Network Issues since January 1 - Western Cape

[Piesang]

Did the whoosh expire on the 31st of December 2010?

My whoosh definately is gone. I know I had a lot of bad connection days in the past
but today it's just gone. I got like 1MB in 15 minutes.

This is getting really frustrating.

If you are experiencing problems please send Cell C your details as per the following post: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...Western-Cape?p=5648569&viewfull=1#post5648569

As you requested. I did all that. A few times. And that's where it ends. Lots of guys doing signal tests. But the answer is always the same. Congestion. So do something about it CellC!!!

I'm tired of wasting money.

 

[nolsie1]

Speed sucks in Newlands and now Pinelands.
I have tried the settings suggested - no improvement on the speed. It was completely unusable in Newlands last night. Tried it this morning in Pinelands - and it's EDGE again.
This is a waste of time and money - I'm cancelling the purchase and switching to Vodacom again.
I have logged mails and calls with CellC and have had no response either.

 

[ajax]

Speed sucks in Newlands and now Pinelands.
I have tried the settings suggested... and it's EDGE again.

It can't go to EDGE if you're on 3G only!
Last night was a month-end, everyone was trying to finish caps.

 

[nolsie1]

ajax - I meant EDGE-like speed. Very poor or almost no speed.

With the intermittent and poor speed, the CellC service is not something one can use for business.

 

[gkisela]

The amount of customers Cell C is losing must be quite a figure.
At the end of the day, Cell C was too busy trying to get new customers & not thinking about how to accommodate them in their tiny network.
Greed kills.

 

[allanb]

Does anyone know the implications of the new law that came into effect on the 1st April with regards to refunds if I give back my now useless prepaid modem?

 

[ginggs]

Does anyone know the implications of the new law that came into effect on the 1st April with regards to refunds if I give back my now useless prepaid modem?

I understand the new law only applies to contracts taken out after April 1.

 

[morkhans]

I understand the new law only applies to contracts taken out after April 1.

There is no contract with pre-paid only purchase date.

 

[allanb]

I understand the new law only applies to contracts taken out after April 1.

Thank you do I have any other solutions???
Was thinking of a teeshirt with Cell C Sucks
No Woo---oosh
Only Bull.... or similar and spending my time walking round Malls !!! especially near Their shops.

It seems to me the problem is similar to the E-NATIS saga we went through.
In my opinion Cell C would have to improve their network in the Cape Area by a factor of at least 10 to get anywhere near the speeds they advertised and demonstrated in December 2010.
I somehow cannot see that happening.
Can any pressure be exerted on them???

 

[allanb]

There is no contract with pre-paid only purchase date.

Could you possibly elaborate.
Do I have any options???

 

[ginggs]

There is no contract with pre-paid only purchase date.

I disagree.

Cell-C agree to give you 2 or 5GB per month for 12 months, you agree to give them R1499 or R2999 in exchange. Just because you paid up front doesn't let Cell-C off the hook from keeping up their end of the arrangement.

 

[morkhans]

I disagree.

Cell-C agree to give you 2 or 5GB per month for 12 months, you agree to give them R1499 or R2999 in exchange. Just because you paid up front doesn't let Cell-C off the hook from keeping up their end of the arrangement.

What I mean is you did not sign a piece of paper. i.e. a contract you sign today has an induction date of 4 April which means the CPA applies to it. As there is no contract date the next best thing is the purchase date, which I assume is before April 1st, so how the CPA applies to it I don't know.

PS. I do think it's rubbish that the CPA only applies to contracts signed after 1 April. IMO it should apply to all contracts regardless of inception date. If it requires providers to draw up a new contract and for you to sign it, so be it.

 

[RavenXV]

@morkhans
There is no contract signed for Prepaid customers. It is an "off the shelf" product- If the product sold works on other Networks, and fails to perform on Cell C's, and Cell C markets the product, then they are guilty of not fulfilling their mandate of providing a satisfactory & reliable service to the Client / Consumer.
The civil law profession is of the opinion that the Client/Consumer are entitled to keep the product, and Cell C is liable to refund the Client/Consumer the full amount paid, and due to the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, the Client/Consumer are now entitled to additional redress for Cell C's failure to ensure that their Network would perform in the manner for which is is intended.

 

[allanb]

@morkhans
There is no contract signed for Prepaid customers. It is an "off the shelf" product- If the product sold works on other Networks, and fails to perform on Cell C's, and Cell C markets the product, then they are guilty of not fulfilling their mandate of providing a satisfactory & reliable service to the Client / Consumer.
The civil law profession is of the opinion that the Client/Consumer are entitled to keep the product, and Cell C is liable to refund the Client/Consumer the full amount paid, and due to the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, the Client/Consumer are now entitled to additional redress for Cell C's failure to ensure that their Network would perform in the manner for which is is intended.

