Telkom ADSL TV ad

donn

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Please can someone help me. I'm trying to get a copy of the current Telkom TV ad for ADSL, that says that you can get ADSL internet access for R680.

Of course we all know that this is a bit like advertising a cheeseburger but only giving the price of the beef patty. So I have filed a complaint to the ASA, pointing out that in addition to the R680, you have to pay at least R240 to an ISP and another R80 or so for the line rental.

If anyone can capture the ad and turn it into a MPEG/AVI/QuickTime/WM file, please let me know, as well as the size it comes out as.

Telkom has a whole bunch of their TV ads on their web site, but this is not one of them.

Donn Edwards
http://privacy.4mg.com

http://privacy.4mg.com/SlowWireless.gif
 
Yeah, I saw the ad as well, and while I didn't study it in detail, I didn't notice any mention of the "hidden costs" involved. They seemed to imply R680 and that was it.
 
Hello Donn.

You can use my situation as an example rather as the 3 gigs is not enough, which they fail to mention. As once you are capped, international speeds die.

1. Line Rental = R680.00
2. 6 gig ADSL Account with MWeb =R539.00

Total R1219.00 Monthly

*Also this excludes any calls you might make.

The same option with a 3 gig account with MWeb will cost you this:

1. Line Rental = R680.00
2. 3 gig ADSL Account with MWeb =R329.00

Total R1009.00 Monthly

Once again this excludes any calls you might make.

Plus furthermore it is advised to look elsewhere for;
A modem, which can cost anything between R400.00 and R1500.00
Telkom wants you to sign a 24 month contract if you take their "free" modem. Don't do it!

Initial Setup costs of R404.00 and an ADSL Pots Filter of R50.00.

Now does R680.00 per month sound so cheap anymore?

And for this Telkom guarantees nothing. It’s a "best effort" service.

On a lighter note, ADSL speeds have been favourable. But that could change. So nobody knows.

Also don’t even ask what the 4 gig Unshaped ADSL setup will cost you. This is even more.

ADSL is a luxury product I'm afraid.

BTW, you should look in the papers aswell. I have seen it their too.


<b><hr noshade size="1"></b><font size="2"><font color="red"><b>You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.</b></font id="red"></font id="size2">
 
I managed to record the ad on my VCR, but have no idea how to get it to electronic format. Any volunteers? I live in Cresta, JHB.

BTW, the ad usually flights around 7.30-7.45 pm on SABC3.

Donn Edwards
http://privacy.4mg.com
 
One thing the ad does say is something like "Always on, Tested and Reliable". Can't quite remember all the words, but it struck me at the time that it goes against there "Best Effort" policy which they normally fall back on when there is a problem and it doesn't work. That surely must be false advertising.
 
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Just a small correction: The R680 already includes VAT.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Just checked the Telkom billing. You are correct.

<b><hr noshade size="1"></b><font size="2"><font color="red"><b>You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.</b></font id="red"></font id="size2">
 
Is this for the 512 KiloBytes/sec as specified by voice and print on one of their ads? another has 512 KiloBits/sec in print, but voice still says Bytes ...
 
they also say its "faster than fast"!!! I did seem to hear that they say something to the effect of choose your own service provider... but they make it sound like a feature of the service! There is nothing about having to pay extra for ISP charges. Also the R80 amount hasnt been included as this is for the cost of your phone line (to send and receive voice calls)
 
That's precisely why I have complained. See my cheeseburger analogy. http://privacy.4mg.com/privacy.html#ADSL

But I must say their 512k graphic is very clever. I starts at 0 und goes up to 512, much in the same way that ADSL starts at 512k and goes down to 0k, depending on how much bandwidth you have already used up. [:(]

The way I calculate it you can't get ADSL for less than R1000 per month. That's why their "R680 fixed rate" claim is misleading.

Telkom (the people who "support freedom of speech") have to be given time to reply to the ASA. I'll keep you posted.

<hr noshade size="1">
Donn Edwards

Why is ADSL like a Cheeseburger? Find out at http://privacy.4mg.com
 
I can't tell you (or express it in words) how much I hate Telkom's TV ads - just because you know they're ripping off the SA consumer and there is nothing you can do about it.
 
Quite a few people have laid complaints against the ADSL ads, and I've laid one against the one with the boat in the middle of the sea receiving a high-quality streaming video clip of the fellow's wife with their new laaitie, it's factually incorrect, as is the ISDN distance surgery one. As soon as I have a moment I will be loding a complaint against that one as well.

I have no problem with factually correct ads, obviously, but when Telkom tries to instill a feeling of 'wow they really are great and doing a lot for us' by means of deceiving and error-ridden ads there should be some recourse.


<font color="navy"><font size="1"><b>Where others have progress, we have Telkom.</b>
Hellkom website - www.hellkom.co.za</font id="size1"></font id="navy">
 
What really gets my blood boiling, is the ADSL ad (normally when watching the PGA [:D]) where they type at the end: 'Tried, tested & reliable', but when you go to their web site, Telkom ADSL is a 'Best Effort' service. I FAAKING HATE THAT!!!!

I think it's been mentioned before, but I just hate it soooooo much....
 
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