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Review by timerider2 See Profile

  • Location: St Albert, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 8 days
  • Telco party Telus
Only had a handfull of total outages in 3 or 4 years
I have never had full speed from day one. USAGE CAPS and OVERBILLING are ridiculous.
It was already an expensive service with only so-so performance and NOW OVERCHARGING has made it just laughable.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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Services:
Value for money:

I originally switched to Telus after Shaw was going to start overbilling internet 3 or 4 years ago. At that time Telus was bragging about how big and shiny their network was and how they had plenty of capacity and would never overbill their customers. Fast forward 3 years later and Telus has decided to pull the same BS. My hookup went okay but I never received my full 25mbps usually hovering between 15mbps and 20mbps, repeated calls and support from Telus failed to fix the problem. I've been with them over 3 years and have never had full speed and strange stuff like the modem resetting everytime our phone rings etc keeps happening. I was happy to pay for my lackluster service just to avoid the hassle of having to switch. Now with OVERCHARGING I am expected to have my nose stuck to the TELUSmeter all month to make sure I don't go over. I don't know about other people but I must have 15 devices hooked up to the internet at any given time and watching my TELUSmeter would probably become a fulltime job, and quite frankly I don't need the extra stress or hassle. Don't get me wrong I'm usually under my cap but it's the principal of the thing. Over my time with Telus I've had crappy service, crappy support, my cap has been cut from 500gb to 250gb and now for the last straw OVERCHARGING. I have resisted going to a third party provider up till now because I felt more secure with the feel good advertising and cute furry animals the big companies push but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY. I urge others to explore 3rd party providers as I am doing and cancel Telus making sure to let them know why. When I told my wife she said, "Don't we already pay them over $60 a month for internet, WTF", GOOD QUESTION!!!!!

member for 13.2 years, 679 visits, last login: 5.6 years ago
updated 9 years ago


Review by patster See Profile

  • Location: Medicine Hat, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $60 per month (36 month contract)
  • Telco party Telus
Reliable service, good bundle pricing.
Limited internet speeds due to lack of fiber in my area.
Telus provides good service, but it makes a difference where you live!
Pre Sales information:
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I am on a 25/5 mbit package and using an Actiontec T1200. The appointments and install visits are good. The only complaint that I have is that I live in what Telus calls an Extended Reach Area. I'm at the end of the loop and as such my SNR values are very low.

member for 11.6 years, 51 visits, last login: 7.4 years ago
updated 9.1 years ago







Review by BGPatterson See Profile

  • Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Install: about 5 days
  • Telco party Telus
service seems fast
seems ok.

I called up telus and ordered the high speed 25 dsl. They mailed out a zyxel vdsl modem, it was hooked up on the 7th. I ordered it about a week before, they waited for the modem to get to me in the mail. It seems to work alright, tech hooked me up to the cabinet and called to say it was ready. I didn't request the in house install, I put the pots filter in myself. lets hope they are better than my shaw line.

member for 21.3 years, 159 visits, last login: 7.8 years ago
lodged 9.2 years ago


Review by Lyk9 See Profile

  • Location: Calmar, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $60 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Better than the alternative
Can't even come close to delivering promised speeds during peak hours
Meh
Pre Sales information:
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Signed up for the 25/5 package and everything was fine for about a month or two. However I started to notice a drop in speeds around 5PM local time accompanied with an increase of latency that was on average four times the normal measure. So my first official contact to Telus about this issue was in October 2013, After a while on the phone moving up the chain I finally get to someone who tells me my area's "box" needs to be upgraded and that he does not have any time frame of when it will be replaced. After that call months go by and I do call Telus again, I cannot give specific dates to these calls but over a year I contacted Telus at least four times in regards to this issue. Every single time I was told a plan is in place but no time frame. It has now been a year from my first call and no change. During the weekdays between the hours of 4PM-1AM my speeds deteriorate from 27mbps to as low as 3mbps. during the weekends and holidays the speeds are not consistent enough to give a accurate picture.

