Afrihost/OpenWeb ADSL class-action lawsuit

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WeWantSpeed

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Hello all,

Considering the abysmal performance many users have received from these ISPs(Afrihost / OpenWeb), as well as the utter nonsense and lies they've been trying to feed us when we complain, I am in the process of getting legal counsel wrt a class-action lawsuit against them.

It seems that we have a pretty strong case including false advertising and evading. More info to come soon.

All interested persons can post here. If there are any other ISPs someone would like to include, mention them below as well.
 
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I'm really saddened to read this. We always do our absolute best to deliver the best products and services to our clients. I guess there are some times when a client's expectation may not be met, and that's why we not only offer month to month contracts with no long term commitment as well as a no hassle double money back guarantee if (for any reason) the product simply did not work for you (and we have never ever defaulted on our guarantee).

Our terms and legal documents are vetted by attorneys so we make absolutely sure that our agreements and advertising confirm to the highest standards of transparency and with all the applicable regulations (CPA, ECT, etc).

Whatever the case though, we'd hate to think that any of our clients would need to engage in an expensive and time consuming legal fiasco if they have a simple or justified claim - which we'd be happy to honour on it's merits if we've done something or somehow dropped the ball.

If you're open to having an open dialogue with us, I would suggest you drop me a PM or email me on [email protected]. This is no way prejudices any legal right you have under South African law, so it really can't hurt to try to work out whatever is making you so upset before you commit yourself to hefty legal fees.
 
I would never in a million years compare Afrihost to Openweb
 
Hmmm - First post, pretty strong stuff .....

In before the thread is locked or a few attorneys make a small fortune then the thread is locked
 
You're going to waste a lot of your life on this OP, it's not worth it. Easier just to change ISP's.

At least AH responds to issues and I do get the impression that they actually try (which is why I didn't ask for my double the money back when I left); but OW, sigh, no one can share last place with them on the ISP leader board.
 
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AfriMan said:
I'm really saddened to read this. We always do our absolute best to deliver the best products and services to our clients. I guess there are some times when a client's expectation may not be met, and that's why we not only offer month to month contracts with no long term commitment as well as a no hassle double money back guarantee if (for any reason) the product simply did not work for you (and we have never ever defaulted on our guarantee).

Our terms and legal documents are vetted by attorneys so we make absolutely sure that our agreements and advertising confirm to the highest standards of transparency and with all the applicable regulations (CPA, ECT, etc).

Whatever the case though, we'd hate to think that any of our clients would need to engage in an expensive and time consuming legal fiasco if they have a simple or justified claim - which we'd be happy to honour on it's merits if we've done something or somehow dropped the ball.

If you're open to having an open dialogue with us, I would suggest you drop me a PM or email me on [email protected]. This is no way prejudices any legal right you have under South African law, so it really can't hurt to try to work out whatever is making you so upset before you commit yourself to hefty legal fees.
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I like seeing initiatives like this. I especially like seeing a quick follow up from the company representatives after their part time mercantile law specialists quickly email a canned response to be posted in response to a pending revolt..

Afriman, you're probably a good person, and you probably half believe the rubbish you wrote above. But the truth is that since the take over of Afrihost by MTN, the core service your company is supposed to deliver is simply abysmal. Without an excellent, or even an average level of service delivery of the core service AH is supposed to deliver, your value proposition to the market disappears. I might as well revert to using the post office to send my emails.

Afrihost is not average. Afrihost is far worse than average. But then, so is MWEB, and Axxess and Web Africa and Telkom and Openweb etc etc.

What is that core service ISP's are supposed to deliver? Well, for starters there's a clue in the name - INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS. If you were mean to just debit my account then you would be called Internet Debit Order Receivers. But no, there are the words Service Provider in there and so it is reasonable to expect "some few" services provided.

Bottom line. There is absolutely NO VALUE in the services provided by South African Internet SERVICE providers. ISP's and consumers were once united in the struggle against the Telkom monopoly, but the consumer is now left stranded in the struggle against greedy corporate ISP's hoodwinking consumers who they think are dumb enough to buy the BS you spin in your efforts to maximize profits by using under handed tactics to save a few bucks. Yes the people will complain, but so what. You'll pay some fart to post some canned responses on a forum and that will appease the people.

I should have jumped ship form Afrihost ages ago, but I'm gonna stick around and I will drive your support people insane until you kick me out or give me what I pay for. I want a reliable internet service and I want it 24/7. I will not settle for the crap you are dishing out.

OP, count me in!!
 
MyLowBandwidth said:
I like seeing initiatives like this. I especially like seeing a quick follow up from the company representatives after their part time mercantile law specialists quickly email a canned response to be posted in response to a pending revolt..

Afriman, you're probably a good person, and you probably half believe the rubbish you wrote above. But the truth is that since the take over of Afrihost by MTN, the core service your company is supposed to deliver is simply abysmal. Without an excellent, or even an average level of service delivery of the core service AH is supposed to deliver, your value proposition to the market disappears. I might as well revert to using the post office to send my emails.

Afrihost is not average. Afrihost is far worse than average. But then, so is MWEB, and Axxess and Web Africa and Telkom and Openweb etc etc.

What is that core service ISP's are supposed to deliver? Well, for starters there's a clue in the name - INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS. If you were mean to just debit my account then you would be called Internet Debit Order Receivers. But no, there are the words Service Provider in there and so it is reasonable to expect "some few" services provided.

