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Review by amp3d7 See Profile

  • Location: Scarborough, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $40 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 10 days
  • No Cap
  • Telco party Bell Canada
Speeds, consistency, no bandwidth caps/throttles, prices
Horrible tech support and their billing department leaves a lot to be desired.
Even the most tech savvy of users cannot resolve issues if they are on the ISP end.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

UPDATED January 8th, 2014: (Read at least this update if you don't want to read everything here)

It is now 18 months after my original rant, where I had absolutely zero support from Acanac and was incorrectly billed for service I did not have. Those issues by the way, were never resolved and money was lost. However, they were able to get the service up and running.

A couple months after my original problems, my annual renewal was coming due again. I decided at that time, that since this account was being used by only seniors that I would just renew and keep the service active. In my mind, as long as I never have to call Acanac or deal with their customer support, I shouldn't have any more run-ins.

Boy was I wrong.

Recently, I decided that since my 2nd location (using TekSavvy) prices were increasing a few dollars, that maybe I should move my 2nd internet account over to Acanac as well. I called them to do a transfer, and had an account set up. A few days later (after Cancelling TekSavvy) I receive a call from Acanac, who says that I owe them one months service from an old DSL back in 2010 (now 4 years later...). They said I cancelled my DSL account a week after my renewal date, so since I didn't give them the proper notice I owe them for the DSL service they provided! Keep in mind though, the reason for the DSL cancellation was because I was switching to Acanac Cable! Wow!

As tempted as I was just to pay this one month, 4 year old overdue fee, the MRS. would not let me do such a thing! When she found out Acanac refused to activate my 2ND ADDITIONAL account until I paid the small DSL fee, a serious decision had to be made.

The conclusion was the cancellation of the active Acanac account (now migrated for FREE - to Start.ca - no transfer fees). This transfer had ZERO downtime, in fact, start.ca activated my cable service before Acanac's modem even went offline!). Now, the 2nd account which was in the process of being activated is currently being activated by vmedia.ca (review of these providers to follow soon).

In the end, Acanac lost 2 accounts, because they insisted I pay a small DSL fee for a week of service 4 years ago. I should also note that all my accounts reviewed here were all pre-paid for 1 year service all in advance, not monthly. It is still to this day unclear why they insist on the DSL fee now after multiple years of active cable service with them, and why they didn't insist on collecting this fee at the time of activation of the first account.

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Over the years, I've tried many different ISP's, including Acanac's DSL & Cable Services.

First thing to note is the great prices and services that Acanac does offer. It's hard to beat, especially if you pre-pay for a years service.

When the service works, it does so very well, and consistent.

That said, Acanac leaves a lot to be desired!

The problem stems from a Customer Service and Tech Support standpoint.

Company Policy requires that all VOIP tech support and billing be done via email only, and there is no guarantee you will ever receive a response. Limited tech support for Cable and DSL is available on the phone, that is, maybe half of the time, if that. 4/5 times I called, I was told by a recording that wait times exceed 1 hour and to call back later. They won't even let you hop in the queue.

Now, being that I work in the IT field (and an ex-Bell employee) and running many of my own advanced networks, I figured this could be a great service for the money. I was convinced I could handle any issues that could possibly pop up. But boy was I wrong.

The thing is, Acanac has limited access to the issues they can resolve. That is putting it lightly. In my case, Acanac has never resolved ANY. Many issues that you can run into stem from Rogers or Bell Canada themselves, which is often very apparent. But Acanac knows this, and will stress that.

The main problem is I feel Acanac is so fast to pass on blame, that they fail to address things or take responsibility for things that are within their control.

Example:

My most current problem is regarding a "known" issue with a certain cable modem on their network. Cable modem randomly reboots a couple times a day. This is a firmware specific issue, that was resolved by the manufacturer. Why not just update the modem? Well this is where it gets interesting. Acanac technical support makes it very clear that updates need to be pushed over the active line itself, and that Rogers refuses to push updates out to the Acanac customers.

Understandably, that is outside of Acanac's control...but that doesn't mean the problem can't be easily resolved.

The modem mentioned above USED to be on the list of approved modems, so many customers such as myself ran out to get the latest and greatest Docsis 3 modem. 6 months later, Acanac now claims that they do not support these modems anymore, and have no introduced a different modem that their customers have the option of buying from them.

Instead of just offering the customer a replacement updated modem, Acanac would rather have their customers out of service and frustrated, and emailing back and forth with no resolution in sight. Often, these tickets remain open for weeks at a time. And customer service/phone support will keep telling you to watch your inbox for updates. They will not offer refunds to cancelled services, not even due to disruptions in the service.

