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Review by eeeaddict  - Location: Etobicoke,ON
- Cost: $40 per month (12 month contract)
Good "almost ZERO problems, 35 down 3 up and never have any slow downs or disconnects cheapest cable as hell too!"
Bad "internet was slow for a few days during a profile change"
Overall "cheap fast good, choose any 3 :)"
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(ratings well above consensus)
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had for almost a year now with zero problems (except during a profile change but that was a rogers thing and everything still worked) using a dcm475 though want to switch to a surfboard, a bit saddened that my bill will go up by about $3 a month at the end of the term but still way less than anyone else
member for 3.6 years, 482 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 1 days ago
Comments:
| Review by huronkinloss - Location: Mississauga,ON
- Cost: $51 per month
Overall "DO NOT USE DISTRIBUTEL !!!"
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My internet connection with 3web was just perfect until Distributel forced me to replace my existing adapter with theirs yesterday. Do they have just ONE agent on the other end of telephone line? I've been calling with no effect since yesterday. I left call back number with no effect. I'm increasingly annoyed and angered holding the phone and listening to annoying messages - hello, is anybody out there in customer service?
Since Distributel forced me to switch to their services my internet connection SUCKS!!!! Pages don't load. I cannot watch you tube b/c of lousy connection. It is impossible to talk to anyone from Distributel !!! Chat customer service on their page does not work or does not open b/c of lousy internet speed !!!
I don't appreciate the fact that every time I make a phone call there is a recorded message "thank you distributel" - ?why ? Do they want me to thank you every time I make a phone call ?
I was perfectly happy with what I had until Distributel forced their non existing services into my life. I've been ON HOLD ALL DAY today with breaks for getting disconnected !!!
Fair warning: reviewer joined this week
lodged 1 days ago
Comments:
 | | agree as much potential as they have they are horrible | |
|  Nuke
@distributel.net | Distributell Their customer service and tech support sucks there is no one on the other side my modem keeps shutting down every hr need to unplug it and plug it back in for it to work another hr can't reach no one for 2 days all I get is " we are to busy right now call us later " what's that? That is now how u treat your paying costumers starting to look for new provider. Do not bother with them. | |
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| Review by ethanrlee - Location: Toronto,ON
- Cost: $49 per month
- Install: about 20 days
Good "Good ISP if you don't need to contact tech support."
Bad "1 - 2 hour wait for tech support. Transfer of service from them to another ISP was a complete nightmare"
Overall "Not a bad ISP is you never have to call tech support and don't need high upload speeds. Otherwise look elsewhere."
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I switched from R0gers to Distributel which worked out well initially. Transfer of service was smooth and had mostly up time. I experienced a 3 day outtage but that was due to Rogers hardware problem. I decided to transfer my service to Start so I can take advantage of a slightly higher upload speed for my online business.
This is where the real nightmare began. I scheduled a transfer of service at the 1st of month because they needed to do that on my billing cycle. They had no flexibility in this case. My service wasn't stopped until the 6th of the month. However Start couldn't initiate service because Distributel didn't both telling Rogers to cancel service on their own end -- which they must do -- preventing the transfer of service all together! I had to have Start do a 'new installation' just so I can get internet service again. In total I was without service for 10 days which is unacceptable.
Distributel is fine you're a low maintenance customer and plan on staying with them for a long time. Otherwise be careful if you want to transfer to another ISP because they may make it a miserable experience 
member for 166 days, 14 visits, last login: 12 days ago
lodged 18 days ago
Comments:
| Review by cap281 - Location: Sherwood Park,AB
- Cost: $69 per month (month by month)
Good "Consistently fast internet service with no artificial restrictions. Unlimted bandwidth, no throttling."
Bad "Support for VOIP phone service is very, very poor. Call center under staffed. Long hold times, call back service unreliable."
Overall "Good internet, poor phone service."
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I was reluctantly transitioned from 3Web to Distributel. I had internet and two phone numbers. I was sent new equipment (DOCSIS 3 cable modem and router/ATA unit) and was told that on August 1, 2013 I was to disconnect the old equipment and setup the new equipment. Initially this proved successful with all services working properly. I then decided to make a change to the long distance plans. The change failed to take place on one phone number. The other phone number was completely disabled. No dial tone, nothing.
