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TorontoSM
join:2012-10-24

TorontoSM

Member

Beware of Teksavvy Phone Service

I've been trying to get my home phone connected for about 6 weeks now, and it has just been a nightmare. Between the poor customer service at Teksavvy and the incompetence at Bell, I'm frustrated beyond belief.

I signed up for the service, was charged for the setup fee and the first month, and was told that someone would come and connect me. I was given a connection date and time window (between 8 and 5), and yet no one showed up. When I called Teksavvy, they said that no such assertion was ever provided, and I would have to wait for a confirmation Email before any connection appointment would be scheduled. Well, I waited....five days later I called them up and they said that the connection had already been done three days ago! No email or notification was ever sent to me, and the Teksavvy CSR acted like it was my fault for not checking the line every day.

Regardless, I still wasn't getting a dial tone in any of the jacks so I called Teksavvy again. After waiting for over an hour to reach someone, I was told that it was an internal wiring issue. I disputed this, and was told that in order to get Bell to come and check it, I may have to pay $85. I agreed, and a Bell technician was apparently dispatched the next day. I never saw this technician come onto my property, but apparently he came and fixed a cut wire. Teksavvy then contacted me to tell me that my service was fixed and that Bell had tested it and it was working.

I still didn't have a dial tone so I called them back to report this. Again, they said that it was an internal wiring issue and everything was fine from Bell's side. Naively believing that they knew what they were talking about, I hired a contractor to replace my house's junction box and check all the wiring. After paying his fees, lo and behold, there was still no dial tone.

I called Teksavvy again, and was given the same warning about the Bell technician's fee. Again I agreed, and another technician was dispatched. Again, when I called Teksavvy to check what had happened (because they refuse to provide any sort of update voluntarily), I had to hold for over an hour and was told that there was a cut wire somewhere. I'm not sure how this could be the case when the last Bell technician said everything was fine, but the Teksavvy CSR's don't listen to reason.

Anyway, now Teksavvy is saying that the first available appointment for Bell to come and fix the cut wire is next week, and I have to wait until then. Along the way, Teksavvy has billed me for my second month of phone usage (even though I haven't had the connection for a single day as of yet). When i refuse to pay, the CSR threatened to cut my phone service! I laughed at her empty threat, as they would actually have to get my phone connected first before they could cut it.

A word of advice to anyone considering Teksavvy....stay far away. These guys are just out to scam as much money as they can without having any regard for customer service. When you call them, the average wait time (regardless of time called) is over an hour, and the CSR's are rude, arrogant and generally obnoxious. Issues are never resolved and I have wasted an outrageous amount of time and money on something relatively minor. In hindsight, I would have been much better off going with Bell and paying the extra $10 a month...at least I would have had a phone that worked and a lot less stress in my life.

TSI Andre
Premium Member
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON

TSI Andre

Premium Member

Hi TorontoSM,

I can assure you that our service is not a "Scam", it sounds to be that you experienced an issue and we either dropped the ball or received poor information from our provider.

Either way, we do strive for a great customer experience and we have failed you. I would like to turn this around for you.

Can you please email me your account details so I can get this fixed for you? Next week for an appointment is really too far out and that is not right. Please let me make this right by you!

Andre@teksavvy.com

Thanks,

Andre
koreyb
Open the Canadian Market NOW
join:2005-01-08
Etobicoke, ON

koreyb to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM
If you get stressed over a phone line, you really need to look at yourself... It's really not worth it..

The CSR's being rude, I can't comment on...

TSI's home phone is 100% resold bell, so to their defence, you would have had this issue regardless if the line has problems... and good luck fighting with Bell's outsourced staff from overseas.... If the phone is not working, and hasn't worked... TSI should not be charging you anything. I have a feeling based on how you wrote this, your not the easiest customer to deal with, and may have started flipping out instead of explaining the situation, and why you feel you shouldn't have to pay.

TSI only sees what Bell puts in their portal, as it's 100% resold bell service. Bell has this habit of saying things are fine, when they aren't. If that's what' TSI sees, it's your word against theirs, which TSI would have to figure out who is right.

This takes time, and loads of deep breathing.

It's sad when these issues happen, but technical issues happen with all companies, even bell.. I can tell you from experience...

They will get sorted out, but you may need some management involvement. Once it's working, it will likely stay the way.

TorontoSM
join:2012-10-24

TorontoSM

Member

Koreyb,

Your comments are fair, and I understand that if there are technician issues, they are all due to Bell (since Teksavvy is just a reseller). However, from past experience, I also know that Bell is much more responsive if you are directly a customer of theirs than they are being in this case. If I had Bell phone service, I would have definitely encountered the same problems; however, they would have been resolved by now.

I don't get stressed over a phone line, but I do get stressed when I have to spend an hour a day on hold for 6 weeks to get a basic phone line. I think that's normal.