No matter how technical you are, there are often things outside of your control.

Customer service needs to begin and end with the customer. Right now it does very little of either.

In conclusion, it is highly recommended that you do not pre-pay for a year of service. This might be a good solution for people willing to go on a month-to-month, however their prices are higher which bump you up to where you could be with TekSavvy which has some of the best customer service of any company I have tried.

Update: I'd just like to point out that although phone support is pretty much non-existent, Acanac does have a public forum/community on their website that is extremely useful. There have been a few really fantastic people that will always try to help you with your service and point you in the right direction. For general issues, you can always count on great support there thanks to select individuals. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, this cannot always make up for the lack of support at the corporate level.

UPDATE 9/06/12

After many attempts to resolve these issues, I finally gave in to purchase a new modem. After speaking with Sales and paying for a replacement modem (it was supposed to be available for pickup by today) they never confirmed the order and never shipped my modem. Cannot get a response from them.

On August 28th, a cancellation request was submitted. Retention department closed the case on September 5th, but never cancelled the account and just advised me to call tech support to see if my issues can be resolved.

On September 6th, 1 tech support ticket, 1 cancellation request, and 1 billing request have all been closed without any explanation or resolutions.

It appears they just randomly closed all the tickets. (Tickets, by the way, are the only method of contact)

Now they have taken money for a new modem without supplying it, and have closed the cancellation ticket without acting on it. It is unclear whether legal action will be needed, but this review will be updated with the resolution as soon as we have one.

member for 19.3 years, 35 visits, last login: 4.3 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago

greatday
join:2012-08-31
Montreal, QC

greatday

Member

Never go with Acanac

Never go with Acanac. They have bad technical supports and service. As an Acanac internet user, I ever lost DSL signals for two times. Last time I had to wait for 2 weeks to get it fixed. I am experiencing a similar situation now, because since August 22, I lost DSL signals at home. I called Acanac again and again. I was asked to wait and wait. I have been charged for one year. I can't tolerate. So I had to email and call them to cancel their service on August 28. But no reply reached me so far. Are they playing with me? They are cheating.

Fergless
Premium Member
join:2008-04-19
Toronto, ON

Fergless

Premium Member

Your Refund greatday

Please check your IM's regarding your Refund.
amp3d7
join:2004-12-10

amp3d7

Member

Update Sept 6, 2012

Please see updated review.
Acanac closed all tickets without even commenting on them, and even closed a cancellation request without canceling anything.

anon
@charter.com

anon

Anon

Re: Update Sept 6, 2012

Sounds like fraud to me.

Contact send the company certified return receipt requested snail mail to their corporate HQ. Inform them you are contacting the CRTC and expect to see an IMMEDIATE cancellation of your account and the appropriate refund ASAP!

Fergless
Premium Member
join:2008-04-19
Toronto, ON

Fergless to amp3d7

Premium Member

to amp3d7
said by amp3d7:

Please see updated review.
Acanac closed all tickets without even commenting on them, and even closed a cancellation request without canceling anything.

Not sure what's going on with that, but Closed tickets can be opened again by replying to them. If you'd like me to check the tickets, please let me know

Tks

Sidnei
@cibc.com

Sidnei

Anon

ACANAC equals SCAM

This company (if it can be called company) is a completely fraud!!!!

They are very efficient to charge you then you are in trouble. No technical support. The email support is a way to avoid you....

It is a completely nightmare dealing with them...

My Internet speed contracted is 12mbps however I was told during the install it could be only 6mbps. 3 months passed by and they are still charging me the 12mbps plan.

My telephone: to install the line they send you the modem then you are on your own. I've received a modem from a manufacturer and the instructions from another so I couldn't make it work. the support by email was so poor that I am still shocked on how bad it is. I've cancelled the service and was in the dark without telephone for a month as ACANAC hold the number for a month to not refund me as advertised.

If you want an advise: Stay away from them! it is a fraud!!!!
amp3d7
join:2004-12-10

amp3d7

Member

September 9th Update:

September 9th Update:

Turned on my computer today, and the service now has been discontinued. There was no confirmation of this by Acanac.

While checking credit card statement for refund (perhaps it hasn't shown up yet), found another charge by ACANAC for a replacement modem, charged to the account on September 6th! No modem received, just more charges and a service that is offline.

Not sure if Acanac will even respond, but hopefully a trip to small claims court can be avoided

What a nightmare guys. Beware!