After numerous attempts to resolve issues with both numbers failed I found another provider. One number was portable so I had it ported and it then worked with the other provider. The other number is not portable and my wife wanted to keep that number so I continued working with Distributel. As of this writing, September 5, 2013 that phone number still does not work. I have made a total of ELEVEN calls, spent a large number of hours on hold or waiting for someone to call back. The issue remains unresolved. I do not believe they are capable of resolving it. I attempted to cancel the service on the non working number and they wouldn't take no for an answer so I submitted a formal complaint to the Canadian Commissioner for Telecom complaints. The issue is currently under investigation. It is my hope that this grossly incompetent company can get it's act together. The incumbents need to face some competition but with such horrible customer service Distributel will fail and the incumbents will continue screwing the Canadian public.
With that said I really like their internet service. It has no data caps or throttling and speed is consistently fast.
member for 29 days, 0 visits, last login: 29 days ago
updated 29 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Jon999 - Location: Mississauga,ON
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Bad "Disconnect my line a week earlier than being asked, still hold my line for no reason, can be on hold for hours to reach support "
Overall "Please read my story, then you decide whether you want to take chance to have it as your ISP"
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I used to have 3Web as my ISP which I had no issue for years, then Distributel bought it out and started to take us into its network recently. I decided to leave Distributel for another company due to the reasons:
- Distributel makes us 3Web customers pay their higher rates in the name of "better value, service";
- Distributel drops support for our working equipment, and forces us to either rent or buy their refurbished modems;
- It's extremely frustrate trying to reach Distributel support, there is always very long wait time and most of their departments are not available over weekends.
I had placed request for service disconnect on 08/31 month in advance. Distributel had ignored all the service transfer requests for my line from my new ISP, then it has actually disconnected my line almost a week earlier on 08/26, but still held my line to this date, as a consequence, my new ISP is not able to provide me the service. There is no dispute of any sort (i.e. monetary), when I waited on phone for hours and eventually reached Distributel support, agent Kaila only commented that it's normal processing time, nothing they could do about it. As to my escalation request, no one has got back to me yet in days.
To this date, I'm still puzzled by Distributel's don't-care and take-it-or-leave-it attitude, I wish mine is an individual case, however by searching recent reviews on the company tells me otherwise. I have also filed complaints with BBB (»ottawa.bbb.org/) and CCTS (»www.ccts-cprst.ca/). If you happen to be a victim of such practice, you might want to consider to do the same.
member for 33 days, 5 visits, last login: 15 days ago
lodged 31 days ago
Comments:
| Review by (hidden by request) - Location: N8Y3p
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Good "good prices for unlimited bandwidth"
Bad "no 24hr tech support"
Overall "good prices if you know what you are doing with a computer, if you dont and expect to use tech support then go with someone else"
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connection in each area is based on the service plan Distributel is offered
as they are a reseller.
Pros: No Bandwidth caps, decent prices.
Cons: customer service limited hours, service plans based on whats
available in the area
overall if you use more bandwidth that any of the big companies offer in
their plans Distributel is the way to go, but just remember you may wait on
hold(callback is avail) for an hr or 2 to hear from them.
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(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 49 days ago
Comments:
| | internet usage DO NOT GET YOUR INTERNET HOOK-UP WITH DISTRIBUTEL. THEIR SERVICE IS LOUSY, POOR, ROTTEN AND YOU ON HOLD FOR 2-3 HOURS.
I GOT INTERNET AND THOUGHT I WAS GETTING A GOOD DEAL...WELL PROBLEM STARTS...THEY HOOK YOU UP THEN CALCELLED YOU WITHOUT ADVISING YOU...
3 - LOUSY SERVICES, CANNOT GET THROUGH A CALL, HOLD FOR OVER 2 HRS
CANNOT CHAT WITH SOMEONE ON LINE IT NEVER COMES UP. AND IF YOU SEND AN EMAIL YOU CANNOT GET A REPLY...IS THIS THE WAY THEY OPERATE A BUSINESS THEN THEY WILL LOOSE A LOT.
***DON'T MAKE THE WORD " UNLIMITED FOOL YOU" BE AWARE. | |
| | | moved on I Cancelled Distributel and moved on. I had internet and long distance with them. The service worked fine . My issue was trying to get someone to answer the phone at there call center. Huge wait times, I did do there call back feature and after several hours a rep called. No issue in cancelling and they also gave me a less then 30 days cancellation date to my surprise .
I had emailed them several times on pricing and packages before I cancelled . Three emails never got answered... not good if you want to keep your customers.
I moved on to another ISP and saved $20/month with faster internet and a long distance phone/package over Distributel. I do have a 300gig cap now but come nowhere close to that limit. For me Unlimited bandwidth and a slower speed plus the higher cost was not worth it to stay.
Distributel was good for me when I had it. I do think they need to review there prices and packages to reflect what there competition has. $20/month savings is a lot of coin for better service elsewhere. If they had cheaper prices for phone and bandwidth cap packages I may have stayed with them.
