"Sabotage" when switching from "big three" to Vmedia & others...

[gustavoringler]

Hi forum guys..

I have heard/read online a few stories, where after customers switch from a "big three" company to one of the new alternative companies (like Vmedia) for internet service or TV service, all of a sudden, magically, cables are cut and customers are now left without service...and that's when the customer is in the middle of a battle/discussion on who should then fix the problem...

I am switching from Rogers to Vmedia for my cable internet service (which will hopefully start in a few days)...but I still didn't cut the cord form Rogers for cable TV...although it is something I would love to do, sooner than later...

When I called Rogers to cancel my internet service with them, one of the things their customer retention rep said to me when trying to stop me from leaving was "if something breaks, know that Rogers will prioritize Rogers customers over anybody else..."

Anyway.. is this something to be extremely concerned about ? Who will protect/bat for us if something like this ("white glove sabotage") happens ?

Maybe I am too paranoid... :-)

Thoughts ?
Regards,
Gus

[pedro]

For anyone that believes in the concepts of choice and competition for Internet and TV service, this is absolutely something to be concerned about. The incumbent carriers (those big 3) wholesale out their last mile infrastructure into your home to the independent ISPs and they have no trouble charging good money for that. However, Rogers in particular has a very bad reputation for ignoring the concerns of its wholesale customers while their retail ones are looked after.

When the cable tech visits your house for the VMedia Internet change, make sure he labels your outside cable connection as third-party Internet. This is supposed to be done so that if you cancel Cable TV later, the tech doesn't simply disconnect your cable service. This seems to happen ALL the time, and the poor customer has no recourse but to call the independent and have them schedule another tech visit that can take days or weeks (Rogers will not help you directly, since you're no longer their customer).

There has been a formal complaint filed with the CRTC on this from the independents, but like all CRTC proceedings this will take a long time.