I was offered a discount once for this issue, that didn't materialize until I contacted Telus again. I also had to contact Telus TWO separate times to tell them that my bundle discount and 6 month promotion discount were missing from my bill.

UPDATE: As of October 16th hardware changes to my connection were made to resolve this issue, prime time hours no longer adversely affect my connection. This came after contact with someone in Executive Customer Relations.

2nd UPDATE: October 19th The connection is still doing very good. Speeds and latency are better than they have ever been.

member for 10.6 years, 527 visits, last login: 2.2 years ago
updated 9.4 years ago


Lou Majta
@216.232.208.x

Lou Majta

Anon

Idiot charges

I just noticed that telus has the nerve to charge me $2 for a paper bill. My bill also fluctuates between $155 to $170 with no explanation as to why.
Time to get rid of the thieves.
Trencher
join:2007-02-12
Etobicoke, ON

Trencher

Member

Re: Idiot charges

Almost all ISP's charge for paper billing now... If your bill is fluctuating maybe you should contact them to find out why?

Review by chachazz See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Telco party @link
Satisfied

xxx

member for 20.3 years, 5366 visits, last login: 16 days ago
updated 9.4 years ago

SlayerHZ
join:2004-04-06

SlayerHZ

Member

Compare

i play this game called continuum , which has low ping,average ping, current ping, high ping, Packetloss:s2c,c2s.

Do you think it would be better to switch to telus from lite speed rogers.
ID000001
join:2002-12-28
Coquitlam, BC

ID000001

Member

Re: Compare

I play contiuum too (it used to be subspace, and I play way back from 1998 till now, in DSB and PB to be exact)
And Cable seem to have 20 - 30 higher ping then ADSL within Richmond area. I highly recommand it






Review by jed See Profile

  • Location: Alberta, Can
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Telco party Telus
My connection is reliable, and stable.
Cost - plans change all the time & you don't get those costs unless you are VERY diligent! Tech Support can suck! See comments
About a 7.5 out of 10
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

On a 3mbps connection, with 2 landlines, and 2 mobility accounts. Infrastructure is not upgraded in my area to give me more than 3mbps. Have had it now for about 6-7yrs. Using an older Linksys ADSLME3 modem with WRT54GL running tomato. Rock solid combination, as I run torrents, up to 7 systems, some wired and some wireless, wireless bridged to my xBox, and 2 wireless print servers.

Worst part of Telus is their support - if you are fortunate enough to get someone who is knowledgeable and in Canada, all is good. Look out if you go overseas for support to someone reading off of a flow chart and for whom English is a new skill.

Best part of Telus are the support staff that know their jobs and are more than willing to do what it takes to help you. I've had some tricky issues fixed immediately, while other issues, need repetitious calls to get the right person.

Never call past 1700h MST as I always seem to go to the Philippines.

Once you know the pitfalls, its pretty good, working within those parameters.

Update: subscribed to 25Mbps, and loved it. For about a year. Unfortunately, Telus' service is popular here and now in the evenings, sometimes a YouTube video cannot be streamed, at any resolution. Hopefully our area is upgraded sooner than later. Running all of my own gear, and connection still rock solid, just the oversubscribed area.

member for 22.7 years, 1422 visits, last login: 118 days ago
updated 9.6 years ago


Review by tahukipas See Profile

  • Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $57 per month
  • Install: about 2 days
Quick installation, very reliable connection & speed, decent value of the package
Very limited availability in Toronto
Great ISP! No complaints except for limited availability in TO.
Pre Sales information:
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Used Telus internet when I lived at a cityplace condo in TO. Went with the 25MBPS/200GB package with no contract and was pleased with the quality of the connection. During the 1 year I was with Telus, never had any major issue that requires me to call customer service or even call for a technician to come onsite - nothing that can't be fixed with a simple router restart. Connection speed was also always stable at any given time of the day.

Setting up the internet was wonderful too. Don't have to wait too long to get a technician to come by and activate the line (only 2 days from the date I signed up), technician came on time was done within 10 minutes. If you live in a cityplace condo, all the infrastructure are already in place so no modem (and related modem rental fee, etc.) required. You just need to hook up your router and be done with it.

