5 months, constant line noise ADSL dropouts +++

[colems]

Optus. You've got to be kidding. I'll never use this mob again for anything.The dealings & problems we had with them after switching from Telstra.Saw one of there promo's, promised massive savings but changed the conditions after only 2 months of switching. This company is a joke.They should be shut down.Highly recommend staying right away from them.

[computerflyer]

ausgronk,

Is optus the only provider you have access to? Even if they share lines with another company, you might get a working service from another ISP. Arrange another, but make sure you cancel optus and have proof of that.

Clueless companies have clueless billing and accounts systems, but vigilant collections departments.

[ausgronk]

Further to my last posting 09 Feb 08, the tech's did not turn up on the Monday between 8-12 am ,so when I called to find out what was going on I was then told that they had checked everything out and there was no problem ! After some " discussion " a contractor for Superior Broadband Services, (who was not the ones who didn't turn up they are from Service Stream ) turned up on my doorstop and spoke to somebody from Optus Tech checked all my phone outlets , (which all have a dial tone)then checked my modems .Spoke with the Optus tech who finally acknowledged that there was a problem and it wasn't my modems or phone points and that they would have to get the line tested as there is apparently no SYNC on the line.
Then after more phone calls in an attempt to ascertain when these tests would be done I was informed by Optus that the equipment was in Brisbane and that it was already booked up for about a month of testing before it could be sent to Bundaberg to test my line. I was not that happy but at least it appeared that something would eventually be happening.The person who had informed me of this was more than helpful and courteous which was a more than pleasant change and he also organized credits to my account for the period that I was not going to be able to use my ADSL connection.
So today I was thinking oh well I am half way to getting the fault fixed only 2 more weeks to wait!Terrific. Then I get a call from a lady from Optus who had seen the posting on NGE and was ringing to apologize for all the inconvenience with this fault in the line and that she would be monitoring what was going on etc. and would be keeping me informed of anything else that was going to be happening to resolve this problem.So I thought that not a bad touch, some personal contact would certainly be helpful over the course of this.BUT WAIT
then I get a phone call back from her to inform me that she had been talking to the techs and that they can not give me ANY indication as to when this problem will be being looked at !!!
So I have to now just sit wait for them to maybe sometime have a tech do the testing necessary but sorry they don't know when that will be !When I said to her would she accept this statement from a company that she was a customer of ? no reply.
Has anyone got any ideas of where I can go to or contact to have this insanity stopped ?

[NGE]

Optus has requested and been supplied with contact details for ausgronk.

[ausgronk]

I have also had the same indifference to my request for technical service.About 2 weeks ago in the middle of using my adsl connection it ceased to work.The next day it took me 6hrs of calling Optus and them doing the basic tests over the phone for them to organise a tech to come out and test everything at my home etc, they sent a tech who was only a phone tech and who new nothing about adsl, so I called them again and after more tests they stated that they would be organising a specially trained adsl tech to come out and that I would be contacted in the next 24 to 72 hours.So I waited for the call, at the end of 72 hours I called again and was told after all the same questions etc that I had been through twice before that some one would be in contact in the next 24 to 48 hrs ! This complete fob off was repeated for a total of 5 times with not once any one calling to arrange a time for the tech to come out.When I eventually got a supervisor to try and get something happening they then came back with the reply from the company that they use Service Stream that they had been to my place and no one was there !surprise surprise ! At this stage they have said that the tech will be here on Monday am, but I will believe it when I see it !

[Krystal]

So why mention it?

[Sandi]

I have an amazing story about one of Phone companies telemarking caller.
But they paid me $15,000.00 to promise not to tell anybody what they did to me.

[Danny_b]

Obviously their subscription to the Alerts pays off.

I too had an excellent Optus service rep contact me based on my posting on NGE.

While time had already resolved the issue, he said that he would investigate further to ensure the same mistake does not happen again to other people.

While it still shouldn't have happened in the first place Optus's action to resolve the situation and restore the customers faith in their product when something did go wrong was comforting. They also credited me my new number fee, and first month and a half bill.

Now I'm back to talking Optus up after my 9 trouble-free years of mobile service with them.

[NGE]

Excellent news.

Optus subscribes to the NGE eAlert service which sees all gripes emailed directly to its representative.

Optus has an impressive and admirable history of resolving issues for NGE members.

Well done Optus.

[Xennon]

GOOD NEWS!

This is a follow-up to my original (complaint) post and I am very pleased to announce that finally a solution has been found.

Although it has taken a very long time and many many calls to the faults hotline, everything came together after someone from OPTUS read my post here!

To his credit, this individual went to extreme lengths to help solve my problem, and without it, I am sure I would be no better off.

The solution? - Even though my residence was tagged a *not serviceable for cable* a OPTUS tech was sent out to physically inspect the situation and found that it was indeed serviceable. Well - after that bit of good news and a little bit of struggling with the service department at OPTUS, they finally came out and installed OPTUS cable to my house completely cutting out and bypassing the TELSTRA line issue.

I was granted (courtesy of A from OPTUS) massive credits to my accounts (internet and phone) and a painless transfer of my existing plans without incurring any charges or penalty. The service I now have is way more superior to anything I could have imagined with superfast internet and crystal clear telephone reception.