Bottom line. There is absolutely NO VALUE in the services provided by South African Internet SERVICE providers. ISP's and consumers were once united in the struggle against the Telkom monopoly, but the consumer is now left stranded in the struggle against greedy corporate ISP's hoodwinking consumers who they think are dumb enough to buy the BS you spin in your efforts to maximize profits by using under handed tactics to save a few bucks. Yes the people will complain, but so what. You'll pay some fart to post some canned responses on a forum and that will appease the people.

I should have jumped ship form Afrihost ages ago, but I'm gonna stick around and I will drive your support people insane until you kick me out or give me what I pay for. I want a reliable internet service and I want it 24/7. I will not settle for the crap you are dishing out.

OP, count me in!!
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Crystal Web is pretty good IMHO and webafrica isn't too bad either - well not as bad as the rest.

But I agree with everything else you have mentioned.
 
@ AfriMan

My experience with Afrihost was dismal. Granted that was a little over a year ago and I can only hope that things have improved, though a quick look at hellopeter isn't inspiring. Also, your double money back guarantee was not honored in my case but I opted to just cut my losses and leave. If your clients indeed feel that you are not cheating them, then you have nothing to worry about. Believe me when I say I have tried the open dialogue thing, I've tried it to exhaustion. There is absolutely no point when the provider has no desire to bring their end.

As for OW, I moved over to them after going through about 5 providers. The speed seemed amazing but after 3 or 4 months that changed. They have constantly been feeding me lies and promises. I can at most times not send email or even load their own webpage.

The reason I want to pursue this is because the whole telecoms and ISP market in SA is in a terrible state. OW might well be the worst of them, but we need to make an example of them. The ISP picture has to change. Providers need to start standing behind their promises. How can they get away with providing inferior products at full prices. This means that every month I am renting line speed I will never be able to use. So Telkom wins and the ISP wins at the cost of the consumer.

Good to have you on board MyLowBandwidth :)
 
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Bighit said:
You're going to waste a lot of your life on this OP, it's not worth it. Easier just to change ISP's.

At least AH responds to issues and I do get the impression that they actually try (which is why I didn't ask for my double the money back when I left); but OW, sigh, no one can share last place with them on the ISP leader board.
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Easier to change ISP's? To which one? Almost all are just as bad. Why you ask? Well, because no one holds them accountable. They get away with making promises and selling products they won't stand by. We need to take them on so that the whole market can change.

GhostR brings this point to the fore. We are all so accustomed to settling for the 'well not as bad as the rest' service. What happened to actually getting what you paid for?
 
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WeWantSpeed said:
Easier to change ISP's? To which one? They are almost all just as bad. Why you ask? Well, because no one holds them accountable. They get away with making promises and selling products they won't stand by. We need to take them on so that the whole market can change.
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What is it exactly that you are looking for in you ISP..?
 
Waste of time. And the fact that you actually compare Afrihost to OpenWeb is proof that you actually have no idea of what you are talking about.
 
Know that many of these legel entities are not your friend... just think the person vs mweb case.

WeWantSpeed said:
Hello all,

Considering the abysmal performance many users have received from these ISPs(Afrihost / OpenWeb), as well as the utter nonsense and lies they've been trying to feed us when we complain, I am in the process of getting legal counsel wrt a class-action lawsuit against them.

It seems that we have a pretty strong case including false advertising and evading. More info to come soon.

All interested persons can post here. If there are any other ISPs someone would like to include, mention them below as well.
Click to expand...
 
been with both OpenWeb and Afrihost for several years. I certainly would not put Afrihost together with Openweb. With Openweb, I had nothing but trouble, while with Afrihost I have had great Internet. I know others have had difficulties, but cant say I have had any, and the company has always acted professionally.
 
Garyvdh said:
Waste of time. And the fact that you actually compare Afrihost to OpenWeb is proof that you actually have no idea of what you are talking about.
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I have personal experience with these providers, both of them are bad, not comparing them. That you think you can find proof of something in your own ignorance is proof that you are an idiot, nothing else
 
WeWantSpeed said:
I have personal experience with these providers, both of them are bad, not comparing them. That you think you can find proof of something in your own ignorance is proof that you are an idiot, nothing else
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Careful now, the lion disapproves :D
 
WeWantSpeed said:
I have personal experience with these providers, both of them are bad, not comparing them. That you think you can find proof of something in your own ignorance is proof that you are an idiot, nothing else
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I have extensive personal experience of both as well... going back years. As do many other posters on this forum.
I have personally met and chatted to the CEO's of both companies on more than one occasion.
You have seen some of the poster's reaction in this thread, nearly all of them telling you that you are off the mark here.
Afrihost may be having their problems, but to compare them to OpenWeb is just plain silly.
I would actually be very interested to know what avenues of support you actually utlised and what the real nature of your problem was.
Because everything I have seen this far screams to me that you really have very little experience in this field.
 
Garyvdh said:
I have extensive personal experience of both as well... going back years. As do many other posters on this forum.
I have personally met and chatted to the CEO's of both companies on more than one occasion.
You have seen some of the poster's reaction in this thread, nearly all of them telling you that you are off the mark here.
Afrihost may be having their problems, but to compare them to OpenWeb is just plain silly.
I would actually be very interested to know what avenues of support you actually utlised and what the real nature of your problem was.
Because everything I have seen this far screams to me that you really have very little experience in this field.
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Okay, now he is asking for it. I have RECENT experience with these 2 in particular. I HAVE NOT ONCE COMPARED THE SERVICE BETWEEN AH AND OW. DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT I AM TYPING?

I get that you don't like me taking on AH. Get over it! You made your point, now move on. If others agree with you then your precious AH will not be in danger.

I have sufficient experience in this field and am personally losing over R10k per year on undelivered services, not including lost business. Even with Legal fees, I will net gain income from a successful lawsuit by just getting what I pay for.
 
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