Iburst Accounts - ALERT!!! ALERT!!!

[Derth]

Good Morning,

Earlier this week I had the shock of my life. I signed up with Iburst about 9 months ago, through a vendor called PhotoCats in Sandton.

I wanted to cancel this month because I was moving to ADSL . I spoke to a woman called Vanee in accounts who very calmly informed me that I owed Wbs R6000 and I could not cancel till I paid them back.

I almost had a heart attack, it turns out that PhotoCats had not debited one single cent of my account since I had signed up and Wbs had now taken over all the outstanding accounts and supposedly sent everyone a email in November.

Do you think I got a email??? NO!!!!!!!!!

On top of that, I had purchased a extra couple of gigs throughout the 9 month period and Iburst had not debited my account for all these upgrades only a few here and there.

So it turns out that Iburst Accounts is just as useless as Iburst Technical Support, Iburst Management, and Iburst Technology.

What a surprise!!!!

I would advise everyone to phone Iburst accounts (011 877 4746) and ask them for a up to date account otherwise you might find yourself in a very nasty surprise in the next few months.

The worst thing about this entire episode for me (besides having to pay back R1200 for the next 6 months) is that they never apologiesed for this screwup.

I really hate it when companies do not have the guts to take responsibility for their screw ups.

Derth

 

[MrH]

We all know wbs accounts are useless, BUT you knew that nothing had been debited from your bank account so that makes you just as guilty as they are.

What did you think, and did you really think you would get the service for nothing and that they would not catch up with the months that nothing was paid for?

This post is not meant to be a "dig" at you, but damit you knew that nothing had been deducted which means you just have to pay up and bite the bullet.

 

[Derth]

We all know wbs accounts are useless, BUT you knew that nothing had been debited from your bank account so that makes you just as guilty as they are.

What did you think, and did you really think you would get the service for nothing and that they would not catch up with the months that nothing was paid for?

This post is not meant to be a "dig" at you, but damit you knew that nothing had been deducted which means you just have to pay up and bite the bullet.

*Sigh* There's always one of them out there.

No where in my previous post did I say that I was not going to pay them back, I have already made peace with this and so should you.

I just wanted to warn anyone else who has accounts with Iburts and bitch about the experience.

I wish that Iburst had picked up a damm telephone back in November when they found out, It would have made my life so much easier. I would have been able to pay them with my christmas bonus and this thing would have have been sorted.

Anyway, I think that Iburst will go bankrupt pretty soon and I make sure that I have a front row seat.

Derth

 

[nocilah]

surely you check to see if your account has been debited and if it hasn't been debited you phone to recitify the situation before you land up having to owe huge amounts of cash to a supplier?

in all honesty iburst have always debited on time and recently even been supplying me with invoices too. service has been on average ok.

but then i am not one of those people who expect a company to hold my hand when it comes to my personal financial affairs, besides lets face it wbs are barely an internet service provider nevermind a financial manager.

 

[Derth]

*Deep Sigh*

surely you check to see if your account has been debited and if it hasn't been debited you phone to rectify the situation before you land up having to owe huge amounts of cash to a supplier?

If only I had a time machine so that I could rectify this problem using your excellent advice.

in all honesty iburst have always debited on time and recently even been supplying me with invoices too. service has been on average ok.

Wow, Wbs manages to send out invoices. Now if they only learnt how to run a Isp, deliver good techincal support, and the meaning of the words "Customer Service" they might actually be a decent company.

but then i am not one of those people who expect a company to hold my hand when it comes to my personal financial affairs

So you are suggesting that I hold Wb's hand when it comes to their own corporate financial affairs. That’s an idiotic notion if I ever heard one.

besides lets face it wbs are barely an internet service provider nevermind a financial manager.

Firstly, "never mind" is two words; Finance must be your specialty because English is not.

Secondly, they have a department called "Accounts" It's filled with people who’s job to make sure that they take the money from my account. They screwed this up, not me, so it is their fault.

If you are so clever why are you still with "barely an internet service provider"?

Derth

 

[P0tenc]

So it turns out that Iburst Accounts is just as useless as Iburst Technical Support, Iburst Management, and Iburst Technology.

Derth

Yes on the first 3 statements but not the last 1

 

[Carlhead]

I agree, iBurst screwed up, they did not debit your account, or make a conserted effort to collect thier money. They also did not suspend your account after the said time for non payment.

We had a similar probem with one of our clients, thier infinity hosting package (R135.00 per month excl.) was not added to thier account by our accounts manager, thus the money was not debited from thier account for almost a year.

