MWEB - SEACOM OUTAGE UPDATE

[daffy]

Yes - and as a customer (who has spent money on a service) I have certain rights, namely:
Consumer Right No. 1: Right to Equality in the Consumer Market and Protection Against Discriminatory Marketing Practices
Consumer Right No. 2: Right to Privacy
Consumer Right No. 3: Right to Choose
Consumer Right No. 4: Right to Disclosure of Information
Consumer Right No. 5: Right to Fair and Responsible Marketing
Consumer Right No. 6: Right to Fair and Honest Dealing
Consumer Right No. 7: Right to Fair, Just and Reasonable Terms and Conditions
Consumer Right No. 8: Right to Fair Value, Good Quality and Safety
Consumer Right No. 9: Right to Accountability from Suppliers

You can fight this all you like, those are my rights.

There is only so much an ISP can do.
MWEB have been more than reasonable in this situation. I bet they have network engineers that haven't slept since Monday, because they're working around the clock to try come up with a solution for this.
Would you like to try enforce your rights by heading over to MWEB HQ and flogging them yourself?
Do you really think that will speed things up?

Rant away, but I don't think your rights as a consumer have been affected.

 

[Valerion]

Bonuses for what? Providing what I paid for.

Maybe we should find an expert in consumer protection - and see what is considered fair.

Yes. Also re-read the T&C you signed. They are providing exactly what you pay them for. You have no SLA with them in place. They are offering a best-effort service, and they are giving a service that most of the time works. So they are fulfilling their side of the contract. You fulfill yours by paying them.

I should stop talking here. You clearly do not wish to see the other side of the argument. Best for you to do is to cancel. As a consumer that is your right, and your duty. It tells the company that you do not agree with them.

 

[ibanez]

... in the end (for now, until the new cables get here) you have to decide between internet thats cheap and has enough capacity for internet that is expensive but has redundancy..

Good point, well put; at least SEACOM has given us another option for connectivity. I suppose consumer service expectations should be viewed objectively (promises vs reality), it's early days - I'm optimistic.

 

[xrapidx]

Yes. Also re-read the T&C you signed.

Are you referring to the "allowed to change" t&c's that have probably changed since joining? They could also changed to we will only provide you one day of uncapped a month, and your notice period now is 10 years.

You can't sign your rights away, period.

 

[Moodtec]

There is only so much an ISP can do.
MWEB have been more than reasonable in this situation. I bet they have network engineers that haven't slept since Monday, because they're working around the clock to try come up with a solution for this.
Would you like to try enforce your rights by heading over to MWEB HQ and flogging them yourself?
Do you really think that will speed things up?

Rant away, but I don't think your rights as a consumer have been affected.

+1

 

[Tanya35]

Yes. Also re-read the T&C you signed. They are providing exactly what you pay them for. You have no SLA with them in place. They are offering a best-effort service, and they are giving a service that most of the time works. So they are fulfilling their side of the contract. You fulfill yours by paying them.

I should stop talking here. You clearly do not wish to see the other side of the argument. Best for you to do is to cancel. As a consumer that is your right, and your duty. It tells the company that you do not agree with them.

I would be very worried if I heard a company say something like this. It's akin to saying," If you don't like my shop, go somewhere else!". A Customer service NO NO!!

 

[D34M0n7]

Yes - and as a customer (who has spent money on a service) I have certain rights, namely:
Consumer Right No. 1: Right to Equality in the Consumer Market and Protection Against Discriminatory Marketing Practices
Consumer Right No. 2: Right to Privacy
Consumer Right No. 3: Right to Choose
Consumer Right No. 4: Right to Disclosure of Information
Consumer Right No. 5: Right to Fair and Responsible Marketing
Consumer Right No. 6: Right to Fair and Honest Dealing
Consumer Right No. 7: Right to Fair, Just and Reasonable Terms and Conditions
Consumer Right No. 8: Right to Fair Value, Good Quality and Safety
Consumer Right No. 9: Right to Accountability from Suppliers

You can fight this all you like, those are my rights.

Thats all true... but... Do you complain when you are watching your DSTV and a mean old lightning storm comes and makes your signal fuzzy? Do you accuse multichoice of bad business ethics? (I'f you do then seek help)

Its not in DSTV's power to control the weather, similarly is it their fault if a piece of space debris hits one of their sats and signal goes down until they can reroute the stream over another one?

Seacom is in the same position currently, simply put their cable broke, something that was not in their power to prevent.

Also remember they there are T&Cs attached to the services and they state clearly that it is a best effort service aka you paid for best effort not definite bandwidth you are getting what you paid for in essence, whats happened is quite simple, an accident and slow/interment connections as a result, seacom and the isps are trying.

 

[xrapidx]

There is only so much an ISP can do.
MWEB have been more than reasonable in this situation. I bet they have network engineers that haven't slept since Monday, because they're working around the clock to try come up with a solution for this.
Would you like to try enforce your rights by heading over to MWEB HQ and flogging them yourself?
Do you really think that will speed things up?

Rant away, but I don't think your rights as a consumer have been affected.

I do agree they might have got access up again (or apparently not from a post in one of the other threads) , my argument here is that should I not be getting the service I have paid for, whether you think it is worth my money or not, I am well within my rights to claim damages.

Its also not MWEB who'd handle the complaints, it would be the relevant consumer group..