They really really need to fix there call center and reduce the wait time . Also answer your emails and twitter account !! I couldn't couldn't get them to respond to my questions as to where to send there modem back to them ! Funny thing is the CSR answers the phone right away if you call as a new customer to sign with them, I guess after that you are SOL. Even that CSR didn't know where to send the modem too I was placed on hold until he went and asked !!
I really like to see ISP and phone resellers do well in Canada against the likes of robbers and bhell. But with terrible customer service they will fail to grow there business IMHOP. | |
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| Review by cutuzov - Location: Mississauga,ON
- Cost: $70 per month
- Install: about 30 days
Good "28Mb cable with no caps + home phone for 70 $"
Bad "set-up was delayed because of tech no-show. Up speed is just 1 Mb"
Overall "Worked for me........not anymore"
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Speed Test #101611051 by dslreports.com
Run: 2012-05-14 17:32:30 EST
Download: 36688 (Kbps)
Upload: 989 (Kbps)
In kilobytes per second: 4478.6 down 120.8 up
Tested by server: 7 java
User: 1505369 @ dslreports.com
User's DNS: distributel.net
I finally decided to go with cable. Despite the service set-up delay, had a fairly pleasant experience.
First installation date booked the Rodgers tech simply did not show. I'd assume there is a drawback of having to work trough your direct competitors connection service. Second time everything was up and running.
I was able to set my home network+ phone myself, that is why I did not have any experience with technical support yet.
Speeds are exceeding the advertised ones . Just look at this  »www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A···hIJg4msA
After a month or so I will most likely recommend Distributel to my family
Update 14/Aug 2012
I decreased my rating for tech support to 1. Was not able to get anyone to talk to at tech support after 1 hour on hold. Did not make it 0 only because I was actually able to reach them once before
in other respects service is still solid and well worth the money for me.
Upd 17/June/2013
Still with the same ISP
UP speeds are consistently OVER advertised in 30-40 Mb range. Last few days it is even like this
»www.speedtest.net/result/2780202833.png
Noticed improvement in tech support. Was able to solve one of my own router problems with there help.
Upd 15/Aug/2013
Moving to another house and cancelling Distributel services. Reason is nonexistent customer service. Literally hours on hold trying to transfer service to new location. I have better use for my time i guess.
member for 5.8 years, 404 visits, last login: 10 days ago
updated 50 days ago
Comments:
Reviews:
 ·Distributel Cable
| how could you subject your family to this? That's just mean.
Pay close attention to how high the speedtest spikes at the beginning. My guess is boosting to make speedtests look good.
Have you actually tried to download anything and watched the speeds? Something that takes longer than a minute? Also, try a couple other servers in your area.
If you've got a stable connection, good for you, but man oh man, wait till you have an issue and have to work with them | |
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 ·Distributel VOIP
| Re: how could you subject your family to this? said by tegrof:That's just mean.
Pay close attention to how high the speedtest spikes at the beginning. My guess is boosting to make speedtests look good.
Have you actually tried to download anything and watched the speeds? Something that takes longer than a minute? Also, try a couple other servers in your area.
If you've got a stable connection, good for you, but man oh man, wait till you have an issue and have to work with them
I think like everything cable related, experiences probably vary a lot from region to region. I've been using Distributel for 2.5 years or so now, and it's been fairly smooth and consistent. I regularly get the advertised speeds, or above - sometimes it'll drop to 16 Mbps or so during peak hours, but it's not generally noticeable for the huge amounts of streaming media my family watches.
Their VOIP service on the other hand - I had nothing but problems with it. It would regularly cut out, drop calls, and the audio quality when it did work was just plain horrible. My internet service was even severely degraded until I got rid of the VOIP box they provided - but since I cancelled that, like I said - it's been quite consistent and smooth. | |
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Reviews:
·Distributel Cable
| Re:how could you subject your family to this? My average torrent download speed is 2.7-3.5 MegaByte or 22-28 Megabits
Keeping in mind I do not pay for cable or satellite for 4 years already, my download/upload is about 1 T Byte a month. This includes HD Netflix streaming and TV shows + movies in HD as well
Here is some more speed tests
»www.diigo.com/item/image/2xqki/s57j
Graphs are more or less consistent during the test. I did not notice any excessive spikes at the beginning. Only exception is US sever, graph there is quite jagged.
About tech support I would not rely on any ISP to tweak my home network hardware. As I mentioned in my review I am able to handle/troubleshoot it well myself. To be fair, the poor tech support might be a problem for some Distributel customers. That simply means company has room for improvement.
