 days of testing you know they are unsuitable for you? If you go to work and your car stalls the first day and the second day your car doesn't start and the third day your tires are flat, does your boss say "no it's okay" or are you expected to have it sorted out? In the same way, I cannot troubleshoot a connection for a week when I have to get work done today.

That makes absolutely no sense, by the way.

And yes there are the 1GB test accounts but everyone knows those are given priority because they are the test accounts and ISP's want to give the best image for the company.

No. Gig4Gig were actual packages, but they've recently been discontinued.

 

[JonesY]

I used the account for 2 days. So I should pay the full month's fees? Comparing food / products to services just doesn't work.

Your comparisons are a whole lot better, yes.

 

[Wasabee!]

OP, check your final invoice after service is properly cancelled; it should reflect a credit for unused service after date of cancellation (i.e. Vox bills one month in advance).



+1, everyone stay far away from Vox.

I found Vox to be the best with their 1TB Samsung promo. Better than Afrihost, this is a true unshaped and unthrottled connection it there is one out there.

 

[JonesY]

Actually VOX are very reasonable and have good support.
I have been called by them many times when issues popped up.

Sshhh. +1 though.

 

[JonesY]

Do you consider Telkom providing a working product when your telephone line goes down? Or Eskom when your electricity is faulty?

Depends. Have I lost my dial tone because of a faulty handset? Or, are the lights out because I haven't purchased prepaid electricity? Companies aren't always wrong. Process of elimination generally pinpoints who is actually at fault though.

That said, what troubleshooting have you covered before jumping ship? How can you be so sure that Vox is to blame for your intermittent connection?

 

[JonesY]

If you know technology and the internet, you know this.