23 March 2005

TMNet Horror 1.6.3 - Rub that sea salt on that wound!

How to rub salt into the wounds of your customers:

From: Yoon Kit Yong
Reply-To: Yoon Kit Yong
To: custcare@tm.net.my
Cc: "suganthi@cfm.org.my"
Date: Mar 23, 2005 2:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Re: Outrageous Streamyx bill! RM44 -> RM422 for this month! Outrageous service! rejection after 1 month wait.]
Hello Aminah,

Can you please respond to the query I send earlier this month (March 9th)?

I just received a nasty letter in the post saying
that my bill has not been settled, and my account has been suspended.
What is worse is that, in 14 days my account will be terminated!

Can you PLEASE re-enable my account
so that I can log in while you settle the investigation
with my bills?

This is outrageous that I have to suffer downtime
when Im paying my RM44 monthly as well.

Please respond to me as soon as possible,
and CC to Suganthi from CFM.org.my who is
looking after my complaint.

Thanks,

Yoon Kit.


This is getting absolutely incredible... How many rules of customer service have they broken already? 1000?

18 March 2005

TMNet Horror 1.6.2 - Pull the plug! works all the time!

My my... how to really mess your customers up...
and how to respond to it!

From: Yoon Kit Yong
Reply-To: Yoon Kit Yong
To: "suganthi@cfm.org.my"
Date: Mar 18, 2005 11:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Re: Outrageous Streamyx bill! RM44 -> RM422 for this month! Outrageous service! rejection after 1 month wait.]
Hello Suganthi,

Some interesting developments regarding my streamyx horrors.
I found that I couldnt log into streamyx, so I called
their tech support fearing that there was another 'hanging' login.
They were very helpful there, they said it wasnt the hanging problem,
but my account was suspended due to the billing problems.
I asked if they could unsuspend it as we are trying to resolve
the problems, and I have paid my monthly RM44 already.
He said no, Ill have to deal with the billing department.

So I called the 1300 number to the billing department,
and unlike the tech service which was prompt,
my line got dropped! 'Im sorry, there are no representatives to
service your call...'
And ironically, they said 'please visit the website for product enquiries,
or email us at custcare@tm.net.my' HAH!

This is getting very infuriating.
I hope I dont have to pay for this months bill since
Ive been locked out on fault of mine too!


Its funny that the service in the billing department sux so badly compared to the tech support. Usually its the other way 'round, where corporations pour money into cost centres which bring in direct revenue!

Its a twisted world.

9 March 2005

TMNet Horror 1.6.1 - Help arrives

From: suganthi@cfm.org.my
To: yoonkit@gmail.com
Date: Mar 9, 2005 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Re: Outrageous Streamyx bill! RM44 -> RM422 for this month! Outrageous service! rejection after 1 month wait.]
Mr Yong,

We are in receipt of your complaint which you have posted via our online
complaint and e-mail.

We have on the even date, forwarded your complaint to TM Net for their
further investigation. We will advise you on the outcome of their
investigation in due course.

If you need further clarification or information please do not hesitate to
call or email the undersigned.

Thank you and regards.

Suganthi
Complaints Handling Executive
Communications and Multimedia
Consumer Forum of Malaysia

The response was fast, and I immediately emailed back to make sure its not a bot.

Hello Suganthi,

Thank you very much for your acknowledgement.
I wasnt too sure whether my online submission worked,
as there wasnt an acknowledging email.

I just used the emails available online,
to make sure that it got to you, but more importantly,
that TMNet staff knows that Im starting to complain formally.

Is there anything else I can do to help get this matter resolved?

Regards.

Yoon Kit


And within 20 minutes, I got this:

Hi! Mr Yong,

THe best thing we can do for now is wait for TM Net initiate their
investigation and formally reply to your complaint which will be thorugh
me. Based on my experience from other cases, one of the technician or
customer relation personnel will call and seek further information from
you.

I will email you once i receive any feedback from them.


Excellent stuff...


TMNet Horrors 1.6 - Calling for reinforcements.

I heard on the radio that cfm.org.my will look after my consumer rights regarding Multimedia and Communications. Excellent! So Ive included them in my CC list.

From: Yoon Kit Yong
Reply-To: Yoon Kit Yong
To: TM Net Customer Care Support , streamyx@tm.net.my, admin@cfm.org.my, shahrir@cfm.org.my, fomca@fomca.org.my
Date: Mar 9, 2005 1:13 AM
Subject: Re: Outrageous Streamyx bill! RM44 -> RM422 for this month! Outrageous service! rejection after 1 month wait.
Hello Aminah,

Thank you for your explanation regarding the charges
of the hours. Unfortunately, I did not ask for clarifications on the
calculations.

> We hope the above explanation is useful.
> We hope the above reverts to your query.

No and No. Please re-read my requests again.

> as it is the responsibility of customers to assure these
> actions are done to ensure that the equipment at your
> premise is in proper working condition.

If you were to read my emails properly again,
you will find that I have NOT set my modem to autodial.
What has happened is that your system has been registering
my login sessions as not logged out, thus raking up my online time.
The puzzling thing is that my login and logout procedures have
not changed since I have had streamyx at my residence!

So PLEASE do not blame my equipment, as it is configured
properly, and in 'proper working condition'.

Your technical team should be wondering about their
billing system which has kept track of a login over 211 HOURS (16th Nov)
with zero network traffic as I can guarantee that my modem
would have been disconnected at that time.
Would anyone in their right mind leave the connection on for over
8 days when he knows he is on a limited package, AND his
average MONTHLY usage is only 2 days?

You would also like to check your 'customer service levels' as waiting
over 1 month per reply is dismal, especially for a telecommunications
service company. This is NOT how you should treat your customers.

I have taken the liberty to CC this email to cfm.org.my to report on the
frustrating state of affairs Im facing. The next response, if not favourable,
will include people of the media, and I hope you understand the severity
of this situation for your company.

Remember, I have proven, and your records can also prove it, that I have
historically been a light user of Streamyx. From the period of Jan04 to Sep04
I average 30 hours a month. That is HALF of what Im allocated in my RM44 package
of 60 hours. The spike occured in the last quarter of 2004, my surfing habits
have not changed, as I do very little surfing at home, and I can only think of
a change in your login system which doesnt terminate idle connections.
Neither are there instructions on how end users such as myself to terminate such
connections. It took me ages to find your toll free number, and even
more explanation
and wasted time in getting your helpdesk to free the suspended logins.
So there is something seriously wrong in your login software, and your
procedures to rectify for your users is too elaborate.

As you can see, Im not being unreasonable in my request to 'rebate' the charges
your billing department has debited me, as all evidence shows that your system
is deficient.

Now, as I have requested before, if YOU, Aminah, have no authority to
annull the charges, please direct me to your superior, or even to the
head of department who can understand my situation.
I refuse to call the 1-300 number because I do not want to waste more
time in re-explaining my plight. I have wasted over 4 months on this
matter already.

Regards.

Yoon Kit


I wonder how they'd react?