I would've stick with Telus if they offer their service in Toronto outside of the cityplace area. Unfortunately they don't, so when I moved out I have to use a different ISP.

member for 9.6 years, 8 visits, last login: 9.4 years ago
updated 9.6 years ago


Review by Tornado15550 See Profile

  • Location: Canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Great, consistent speeds! Had FTTH. Great picture quality, no issues whatsoever with home phone service.
Actiontec V1000H had terrible wireless. Constant price increases. Laggy PVR UI
Great & reliable service. Definitely recommended!
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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Value for money:

I switched from Shaw to TELUS in 2011. I ordered Optik High Speed (15 down/1 up), Essentials with two theme packs, and Home Phone with Caller ID and Voice Mail. The order went through with no issues. I was promised one month of free service, which I didn't receive, but I did receive a 6 month discount along with a free HD PVR rental for signing a 3 year contract. I was surprised to find out that my home had received the fiber treatment, and had an ONT installed.

I was supplied the Actiontec V1000H and the standard Cisco PVR. Everything had been working great. I started noticing my wireless performance deteriorate in early 2013, and I didn't get the speeds I was promised on wireless unless I choose a specific channel. My area must have been very congested or the V1000H wireless had been failing. The internet speeds when wired, have been perfect. Speedtest.net's ping used to be around 0-5 ms initially, but has since increased to 9-10 ms, but I don't mind. The V1000H is quite basic, in the sense that it does not offer dualband mode, which would've helped eliminate some of the congestion issues I was facing. The internet itself has been rock solid over the years. I have only had an outage twice, over the course of three years, and my speed has never fluctuated.

When it comes to Optik TV, the picture quality has been great. Unfortunately, the PVR's UI would lag (presumably due to the older hardware), and navigating the channels was a pain. The HD PVR would constantly receive firmware updates which would improve functionality (and to some extent reduce the lag on the Guide). One of these updates brought subscribed channels view, which was quite useful.

I have no complaints regarding the home phone. It works great, and as promised. I really liked the caller ID on TV feature, so you could quickly see who was placing a call to you, before you rush to the phone only to find out it is a telemarketer. The voice quality was good, and we used the international calling features which worked as advertised with no issues.

Unfortunately, TELUS cut the bandwidth caps in half in early 2013 (although, they haven't implemented UBB everywhere just yet) and have been constantly increasing the prices. I went from paying $44 for the internet in early 2012 to paying $57 currently (although, to be fair, the upload speed increased from 1 mbps to around 4.8 mbps).

Here's a Speedtest: »i.imgur.com/wwwudFm.png

member for 11.2 years, 2219 visits, last login: 1 day ago
updated 9.6 years ago


Review by mooseinabush See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $73 per month
  • Caps of 400 gigabytes/month
Speeds don't fluctuate, solid speeds when it actually works
Horrible repair policies, unclear charges for repairs, bad stablity, not really value-oriented
Can't recommend due to horrible stability
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Previously had Telus 25 Internet but upgraded to Telus 50 a few months ago.

Location: Vancouver

The price is quite average compared to other competitors.

My main problem with Telus is the totally random disconnects that occur. During these times, both the TV and the Internet will fail to work. I've had times where it disconnects numerous times (Sometimes 10 disconnects in the span of a few hours!) for up to 5 minutes per disconnect. It mysteriously fixes it self but having to wait 5 minutes after each disconnect is incredibly inconvenient. I've called Telus for support and I was informed that a technician would need to be sent out, and if the fault was theirs, there would be no charge. If the fault laid on me, there would be a service charge of I believe around $80-$100 dollars. This makes absolutely no sense because what if the technician arrives and doesn't happen to see the random disconnections. There is no clear line on what is considered their fault or mine. I refuse to risk spending a chunk of change because Telus doesn't want to be transparent about their tech repairs. I would rather spend that $80-$100 into a brand new Shaw connection where I can be assured that my money is actually spent properly.