I was able to use my cap for the 3 months I have had the speedstick so they could argue it works, although with great difficulty.
I used most of the cap trying to watch YUI3 videos from Yahoo and others on HLML5 not very easy with the loss of connections.
The other work I used my ADSL connection as at least it stays connected.

 

[allanb]

Is there a solution for all those dissatisfied with the current state of affairs with Cell C

@RavenXV
I cannot see myself walking into the Cell C shop and demanding my money back and them doing anything just like that.

What additional redress could I/we have with Cell C

 

[RavenXV]

@allanb
Additional redress as outlined in the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, are cost of time, cost of transport, cost in delay in responding to providing a solution, cost of employee hours who spent working hours with complaint... etc.

In simple terms, Cell C is responsible for the time & effort you expended for the duration of the time it took to resolve the complaint... if they failed to deliver the service promised and/or resolve the complaint - you are entitled to redress
Definition of redress = A sum of money paid in compensation for non-delivery or unaccountable failure of service - this can be determined between the Client & Service Provider, or if the Client/Consumer feels that the offer is weak and ineffectual, may approach the court to determine the value - much like the Law Suites that some States in the USA award citizens.

The other option that goes beyond what the Consumer Protection Agency can offer, is to approach a Law Firm who can open a Class Action Law Suite against Cell C, for & on behalf of all Data Clients of Cell C or have been affected & aggrieved by Cell C, since Cell C launched their Whooosh! Products. - This one is applicable to those who have Contracts signed with Cell C, as it will focus on the "Failure to Deliver a Service Promised" - as opposed to the Contract that they have signed themselves into prior to 1st April 2011

 

[RavenXV]

@allanb
The following applies to prepaid off-the-shelf product purchases:
The product must perform at it's stated & marketed specs... which of course they do, as they meet EU Standards & Performance Specs - For example take the Huawei E1752 - it carries a EU " CE0682 " Certificate, (which you can download), which means that before it is sold, the Huawei E1752 must be tested & meet all of the stated performance requirements.

Now if Cell C's Network does not meet the Service Level that they advertise, and have promised & committed themselves to, this is not the fault of the Huawei Product, which is now your property and belongs to you, not Cell C.

The onus is on Cell C to prove that the Network Performs Reliably & Consistently, 99% of the time. A Failure of the Network must have real, factual & verifiable grounds & must be clearly communicated to all clients affected. Also, Cell C must provide Specific Locations, Dates, Times, & Truthful & Honest Reasons for why they experienced a System Failure, and if it has been fully resolved and attended to. - All Clients may request Cell C to provide this information.

Cell C sold the product for the purpose of providing a service to you, which for most Cell C Clients does not perform at the stated level of service. - So Cell C has failed the consumer/client. - Therefore they are liable for the full cost of the product from the 1st of April 2011. - However, the liability claim against Cell C for the months of data usage prior to 1st April 2011, would need to be confirmed by a regulatory body / Consumer Rights Lawyer. - But I'm fairly certain that common law carries some protection of this, as it falls under "Failure to Deliver by Service Provider". - I don't work in retail, so if you know someone who has experience in Retail / Consumer Liability Law, you can look and see how "Failure to Deliver by Service Provider" is handled

For those who have Data Products under signed contract, "Failure to Deliver by Service Provider", can also apply. It's just the Signed Contract and SOME (not all) of it's Terms & Conditions that the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 does not cover.

 

[BobsLawnService]

Whoooshh- looks like the honeymoon is over.

I'm in the Cape Twon Southern Suburbs and over the last two months or so speeds have been gradually getting worse, the connection drops to edge more frequently (I'm not lucky if I get 20 minutes of HSPA+ before dropping to EDGE and then losing connection.). It's a pity because in Decenber I was routinely getting a stable 3Mb/s connection for extended periods, now I'm lucky if it spikes to 1.2 Mb/s for a second or two every minute.

I guess us subscribers are paying the price for CellC's popularity.

 

[Sponge Bob Square Pants]

I'm in the Cape Twon Southern Suburbs and over the last two months or so speeds have been gradually getting worse, the connection drops to edge more frequently (I'm not lucky if I get 20 minutes of HSPA+ before dropping to EDGE and then losing connection.). It's a pity because in Decenber I was routinely getting a stable 3Mb/s connection for extended periods, now I'm lucky if it spikes to 1.2 Mb/s for a second or two every minute.

I guess us subscribers are paying the price for CellC's popularity.

Look like Cell C Ferrari has a toyota tazz engine in Cape Town

 

[Viva]

How is the speed when you move around in your house/neighborhood. There is a specific cause the the slow speed. Experiment a little so you can give Cell C something to work with.