I owe this to this website because it was only after my posting was seen by OPTUS or somehow got back to them, that things began to take a positive direction. So to NGE! - thank you very very much for being here and I urge everyone reading this to tell their friends about NGE and that it really does make a difference.

My only complaint - if you can call it that - is that all the arrogant smart-arse people employed in the faults hotline section are still there and no doubt frustrating many many 1000's of customers by their attitude and lack of consideration for the problems people are dealing with. They (OPTUS) would do well to employ a few more A types.

~ It has indeed turned out to be a happy new year after all ~

Thanks again NGE!

Xen

[wyvernsrose]

oh I forgot to mention, it works only because telstra have caved and actually performed a port swap on our line....it works just dandy for a while after that.....then the problem reappears strangely between 10pm and 2pm very suddenly....

I told internode it is almost as if someone walked through the room and kicked the switched causing the sticky tape to fall off.....

or simply put us back in the old port

telstra have also stated that there is very likely a 'strained or broken' wire at the pole.... and will probably need to be replaced

mind you following that tech's visit it hasn't been replaced and telstra can't be stuffed looking at it anymore and just want to blame my modem.

and every other customer service member I have spoken too in the last few months has complained of hearing noise on the line during our conversation EXCEPT telstra

[wyvernsrose]

I know exactly where you are at for we are right there ourselves and it isnt Optus tech's which is why they can't request a call when they come to repair

the devil in all this is TELSTRA!!!!

the infrastructure is their's to maintain and what a miserable job they are doing for it.

our phone line is with telstra our ADSL was with internode. we have been connected since 14th of october 2007 and still waiting for a working line.

they have done endless testing on the line proclaiming no fault then they admit a fault but don't fix it. they found resistence on the line sent a tech out and he closed the job stating 'no problem here' when the resistence HAD been found on the line!

since we have been here we have been lucky enough to have a working connection for approximately 2 weeks.....everytime it is working not long after in the middle of the night we get disconnected and when we reconnect again our ADSL is back to being WORSE than dialup. but we have to pay for this apparently and the dialup hours we are having to use to collect our email. AND the line fault is causing us not to receive our phone calls just as we have moved to a new state and are looking for work :-o I dont even want to imagine how many prospective employers haven't been able to contact us. I used to love internode thought they were fantastic. not any more, the line problems aren't their fault, nor is telstra's lack of response. but they didnt provide an alternative (dialup) for while it was being repaired I was charged $30 in dialup fee's for the first week of this. when they did provide us with additional dialup to compensate they didnt bother telling us about it so we could use it. and yet im still being billed for a connection which is actually provocative to use with the timeouts packet loss and disconnections. the tech read the speed set on our line as 1500 our plan is 512....my guess is they upted the speed to compensate for the issue not careing that it doesnt fix the problems with connectivity.

we are going with Ncable the installation is first thing tomorrow, we are bypassing telstra's infrastructure and if we continue to not receive calls (which is likely) we will likely have our phone service disconnected also.

[mjd26]

That sounds most frustrating and I hope that you reach a resolution soon.
Might I enquire as to whether you have at any point had recommended to you (or otherwise considered) getting a central splitter installed?

It is unfortunately quite a possibility that the noise is being derived from equipment within your own residence. If they have really had techs out and the techs have really found no fault with the physical line, it is in fact extremely likely that your problem is within your own premises. That does not in any way diminish their responsibility for a clear inability to troubleshoot the problem, but it may give you somewhere to look.
Does the noise persist on the phone line in the complete absence of the modem or with the modem switched off?

As to getting ADSL2+ when Telstra won't give you ADSL1, it's quite common (and indeed normal) because ADSL2 is actually capable of functioning at greater distances than ADSL1. Also Telstras cut-off for when you can't get it is more than a little arbitrary.

[Xennon]

I recently (April 07) relocatedto my current address and set about getting ADSL connected. Even though I have Telstra cable and Optus Cable at the street, they both say they can't connect due to lot layout, distance etc. Anyway Telstra told me I could NOT get adsl in any shape or form but Optus said I could get adsl-2 no less. So I switched everything over to optus (landline and new internet connection). Ever since I got connected I've had nothing but trouble with the phone line with undescribable and unbearable static and screaming whistle on the line intermitantly (usually whenever there's rain about). I reported the problem many many many times but only started keeping records (since sep-07) - I have 5 job reference no's reporting the exat same fault and on every occasion it's the same ... the tech's say they inspected theline and found no fault. Also, I've had 3 internal investigations scheduled where the techs just didn't turn up - I lost 1/2 day work on each occassion. I've written to the local member (no reply yet). I've also initiated action with the Ombudsman (yesterday). Nothing I tell these people makes a difference - they simply don't seem to care that I have on many occasions lost my phone connection completely (no dial tone) for hours at a time and every call to them usually needs to be made via mobile with wait times in excess of 20 mins. each time. This situation surely qualifies for NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
OPTUS also refuse to give me the courtousy of a pre-inspection call when the tech's are expected to arrive (if ever) because I now refuse to leave work and waste a half day waiting for techs to show up only to find they don't come. As I said - this has happend 3 times already and their attitude is simply .. if you're not home, then you'll need to reschedule. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! I am SOOO annoyed at their indifference to my situation. I hope the TIO or the local polly can make a difference. With any luck this NGE post may even help.