The last rep I spoke to at Telus, so happened to neglect even telling me about any service charges, I only knew of it from prior conversations with Telus.

The actiontec v1000h is the supplied router which is also quite average and the latest firmwares do not allow for bridged mode.

Wifi download speeds range from 22-26 in a typical 2 storey house on the same floor without much interference, wired provides the full 50 mbps. Wifi is a bit slow for my liking but understandable considering possible wifi interference. However I was having very similar speeds on Telus 25 so not too happy about that.



member for 9.7 years, 3 visits, last login: 9.7 years ago
lodged 9.7 years ago

Neil K
join:2014-05-07
Canada

Neil K

Member

Telus

"There is no clear line on what is considered their fault or mine. I refuse to risk spending a chunk of change because Telus doesn't want to be transparent about their tech repairs."

In other words, Telus wants you to assume that they and their techs are being honest about the situation and possible solutions to it .

THAT'S a tall order in today's business world where the customer all too often is saddled with unecessary charges and aggressive salespeople.

If you contact them again and they ( or their Bombay customer support staff) continue to insist you might have to pay for dubious repairs, you might want to consider cancelling the account immediately and demanding a refund for the month in question. They will send it, especially if notification of the BBB or CCTS is included in your written requests ( the telephone people are gaurding the junkyard so to speak, and generally will do nothing ).

Just posting the problem here is a big step.

Good luck

JammerMan79
Premium Member
join:2004-05-13
Prince George, BC

JammerMan79

Premium Member

charges

if there is a wiring issue outside your house (up to the demark) then that's TELUS.... if it's with the TELUS hardware... modem, TV boxes, hpna adapters, switches etc, then that's TELUS fault
Pretty much the only way anything would be charged to you is if it's an issue with the internal wiring in your home.... degraded phone wire (water, damage - chewed by an animal) or if you've monkey'd with the configuration
The charge would be $19/15 min

If they can't figure it out... there won't be any charge
99% of the time, if the tech does some work because he "thinks" it will help, but he's not sure... even if it's wiring inside your home, they won't charge.

My recommendation... chill
there are many complaints on this board, some valid some not... but I don't remember a single one regarding repair charges
Neil K
join:2014-05-07
Canada

1 edit

Neil K

Member

Re: charges

"Pretty much the only way anything would be charged to you is if it's an issue with the internal wiring in your home.... degraded phone wire (water, damage - chewed by an animal) or if you've monkey'd with the configuration
The charge would be $19/15 min"

Jammer, if 99% of the time the tech won't charge, why do you then quote the $19 rate ?

How do they make their "bread and butter" then if practically none of the time they charge ?

In Montreal, where I live, there are almost more ISP repair vehicles than church steeples or poutine shops. THAT tells a story.

Of course, Jammer, you are also betting on the tech being honest about the "problem", surely you would know most customers are not savvy about wiring, "demark lines", modems,etc....therefore they are placing their trust in the tech who wants to make a living and then some.

"there are many complaints on this board, some valid some not... but I don't remember a single one regarding repair charges"

If that's the case, then you have surely not checked the board at all, Jammer.
The site is littered with stories about customers asked to cough up money for repairs ( if you can call them that ).

"the tech does some work because he "thinks" it will help, but he's not sure"

What does that mean, are the techs not qualified enough to know ?

For about $100 per hour they should be.

JammerMan79
Premium Member
join:2004-05-13
Prince George, BC

JammerMan79

Premium Member

Re: charges

1: they quote 19/15 min rates for the 1% that might get charged.... not the 99% that won't
BTW, I neglected to mention, that's the BC rate, AB is similar but slightly different
Repair tech's support revenue generation, they are not technically a revenue generation dept. They have the ability to upsell services but that is not their primary job.

