Need advice to get rebate for miscapped Streamyx

wkteoh — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:09:14 +0800

Broadband provider
ISP/package: Streamyx BB 1M
Location: Kuantan.
Have you called your ISP's helpline?: Yup. I called 100 a few times. TM called me a few times I think and sms-ed me 3 times.

Personal equipment
Modem & Router: D-Link DSL 2640B
Firewall used: ?

Problem details
First occurence of problem: Not sure. Found out about 512 kbps in August 2011; found out about the subscribed 1M in Feb/March 2011.
Problem frequency: n/a
Problem description: Subscribed to 1M, but consistently getting 512 kbps (more accurately ~450 kbps) speed.

A. Prologue
Ok, so the details above are just the summary. Here's the whole package.

I was out of country until end of July 2011. Came home, been getting 512 kbps speed. Initially I was not alarmed because several years ago (before I went overseas) the subscribed package was 512 kbps all along.

B. Testing done
Then around February 2012, I glanced at the TM bill and saw that the fee was RM110, which corresponds to 1M package. Speed tests (Streamyx + Speedtest.net) and direct downloads (averaging to 50+ kB/s) points to 512 kbps package cap. I looked at the router page, and it shows the down-/upstream line rate as 512/256 kbps. The tests were done using cable directly connected to the wall.

C. Interaction with TM
March 31: I called 100. Told them I was getting 1/2 the speed of my subscription. After some basic testing and resetting port (which had zero effect), the guy told me they will look into it. Later, another guy called me to say my case has been reported, and he gave me a report number.

April 1: Got an SMS from 62100, "Dear Valued Customer, your fault report has been attended. It will be resolved within the next 24hrs. TQ". So far so good.

April 2: A technician (I believe) called me to ask about the situation. So I told him exactly the same thing as I told the other two. He says he'll come have a look today. Well, he did not. Got SMS #2 which is exactly the same as the one on April 1.

April 3: A lady from TM (0379624000) called to ask me to do speedtest again + turn on/off my modem. She said she will now file a report (wait, I already had 3 telephone conversations with TM, was there not a report already?). I asked her when I can expect the issue to be resolved, the lady said, "Oh. We don't know. It depends on the technician."

April 4: A family member told me TM called to ask whether the broadband is ok. To my dismay, she answered "Yes". I immediately called 100 again. The lady assured me that the matter is being looked into. As a reward for my efforts, I got an SMS from 62100 which reads, "Dear Valued Customer, svc restoration in progress & expected to be resolved by 04/06/12.For updates pls type HELP & send to 62100.TQ"

April 6: Still getting ~430kbps. SMS-ed "HELP" to 62100 twice and got no response.

April 9: I called 100 again. TM lady reset the port, asked me to reset my modem twice, do speed test, turn off antivirus + firewall, and tried to explain to me how the antivirus + firewall can cut down my internet speed by half. I told her, router page already says I'm only getting 512/256, but she still insists on explaining her theory. After a long time (40 minutes maybe?), she told me she found out TM is not providing me with the right speed, and this is due to a "copper" problem. I told her, my attainable line rate is way higher (10 Mbps) so it's probably not a "copper" problem but misconfiguration on TM's part. But she insisted on categorizing it as a "copper" problem. Anyway, she opened up a new report for me (new report #). She told me the relevant department would be notified within 24 hours, but the rectification time would depend on severity (in other words, no estimated time of resolution).

Then I talked to a lady in the billing department and she filed a report for me saying I have subscribed for 1M since Nov 2010 but until now (April 2012) I'm still getting 512 kbps. I asked whether TM would refund from Nov 2010, the lady just said she is just responsible for filing the report, the other issue is the other department's business, and it would take 3 months to process. I guess it's fair enough? But no guarantee whether they'll approve the refund or not.

15-20 minutes later, another person called from TM to say the case has been reported and to confirm my subscribed phone number.

D. Current situation
I googled a bit (not sure what the keyword was) and found this Streamyx issue post in Lowyat. My first course of action was to find out when all of these started (assuming TM did not "downgrade" my internet speed in the middle of my subscription). To my dismay, the old bills were not to be found (haih), although I did see on tmbill.tm.net.my the first time we were charged RM110 was Nov. 2010. I'm going to follow through with the steps detailed in the FAQ post, but I do have a few questions:

1. How many of you have succeeded in getting rebate (I imagine my case might be more difficult since this has been going on for 17 months or so)?

2. Will I succeed even if I don't have the old bills? Will the payment history on tmbill.tm.net.my be proof enough? I'm worried TM will try to deny that the period is that long (17 months).

3. What exactly needs to be done to rectify the matter? I mean, shouldn't it be pretty straightforward, as in they just toggle some switch on their side? Why do they need to get a technician to my house?

4. I wonder if just because I didn't use the words "miscapped" or "wrongly capped" (I didn't know these terms before contacting them), they might have dismissed the issue as some slowdown that happens every other day, and that will go away by itself? Is this what is causing the huge delay in servicing? But I thought when someone says, "I've been getting 512kbps package speed although I've subscribed 1M", the issue is pretty self-explanatory?

5. Any other ideas? Hints?

Thanks guys.

How to clean my pc?

wkteoh — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 12:14:34 +0800

I'm not sure where this topic belongs to. But anyway, I left my cpu cover opened too long and found, with no surprise, that it was filled with dust. My monitor is also heavily decorated with finger prints and other stains. So are my keyboard.

I tried using dishwashing liquid to remove the yellowish stain on my keyboard but to no avail.

I heard that we can use compressed air to clear the dust but I'm not sure where I can find it or what it looks like. I have been to Pyramid and its IT Centre, Carrefour SJ to find it but no one seems to know what it is. One IT shop genius asked me: Is it a software or a hardware?

Oh revered lowyat-ers, please advise, thanks

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