Webafrica pulling a Telkom

[wHiTe*LiGhTnInG]

I have not had problems with webafrica that i could'nt get fixed, i must say that i still having a few problem every 2nd month, with a email or call it gets sorted out the way i want it to.

As for hjs, i understand what he means when he says no downtime from webafrica for a missed payment, this is business we talking about and you cant have this sort of thing, and webafrica should know better. They should have contacted hjs or who ever is the account holder about the situation before just cutting him off

 

[hjs]

Hammerdown, that's how business work. Our clients require it from us, so we require it from our suppliers, be it a product or data. What Webafrica has demonstrated is they make changes to there system and give the client the cold shoulder when they require support. I've always liked Webafrica, but its not kosher.

 

[WAangelo]

Hi guys

I would like to explain to you how the new billing system works.

As you know we have recently updated our billing system to assist us in improving your Web Africa experience.
Admittedly there were a few teething problems and many customers were affected by the new billing system and some even raised there views on MYBB about it.

In the past payments were manually uploaded to a customers account by a consultant were now it is automated.
This is why the client code is so vital and why it needs to be added in the beneficiary reference as the system now automatically adds it to your account.

Previously customers were able to add bandwidth to their accounts regardless of what the outstanding amount was.
Now with our new system we provide you with a date when payment is due and if it was not made we also allow for a 7day grace period.

After the 7th day the system will automatically prevent you from adding bandwidth as you would have an overdue amount payable.
Payment takes between 2 and 3 business days to reflect with an EFT, so it will not reflect immediately on your account and could still prevent you from adding
bandwidth till the overdue amount has been cleared. (2 to 3 business days later)

If this does happen and you need to add bandwidth all you need to do is contact us or send us the proof of payment to have the bandwidth added manually.

Alternatively to prevent this you may make the payment by the due date indicated on the statement.


@hjs - as a result of the changes mentioned above, you were unable to add the bandwidth.
as I mentioned, previously payments were manually allocated by consultants and this is the reason why for the last few years you never had any problems.
Even so, the beneficiary reference should always have been your client code and not your company name.

I can assure you that in future if you if you follow this method you shouldn't have any hassles.
Also if you would like to prepay the bandwidth and pay R5000 upfront that could also make it easier.
We would then credit the R5000 to your account and deduct each purchase from it.

You would be able to monitor your balance as well via the client service area and we will also send you your monthly statements as usual.

I can assure you that each customer is as valuable to us as the next and we strive to always make your Web Africa experience a pleasant one.


Thank you.

 

[Gekco]

In the past payments were manually uploaded to a customers account by a consultant were now it is automated.
This is why the client code is so vital and why it needs to be added in the beneficiary reference as the system now automatically adds it to your account.

I think the important question here is was this clearly communicated to all of your customers?

 

[KinsZA]

We are even willing to prepay for R5000 or anything to provide stable uptime. QUOTE]

Ever heard of uncapped ?

EDIT...

This looks like "Oh I made myself look stupid on a major forum how can I divert some blame"

*Checks his client control panel*
*Payments went through fine*
*Billing system 100% fine*

Is it not your (or someone in your company's) job to make sure you keep your account with the ISP paid / make sure alls in order ?

Is it not your job to make sure that your company that you look after never runs out of bandwidth to prevent such problems occuring ?

 

[Slobber]

Come now WA are one of the big boys, they don't have to care about service anymore.

 

[KinsZA]

*reads Slobber's post*

Look a troll

*Carries on reading other peoples whinings*

Honestly webafrica following forum posts, kudo's to them.

 

[hjs]

Kinsza, wow, your a fine individual.. No one is blame shifting son.

 

[Mcwidowmaker]

Webafrica's service, speeds and accounts is awesome. I have used them for a long time and as far as service go, they're right up there with the best of them.

They're so good, that even though I am experimenting with some of the uncapped accounts, my trusted webafrica account has not been cancelled.

Anyone wanting capped dsl, they're worth the premium above the others. You cannot get better service than what you get from these guys.

 

[AnRkey]

So as far as I can see, it's the user's mess up...

"Lets make a sensationalist thread name comparing one of the few really good SA companies to SA's most hated company YAY LOL"

LOL, nice going WAangelo!!

Lol, making your name tottie.

Htf are they supposed to know who the payment comes from if he does not use beneficiary references

hjs didnt get it all this morning. Shouldve had that awesome breakfast cereal.

No beneficiary ref = almost impossible to allocate

These muppets remind me of the EU's that I have to support. I had a moron phone me and tell me his caps lock was off and was pissed off about it. I cant help but feel the same about these guys as I do about that idiot EU.

You see people like these oaks keep talking without actually finding out WHY something happens. They are the first to judge and the last to help. In short they just compound the problems we have in this world.

HJS and I support Big companies and we have to answer to people that frown on failure big time.

Imagine getting that call about 5 branches being down, queues are out the door and clients are pissed off and want to leave. Now imagine phoning WA and being told it's not going to be fixed without somehow paying them in enough time to make a difference. So you start bitching and whining about the problem to WA and try to explain that's going to take far too long. WA simply tells YOU how it's going to work and that your problem is regrettable but basically not theirs.

I want to get sick and my stomach goes all tense when something like this happens. The difference is that we cant give up, no no... we have to fight to get our clients going again!

So please foolish little people who make uneducated statements about things they should not... SHURRUP and give this oak (HJS) the stand to say his piece.

WA should be asking HJS to stay with them and should be offering him a few GB free to make up for this mess.

HJS is a reasonable man and I sometimes rely on his wisdom to help me so I know he did nothing to deserve the stupid comments he received in this thread.

R

 

[Gekco]

These muppets remind me of the EU's that I have to support.

Err.. Did you read the whole thread?

All the information was not apparent initially regarding the circumstances surrounding the payment reference.

From the initial posts it looked like there was no payment reference specified whatsoever and not an incorrect payment reference that the customer had been using successfully for ages. (This only came to light later)

Hence my subsequent posts:

Well that certainly puts in in a different light.

I think the important question here is was this clearly communicated to all of your customers?

??

 

[Abe]

WA should be asking HJS to stay with them and should be offering him a few GB free to make up for this mess.

HJS is a reasonable man and I sometimes rely on his wisdom to help me so I know he did nothing to deserve the stupid comments he received in this thread.

Excuse me? The account had money outstanding so the WA systems did not load the extra bandwidth and this is somehow their fault?

WA sent out an email in February clearly explaining the new system. They even added a nice graphic at the bottom and everything.

In our ongoing effort to improve our billing systems we shall be implementing changes in the following areas;
• Collection Cycle
• Customer Monthly Spend Limits
• Combined Invoicing
Collection Cycle
As of 1 March 2009, we will be moving over onto a more effective and efficient collection cycle and formalising our terms.

Payment for services are currently due on the 1st of every month for the month ahead. This will be referred to as Standard terms (0 days). Payment is due on presentation of invoice. Should payment not be received within 7 days, the account will fall into the collection cycle as indicated in the graphic below.

In order to accommodate our corporate, government, education, NGO’s and reseller clients, we are introducing an extended terms cycle which may be requested from our billing department. Extended terms* (30 days) means that payment is due 30 days after invoice date. Should payment not be received within 7 days of the following month (i.e. 37 days after invoice date), the account will fall into the collection cycle.

All hjs had to do was respond to this email asking to be put on the the extended terms cycle and he would not have had a problem. We have also had some fun with the WA billing in the past but I can't see how this can be their fault.