2: lots of customers = lots of potential repairs and/or installs = lots of vehicles
You're right... it tells a story, but not the one you're reading

3: techs don't get commision etc for repair charges, they have zero interest in charging for additional work that's not required. Even contracted techs get the same amount regardless of whether they have to charge or not

4: please point me to complaints on the TELUS board

5: sometimes it's trial and error
ex. say you're checking out a problem... you see that there is some older wiring that can SOMETIMES cause a problem
do you change the wiring or leave it?
you don't know for sure that it's part of the problem... BUT you'd might as well correct it to make sure

Remember... the techs are going out to a pissed of customer's house, they want their service working and it's broken.
Do you think they will want to tell the customer face to face that they have to charge?
They easy way out is to eat the charge, make the customer happy and leave without having to go through the explainations etc.
Neil K
join:2014-05-07
Canada

Neil K

Member

Re: charges

Jammer, with regard to instances of customers asked to fork over money for techs, I was referring to this site overall, not specifically the Telus board

Telus is like any other service provider, no better, no worse.

Where did you get this 99% no charge figure, I am curious to know ?

Because it seems like this is an either, or, situation, judging from the responses of the customer support people. 
That, plus the omnipresent repair vehicles on the streets, my own personal experience plus those of others I know, stories on this site, etc, suggests the percentage of repair fee requests is far higher than 1%.

Why would generally fit, often twenty something male techs feel intimidated by housewives in curlers, wizened pensioners, students, etc, that they would resist the temptation to ask for the normally $100 repair fee, Jammer ?

Or, would possible customer anger be the result of the tech coming over too many times per year, despite previous payed tech visits ?

They are already at the address, and in a good negotiating position. plus they realize how much the customer wants the service restored.

I don't see why a tech would want to charge for a potential problem ( wiring, etc ) as opposed to a real one. this indicates potential trouble for customers, and possible unnecessary repairs being performed.

JammerMan79
Premium Member
join:2004-05-13
Prince George, BC

1 edit

JammerMan79

Premium Member

Re: charges

I figured that you were talking about the site in general... my point was specifically about TELUS and the fact that there aren't many (if any) complaints like that posted on the TELUS board.
You made the assumption that many vehicles around are because companies make money off repairs... which I dispute (about TELUS).
I made the assumption that no complaints on this board regarding billed repair charges means that there are few billed charges

If the stories on this site are not related to TELUS, then the stories on this site are not related to TELUS

The number comes from my personal experience of dealing with 1000's of customer issues over a decade or so (my sample size is larger).... and also personally knowing dozens of TELUS field techs and their direct managers and general managers

The techs aren't scared of violence, being fit has nothing to do with it... What takes more time, advising of a repair charge, discussing it with the person, the dealing with an unhappy customer OR advising them it's fixed, there's no charge and leaving?
Which seems more efficient?
Remember, techs are hired for their technical ability, not necessarily for their great personality or customer service skills.
That's not to say they're neanderthals but their primary job is to stuff fixed and problem solving, not to talk to people all day.

They techs have no negotiation ability... if they don't fix it, the customer calls shaw and they'll come and install new service

you're right, the techs won't charge for potential problems... that's pretty much what I said

Review by gearHed See Profile

  • Location: LowrMainland
  • Cost: $85 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
  • Telco party Telus
Excellent upload speeds.
Crippled modem / router.
Uncertain if I can work around the crippled modem.

Telus pricing is on par with others, if not less expensive in some cases. The introductory pricing lasts 6 months and a phone call will allow you to jump back into a discounted rate every year or so.

The rates are simply the best possible in most urban and suburban areas. The exception to this is a small number of apartments which have direct fiber access.

The install is painless and the technicians are quite friendly when one is sent out. Sometimes they convince you to do a "self-install" and just ship you the hardware. This is ok (and quite convenient) if your phone line is in good shape and you have no other special requirements. However, it often results in a sub-par experience.

The crippled ActionTec routers are miserable to deal with. Telus has made it harder and harder to get any access back into your home network. This is unacceptable to me. I can only stay with Telus if I can find a way to work around this. Either getting access to the router or establishing a bridge via cloud computing will be required. The jury is still out on this.

member for 9.8 years, 9 visits, last login: 9.8 years ago
lodged 9.8 years ago