I am an existing member of CW, though, after how rudely I have been treated I will soon be a former member of CW. Today I finally got one rude person to admit that I am being throttled. Took me three weeks of horribly slow internet speeds and constant communication with CW to get them to this admission. So thank you to the rude technician that finally solved my internet speed issue (well not so much resolved more illuminated) by finally telling me the truth.
I am thoroughly disgusted with the way this was handled, it was cowardly (they could simply have told me from the beginning and I would have gladly cancelled my account) instead they lied and got one more month out of me. This is a disgusting business ethic. You (and I refer to CW) should be ashamed. So much for a 4mb true uncapped premium line. From the beginning I was quite honest with the amount of bandwidth I require and they were happy to take my business, now they are not happy with my business but more than happy to take my money. Once again. Disgusting service!
Hi there,
I have read through the chat you had with our staff member and he most certainly was not rude in the least little bit and did in fact continue time and time again to try to offer assistance. He in addition explained that no throttling was taking place on the account but due to the very high usage on 4Mbps (between 450GB and 530GB all day) your account would be shaped and certain protocols would be slower as a result. He also provided you with the details of the product you had opted for which are advertised on our website and are available prior to sign up. Unfortunately even applying shaping has resulted in your account set to permanent usage and on a deprioritised profile which is as per our product terms, you have still achieved over 100GB so far this month which I really don't believe is unfair. The agent was honest and upfront with you and most certainly tried to assist where he could.
I have now read the chat three times and not once was the agent in any way rude and did in fact attempt to assist you with identifying a more suitable package for your requirements where you could adopt such usage patterns without the impact of shaping to your account, and did in fact identify a more suitable product for your requirements. I am happy to paste the contents of the chat here if you wish to point out where he was rude or where Crystal Web has in any way not followed the product terms we advertise for the product you purchased?
Unfortunately we appear to have created a perception having operated our uncapped as unshaped for such a long period of time, that we will not enforce our product terms and not implement any shaping in any manner. Unfortunately we will occasionally do so, and unfortunately in an effort to do so fairly, we will shape the heaviest users on the product before others so that others can enjoy unfetered access.
We also go as far as to explain on our website why we and other ISPs have to adopt shaping. We do not employ throttling, and based on the chat you stated that it is only some protocols and not all, ergo it is not throttling whatsoever but protocol shaping. Below is an explanation as to why we and other ISPs don't simply employ unlimited capacity and it also helps to explain why very high usage users, attempting just about full speed throughout all times of day, will feel the impacts of protocol shaping:
Why don't you have unlimited capacity?
Because capacity is purchased from Telkom per Mbps. This capacity is called IPConnect, and is what we pay Telkom each month to connect to your house via their last mile ADSL network. Operating such a last mile network is not cheap, and therefore the cost to buy capacity to ISPs is equally not cheap. If we were to increase capacity unwaveringly, you would find us not in business this time next year, and we believe that our relationship with you should be sustainable, and that you'd want it that way, to ensure that you can trust us now, and in the future, to deliver a quality internet service experience.
We are also very clear in our product terminology which is available on every page of our website and linked (and highlighted at the very top before you even get to pricing) on every product page, about how each account operates. We do not hide it in product Ts and Cs - we advertise it, specifically to avoid the scenario where a user ends up upset about opting for a product unsuited for their requirements. In this case it is unfortunately precisely what has happened.
To sum up: the agent was not rude in any way but should you feel he was, please PM me where you feel this took place so that I can address it accordingly. The agent was correct in that the account is not suitable for what you need out of your 4Mbps connection and other products are best suited for you. We also advertise how the products operate on our website to avoid this scenario but it does happen where clients end up on the wrong product for their needs and agents are certainly advised to assist anyone to identify the right account once identified. It happens very rarely these days, and I am sorry to see it has angered you here, however we have not been in any way coy about product terms, nor have we in any way implemented product rules on your account that are not in accordance with what is advertised.
With respect to the accusation that we attempted to get another month out of you, we most certainly had no intention of doing so and it would make no sense to do so in any case. To prove as much, I'd be happy to effect immediate cancellation for you AND refund this month's payment in light of the fact that the previous agent you spoke to did not address the shaping issue with you...
fluctuating between 12KB/s and 39KB/s if I am lucky.