 

[daffy]

I would be very worried if I heard a company say something like this. It's akin to saying," If you don't like my shop, go somewhere else!". A Customer service NO NO!!

But you'd walk into a KFC and demand a McDonalds HappyMeal? And when they say no, you'll be disappointed because they don't want to give you what you want?

 

[xrapidx]

Thats all true... but... Do you complain when you are watching your DSTV and a mean old lightning storm comes and makes your signal fuzzy? Do you accuse multichoice of bad business ethics? (I'f you do then seek help)

Its not in DSTV's power to control the weather, similarly is it their fault if a piece of space debris hits one of their sats and signal goes down until they can reroute the stream over another one?

Seacom is in the same position currently, simply put their cable broke, something that was not in their power to prevent.

Also remember they there are T&Cs attached to the services and they state clearly that it is a best effort service aka you paid for best effort not definite bandwidth you are getting what you paid for in essence, whats happened is quite simple, an accident and slow/interment connections as a result, seacom and the isps are trying.

Yes - and should they go down for two months - everyone will stick to their notice period and pay for two months before being free of the 'contract'... after all, not their fault.

 

[xrapidx]

But you'd walk into a KFC and demand a McDonalds HappyMeal? And when they say no, you'll be disappointed because they don't want to give you what you want?

Nope - but if I go into KFC, and order a KFC burger, eat a quarter, and they take the rest away - I'd be pretty pissed.

 

[daffy]

I do agree they might have got access up again (or apparently not from a post in one of the other threads) , my argument here is that should I not be getting the service I have paid for, whether you think it is worth my money or not, I am well within my rights to claim damages.

Its also not MWEB who'd handle the complaints, it would be the relevant consumer group..

You are getting what you paid for. There is no SLA on the service they're providing you.
And the relevant consumer group will agree. But don't let me stop you from trying... don't want to infringe on your right to whine.

 

[Nanfeishen]

There is only so much an ISP can do.
MWEB have been more than reasonable in this situation. I bet they have network engineers that haven't slept since Monday, because they're working around the clock to try come up with a solution for this.

You are correct, however, this is not the first time this has happened, alternative plans and arrangements should have been put in place, and negotiated after the first time, as a precaution against it happening again.
Considering that Seacom is an underwater cable, it should be considered as a given that it will happen again and in the future.
Are we to go through the same thing when it happens again ?

Its just so 3rd world, but then again OMG it is the 3rd world isnt it.

 

[daffy]

Nope - but if I go into KFC, and order a KFC burger, eat a quarter, and they take the rest away - I'd be pretty pissed.

You want a business grade internet service with SLAs. You bought a residential service.
Your problem, not theirs.

 

[xrapidx]

You are getting what you paid for. There is no SLA on the service they're providing you.
And the relevant consumer group will agree. But don't let me stop you from trying... don't want to infringe on your right to whine.

Really? Maybe you should familiarize yourself with the consumer protection act...

 

[xrapidx]

You want a business grade internet service with SLAs. You bought a residential service.
Your problem, not theirs.

so again, you decide what the product is I purchased, and what its really worth Really hope my vehicle isn't residential grade, or my microwave, or my tv

 

[Valerion]

Are you referring to the "allowed to change" t&c's that have probably changed since joining? They could also changed to we will only provide you one day of uncapped a month, and your notice period now is 10 years.

You can't sign your rights away, period.

If you purchase a cheap Chinese import with no guarantee, when the expensive guaranteed product is on the next shelf and it breaks, whose fault is that? You can go to an ISP without that clause in their contract, then. Or you can take it to court, and let a judge decide if the contract is conscionable. Your example is not, while I think the current MWEB one is.

If you want a guaranteed uptime, get a diginet line. They are all unaffected, as far as I am aware.

I would be very worried if I heard a company say something like this. It's akin to saying," If you don't like my shop, go somewhere else!". A Customer service NO NO!!

Good thing I don't work for MWEB then. But you are wrong there, sometimes it's better for the business to fire a customer. The "customer is always right" mantra is not always applicable.

I do agree they might have got access up again (or apparently not from a post in one of the other threads) , my argument here is that should I not be getting the service I have paid for, whether you think it is worth my money or not, I am well within my rights to claim damages.

Its also not MWEB who'd handle the complaints, it would be the relevant consumer group..

Then by all means, lodge a complaint with the ISPA, ICASA, the DoC and the courts. I doubt you will get far here, personally.

 

[D34M0n7]

You can't sign your rights away, period.

What rights, the ones you interpret to benefit yourself?

Rights and reason go hand in hand, if something happens that is out of a service providers control then they are not liable, period.

If you have a maid that is supposed to come to your house and she doesn't pitch because she was in a traffic accident in the taxi do you not pay her? Why? because you did not get the service? it was not her fault it was not within her control and she could not have foreseen it. You would both have to live with what happened and move on.

You do not sign any rights away when you accept an ISPs T&Cs, they have lawyers that scrutinize those things to make sure they are legal else they may be liable for millions for just letting people sign it.

 

[davemc]

All this up-down-up-down-up stuff from Seacom ... their slogan should be


Seacom : Sexing your internet.

 

[daffy]

so again, you decide what the product is I purchased, and what its really worth Really hope my vehicle isn't residential grade, or my microwave, or my tv

Its ADSL.
If you want proper uptime, get a leased line.

Look at the Telkom SLAs on ADSL vs Diginet.