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Gixxer
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON

Gixxer

Member

Just Hooked Up

Modem finally lit up and everything seems to be going good thus far! Only issue I've encountered is somehow I've used 11GB of bandwidth already though I've only been hooked up for a few minutes.

rocca
Start.ca
Premium Member
join:2008-11-16
London, ON

rocca

Premium Member

Occasionally in your first 24 hours your usage can reflect whomever had your IP previously, ie the DNS update hasn't pushed through yet. The usage quota is still tied to the correct account, just the tool that figures out who you are is behind slightly. If for some reason you don't see the correct usage within 24 hours please PM me your account #. Thanks.

Gixxer
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON

Gixxer

Member

You're right it reset.




Love getting advertised speeds.
Gixxer

Gixxer

Member

Day 2, so far so good. Only have two issues with billing and e-mail.

It appears I need to have either a credit card or pre-authorized debt payment on the account even though you can(I plan to) add Start as a bill through your bank. I don't like that, not because I think Start is up to no good, I've just had problems in the past with "billing errors" like Cogeco billing my credit card and bank account for two months at the same time, it took them 3 months to reverse the charges, or back when I had Bell... Won't mention that. I can't think of any telecommunication company that requires either one and I've been with Bell/Telus/Rogers/Wind/Cogeco.

E-mail setup, so far a call or e-mail is required to set your @start.ca e-mail up but unfortunately you need to let that person know your e-mail password, which you can't change after, that also requires a call or e-mail. Doesn't seem professional at all, I've been told over the phone that something is in the works to streamline that entire process.

Other than those two issues, I'm pretty happy with the service.
useless2764
join:2008-10-11
Barrie, ON

useless2764 to Gixxer

Member

to Gixxer
I paid the last saturday of last month and it was fine, havent set up any kinda pre auth debit yet either, guess I'll have to see how that works out later on.

Gixxer
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON

Gixxer

Member

So they don't have your credit card?

rocca
Start.ca
Premium Member
join:2008-11-16
London, ON

rocca to Gixxer

Premium Member

to Gixxer
said by Gixxer:

I don't like that, not because I think Start is up to no good, I've just had problems in the past with "billing errors" like Cogeco billing my credit card and bank account for two months at the same time, it took them 3 months to reverse the charges, or back when I had Bell... Won't mention that. I can't think of any telecommunication company that requires either one and I've been with Bell/Telus/Rogers/Wind/Cogeco.

It's pretty rare for any issue, but those that happen are always fixed the same day. If you pay your bill through our online payment system before the 1st then there isn't any balance to deduct. To keep prices low for everyone unfortunately we just can't let receivables run up and I'd rather have support people available on the phones rather than collection agents trying to track down payments.
Guru
join:2008-10-01

Guru

Member

said by rocca:

said by Gixxer:

I don't like that, not because I think Start is up to no good, I've just had problems in the past with "billing errors" like Cogeco billing my credit card and bank account for two months at the same time, it took them 3 months to reverse the charges, or back when I had Bell... Won't mention that. I can't think of any telecommunication company that requires either one and I've been with Bell/Telus/Rogers/Wind/Cogeco.

It's pretty rare for any issue, but those that happen are always fixed the same day. If you pay your bill through our online payment system before the 1st then there isn't any balance to deduct. To keep prices low for everyone unfortunately we just can't let receivables run up and I'd rather have support people available on the phones rather than collection agents trying to track down payments.

That's fair! That's what other customers need to understand as well!

Gixxer
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON

1 edit

Gixxer to rocca

Member

to rocca
said by rocca:

It's pretty rare for any issue, but those that happen are always fixed the same day. If you pay your bill through our online payment system before the 1st then there isn't any balance to deduct. To keep prices low for everyone unfortunately we just can't let receivables run up and I'd rather have support people available on the phones rather than collection agents trying to track down payments.

I'm aware of this, but I don't like it. Think of this scenario, what if I had simply paid through the online interact system at signup? Not only would you not have my credit card information, but neither a pre-authorized payment agreement. What then?

Sorry if I'm making a big deal out of this, but just about any company that I've ever called to have my financial information purged as done so (minus mortgage and insurance) and I feel that you're holding that information hostage, definitely not cool.
said by Guru:

That's fair! That's what other customers need to understand as well!

It isn't because if I had known that I didn't have to give up that information I wouldn't have, plain and simple.

rocca
Start.ca
Premium Member
join:2008-11-16
London, ON

rocca

Premium Member

said by Gixxer:

Think of this scenario, what if I had simply paid through the online interact system at signup? Not only would you not have my credit card information, but neither a pre-authorized payment agreement. What then?

We call them to obtain future billing information.
said by Gixxer:

Sorry if I'm making a big deal out of this, but just about any company that I've ever called to have my financial information purged as done so (minus mortgage and insurance) and I feel that you're holding that information hostage, definitely not cool.

I'm not sure I see the hostage correlation, one could make a similar argument that requiring payment for services is extortion? Any time someone has asked us to remove payment details we've complied, but usually that's followed by an account closure.

I have seen the difference between theory and practice in our billing processes over the past two decades. Previously we did try the "hope they will pay on time" method but our bad debt rates were terrible. As the costs of services increased and the margins decreased, the risk and cost of this problem became very substantial. The sad truth is that margins are so slim on many of our services that if we have to follow-up with a customer about a payment, we've taken a loss on them for at least a two months. Take a loss on enough customers and the only choice is to either limit the source of loss, or raise prices for everyone else to account for it. We picked the first one.

On a personal note, I've never really understood the concern especially around credit cards. These numbers are provided to random people every day at the gas station, restaurants, online shopping, the mall vs an ISP where there is a recurring relationship. When it comes to automated payments, all the power lays with the consumer and all the risk lays with the merchant. If the customer says they want to reverse a transaction there is a tremendous burden on the merchant to prevent it.
Guru
join:2008-10-01

Guru

Member

said by rocca:

On a personal note, I've never really understood the concern especially around credit cards. These numbers are provided to random people every day at the gas station, restaurants, online shopping, the mall vs an ISP where there is a recurring relationship. When it comes to automated payments, all the power lays with the consumer and all the risk lays with the merchant. If the customer says they want to reverse a transaction there is a tremendous burden on the merchant to prevent it.

+1