As for the "flipping out" part, I did flip out yesterday, but only after they sent me the second bill. I understand that teksavvy bills in advance, but why are they continuing to bill me? The CSR said that they would apply a credit once my service finally started, but that doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why should I have to front them the cash, and then chase them down (and be put on hold for hours) to get my credit later? Bizarre.
TorontoSM

TorontoSM to TSI Andre

Member

to TSI Andre
I have Emailed you my details.

I find it interesting how quickly you respond to public posts such as these, but not to actual customer service emails. I have sent about 5 Emails to your customer service department and have not received a single reply to date.

TSI Andre
Premium Member
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON

TSI Andre

Premium Member

said by TorontoSM:

I have Emailed you my details.

I find it interesting how quickly you respond to public posts such as these, but not to actual customer service emails. I have sent about 5 Emails to your customer service department and have not received a single reply to date.

Hi TorontoSM,

Thank you for sending me the email. I sincerely apologize for the hardship you have experienced.

Here are some updates:

- Once you can confirm the email address requested in my response email to you, I will investigate as to why you never received a response via Email from us.

- We called Bell, and they have acknowledged that there is a cut wire in your area. They are dispatching someone to the area (junction box) tomorrow between 8-5. I will need you to let me know when the service is restored please.

- Once we are able to confirm that Bell repaired the service, I will be asking you to provide me with the invoice showing that you had to pay someone for internal wiring and I will be providing you credit directly for this inconvenience or asking Bell to do so directly to you.

As for my fast response on here, we take Customer Service extremely seriously and you can bet when someone vents their frustrations online, especially labeling us as "Scammers", that we want to help and make things right, set things right and show everyone that we care. We have been doing pretty good on emails recently, which leads me to believe there were other issues (to be confirmed) as to why your emails were not answered.

I will await your confirmation of details by email and look forward to seeing your service going online no later than 5pm tomorrow.

Thanks,

Andre
Expand your moderator at work
aqiu0615
join:2012-10-24
624816

aqiu0615 to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM

Re: Beware of Teksavvy Phone Service

Hi TorontoSM
Sounds Perfect,but too long for me to read!
I find it interesting how quickly you respond to public posts such as these, but not to actual customer service emails. I have sent about 5 Emails to your customer service department and have not received a single reply to date and i also read some about this idea in mmolive.com.
scorpido
Premium Member
join:2009-11-02
Abbotsford, BC

scorpido

Premium Member

Teksavvy adapting notes and suggestions from Acanac's hand book on customer service. lol I also have experienced the same kind of csr response.

TSI Andre
Premium Member
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
Hi TorontoSM,

Has the tech been out yet?

Thanks,

Andre
TSI Andre

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
Hi TorontoSM,

It looks like the tech never showed yesterday and I sincerely apologize for this.

Our COO is pushing this for us high up at Bell.

Stay tuned.

Thanks,

Andre

AkFubar
Admittedly, A Teksavvy Fan
join:2005-02-28
Toronto CAN.

AkFubar to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM
Have TSI phone service. Never had any problems.

TSI Andre
Premium Member
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
FYI... Still working on this for you.

Crowbar10
join:2009-06-23
Toronto , ON

Crowbar10 to AkFubar

Member

to AkFubar
said by AkFubar:

Have TSI phone service. Never had any problems.

X2 The switch was seamless , never noticed anything . Except the lower cost $$ , and call quality seems better as well

TSI Andre
Premium Member
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
Hi TorontoSM,

Update, not the best one but we are still working on it.

- We were not provided reasons as to why the tech did not show yesterday.

- We have gone through different escalations channel and they are dispatching a tech to repair the outside wire for you tomorrow as a temp patch job.

- A BSW (Buried Service Wire) tech is scheduled to come out on Monday to take the temp fix and make it permanent.

We are currently working with Bell to make the temp fix happen for today.

Stay tuned.

Thanks,

Andre
TSI Andre

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
Seems like a tech is on it right now. We are waiting for an update. Stay tuned?
TSI Andre

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
TorontoSM, any update as to your status?
TSI Andre

1 recommendation

TSI Andre to TorontoSM

Premium Member

to TorontoSM
I am pleased to announce that TorontoSM's service is now functional. We are working towards ensuring he receives the correct compensation for his outages.

Thanks,

Andre
rkaushik
join:2002-03-31
Tallahassee, FL

rkaushik to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM
Would not recommend teksavvy phone or internet service. They lease Bell lines. Any install or service order has to go to Bell. If you ever have an issue, Bell will make sure that they provide the worst service possible to teksavvy customers. In the end the customer ends up getting screwed while it may not be teksavvy's fault.
My recent example: Phone line was down. Teksavvy filed repair ticket with Bell. Bell did some remote testing and determined that everything was ok without coming to my home to check if there was a dial tone outside my home. Bell closed the ticket. I called teksavvy back and they called Bell again. Bell argued but finally agreed to sent tech out. Bell tech determined that my telephone line had been disconnected at the neighborhood network box! I was asked to be home for a 5 hour window both times that Bell tech was supposed to come out.
In total I had service outage for 5 days for no fault of Teksavvy.
Lesson learned- however bad Bell is I would much rather have service directly with Bell. Bell now offers no contract service (internet and phone) like teksavvy and prices very competitively.
So why would you go through teksavvy and not directly to Bell? I had teksavvy for a long time because I disliked Bell but in the end what matters is my service uptime and not getting the run around. Interesting when I switched to Bell I was offered multiple installation windows for 3 hours and the tech called me before he showed up.
jdoe71
join:2008-02-07
L0L0L0

jdoe71

Member

As I said in your other same post in another thread, keep feeding Bell and guarantee that you will always get this expensive and crappy telecom service in this country. Small thinking my friend.

