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Thread ID: 73794	2006-10-31 23:00:00	IHug new plans. Watch out or get Ripped off	Big John (551)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
495622	2006-10-31 23:00:00	I decided to change to one of IHugs new 7.6M plans when I had 7 days to go on my usage. I did so because I thought it would get changed over on my changeover date. The plan I was on was the 40GB+40GB 2M/128K plan for $89.95 I changed over to the Broadband 4 plan of 7.6M 20GB for $80. I got an e-mail stating it was being processed. Next day I got an e-mail saying that it had been activated and that any usage that I had already incured under my old plan would count as data on the new plan. Seeing as I was up to 38GB I sent them an e-mail asking for clarification not wanting to spend hours on the phone. No result. Period changed today 7 days early so I had the fast plan for 1 day (which was not even fast) and then I checked my online invoice only to see I had to pay for 17GB excess data usage costing about $35. Boy am I feeling ripped off and think I will take it through small claims if they dont reimburse it just because of the principal of the matter. Surely this come under the consumer act as well.	Big John (551)
495623	2006-10-31 23:09:00	Ring them (they won't bite). They have a toll-free number. Talk to them. Wait for an hour on hold if you need to. Ask to talk to the person's supervisor if they aren't helpful. I'm sure they will sort this out if you just explain what happened clearly and concisely. Plus - it'd be much easier than taking them to the disputes tribunal, less costly, and less time consuming.	somebody (208)
495624	2006-10-31 23:22:00	Oh my god!!!! Ihugscum! :eek: You mean that other internet providers are running their companies like businesses too? I can't believe it, my world is shattered, life as I knew it is extinct. So you used 17GB of data and don't want to pay for it even though you opted for a lower cap? My heart bleeds for you and good luck in the Small Claims Tribunal, the Consumer Guarantees Act was written to protect you from the basic principles of commerce. You can't have it both ways. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
495625	2006-10-31 23:31:00	Billy - I don't understand the sarcasm, which is totally uncalled for. I would also have assumed that the change to the new plan would have been at the end of the billing period of the old plan. Is that assumption unreasonable???? Obviously it is to iHug's benefit to change plans early, but is it legal? Isn't there a telecommunications ombudsman? If so, then a call to them might be a good idea?	Chris Randal (521)
495626	2006-11-01 00:04:00	It seems reasonable to change you over ASAP - if anything, most customers would be happier having the immediate service. What strikes me as completely unreasonable is backdating the change, and hence charging you for excess data. If you pay for a service in advance, technically you have already paid for the service by the time it is delivered - so how can they charge you for it a second time?	Erayd (23)
495627	2006-11-01 00:10:00	The key point would be that you had paid the old plan rate (presumably), so are entitled to the data provided under the old plan. The potential for confusion would suggest the better method would have been to switch you over at the end of the month. However, it sounds like an automated system not taking into account the possibility that someone would downgrade. IMagine if it was the other way round - if you were moving up to a plan with a higher cap, then switching early would give you the benefit of the extra data, albeit for the remainder of the billing period. This is what happened when I upgraded with Xnet. They charged me pro-rata for the month, meaning for those days I was on the old plan, I paid the old plan rate, and for those days I was on the new plan, I paid the new plan rates. But my total allowable data was the higher of the two caps. I think the advice to ring Ihug is good advice. Explain that your old plan had a higher cap, and that the new plan had a lower cap, and presuming that you are charged pro-rata for the days when you were on the old plan, then you should be entitled to the higher of the two caps. Good luck.	Lizard (2409)
495628	2006-11-01 00:40:00	We just changed to one of the new ihug plans here at work. I told them I wanted it done straight away (the day after the new plans came out - last week some time I think) and they said fine. Then had a call back from ihug and they said the new plan wouldn't come into effect until the next billing cycle (today for us). Don't know how you got your plan changed before the next billing cycle.	CYaBro (73)
495629	2006-11-01 00:45:00	I decided to change to one of IHugs new 7.6M plans when I had 7 days to go on my usage. I did so because I thought it would get changed over on my changeover date. The plan I was on was the 40GB+40GB 2M/128K plan for $89.95 I changed over to the Broadband 4 plan of 7.6M 20GB for $80. I got an e-mail stating it was being processed. Next day I got an e-mail saying that it had been activated and that any usage that I had already incured under my old plan would count as data on the new plan. Seeing as I was up to 38GB I sent them an e-mail asking for clarification not wanting to spend hours on the phone. No result. Period changed today 7 days early so I had the fast plan for 1 day (which was not even fast) and then I checked my online invoice only to see I had to pay for 17GB excess data usage costing about $35. Boy am I feeling ripped off and think I will take it through small claims if they dont reimburse it just because of the principal of the matter. Surely this come under the consumer act as well. Well they are now owned by British company. If you have even been in england and have had to deal with an english company, you would be surprised at just how bad their service and how inefficient they are compared in NZ companies. I would recommend switching to a NZ owned company if you don't get it resolved easily, on principle.	rogerp (6864)
495630	2006-11-01 01:39:00	Billy - I don't understand the sarcasm, which is totally uncalled for . Sorry Chris, it was irony, not sarcasm . Everybody is quick to abuse Telecom and call them "scum," but when another ISP does essentially the same thing, i . e . follow good business principles and maximise returns to their shareholders, they are somehow protected against offensive criticism . I believe in equitable treatment, so if Telecom gets "scum", so should Ihug, Woosh (the biggest fraudsters of them all, because they can't blame copper wires, it is a lack of investment in resources) and I suspect a host of other ISPs . It is not that long ago that PF1 was full of complaints about ISPs who didn't have enough modems! Nobody much complained about Telecom then, they had plenty . Cheers Billy 8-{) :illogical	Billy T (70)
495631	2006-11-01 02:08:00	Oh my god!!!! Ihugscum! :eek: You mean that other internet providers are running their companies like businesses too? I can't believe it, my world is shattered, life as I knew it is extinct. So you used 17GB of data and don't want to pay for it even though you opted for a lower cap? My heart bleeds for you and good luck in the Small Claims Tribunal, the Consumer Guarantees Act was written to protect you from the basic principles of commerce. You can't have it both ways. Cheers Billy 8-{) Yes but the 17GB was under the old plan and was well within my usage rights under that plan. Now because I changed plans they want to charge me extra for it. If I had used this under the new plan then fair enough but this is outright highway robbery	Big John (551)
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