preternatural.stuff
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Warning to all about the Starhub digital voice service.
We all have our complaints about telcos & this one is about Starhub. In particular the digital voice service that they bundle with the home broadband/cable TV service.
Problem: the crap voice modem hardware provided & the even lousier customer service.
1. The Starhub digital voice modem stopped working one day. No power at all. No lights at all. Residential phone line dead. Thought its the usual hang, but power cycling didn't work.
2. First thought - either the modem is dead, or the power adapter.
3. My father, 75 yrs old, retiree, not English speaking, called Starhub.
4. When I found out the technician was likely to come on Friday, I called Starhub on the Friday morning. I stated that:
a) if the modem is dead, we have no choice but to buy the whole set for $89.90; but
b) if its just the power adapter, they should sell us the power adapter only, else, I will source the adapter myself.
5. Starhub technician came on Friday afternoon, confirmed its power adapter problem. Essentially blackmailed my father (while I was away at work obviously) into buying the whole modem set. Ultimatum "Pay $89.90 cash, else no residential phone line." Or so it goes.
6. I was fuming mad that this happened even though I had anticipated this and gave specific instructions in the morning.
7. Now we've got 2 x Starhub digital voice modem boxes - for what?
8. I called Starhub over the weekend to complain and they promised to get back.
9. Monday morning, the stupid customer service guy called & refused to take back the modem and do a refund/credit to my father's Starhub account.
10. They claimed that one year ago, they still sold the power adapters separately but not anymore. No reason for why they do not do it anymore. Obviously its to make more money!
11. No reason for why they cannot accept a return & do a refund - just stonewalled me while wasting my time on a Monday morning when I was busy at work.
My questions:
1. Why do we have to pay for the crap hardware that is part of the ongoing paid monthly service we are using and paying on a subscription basis? What if they burn out all the time? Why should I have to pay for their choice of cheap hardware and even cheaper power adapters that fail? Shouldn't all the hardware be supplied free? That's like throwing money into a bottomless pit.
2. What kind of crap telco service does not have spare power adapters for the devices that they sell? They have a huge supply contract with Motorola, yet they cannot secure power supplies separately?
3. A simple search will reveal that this Motorola box uses a power adapter that costs less than S$12 at Sim Lim from a reputable distributor/retailer. On eBay/Amazon etc. I can mail order it easily, maybe S$12-14.
4. Worldwide there is an electronic waste problem clogging landfills as electronic waste cannot be easily incinerated. Yet Starhub does this? How environmentally irresponsible can a corporate entity like Starhub be? What is their CSR policy?! Do they even have one?
5. I have offered to do Starhub a service by bringing the voice modem back to any of their retail outlets or even head office. Yet the retarded technician/customer service person who called me on that Monday morning insisted that "on his side, he can only say no."
6. Another call from them yesterday and still no agreement for return/refund. Need to talk to their management. How incompetent can customer service be?
Learning point:
Starhub tells you that compared to Singtel, their digital voice service is "free", "better", "unlimited" etc. Think again. If they give you crap hardware and don't even bother to stock, deliver and sell a cheap component like a power adapter, you can pay $89.90 each time for any problem. That would wipe out any savings that you would have compared to using your Singtel copper phone line.
Consider the power used by the adapter running on a 24/7/365 basis too!
At least a Singtel copper phone line has never ever given me any problems in all the years I've used it since I was a kid. It never hangs and never needs a power supply/adapter. Unlike the Starhub line which has required reboots of the voice modem from time to time (not as simple a matter when you have elderly parents and you are not able to attend to them when you are at work). In times of a power failure or power trip or emergency, you can at least be assured that you can call the police, ambulance or other emergency services.
Think twice before switching to or signing on or for Starhub's digital voice services!
We all have our complaints about telcos & this one is about Starhub. In particular the digital voice service that they bundle with the home broadband/cable TV service.
Problem: the crap voice modem hardware provided & the even lousier customer service.
1. The Starhub digital voice modem stopped working one day. No power at all. No lights at all. Residential phone line dead. Thought its the usual hang, but power cycling didn't work.
2. First thought - either the modem is dead, or the power adapter.
3. My father, 75 yrs old, retiree, not English speaking, called Starhub.
4. When I found out the technician was likely to come on Friday, I called Starhub on the Friday morning. I stated that:
a) if the modem is dead, we have no choice but to buy the whole set for $89.90; but
b) if its just the power adapter, they should sell us the power adapter only, else, I will source the adapter myself.
5. Starhub technician came on Friday afternoon, confirmed its power adapter problem. Essentially blackmailed my father (while I was away at work obviously) into buying the whole modem set. Ultimatum "Pay $89.90 cash, else no residential phone line." Or so it goes.
6. I was fuming mad that this happened even though I had anticipated this and gave specific instructions in the morning.
7. Now we've got 2 x Starhub digital voice modem boxes - for what?
8. I called Starhub over the weekend to complain and they promised to get back.
9. Monday morning, the stupid customer service guy called & refused to take back the modem and do a refund/credit to my father's Starhub account.
10. They claimed that one year ago, they still sold the power adapters separately but not anymore. No reason for why they do not do it anymore. Obviously its to make more money!
11. No reason for why they cannot accept a return & do a refund - just stonewalled me while wasting my time on a Monday morning when I was busy at work.
My questions:
1. Why do we have to pay for the crap hardware that is part of the ongoing paid monthly service we are using and paying on a subscription basis? What if they burn out all the time? Why should I have to pay for their choice of cheap hardware and even cheaper power adapters that fail? Shouldn't all the hardware be supplied free? That's like throwing money into a bottomless pit.
2. What kind of crap telco service does not have spare power adapters for the devices that they sell? They have a huge supply contract with Motorola, yet they cannot secure power supplies separately?
3. A simple search will reveal that this Motorola box uses a power adapter that costs less than S$12 at Sim Lim from a reputable distributor/retailer. On eBay/Amazon etc. I can mail order it easily, maybe S$12-14.
4. Worldwide there is an electronic waste problem clogging landfills as electronic waste cannot be easily incinerated. Yet Starhub does this? How environmentally irresponsible can a corporate entity like Starhub be? What is their CSR policy?! Do they even have one?
5. I have offered to do Starhub a service by bringing the voice modem back to any of their retail outlets or even head office. Yet the retarded technician/customer service person who called me on that Monday morning insisted that "on his side, he can only say no."
6. Another call from them yesterday and still no agreement for return/refund. Need to talk to their management. How incompetent can customer service be?
Learning point:
Starhub tells you that compared to Singtel, their digital voice service is "free", "better", "unlimited" etc. Think again. If they give you crap hardware and don't even bother to stock, deliver and sell a cheap component like a power adapter, you can pay $89.90 each time for any problem. That would wipe out any savings that you would have compared to using your Singtel copper phone line.
Consider the power used by the adapter running on a 24/7/365 basis too!
At least a Singtel copper phone line has never ever given me any problems in all the years I've used it since I was a kid. It never hangs and never needs a power supply/adapter. Unlike the Starhub line which has required reboots of the voice modem from time to time (not as simple a matter when you have elderly parents and you are not able to attend to them when you are at work). In times of a power failure or power trip or emergency, you can at least be assured that you can call the police, ambulance or other emergency services.
Think twice before switching to or signing on or for Starhub's digital voice services!