We informed them telephonically, and give them a 50% discount on the outstanding amount (R1539.00 incl. VAT) and capitised the rest over a 12 month term, so they pay an extra R64.13 for thier account for this year.

We considered writing the whole amount off, but the client agreed to take some responsibility and pay half.

 

[RVFmal]

Whilst I agree that WBS' accounts department (and all their other departments) are lacking in the basic skills of communication I have to agree with Halicon in that it is just as much on the onus of the client to ensure that all their bills get paid monthly (or as per agreement).

As such the client should accept a certain portion of the responsibility if accounts were not paid.

It is extremely prevalent in our society as we all know how quickly companies list one with one of the credit bureaus if accounts are not paid, regardless of whose fault it was and they seldom, if ever will assist in removing the listing should the fault be found to be theirs. So it is in each and everyone's best interst to ensure that all their bills are paid timeously, even if it is on debit order.

The manner in which Carlhead's company approached the situation is one that many companies can learn from, but the chances of that happening are slim to say the least (though with the credit bill reforms virtually promulgated, that could soon change).

You have every right to be angry, not just with WBS, but with Photocats from whom you bought the product. If they had debited your account as initially agreed upon, none of this would have transpired

 

[nocilah]

using your excellent advice.

don't you mean 'common sense' ?

Wow, Wbs manages to send out invoices. Now if they only learnt how to run a Isp, deliver good techincal support, and the meaning of the words "Customer Service" they might actually be a decent company.

they're still better then sentech ever will be

So you are suggesting that I hold Wb's hand when it comes to their own corporate financial affairs. That’s an idiotic notion if I ever heard one.

well you seem to expect wbs to hold your hand with regards to your financial affairs... so yea... it is idiotic according to you.

Firstly, "never mind" is two words; Finance must be your specialty because English is not.

i c. tks 4 the english lesson... er.. should i teach u sum more tips on how to manage your life? or r u relying on other companies 4 that?

a Isp

i see english is not your speciality too. interesting...

Secondly, they have a department called "Accounts"

i see... was it this department that failed to hold your hand?

If you are so clever why are you still with "barely an internet service provider"?

you shouldnt confuse common sense with intelligence, although it does suit you... confusion that is.

as for leaving wbs. i have no reason to. i have good speeds. they work for me more often then not.

At the end of the day you are moaning about something that sqaurely falls on your shoulders. and you have admitted that. sure wbs is not perfect. sure they are idiotic most of the times... and yes you should be angry because having to pay R6000 in one go sucks preverbial a5s... but it certainly not a valid enough point to make a huge **alert** and fuss about a situation that you had direct control over from the start.

 

[MrH]

@Derth, looks like this thread has done a full circle and back to the fact that you should have kept an eye on your own bank account and when you noticed that the wbs amount was not been deducted you should have contacted them as already suggested.

I'm pretty sure if they deducted too much you would have complained right from the start.

 

[TrueTenacity]

Yeah i also got screwed by them...

I noticed a R1200 hole in my bank account in the middle of jan and i phoned them asking about it and they said they're reclaiming the outstanding amount for the activation fee and 1st month which the hadn't deducted since feb last year...

gawd, can someone get them a copy of isp's for complete f-ing morons!

 

[Debbie]

Here is my 2 cents:

Derth does owe the money, and I do think he should pay it (or a reasonable portion thereof). As he states, he has no intention of not paying - good for you Derth, I admire that.

However, I don't think the onus is on the customer to ensure that the company debits the amount every month. Doesn't the major benefit of a debit order lie in the fact that the customer knows it's a fee that needs to be paid every month, and so instead of hassling about it or having to remember to pay that account, a debit order is created in order to do it automatically?

If a company doesn't debit a customer's account and only figures out the mistake months or years later, I think that company should have the grace to apologise to the customer and offer a suitable discount on outstanding fees (to me 10%-20% is 'suitable'). I really don't think it's entirely the customer's problem, as the customer was not at fault.

Going somewhat offtopic here:
I have family who used to get an electricity bill every month indicating that they were R2000 in credit. They never paid a cent for electricity for the 5 years they lived in this house. They went to their municipal supplier of electricity on at least ten occasions and explained what was happening, but local council couldn't get their billing right. Eventually they gave up and grudgingly accepted the free electricity (but put away a few hundred rands every month in case it ever caught up with them).

I also had family who used to have a connected Telkom line. They cancelled the line, and several months later the phone made a funny ring and came back on. For 7 months they had free phone calls. Then suddenly the phone went dead one day when Telscum caught a wake-up. And no they never tried to contact Telkom to tell them they were providing a free service with unlimited calls.