I am still happy with what I get for the money I pay.
Regarding my family they are being charged same as me for 5 Mbps DSL from TechSavvy which was relevant 2 years ago, not today
P.S. I am sorry you get such a negative experience with this particular ISP. Thanks God we have some competition this days. Good luck with your next provider. | |
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| Review by disgusted - Location: undisclosed location
- Cost: $55 per month (month by month)
- Install: about 10 days
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Dealing with Distributel has been an awful, dreadful and time consuming experience.
I have the Fttn 7 package.
I haven't been with them for more than a month and a half and I am already planning on switching ISP. The problems started with the installation: The customer service rep. LIED to me when she told me the installation guy would call before arriving. The installation guy arrived at 8:55 without calling after I took the day off since I had to be available from 1 to 9 that day. Following that day, while installing the router I called for some help. After waiting 2 hours on hold they referred me to the router company who then referred me back to distributel. Another 2 hours of waiting. I spent close to 8 HOURS on the phone that day to get my router to work.
After a few days of service, the internet connection went down. I called the company 2 hours before the call center closed, and I didn't even get to talk to anybody that night. The next day I called first thing in the morning (2+ hours waiting), and they weren't able to help and didn't even know why the service went down. It has now been 4 DAYS that I have been without internet and counting. All this and I haven't been with them for 40 days.
member for 53 days, 0 visits, last login: 53 days ago
lodged 53 days ago
Comments:
| Review by dagneau - Location: Montreal,QC
- Cost: $40 per month (month by month)
- Install: about 30 days
Good "good deal"
Bad "terrible customer service"
Overall "avoid if possible, there are better options for a similar price"
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I tried distributel unlimited cable. For the first few months, things went smoothly. I had some problems with the first installation from a problem on my part, but it got resolved quickly. However, when I moved out from my old place, everything went down from there. I called them to let them know that I was moving out, but a month after my initial call, I don't have any service yet. Everytime I call back, I have to wait for 45 minutes to an hour before I can speak to customer support. I even got hung up on the phone. I am disappointed by their service.
member for 53 days, 0 visits, last login: 53 days ago
lodged 53 days ago
Comments:
| | Kinda agree Was Distributel customer for 2-3 years........not taking them into my new house.
Customer service is nonexistent  | |
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| Review by Panana - Location: North York,ON
- Cost: $70 per month
Good "Unlimited internet"
Bad "Everything"
Overall "Offensive company - Stay away"
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Distributel is a company that takes no responsibilities for their awful services. I have recently requested their customer relations manager to contact me and if he doesn't call me in the next few days I will file a complaint with CRTC.
We have cable internet with them and on average every one or two month the speeds drop so extremely that the internet and VoIP phone become useless. (Google takes 5 minutes to load up after refreshing 15 times) Their technical support confirms that the problem is not on our side but their customer service says that they don't credit for slow speeds. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life. They can take your money for a 18/1 internet and only give you speeds comparable to dial up internet and they refuse to give your money back. They say the problem is with rogers and hold their customers responsible for their contractors even though their customers are not in business with rogers in any way. Those slow speeds can only be because they are traffic controlling and since it the service that we have is unlimited it is illegal.
During one of my communications with their customer service an agent named Lambert slurred at me twice while I was talking to him and when I stopped to get confirmation of the insults he changed his words and then he suddenly hung up the phone with a happy sounding voice. It took me two hours and multiple calls to trying to convince the agents to connect me to their supervisors and they said they CAN NOT do that. Its unbelievable! After another one hour I got hold of a "senior agent" named Matt and he was even more offensive and unreasonable than the others and kept repeating that they don't credit for slow speeds. (our internet was effectively down for 10 days even though the lights on the modem showed connected)
Distributes prices are low but their service is the most terrible thing I have experienced and the fact that you can't get hold of their management is even worst.
Stay away from these thieves.
member for 99 days, 3 visits, last login: 90 days ago
updated 99 days ago
Comments:
| | Do not go with distributel!!! This guys are thieves DO NOT GO with distributel, I was told i could cancel whenever i wanted, the rogers guy came to my house did not touch the modem leaving me to do the work and then i had no service , i called to cancel and they told me they are still going to charge me for a month of service plus installation and activations fees for a service i never got, i told the guy to put me with the supervisor and he said he was the highest rank his name is Matt , Matt here basically told me (when i told him that their service it's shady cuz i was not inform i was not going to receive wifi) he said i was lying and that it was my fault for not asking and that i was basically stuck with it. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I have received on top of that i had to wait 1hr and 30 min for that. I feel abused by these people I will take this to the Better Business Bureao. | |
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