I have had Tek phone and DSL for 5 years and they are fine.
rkaushik
join:2002-03-31
Tallahassee, FL

rkaushik

Member

Teksavvy needs to get its own infrastructure versus leasing Bell. If they had to do it they would have done it on their own by now or started. For that they have to think big and fetch a large capital investment.

Montreal DSL
join:2011-02-02
Montreal-DSL

Montreal DSL to rkaushik

Member

to rkaushik
said by rkaushik:

Bell now offers no contract service (internet and phone) like teksavvy and prices very competitively.

Teksavvy phone: $21.48

Bell phone:
Home phone Lite $28.98 /MO.
Touch Tone Fee $2.80 /MO.
911 $0.17 /MO.

Cheaper, right?
More transparent, right?

Do you need to compare the internet plans for you?
rkaushik
join:2002-03-31
Tallahassee, FL

rkaushik

Member

I have compared them and switched to Bell after comparing them. Are you on Teksavvy payroll somehow?

JenSuisUn
Premium Member
join:2006-02-23
Chatham, ON

JenSuisUn

Premium Member

Hello Rkaushik,

Very sorry to hear about the troublesome times you have experience. We never strive for our customer to live through such a hardship. I believe what Montreal DSL is saying is that our prices have always been very competitive. Do to this reason, some incumbents have started offering much lower prices without contracts.

Would you care to explain what type of plan/offer you were able to receive from Bell.

Thanks,
Martin
rkaushik
join:2002-03-31
Tallahassee, FL

rkaushik

Member

I switched my internet service to Bell. Compared to TSI I may be paying $4 - $6 more or less BUT peace of mind that I dont have to go thru reseller to reach Bell for service and still get the run around. Excellent latency on connection. Very happy. First statement had no surprises.

Bell fibe 15/10 (FTTN) at $43.95 for first 8 months
then $52.95 afterwards, will renegotiate then
rent free modem with wireless router (teksavvy charges $8 or so for modem per month)
no contract
no dry loop charge
extra 250gb for life makes it 325gb total per month
$9 monthly discount on bell tv

Customer Service
-tech came out next day to install (usually not possible via teksavvy)
-gave me a 3 hour evening window during weekdays (not possible via teksavvy)
-gave me a courtesy call in the morning day of install to confirm
- gave me a confirmation call that he on his way 30 minutes before install
- left me a business card with his direct number in case i had issues within 2 days
- Bell called me with satisfaction survey
rkaushik

rkaushik

Member

In the process of switching over to CallCentric voip service. Very flexible pricing based on calling needs. Much cheaper than traditional POTS line. True that it depends on internet service but these days it does not matter with so many phones around.

With Callcentric you have phone service on your landline at home and same service on 2 mobile devices (in my case android and iphone).
All devices calls out using the same line irresp of where i am.
I can even use my account as a calling card.
Callback service like what google voice used to support in canada via 403 area codes. The list goes on and on.

Can port canadian numbers. Porting take several days (versus 1-2 days in US) but that is because of archaic and red-taped canadian regulations and service models.

disclaimer- I don't work for any telcos or affiliated corporations. This is an unbiased report, your experience may vary
Fattony
join:2012-01-17

Fattony to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM
My experience after 1 year with Tek home phone: installation was an absolute nightmare, just like internet activation. But once up and running, have never had a single issue. Would not go back to Bell.
Dunlop
join:2011-07-13

1 edit

Dunlop to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM
Why is there no e911 service available?

I ended up porting my number to voip.ms after testing it for a few months. Price was one of the decisions (it's so freaking cheap) but the ability to have e911 was another

edit: forgot Teksavvy has POTS so my question does not apply here :P

TSI Andre
Premium Member
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON

TSI Andre to Fattony

Premium Member

to Fattony
Home Phone installs (Traditional POTS) was very hit and miss before. We have really redefined our relationship with the wholesale group in charge of Voice Provisioning.

But I agree with you, once installed, rarely any issues.
VHS
join:2008-11-17

VHS to TorontoSM

Member

to TorontoSM
Just thought I add something positive with all the complaints...

I have been using TSI home phone since Jan 2010. I have never had any problems for the past 3 yrs... activation was smooth. Price has not gone up since I joined unlike Bell. I pay $25.28/mth + tax. With Bell, I would be paying about $40+tax with the same features.

Only problem I ever had with Teksavvy was they billed me $200 for internet service I didn't order because some guy with the same name as me ordered internet. That problem was fixed immediately once I called in.