 

[nocilah]

However, I don't think the onus is on the customer to ensure that the company debits the amount every month. Doesn't the major benefit of a debit order lie in the fact that the customer knows it's a fee that needs to be paid every month, and so instead of hassling about it or having to remember to pay that account, a debit order is created in order to do it automatically?

sure. but it is really up to you to ensure that the debit order is working in the first place. as i said before and i will keep saying it... does a company have to hold your hand when it comes to your personal finances.

it seemed in this particular case the reseller (Photocats) was to blame in the first place for not getting the details correct. the problem lies with the reseller and derth. where WBS comes in... well...

WBS seemed to be the only people who got it right in the end.

now to come storming onto this forum with a non-sensical ALERT of how WBS is screwing everything and everyone over is a tad on the 'i am a militant fighting every single telecom organisation in south africa like a blind monkey' approach.

and that kind of blind and ignorant behaviour is what sometimes makes me wonder if that is why companies turn cold shoulders to customers. because they are being silly and childish.

 

[Debbie]

sure. but it is really up to you to ensure that the debit order is working in the first place. as i said before and i will keep saying it... does a company have to hold your hand when it comes to your personal finances.

it seemed in this particular case the reseller (Photocats) was to blame in the first place for not getting the details correct. the problem lies with the reseller and derth. where WBS comes in... well...

WBS seemed to be the only people who got it right in the end.

now to come storming onto this forum with a non-sensical ALERT of how WBS is screwing everything and everyone over is a tad on the 'i am a militant fighting every single telecom organisation in south africa like a blind monkey' approach.

and that kind of blind and ignorant behaviour is what sometimes makes me wonder if that is why companies turn cold shoulders to customers. because they are being silly and childish.

I understand what you are saying, I just don't agree with you. (We can disagree in a civil manner can't we?)

Derth is obviously new judging by his post count - maybe ease up on the guy a bit. I don't think he meant anything other than to warn other consumers - and part of the strength of MyADSL is the exchange of exactly this kind of information. I sympathise with him because when I joined the forums here I got quite a tough time from certain members when I talked about my ideas and my suspicions etc etc.

(Hehe, do I fall into the 'i am a militant fighting every single telecom organisation in south africa like a blind monkey' category? .....Trouble is, I suspect I am!)

 

[nocilah]

I understand what you are saying, I just don't agree with you. (We can disagree in a civil manner can't we?)

yes.

Derth is obviously new judging by his post count - maybe ease up on the guy a bit. I don't think he meant anything other than to warn other consumers - and part of the strength of MyADSL is the exchange of exactly this kind of information. I sympathise with him because when I joined the forums here I got quite a tough time from certain members when I talked about my ideas and my suspicions etc etc.

yeah... i dont think derth is an idiot and he only really meant good. dont worry derth we do all love each other here at this forum.

(Hehe, do I fall into the 'i am a militant fighting every single telecom organisation in south africa like a blind monkey' category? .....Trouble is, I suspect I am!)

you do very little monkeying around. so no.

 

[Jongi]

I have to agree with those that say as a pure common sense approach to handling your finances, you should know how much you expect to have in your account after all debit orders are taken off your account. When there is more than you expect I would suggest you find out why. WBS are really not to blame here.

 

[Carlhead]

Interestingly, I spoke to a person with a strong financial management background regards this, for interest sake.

He recons if you had to take to the lawyers, that should you have a signed aggreement that states that you will be suspended after x amount of time for non payment and their no other relaxation clauses, then the client would only be liable for that term. i.e. if they say "will be suspended after 30 days non payment", the client would be liable for 2 months. (the inital month and the 30 days leiway).

There are many other clauses that could infact make the client responsible for financial errors on the providers side. I suppose one would have to look at the signed aggreement.

However, I'm not condoning non payment of outstanding monies, and it is commendabble that Derth made payment arrangements.

 

[Jongi]

Well if you used the services without pay the provider has right to claim from you under the unjustified enrichment (common?) law principle. After all you have used the service.

Where you hadn't used the service, Iit would most likely be an interesting one

 

[Carlhead]

Well if you used the services without pay the provider has right to claim from you under the unjustified enrichment (common?) law principle. After all you have used the service.

Where you hadn't used the service, Iit would most likely be an interesting one

Yes, this is what I came up with too. However our auditor was persistant that a service provider would probably settle on 2 months payment in order to avoid all the other fees involved in taking it further. We were talking about web hosting though R150 a month, rather than R500 a month or what ever the costs were here.

 

[Jongi]

Oh I thought we were merely talking on a matter of law principle.

I'm sure if you were not looking to continue the service you could come to an agreement. Although if you did use the service and attempted to be stroppy they could just blacklist you. Which I think it would be difficult to argue against.